Longstanding supporters and players will remember our annual encounters with Witham Town from yesteryear. The “SOBS” would always create a decent atmosphere from behind the goal while the players (sometimes literally!) would battle it out on the pitch. The cutting below prior to the opening of the 1998/99 campaign appeared in the “Evening Gazette” and shows just how that rivalry spread into the press and, to be honest, we fans loved it. Unfortunately things did not work out for the Dragons that season as we finished one point (51 to 50) and two places behind the Spa Road outfit.
In the head-to-head League games it finished 1-1 at Broad Lane (we only managed 4 home League victories that season although did record a decent return of 10 away wins) with Alan “Daisy” Day netting our goal while we lost the reverse fixture 1-3, Julian Hazel scoring our consolation. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as we managed to defeat them 3-1 at home in the 2nd Round of the Vandanel Trophy thanks to another goal from “Jules” added to one by Lee Neale and an unfortunate (and much celebrated by us) own goal from a visiting defender.
To balance things up here’s a couple of pictures taken from the “Green ‘Un” with Justin Booty scoring and then celebrating during the Dragons’ 3-0 Boxing Day victory on 26/12/96.
Finally on to a classic meeting from towards the tail end of the 2007/08 campaign. Although relegated that season to the Eastern Counties League this was perhaps one of our most celebrated victories on the day, the reason being that some of the Witham players starting taunting the “SOBS” as they thought they had the game won (so did we !). If I remember correctly Adam Hampson set up Lee Underwood’s equalizer before Danny Hart scored the unlikely late winner. “Shell shocked” and “Crest Fallen” didn’t begin to describe their players at the final whistle. Don’t you just love it when that happens !!.
Pic: Nigel Johnson on the attack against Hampton in front of a packed Broad Lane Terrace
When fans (and those who latched onto the club’s success) remember the Dragons team that won the Isthmian League First Division Championship back in 1989/90 the names of Price, Lacy, Fuccillo, Coleman, King, Bain, Clark, Gittings, O’Brien and Smith are always the first mentioned by those who watched the games of that era. Just as important were the contributions made by goalkeeper Gandolfini while the last names to be recalled from the First Team regulars that season always seem to be young full back Phil Henderson (who went on to have a decent career in the Southern League with Hastings) and Nigel Johnson. Indeed, Johnson did not even feature in most of that season’s “Pen Pictures” in the away programmes (and when he finally did it was just a line), an ignominious fate for a player of his undoubted quality.
A skilful forward who could also operate in an advanced midfield role behind the strikers, he started his career with Luton Town before going on to join Watford. He moved into the Non-League game with Wealdstone who he signed for in 1978. Nigel was in the starting line-up for the “Stones” on Saturday 18th August 1979 for the opening day games of the newly formed Alliance Premier League (now known as the National League). He played in Wealdstone’s 1984/85 Alliance Premier League and F.A. Trophy Double winning side and in total made 262 appearances for the club during which time he scored 87 goals. He played abroad in Finland for both KUPS and Karpalo and also had spells with Stevenage Borough, Barnet and St Albans City from whom Dragons Boss Geoff Bennett signed him in late summer 1989.
Pic: Nigel takes on a Fisher Athletic opponent during a 3-1 Pre-Season victory over the National Conference League side.
Johnson made his Wivenhoe Town debut on 21/8/89 coming on as a late substitute in a 0-1 home League defeat to Tooting & Mitcham United. He scored a vital winning goal against one of his former clubs when he bundled home from close range to give us a 1-0 victory at Wealdstone in the F.A. Cup 2nd Qualifying Round and his passing ability opened up defences to regularly set up goals for both Martin Gittings and Steve Clark. A reliable penalty taker he scored 12 goals over the course of his one season stay at Broad Lane, during which he made 30 starts and 13 substitute appearances. His Wivenhoe career ended as it had begun as a playing substitute on Saturday 5th May 1990 in a 3-1 victory at Worthing that sealed the Isthmian League First Division Title for the Dragons and upon leaving the club he joined Royston Town. He worked in the Insurance industry and lived in Wimbledon prior to his death in 2010. We hope this article manages to jog a few memories and that Nigel Johnson finally has the “Pen Picture” his footballing talents deserved.
The above programme is from an excellent 1-0 victory at Kingstonian as the Dragons battled to avoid relegation from the Isthmian League Premier Division in 1992/93. The game was played at Kingsmeadow which went on to become AFC Wimbledon’s home prior to Chelsea Women’s Football Club taking up residence. The “K’s”, who were managed by Chris Kelly (known as the “Leatherhead Lip”), had suffered just 1 defeat in their previous 8 games and they twice hit the woodwork in the first half while Julian Hazel hit the underside of the bar for the Dragons. At half time our players returned to the dressing room to find most of their personal belongings had been stolen and emerged fired up to score the winner through Carl David. Richie Reynolds hit the inside of the post while Paul Fraser’s Man Of The Match centre forward hold up play rightfully drew praise from the home management and club officials.
Above; The outstanding Paul Fraser (left) who played on the night with badly blistered feet and match winner Carl David.
Wivenhoe’s line up on the night was; 1) Robert “Bomber” Long, 2) Carl David (Sub: Steve Howe), 3) Joff March, 4) Steve Wright, 5) Steve Dowman, 6) Keith Bain, 7) Lee Hunter, 8) Mitchell Springett, 9) Paul Fraser, 10) Julian Hazel (Sub: Richie Reynolds), 11) Phil Coleman. Attendance 345
The above news broke during the early part of the 1988/89 campaign. Looking back now it seems rather far fetched that such a player would even consider signing as “cover” for Wivenhoe Town !!. Jennings’ playing career began with Newry Town and spanned from 1961 to 1986 and included 52 appearances for Watford, 596 for Spurs (during which he scored one goal in the 1967 Charity Shield against Manchester United at Old Trafford, beating opposing keeper Alex Stepney with a “drop kick” from his own box) and 327 for Arsenal as well as gaining 119 International Caps for Northern Ireland. Pat played at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico and made his last competitive appearance on his 41st birthday in a 0-3 defeat against Brazil. Although he never actually played in a Dragons shirt it still makes for another amazing story in the history of our small North East Essex Club.
Pic: “Listen Dave, I’ve managed to find an understudy for you to mentor. Could you give him some goalkeeping tips ?. His name is Pat.” Geoff Bennett and First Team keeper Dave Gadsdon pictured at Broad Lane in 1988.
Colchester based model Jade visited Broad Lane for the last game of the 2001/02 Season and stayed for the awards night afterwards. One of the members of this site managed to get her autograph (and it wasn’t the old bloke!). Pictured with Jade are (left to right) Richie Meadows, Steve Smith, Paul Hayman, Danny Smith, Richard Sestak, Matt Carmichael, Sean Campbell, Scott Boyle, Andy Smith.
Team picture from the 1973/74 Wivenhoe Charity Cup Final. Rangers under coach Bobby Coppin (back row left in the photo) finished that season in 3rd place in the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division behind West End United and Champions Brantham Athletic.
The Wivenhoe Charity Cup would often attract decent attendances with the all the money raised going to a named charity. As far as we can work out the competition ran for over twenty years although it should be pointed out that Wivenhoe were not always the most “Senior” club of the four teams involved on any given year. Our records have the Rangers team that day to be Steve Dobbs, Peter Clubb, Mick Hatch, Leon Chapman, Don Castle, Bernie Milgate, John Herbert, Tony Pearman, Alan Byford (Sub: Trevor Hollingsworth), Terry Runicles, Dave Farrow.
This cutting is taken from “The Non League Paper” (8/4/12). It is always nice to know that others have such a high regard for our club that to lose to us is “the final straw” (although it’s not as drastic as Harwich & Parkeston’s reaction as they resigned from the league soon after a 0-2 defeat here at Broad Lane !!). TJ Amass (pictured below) scored the Dragons’ opener from a free kick while Ben Parkin sealed the 2-0 victory over Rovers in the 76th minute on Tuesday 27th March 2012.
Wivenhoe’s Line up on the night was: 1) Adam Wilding, 2) Ben Lampon, 3) Tola Odedoyin, 4) Tim Dennis, 5) Tom Cutts, 6) Ryan Brown, 7) Marley Spindler (Sub: Tom Moore), 8) Bryan Turner, 9) Ben Connell, 10) TJ Amass (Sub: Ben Parkin), 11) Liam Dadds (Sub: Ray Catchpole). Attendance 71 paying customers.
The above cutting was taken from the “Evening Gazette” after an Ipswich Town XI visited Broad Lane on Wednesday 7th May1997 for a Benefit Match for Ian Miller. Left Back Ian arrived in the summer of 1995 as a member of the club’s Under-16’s and made his Reserve Team debut at Billericay Town as a 15 year old. Whilst being a Second string regular he also featured in the Under-18’s that season before suffering a bad leg injury in a Reserve Pre Season game prior to the 1996/97 campaign. As he worked his way back to fitness Ian worked within Colchester United’s “Football in the community” programme as a coach and eventually progressed into Wivenhoe’s First Team during 1999/2000 to make 8 appearances.
Pic: Ian Miller in action during an F A Vase tie at Bury Town on 25/9/99 as Jimmy Clewley looks on.
For the record Wivenhoe won the game 6-3 with Julian Hazel scoring five goals and Lee Abrehart netting the other. Ipswich replied through ex Dragon Bobby Mayes (2) and Dale Roberts. The teams on the night were Wivenhoe: 1) Darren Gould, 2) Lee Abrehart, 3) Geoff Harrop (Sub: Sean Campbell), 4) Dan Daly (Sub: Steve Dowman) 5) Jason Clewley, 6) Kenny Vincent (Sub: Scott McKillop), 7) Steve Henson 8) Lee Neale (Sub: Ian Miller), 9) Alcides Fernandez (Sub: Glen Cowen), 10) Julian Hazel 11) Phil Coleman (Sub: Joff March).
Ipswich: 1) Kevin Beattie (Sub: Dave Williams), 2) Lee Hunter, 3) Dale Roberts, 4) Clive Woods, 5) Dale Brooks, 6) Brian Klug (Sub: Carl Weir), 7) Glyn Roberts, 8) John Wark, 9) Paul Goddard, 10) Glen Driver, 11) Bobby Mayes.
Wivenhoe Town in their change colours. Back row (left to right) Paul Chalmers, Stuart Bright, Neil Milburn, Gerry Warner, Keith Bain, Gary Higgleton, Neil Partner. Front row (Left to right) Ian Vandermark, Tony Ward, Bobby Duffett, Paul Harrison, Chris Dines, Nick Ferris.
Having finished Runners-Up to Champions Heybridge Swifts the previous season and losing a number of key players such as Paul Aldsworth and striker Freddie Clayden as well as Assistant Manager/Player Coach Dave Lamont, First team boss Geoff Bennett set about finding replacements over the summer break. In came experienced campaigners Bobby Duffett and Harwich & Parkeston captain Mick Clarke as well as former Dragons favourite Keith Bain following several months with Tiptree United. Also arriving was forward Nick Ferris who had previously had a spell on the youth books of Arsenal. To replace Lamont, Bennett recruited Ian Vandermark from Tiptree who would manage the team in his absence when he was unavailable due to business commitments. Off the field the club’s committee led by Chairman Vic Williamson and Vice Chairman Dave Whymark had continued to make ground improvements with the decision to install floodlights at Broad Lane. The last two towers at the far end featured light heads that rotated to allow night training on the back pitches.
Despite early season unavailability (which gave young defender Gary Higgleton the chance to step up from the reserves and establish himself as a First Team regular for the next six and a half years) Wivenhoe got off to a good start with away victories at Ford United (scorers Bain and Ferris) followed by a 1-0 derby day win at Brightlingsea United thanks to a goal from Geoff Bennett before August ended with a 0-2 defeat at Sawbridgeworth Town. An interesting point to note was that at this time league fixtures were arranged on a monthly basis, but were subject to alteration almost weekly !. It was this quirk that led to September beginning with successive league games against East Thurrock United on the 4th and 11th respectively. The Dragons secured a quick-fire “double” over “The Rocks”, 3-1 away thanks to a Paul Harrison brace added to a close range effort from Keith Bain and 2-1 at Broad Lane with Harrison again on target along with Paul Chalmers.
With a League Cup tie looming at table topping Bowers United Bennett pulled off something of a coup by signing 29 year old ex Colchester United skipper Steve Foley on the eve of the game. Having been released by the “U’s” at the end of the previous campaign he had just returned from a brief football venture in Finland and despite receiving offers from several top Non-League sides plus a 4th Division club, he decided to throw in his lot with the Dragons. “It’s a major scoop for the club” said a delighted Bennett at the time “Steve must rate as our best ever signing.” His debut did not go according to plan however as we lost 1-2 (Scorer Chalmers). Paul Harrison grabbed both goals as a disappointing 2-2 home draw with struggling East Ham United brought the month to a close.
Keith Bain’s close range effort gave Wivenhoe a narrow 1-0 victory at Canvey Island played in torrential rain on 2nd October to briefly put the Dragons top of the table while a Chalmers brace added to a Bobby Duffett strike saw a comfortable 3-0 win achieved at Watton United in the F.A Vase Preliminary Round. Unfortunately Bowers United soon took the wind out of Wivenhoe’s sails as, despite another two goals from Harrison, they slipped to a 2-3 home league defeat. Future Dragons Manager Frank Thompson brought his Clacton Town side to Broad Lane on Saturday 23rd October for an Essex Senior Trophy 2nd Round tie where Mick Clarke’s first goal for the club gave us a narrow 1-0 victory before Wivenhoe played their inaugural game under the new floodlights four days later in a 1-1 draw against Witham Town (scorer Harrison) in the Worthington Evans Cup. It was the same scoreline in the league fixture three days later (Clarke on target) as the month drew to a close.
Geoff Bennett scorer of a vital equalizer against Ford United
November began with a home F.A Vase 1st Round tie against Ford United on Saturday 6th and the visitors seemed to be heading through until a late thundering header from Bennett levelled the scores at 3-3 to force extra time and an eventual 5-3 win for the Dragons with Keith Bain, Stuart Bright, Paul Harrison and an own goal also beating the Ford keeper. Bain, Bright and Harrison were again on target to add to strikes from Clarke and Chris Dines as Eton Manor were dispatched 5-0 at Broad Lane. Ford returned for a league fixture on Saturday 27th to bring to an end a sequence of seven straight home matches and despite Paul Harrison netting his 11th goal of the season and Neil Milburn his first, it was only enough to secure a point as the visitors forced a 2-2 draw. As a point of interest the game was sponsored by the club’s new Patron Dave Watts (Managing Director of Wivenhoe Port) who continued to be associated with the Dragons throughout the next decade.
For their first away game in almost two months Wivenhoe travelled to Hemel Hempstead in the 2nd Round of the Vase with the higher ranked Isthmian League host seen as clear favourites to progress. As it turned out the game was an entertaining end to end affair where two goals from Bain added to a Clarke effort secured a 3-3 draw although afterwards Bennett said “The lads can do a lot better, they were only at half pace and if they had converted two good chances with the score at 2-1 a replay wouldn’t have been necessary.” His words turned out to be true as an outstanding second half performance blew the visitors away 3-0 thanks to a brace from Harrison and a header from Clarke.
A 0-1 home exit from the Essex Senior Trophy at the hands of Saffron Walden Town was followed by a 1-1 home draw (scorer Harrison) with second from bottom Brightlingsea United. It was at this point that the club decided to dispense with the services of Vandermark and, as a result, Bennett also resigned as First Team Manager. All this was on the eve of the New Year’s Day F.A Vase 3rd Round tie at Athenian League Grays Athletic. Steve Foley agreed to take over as caretaker Player/Manager and was actually appointed on the coach going to the aforementioned game !!. Despite this turmoil the Dragons produced an outstanding performance to stun their higher ranked opponents. After falling behind Paul Harrison superbly bent the ball around the wall to equalize before going on to score again in typical fashion by beating two defenders before blasting the ball past the keeper. A visit to Heybridge Swifts on 8th January saw another superb team effort secure a 1-1 draw against their high flying opponents with the 300 plus crowd witnessing a “Bainer Special” as he seized on a defensive error, raced down the left flank and unleashed a ferocious low drive from a very acute angle past the keeper.
Jimmy Minter
Barely 18 hours later the Dragons won 3-0 at Witham Town in the Worthington Evans Cup replay with new signing from Tiptree Jimmy Minter scoring on his debut along with Chris Dines and an own goal. Late goals from Bain and Duffett gave us a 2-0 home win over Coggeshall Town while a gruelling week came to an end with, perhaps not surprisingly, a 0-2 home loss to Canvey Island. After a week’s well deserved rest Wivenhoe again put in an excellent display at Broad Lane in front of a large crowd (and the confident reporters from Radio Orwell) to dispatch Eastern Counties League Stowmarket Town 4-1 in the F.A Vase 4th Round as goals from Bright, Dines, Clarke and Harrison put the Dragons into the last 16 of the competition for the first time in their history. Bright (2) and Harrison were again on target in an entertaining 3-3 draw at New Writtle Street against Chelmsford City Reserves.
February began with a 5-2 home victory over Brentwood (Harrison 2, Dines, Clarke and Bright) to progress in the Harry Fisher Memorial Trophy. The win was achieved without Keith Bain who was suspended and would also miss the big F.A Vase 5th Round tie at Athenian League Burnham the following Saturday. “It will be difficult but we have just got to go out and do a job of work as we did against Hemel and Grays” said Foley prior to the match. With many Non League games off around the country the referee passed the pitch fit to play despite some patches of snow. The Dragons gave it their all with Chris Dines scoring a glorious equalizer, evading four lunging defenders before smashing a looping shot into the top corner from 25 yards, but alas it was not enough to prevent a narrow 1-2 defeat. The end of the Vase run certainly seemed to have an adverse effect on the club as, despite games in hand and only having suffered 3 league defeats at this point, Wivenhoe’s fortunes took a dive following the Cup exit. A 2-3 home defeat to Sawbridgeworth Town (scorers Dines and Harrison) and a dismal 0-0 draw at bottom of the table East Ham United saw Foley depart and club Secretary Eddie Goldsmith stepped into the Manager’s role for the remainder of the season.
Big Eddie Goldsmith
Goalkeeper Gerry Warner departed and was replaced by Reserves stopper Russell Milburn while the influential Neil Partner sustained a broken leg whilst playing Sunday League football for Cherry Tree. Striker Paul Chalmers also elected to leave to join Coggeshall . There were some positive results as March began with a 3-1 victory at Eton Manor (scorers Harrison, Bain and Neil Milburn) and ended with a 3-2 home success against Brentwood (Minter, Dines, Duffett) but in between came a 0-3 home exit from the Harry Fisher Memorial Trophy at the Semi Final stage at the hands of Stansted and a 2-3 loss at lowly Coggeshall Town despite establishing a two goal lead through Harrison and Bain.
April opened with a crushing 0-4 Bank Holiday defeat at home to Chelmsford City Reserves before a Steve Sharman goal rescued a 1-1 draw with visiting Maldon Town. He netted a brace seven days later as table topping Halstead Town came to Broad Lane but it all ended in tears (and a 2-3 defeat) as the behaviour of the spectators towards the match officials resulted in Wivenhoe being “Severely cautioned” as to it’s future conduct. Indeed, the lack of discipline both on and off the pitch caused club Press Officer Nick Andrews to comment “For some inexplicable reason over the last few weeks, and I stress ‘the last few weeks’, Wivenhoe Town have taken to the pitch with all the gay abandon of a Sunday morning kick-about. This culminated in last Saturday’s disgraceful performance against Halstead. For the second time this season we have thrown away a game we could have won because of our inability to control our emotions. Wivenhoe Town F.C used to be considered one of the friendliest clubs in the Essex Senior League and I appeal to everyone concerned to please try and use restraint in the future.” In a much calmer atmosphere the Dragons defeated Sudbury Wanderers 3-1 in the Worthington Evans Cup on Monday 11th thanks to two own goals and a Stuart Bright penalty under the Broad Lane lights while two days later Bright again hit the target along with Harrison to dispatch 3rd placed visitors Stansted 2-1 and bring to an end a run of six successive home games. ESL fixture scheduling saw the return game played just 3 days later (lost 0-1) while the month ended with a patched-up Dragons side, with many players less than fit, battling out a 0-0 draw at Brentwood.
Those games marked the beginning of eight consecutive away matches. May opened with a 0-1 defeat at Halstead Town on the 2nd before we went to Layer Road to face Colchester United in the Semi Final of the Worthington Evans Cup. The “U’s” put out a strong line up and raced into a 4 goal lead inside 10 minutes !. From the programme reproduced below it is interesting to note that if Wivenhoe had somehow drawn the match instead of crashing to a 0-6 defeat then they would have had to play three nights in a row as we also suffered a 0-5 loss at Witham Town 24 hours later !!.
Col Utd team sheet
A Paul Harrison strike on the 14th saw the Dragons record an excellent 1-0 victory at Bowers United before he bagged a hat trick in a 4-2 win at Maldon Town (Dines netting the other goal). The last chance of silverware went up in smoke with a 2-5 defeat at Brantham Athletic in the Brantham Charity Cup Final (scorers Harrison and Sharman) before the season came to a close on Wednesday 25th May with a crushing 0-4 home defeat at the hands of League Champions Heybridge Swifts. So, there you have it, a season dominated by a fantastic run to the last 16 of a national Non League competition offset by an Essex Senior League campaign that showed so much early promise to begin with but, ultimately, fizzled out.
While watching an old TV re-run of “The Big Match” the main game featured was Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion from 31st December 1978. A highly entertaining game on a mess of a pitch featured future Wivenhoe Town keeper Tony Godden between the posts for the “Baggies” in their 5-3 victory at Old Trafford.
Tony began his career with his home town club Gillingham but was released at the age of 18 and dropped down to join Southern League Southern Division side Ashford Town in 1973. It was from here that West Brom signed him in August 1975 for a £2,000 fee and he progressed to make his Football League First Division debut against Tottenham Hotspur in March 1977 following a loan spell with Preston North End. Eventually he replaced John Osbourne as regular first choice keeper and featured in WBA’s run to the Semi Finals of the F.A Cup in 1977/78 and at one point went over three seasons without missing a First Team game.
He remained at the Hawthorns until 1986 when he moved to Chelsea for a season before a £35,000 fee took him to Birmingham City in July 1987. He stayed at City for two years before his Football League career came to an end with over 400 appearances to his credit after being released following a spell with Peterborough United. Geoff Bennett brought him to Broad Lane in the summer of 1990 as the club embarked on its initial season in the Isthmian League Premier Division (which at the time was the 2nd tier of the Non League game). Speaking of his new signing Bennett said “He oozes professionalism and it’s the best thing I have ever done.” Tony made his debut for the Dragons on Saturday 18th August 1990 in a 3-0 home win over Staines Town and went on to make 42 First Team appearances during which he kept 11 clean sheets. He featured in a fine F.A Trophy run which saw Wivenhoe reach the 3rd Round stage before losing 0-3 to neighbours Colchester United. His last appearance in a Dragons shirt came on Monday 4th March 1991 in a 0-3 Essex Senior Cup Semi Final defeat against Leyton Orient (who featured Chris Bart-Williams in their line up) before being released.
After turning down Chris Symes’ approach to join Southern League Bury Town, Tony turned out for Ipswich Town Reserves in a game played on Luton Town’s artificial surface prior to Ian Atkins signing him for Colchester United as goalkeeping cover for the remainder of the “U’s” Conference League campaign. Briefly with Torquay United he then enjoyed spells at various East Anglian clubs both as a Manager and Goalkeeping Coach over the next decade or so while also going as far afield as Derby County and Brighton & Hove Albion in his coaching capacity. However to football fans of a certain vintage it will be as one of the best young keepers of his generation that he will always be remembered. Latterly, away from football, Tony also worked in the prison service.
Now days the sports news is full of top Managers and players complaining about the number of games they have to play. Those of us who witnessed the run-in to the end of the 2000/01 campaign can afford a wry smile as we remember the insane schedule imposed upon many Isthmian League clubs due to the wettest winter seen for many a year and the failure to extend the season by a week. Below the “Evening Gazette” previews a Division Two promotion clash on 24/4/01 with the visitors trying to fit in 10 games in 13 days !!!. For their part Wivenhoe had to cram in 17 League fixtures into 32 days.
With a small injury hit squad and no recognised goalkeeper available the Dragons team on the night recorded an excellent 1-0 victory as reported in the “Evening Gazette” (below). Line-Up: 1) Andy Partner, 2) Danny Roberts, 3) Robbie May, 4) Kevin Hughes, 5) Gary Hudson, 6) Lewis Baillie, 7) Steve Henson, 8) Scott McInnes, 9) Alan Day, 10) Johnnie Kemp, 11) Lee Abrehart (Sub: Andy Smith). No other substitutes were available. Attendance 128
It may not come as a surprise to learn that both teams failed in their quest to gain promotion (the Dragons missing out by two points) and Berkhamsted were beaten in the Final of the F.A. Vase, although I am sure the League Management Committee enjoyed their day out to watch their shattered member club lose !.
Having won the Eastern Junior Alliance Central League Title the previous season Manager Martin Toole strengthened his squad during the summer as well as bringing in Ken Ballard as his assistant from Brantham Athletic. With just three friendlies having been played the new campaign went straight into the F.A Youth Cup competition with March Town visiting Broad Lane on Sunday 3rd September. The young Dragons destroyed their opponents on the day 10-0 with Durant netting five goals, Swash grabbing a hat-trick and Edwards and Kinrade completing the rout.
The following Sunday saw the next Round played as we travelled to take on Bishops Stortford, who had knocked Wivenhoe out of the competition the previous season. A good team performance saw the Dragons gain revenge and triumph 5-2 on this occasion with Kinrade (2), Munro, Swash and an own goal securing progress. Stevenage Borough provided the next hurdle under the Broad Lane floodlights on Wednesday 4th October. Having enjoyed considerable success in the Southern Counties Youth League Boro were no push overs by any means and 78 spectators saw a hard fought game as Wivenhoe eventually secured a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Munro and Durant.
This was now the club’s best ever run in the National Youth Cup competition and we now faced Hitchin Town at home in the final Qualifying Round. Over 100 fans turned up on Wednesday 18th October to witness a highly entertaining tie. All the goals came in the second half with Kinrade and Gilbert on target for the Dragons with 87 minutes gone on the clock and the scores locked at 2-2. Just when it seemed the sides were heading for a Replay substitute Tebbutt converted a left wing cross to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win and set up a home tie with Northampton Town in the 1st Round Proper.
The lad’s superb run eventually came to an end on Monday 13th November 1995 in front of a 200 plus crowd and below are pre match build up and match report cuttings, as well as the programme.
Despite this disappointment the Under-18’s went on to retain their League Title and also managed to reach the Semi Final of the Eastern Junior Cup (see report below).
Jimmy King is best remembered as a member of the Wivenhoe Town side that enjoyed a highly successful period from 1988 to 1991. Operating on the left wing, although not blessed with outright pace, he was certainly a talented and skilful ball player who caused defenders all sorts of problems. At his best he kind of reminded me of a non-league John Robertson a fellow Scotsman who, under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, could make space for a cross or shot with a step over, drop of the shoulder or an outrageous piece of skill. Jimmy gained Scottish Schoolboy International honours before attracting the attention of Ipswich Town who were renowned at the time for tapping into the rich pool of talent North of the border. First Team Manager Bobby Robson certainly rated him highly as Jimmy captained the Youth Team. “When Bobby Robson nominated me as the player for the future it meant a lot to me at the time. I was in the First Team squad at 18 and had he stayed at the club I feel I would still be playing in the First Team today” recalled King speaking in 1990. “When Sunderland offered Bobby the chance to go there as Manager he said he would take me as well”. Unfortunately for Jimmy that never materialised as Robson eventually left to take over the England Manager’s job.
Sir Bobby Robson who rated the young King.
King remained at Ipswich where he continued to play for the Reserves for three more seasons before he was given the unwanted news that he was being released, thus bringing to an end of a five and a half year spell at Portman Road. “I decided to go back home to Scotland. I had had enough of football by then because I didn’t get a chance at Ipswich under Bobby Ferguson”. Disillusioned, Jimmy actually packed the game in for six months before eventually returning to play locally at Semi Professional level in the Scottish Junior Leagues “Where I got kicked black and blue”. After three years he was made redundant from his job and elected to move back to East Anglia where he knew he would be able to find work more easily.
Jason Burman looks on as Jimmy King raids into the Heybridge Swifts half during a 1-0 Dragons win on 4/4/88.
Joining Harwich & Parkeston of the Eastern Counties League in the summer of 1987 he made an immediate impact by scoring twice in a pre season friendly against the Dragons before turning in two more impressive performances in the Essex Senior Trophy during which he caused our defence all sorts of problems. Wivenhoe Manager Geoff Bennett was clearly of the same opinion as Bobby Robson as he made King his number one target. “He came in and sold Wivenhoe to me” Jimmy said at the time and he made his Dragons’ debut against his former club in a 3-2 Knight Floodlight League victory on 4/2/88. King hit the ground running and even netted 3 goals in the space of 4 appearances however it was as a supplier to others (initially Paul Harrison and Keith Pope and then Steve Clark, Martin Gittings and Phil Coleman) that he was to excel.
Paul Harrison looks on as King (right) scores with a rare header in a 5-0 home win over Hertford Town on 20/2/88).
The Dragons won the Isthmian League Division Two North Championship and news that the former potential Ipswich starlet was beginning to make waves again soon had the scouts tracking his progress. A 5-0 pre season friendly victory over Northampton Town saw the ‘Cobblers’ offer him a chance to return to the Professional game however he turned them down as “Their long ball style would not have suited my game”. Northampton’s loss was Wivenhoe’s gain as Jimmy eventually went on to help the club win the Isthmian League First Division Championship and gain promotion to the Premier Division which, at that period in time, was the next step down under the National Conference League.
Northampton defenders double up on King during a pre season game at Broad Lane.
It was during the run in to the 1989/90 Title success the Jimmy scored perhaps the best of his 14 goals for the Dragons netting the winner in a narrow 1-0 home victory over Hitchin Town. Receiving Phil Coleman’s long through ball out on the left, he cut inside the full back and avoided two lunging tackles before hitting a glorious dipping shot into the roof of the net with the keeper standing just off his line. Although suffering his fair share of injuries he still made 175 First Team appearances for us (plus an additional 13 friendly outings during which he scored another 2 goals), his last coming in a 0-1 defeat at St Albans City on 4/5/91. In the summer of 1991, as the Dragons hit a financial crisis, St Albans established themselves as one of the Division’s big spenders and no less than five Wivenhoe players, including Jimmy, made the move to the ‘Saints’. Now 29 years old King’s return to the Professional game was never to materialise and he went on to make over 100 appearances for St Albans before ending his career more locally, including a spell with Stanway Rovers.
“Keep your eyes on the ball mate”. Jimmy about to beat a Boreham Wood defender.
Having suffered a second successive relegation the Dragons found themselves competing in the Isthmian League 2nd Division and as a result returned to the F.A. Vase competition after seven years in the F.A.Trophy. Player/manager Steve Dowman had been able to strengthen his squad and the club had made a promising start to the new league campaign.
Having dropped from a higher level we received a “bye” in the 1st Round of the competition and were then drawn away to Eastern Counties League Premier Division side Wisbech Town on Saturday 18th November 1995. Dowman’s observation that “It’s not the easiest of draws is it?” was perhaps something of an understatement. The “Fenmen” had enjoyed a magnificent F.A Cup run defeating Tring Town, Boston, Eynesbury, Sudbury Town and Billericay Town on their way to the 1st Round proper where they had finally bowed out at Kingstonian seven days prior to our visit. Attracting decent sized crowds at the time, we were told that the atmosphere could be “a little hostile” which once again turned out to be an understatement as the cutting below from the “Evening Gazette” reveals.
What was not mentioned in the report was the fact that the referee had to stop the game for over five minutes while an appeal went out over the tannoy for the idiots amongst the home support to “Please stop pelting the visitors with missiles” (our goalkeeper Lloyd Pentney probably had enough coins thrown at him to buy a round in the bar afterwards !) and only the threat to call the police by their club officials allowed the game to eventually continue. The locals’ upset was down to our team’s excellent second half performance beginning with a 48th minute equalizer when Steve Howe headed on Steve Henson’s corner for Johnnie Kemp to fire home at the far post. 4 minutes later Justin Booty’s header was turned onto the bar by the keeper but Henson was on hand to follow up and score. The tie was all but secured in the 82nd minute when David Gray made his way down the right before crossing to Kemp who held the ball up and laid it off perfectly for the arriving Andy McDonald to shoot past the helpless keeper. The home side pulled a late goal back but it was only a consolation as our lads saw out the closing moments. The 40 or so Dragons fans sang and made enough noise throughout to further upset the home fans and there were fantastic scenes at the final whistle as the players celebrated victory with us before having to run the gauntlet to get off the pitch as the local idiots gathered by the dressing rooms. This game is still amongst my all time favourite Wivenhoe matches because both the players and the supporters endured 90 hostile minutes and emerged victorious on and off the field. The fact that the home clubhouse (minus a fuse !!) was left in total darkness as our coach pulled out of the car park just added to the feeling of satisfaction. Below is a related page from our fanzine “Look For Floodlight” and the match day programme.
The Dragons’ reward was a home tie against fellow Division Two outfit Edgware Town. The Middlesex club had been defeated 3-2 on their previous visit and Dowman warned “They gave us a tough time when we played them earlier in the season. It’s a big game and we know they are confident about winning.” With both Joff March and Scott McKillop suspended for the tie and Lee Neale injured the game was scheduled for Saturday 9th December however, despite our best efforts, it was postponed due to snow.
Three days later the game finally went ahead with the added boost that Julian Hazel was fit enough to start up front following injury and he had the desired impact on the match as the report from the “Gazette” below shows.
“The feeling in the dressing room is just fantastic” Hazel said afterwards. “We have a great bunch of lads and I love being here. It’s not just about playing, but the whole set up..” The successful line up on the night was; Lloyd Pentney, Steve Howe, James Todd, Gary Hudson, Paul Griffiths, Steve Dowman, Steve Henson, David Gray, Andy McDonald, Johnnie Kemp, Julian Hazel. Non-playing subs; Nicky Lee, Justin Booty, Michael Munro. Attendance 113.
The 4th Round saw an Essex derby against Aveley at Broad Lane on Saturday 13th January 1996. Although mid table in the Third Division the “Millers” carried a threat having previously secured local bragging rights with a 4-2 win at Tilbury from the 2nd tier. As it was the Dragons justified their tag as favourites in a game which saw the visitors employ niggling spoiling tactics resulting in a bad tempered encounter and it was with some satisfaction that Aveley were swept aside 4-0. Out team was; Lloyd Pentney, Steve Howe, Joff March, Paul Griffiths, Gary Hudson, Scott McKillop Steve Henson, Lee Neale, Andy McDonald, Johnnie Kemp, Julian Hazel. Non-playing subs; Justin Booty, James Todd, David Gray.
“I couldn’t believe how much the referee let them get away with. Scott McKillop was kicked all over the place.” Dowman said afterwards before adding “I would just like a home tie again.” As you can read in the report from the “Green’Un” below our boss got his wish.
Mangotsfield United emerged victorious from their all Western League Premier Division clash to set up a 5th Round meeting with Wivenhoe on Saturday 3rd February 1996. With Dowman revealing “We don’t know a lot about them” and, up until the day of kick off, we still didn’t as our attempts to have the opposition watched were frustrated by the weather while our Bristol based opponents were able to scout us on all four occasions since the draw had been made. “Wembley Fever” started in the local press as soon as the tie was announced and continued throughout January which unfortunately seemed to affect our form and produce less than convincing performances in the league just as we were well placed in the promotion race. I can fully understand the Cup tie being on the players’ minds as the only discussion in the Horse & Groom on the Friday night was how our nerves were jangling at the thought of the game. Mind you, we didn’t feel as worried after about eight pints !!. The following pre match article appeared in the “East Anglian Daily Times” on the morning of the game and the stage was set.
To be honest the occasion failed to live up to expectation for the opening 90 minutes for the 543 spectators gathered at Broad Lane as both sides cancelled each other out, although I remember a couple of drunken fools (who we had not seen before or since) ruining the atmosphere behind the goal as a scuffle broke out with the “SOBS” before they were evicted. Then, out of nowhere, the game exploded into an emotional rollercoaster ride beginning with Paul Griffiths being sent off in injury time. The wind was further taken out of our sails as the visitors took the lead 8 minutes into extra time and we all thought we were out. Within 90 seconds Mangotsfield had a player dismissed as well and suddenly they were reeling. We all knew this was our big chance as the ‘Hoe players went for it. In the 113th minute Andy McDonald’s superb 50 yard pass found Steve Howe coming in unmarked at the far side of the box and he volleyed over the keeper into the corner of the net to equalize. Elation turned to ecstasy in the 118th minute as Mark Hewitson played the ball from a throw in to McDonald whose cross to Johnnie Kemp caused panic in the visitors’ defence and David Gray was able to stab home from 6 yards. With just 2 minutes left surely we were in the Quarter Finals. As watches were nervously checked the referee played on…and on…and on, somehow managing to conjure up 5 minutes of added on time (normally the amount expected at the end of 45 minutes in those days) from just 15 minutes play before awarding Mangotsfield one last free kick just inside our half. “Don’t worry” said Tim “they won’t score from this” and then watched in silent horror with the rest of us as the high cross into our area saw Lloyd Pentney seemingly get a fist on it only for the ball to rebound off the challenging bodies and bounce into the net. Cue wild celebration from the visiting fans and, of course you’ve guessed it, cue the ref blowing the full time whistle as soon as we kicked off. To say we were gutted not only as fans but as a club as a whole is an understatement and I suspect Howe and Gray felt even more aggrieved on the Monday morning as the “East Anglian” credited both goals to Lee Neale and even included an action photo with “Two goal hero” underneath so we’ve included a back page article from the “Gazette” instead !.
The team that came so near was; Lloyd Pentney, Steve Howe, Joff March, Gary Hudson, Paul Griffiths, Tony Mercer, Steve Henson (Sub; Mark Hewitson), Lee Neale, Andy McDonald, Johnnie Kemp, Justin Booty (Sub; David Gray), Non-playing Sub; Steve Lowe.
The replay was postponed and eventually took place on Wednesday 14th February 1996. Having just started a new job I was unable to get time off and therefore missed the trip but score updates on BBC Essex and a phone call at 90 minutes relayed the disappointing news of our defeat to me. Our line up on the night was; Lloyd Pentney, Steve Howe, Joff March, Gary Hudson, Paul Griffiths, James Todd (Sub; Justin Booty), Scott McKillop (Sub; Steve Henson), Lee Neale, Tony Mercer (Sub; Andy McDonald), Johnnie Kemp, Julian Hazel. Attendance 446
So, that was it, just seconds from glory but in the end we were only able to equal our previous best run in the competition back in 1982/83. Here are the thoughts of two fans who did make it to the replay…………………………
Clive Paveley; “Okay so it was ‘gutting’ to go out after getting so far and coming so close in the original tie but it must be said that they did deserve their win second time around even without the blatant penalty missed by the referee that could have got us back to 2-1 during our best spell of the game. The support our lads got was first class and was certainly noted by the opposition supporters who were certainly amongst the most pleasant you could wish to meet.”
Mark Anderson; “It took me a long time to get over my disappointment at our Vase exit. Infact, there were two distinct feelings of disappointment. The first, after the draw at Broad Lane, was the more intense, as the realisation kept popping into my mind for days afterwards that were just FIVE SECONDS away from a place in the Quarter Finals. Then after the long wait for the Replay, the journey and the build up of anticipation, the disappointment from the second game was just one of deflation from which it took a long time to recover,”
Mangotsfield made it to the Semi Finals where they beat Clitheroe 1-0 in the 1st Leg and several of us planned to go and support them if they made it to Wembley. Sadly they didn’t as they were defeated 2-0 in the 2nd Leg, the winning goal coming in Extra Time with just 5 minutes remaining although, as we Dragons fans know, 5 minutes on a referee’s watch can be a hell of a long time !!.
Report of Wivenhoe Rangers’ Amos Charity Cup victory on Saturday 4th October 1969. The Club got to the semi-finals of the competition that season as well as winning the Colchester and East Essex League Division One Title.
Rangers team 1) Adrian Robbins 2) Mick Hatch 3) Dave Garrity 4) Leon Chapman 5) Peter Boyden 6) Alan Barrell 7) John Noah 8) John Macleanan 9) Harry Welsh 10) Tony Winter 11) Peter Downes Sub: Chaney
This cutting is taken from the 1977/78 season Wivenhoe’s first team were in the Essex and Suffolk Border League Premier Division while the Reserves competed in Division 2. All four players picture continued to play for the Club as it progressed up into Senior football in 1979 with Keith Bain (first) and Neil Milburn (third) being amongst the Dragons’ all time first team makers.
November 2024 saw the sad passing of Mike Boyle and John Everitt. Long standing fans will fondly remember both as regulars who contributed a lot of time and effort to Wivenhoe Town F.C. Having watched the Dragons from the sidelines, Mike came forward to take over as programme editor in November 1991 and remained in that post until the summer of 1996. Once you start, the club has a habit of drawing you deeper in and so it was with “Boyley” as he replaced Ron Bennett as Club/ Match Day Secretary in 1994. His wife Julia and daughters Kirsty, Kelly and Katrina (who all grew up with the club) also all became involved as did his mum Janet.
Mike would turn up to league management meetings and AGM’s resplendent in Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse ties. Whether or not it was his comment towards the Leagues hierarchy is open to conjecture! He was the driving force behind the successful annual supporters five-a-side competition that would see teams from as far a field as Shrewsbury and Nuneaton enter. Mike was also a regular in our own supporters club team although he was on substituted for a large plastic dustbin on one occasion (which he took with his usual good humour).
“Boyley” too over the programme again in 2005 before eventually becoming chairman in the summer of 2007, before stepping down in March 2009 to end a near 17 and a half year association with the Club.
John Everitt was also a popular face at Broad Lane who on occasion also put physical wellbeing on the line to play for the supporters side, earning the nickname “The Cat”, though we were never sure whether it was due to his goalkeeping prowess or the fact he had white whiskers!!. John began by bringing his son Mark up to games and gradually joined up with “The Sad Old Bastards Society” (SOBS) and became a regular both home and away. Working for Rose Builders he lent his services as and when required and supported/ helped out at all fund raising events (and several boozing sessions). He also worked on the pitch and I remember being particularly impressed on one occasion with him staying out to cut the grass in artic conditions while the rest of us went for a cuppa in the clubhouse. It was only when my brother pointed out that he was going around in circles that we realised it wasn’t in fact his determination that had kept him out there, rather it was the “wind chill factor” that had actually frozen him to the wheel of the tractor!
He saved the Club countless hundreds of pounds with his chippie jobs around the ground over the years before eventually moving out of the area for a period which put paid to his association with the Dragons.
Both John and Mike will always be part of the story of this Football Club and their contributions and friendship has not been forgotten by those of us who were around in that era.
Rest in peace guys, you’ll be fondly remembered and thoroughly missed.
Above is a picture of how the Clubhouse bar looked back in the 90’s. Below an up and coming gig advertised in the “Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea Chronicle” from 2006. Away from football Wivenhoe’s clubhouse was popular as a live music venue for a period showcasing local acts as well as occasionally those from further afield. Styles ranged right across the musical spectrum from Folk, Punk, R & B, SKA, Rock n’ Roll etc. I can remember five of us having to work the bar to cope with one crazy night when Rockabilly artist Lloyd Tripp paid a visit from America.
Below are a couple of albums by the artists mentioned above plus posters advertising gigs at the Broad Lane clubhouse.
To all Dragons fans the 2009/10 campaign was the most traumatic the club has had to endure (although older supporters will argue that 1993/94 ran it pretty damn close) as off the field battles were reflected by an against the odds struggle on the pitch that saw Wivenhoe fielding the youngest and most inexperienced team ever to put on a Dragons shirt. When Mo Osman took over the First Team he saw eleven players leave the club in his first week leading up to the home FA Vase tie against Potton United. The team he managed to put together recorded a superb 2-1 victory and included for the first time the name of Tom Cutts as a non playing substitute.
Having played youth football for the likes of Colchester Villa Colts and Captaining our Under 18’s side central defender Tom was gradually eased into the First Team squad and eventually made his senior debut on 24th February 2010 in a 0-6 defeat away to Woodbridge Town. He immediately impressed the “SOBS” as he did not seemed phased by the step up into Eastern Counties League Premier Division football and looked comfortable with the ball at his feet drawing comparisons with Kevin Hughes when he first appeared several years earlier. Tom only missed two of the remaining 15 games of the season and scored his first goal for the club at Wisbech Town on 13/3/10.
His calm assured performances saw Mo eventually make him First Team Captain during the course of the 2010/11 campaign and his popularity soared when he netted against local rivals Stanway Rovers to secure an away point on 9/2/11 before hitting “terrace hero” status with a goal against FC Clacton the following season. Tom missed only three games during 2011/12 as he continued to captain the side while his personality made him popular with the supporters off the pitch (even though his dad always seemed to win the “Golden Goal” !!).
Having also played for the Essex University team Tom reached a landmark by making his 100th First Team appearance on 18th September 2012, with only two of those being as a playing substitute. Not surprisingly his impressive performances had been noted by a number of local clubs and it was only a matter of time before someone came in for him. In the end it was AFC Sudbury that signed him and he stepped up into the Isthmian League Division One (North) having made a total of 112 appearances for the Dragons during which time he scored six goals. Tom made 26 appearances for the Suffolk outfit as well as having a five game loan spell with Diss Town in 2013/14. He eventually relocated away from Essex and linked up with Southern League Central Division side Aylesbury United prior to returning to this area and joining Brantham Athletic. Tom always gave his all in a Wivenhoe Town shirt and is a testament to the faith this club has put into its youth set up.
