CADEN IS THE HERO OF THE HOUR

New signing Caden Barber certainly had a big impact on this game, coming off the bench 6 minutes from full time to make his 5th appearance for Athletic and then scoring the winner deep into injury time. He also collected the Man of the Match award after being picked by Match Sponsor Mel from Right Price Plumbing and Heating. So it’s a day he will remember for some time.

The goal brought back memories of the late goal scored by Harry Jones against the same opponents back in March 2025 when he struck a rocket of a shot from way out. This was a much needed win after poor defeats against Harpenden Town and Everett Rovers and we can take some satisfaction at picking up 3 points against an inform team that came into the game as League leaders.

Kicking towards the rugby club in the first half we had an early opportunity when Harry Jones headed on a clearance from Dylan Fitzpatrick into Harry Shepherds path but a combination of the goalkeeper and two defenders denied Shep the opportunity to get a shot off.

Biggleswade replied almost immediately when their right back Tommy Reynolds burst down the right and his shot/cum cross was kept out by Eli Hearn but Robbie Buchanon played it back into the area to Liam Smyth who was robbed by Luke Peerless. The former Athletic player went down under the challenge with their appeals for a penalty from Biggleswade waved away by the Referee.

The game started off fairly evenly but as the half wore on we started to look more dangerous. Following a lovely move in the 26th minute Blake Argent played the ball out to the left to Tommy Smith, making a welcome return to the club, who whipped a super ball across the area which was just missed by Harry Jones. But Max Hercules retrieved the ball and his cross was met by Blake shot just wide of the far post.
This was a good spell for us and we did score in the 42nd minute when a cross from Max was met by Harry Jones whose effort hit a defender then the post but Shep followed up to tap home from close range. Surprisingly the goal was disallowed but after studying the video I cannot see who was offside.

A few minutes later we went mighty close again when a clearance from Dylan found Jonesy who slipped the ball through to Harry Shepherd whose shot hit the post.

The half ended scoreless but with a bit of luck we could have been a goal or two ahead. HT Score 0-0.

The second period was more evenly matched and scoring opportunities were limited with both defences looking strong and neither keeper was overly tested. The game had the look of a 0-0 scoreline but 5 minutes into time added on we grabbed a winner.

As so often Max was the creator when he picked up a poor clearance and whipped over an inviting cross into our opponent’s area where it was met by Caden Barber whose fine header found the corner of the net to set off celebrations in the home camp. It was harsh on our opponents but it was just the lift we need after a couple of poor results recently. FT Score 1-0

This was an entertaining game with lots of good football being played and whilst Caden rightly gets the glory for scoring the crucial goal credit must go to Max for setting up the opportunity. Credit must go to our defence of Eli, Dylan, Tiny and DOC and keeper Jake for keeping only our 2nd clean sheet of the season against a strong opposition.

As a result of our win Risborough Rangers replaced Biggleswade at the top of the table and we moved up to 7th place just 1 point behind Risboro who have a game in hand. Still very early days but Biggleswade will be up there challenging for a promotion place and hopefully so will we.

We have two games coming up next week with a visit to Kempston Rovers on Tuesday night and then we entertain Aylesbury Vale Dynamos at the Michael Anthony Stadium on Saturday. Both are League games.

TEAM
TA: Jake Alley, Eli Hearn, Dylan Fitzpatrick, Tommy Smith (Caden Barber 84), David O’Connor, Jack Harvey (Capt) (Frankie Hercules 71), Luke Peerless, Blake Argent (George Devine 90+2), Max Hercules, Harry Shepherd (Jack Stone 84), Harry Jones (Lewis Dixon 71).

Scorers:

TA: Caden Barber (90+5)

BU: -

Crowd: 163

MOM Caden Barber