Match Preview

Next up - Bowers & Pitsea home on Saturday, 19th November at Wodson Park, SG12 0UQ, Ryman Isthmian League Division One (North). Kick off 3pm.

Is this a new club for us to play or an old one repackaged? One source merely says that Bowers United changed their name to Bowers & Pitsea in 2004 whilst Wikipedia tells us that United absorbed Pitsea FC that year. For the sake of an easy life I'm going to say that despite the name change this is the same club we met twice before as Bowers United, both times in the FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round and both times at home.

The consistent nature of these meetings comes unstuck at this point because the first of them was back on 30th September 1995, one of the last at our old Buryfield ground whilst the other was at Wodson Park on 21st September 2002. We won the first of those easily enough by 3-0 and went on to the 2nd Round proper before losing 5-2 at Hampton where a certain Glen Alzapiedi was sent off for elbowing an opponent.

The second meeting was less straight forward and we needed extra time to win through before eventually reaching the 4th Round in which we lost 1-0 at home to Clitheroe from Lancashire.

Since then Bowers have had their own success in the Vase and last year, concurrent with winning the Essex Senior League, made it to the Semi-final where they lost 4-3 over two legs to eventual winners Morpeth of Northumberland.

The important thing however was their Essex Senior League championship as that is what has brought them into the Ryman. They looked to be continuing their league championship form when they won their first three games in Division One (North) but it wasn't all plain sailing. In the midst of that run of league wins they lost a home FA Cup replay to Waltham Abbey and later in the FA Trophy they got through the Preliminary Round with a 2-1 win at Thurrock before being hammered 4-0 in the next round at AFC Sudbury.

They seem to have a hex on Thurrock at the moment because their last fixture was a 2-0 home win over the Fleet in the league which lifted them to11th in the table, four points and six places above Ware following our midweek defeat to Heybridge Swifts.

The programme for this game (£1.50 on the gate) will contain the usual items including Tractor Tales (what went wrong on Tuesday night), notes on the visiting club and players, Past Programmes (a Manchester United Supporters Club game from 1964) and Travellers Tales.

Our record against Bowers & Pitsea:-