Sponsorship Grant Confirmed Suffolk Charter
Horsford United 2, Bungay Town 2
THE Black Dogs snatched a late equaliser at Horsford on Saturday to extend their unbeaten run to six games.
They again showed their resilience in a game in which they led thanks to a fine goal but went behind as the home side dominated for periods before and after the interval, before coming back strongly in the final 10 minutes of this Anglian Combination division one encounter and almost snatching a win.
Fielding an unchanged side, Bungay went close early on as Neil Renaut landed a lob on the roof of the net with the homes keeper struggling to regain his ground. Horsford should have scored immediately as a forward broke clear but he rolled his effort wide of the far post as Ian Barber advanced.
The Black Dogs took the lead in the 15th minute with a splendid goal as Craig Hunting broke from defence and found Paul Bullen, whose pass sent Ainsley Baynes down the right and his first time cross saw Shane Ward coming to the near post to glance a header across the keeper.
The home side dominated for the rest of the half and struck the bar with one shot, with a forward only able to turn the lose ball into the side netting. They forced a series of corners, one when Barber made a great point blank save to keeper out a shot, and he had to react quickly to turn another effort round the post. When Bungay relieved the pressure Baynes test the keeper with a long range effort and Ward was just beaten to a through ball by the keeper.
The threatened equaliser came four minutes before half-time as Sean Whiteman, attempted to relieve blasted the ball into his own net in attempting to clear a cross. Fifteen minutes into the second half the home side went ahead, Scott McKinney sweeping the ball home from six yards after a good build-up down the right. Later a volley just cleared the bar. But after Steve Batt has replaced Hadyn Knights Bungay came more into the game and stretched the home defence. With seven minutes left they equalised as Baynes won the ball from his full-back wide on the left and swung in a cross which Bullen seemed to get just a touch on as the ball crept inside the far post. Dan Lowe just failed to get on the end of a Bullen free-kick, and in the 89th minute Batts cross was headed against a post by Bullen, with Baynes agonisingly close to turning the loose ball home before it was hacked out for a corner.
Swanton 3-3 Bungay Town Ladies
Bungay put together a strong performance to come back from 1-3 down at half time to draw 3-3 away in Lowestoft to second place Swanton. With the strong wind in their favour Swanton soon put Bungay under early pressure and took the lead when a forward poached a goal from close range. Bungay were catching Swanton with quick breaks with Jo Oakley working hard up front and she set up an equaliser when she laid the ball back to Lauren Purling to scored with an excellent shot from outside the area. Swanton continued to push forward and they quickly took the lead again when a cross from their right winger was turned home by an incoming forward, they soon extended this from a left wing corner which swung in with the wind and sailed over the Bungay keeper to cross the line despite the best efforts of Jenny Head to keep it out. As the first half continued Bungay began to come to terms with the wind and uneven pitch and kept Swanton well away from goal and were still causing problems for Swanton with Jo Oakley and Lauren Purling again going close. With the wind in the second half Bungay's midfield became more of an attacking force as they tried to pull back the deficit, and after Oakley was put though it looked like she had scored as she unleashed a powerful drive but the Swanton keeper stopped with a superb save, but when again she tried with another power drive the keeper saved again but could not prevent the ball crossing the line. Bungay pushed for an equaliser but were finding the Swanton team hard to break down, Jo Oakley went close again and when Emily Leach headed wide it looked like Bungays efforts would be in vain, but with minutes to go Leach was put through and she drove home from the edge of the are. There was still time for Swanton to give Bungay a scare as a forward went though but Bungay's keeper Ashley was up to the task as she pushed the shot round the post to give Bungay a well deserved point. Special mention to the whole of the back four who worked hard to cover any gaps, and especially Jo Oakley who works so hard up front and its pleasing to see how she is improving each week.
Sportsmen and women in Bungay are celebrating a great Christmas present - the confirmation of a grant of nearly £50,000 to enable the latest development plans at the Maltings Meadow sports ground to go ahead.
News that the latest application had been successful came on Christmas Eve and means the Bungay and District Sports Association can install an outdoor gymnasium, to further enhance the impressive facilities at the Ditchingham venue. The project has been ongoing since December 2008 when the association achieved Stage 1 approval for the £49,000 grant from the Community Spaces Fund. Now the final approval means that this grant will provide a floodlit hard surface track that could be used for jogging, cycling, roller skating or similar activities, linked to a small outdoor exercise area utilising modern equipment aimed at boosting cardiovascular performance. The scheme has been designed with the help of the Godric Cycling Club and the Black Dog Running Club, in conjunction with the existing sports clubs that are currently represented on the sports association management committee.
Bungay and District Sports Association chairman Jon Fuller said: There were definitely times when we did not think it would all come together, but with the support of the local community, garnered at the Bungay Visioning Day held earlier in the year, and the persistence of the B&DSA committee, it means next spring and early summer will see yet more development work start at the Maltings Meadow sports ground. He said simply creating a new football club with modern facilities was never the intention.
A financially viable sports facility needed to be multi-use if it was to grow and develop, and needed to be used continuously in summer and winter, whether the sun was shining or the rain hammering down on the grass.
The Maltings Meadow Sports Club was reinvigorated in March 2006 when Bungay's tennis, cricket and football clubs joined forces to start the development. The new project will bring runners, cyclists and all the healthy living enthusiasts into the sporting hub and help to make Bungay, Ditchingham and the surrounding villages the envy of other local sports people.
The project involves the creation of a hard surface tarmac track around the main football pitch with additional floodlighting attached to the existing columns. It includes the installation of cycle racks near the sports club to encourage a reduction on the dependency on the car for access, and in addition four pieces of modern exercise equipment, specially built for outdoor use, will be strategically placed close to the existing multi-use games area.
The intention is that the activity track and exercise area will be available free to use for much of the day, but with a booking system in place for the busy evening periods. Mr Fuller added: We have realised over the past two years that participation or spectacle is what brings people down to visit our sports club. We are hopeful that this new project will allow activity to take place even if it is too wet to play cricket, tennis or football. Since the BDSA was established to redevelop the ground, well over £1m has been ploughed into providing an extension to the field, a state of the art sports pavilion, floodlighting for the main football pitch and a floodlit multi-use games area - providing two artificial tennis courts and five-a-side football facilities.
1st Prize 15 laptop computer - Eddie Jackson
2nd Prize Man Utd Legends Tour Craig Mickleburgh
3rd Prize London Theatre Tickets and meal for two Simon Brown
4th Prize Overnight Stay for two at The Sprowston Manor Hotel JA Norton
5th Prize Replica Football Shirt of your Choice Mrs J Keely
6th Prize Kids football party for up to 12 Harry Ellis
7th Prize Bottle Whiskey Chloe c/o Holly Joyce
8th Prize Bottle Whiskey Nic & Gary Roberts
9th Prize 3 bottles wine - Betty Barrell
10th Prize Box of Beers Dave Norman
Aylsham Ladies 2-4 Bungay Town Ladies
Bungay finally played to their potential as they went to Aylsham Town and put on a great display of controlled attacking football and came away with a well deserved 4-2 win. This was by far their best display of the season and it would be unfair to pick out any individual players as they all put in 100 per cent effort, for which they got their reward. After Aylsham had taken an early lead as a forward was put through to beat the keeper, Bungay then rolled up their sleeves and took the game to Aylsham, with only the bar & post keeping 2 Emily Leach efforts out, and Lauren Purling having a shot well saved by the Aylsham Keeper. When it looked as if Bungay's efforts would go unrewarded suddenly they broke through as Lauren Purling did well in hooking back an Aylsham clearance from a Bungay corner back into the far side of the net, and then the same player shot home high over the keeper from the edge of the area when put through. Emily Leach then extended Bungay's lead
when she slid in to turn home a free kick by Leo Dalby to cap a fine first-half display. Against the slope in the second-half Bungay again kept Aylsham well pinned back and Emily Leach again struck the post when put clear but quickly made amends by working her way into the area and scoring with a drive past the keeper with a right foot drive. She followed this by then nearly taking the keeper of her feet with a power volley. The game finished as it started when a long through ball for once was missed by the solid Bungay back line and was run on to by Aylsham to give them a consolation but this did little to dent Bungay's impressive display.
The match ball for Bungay's Suffolk Senior Cup match against Leiston St Margarets was proudly sponsored by Toffee Publications Ltd
Toffee Publications Ltd is a Bungay-based publishing company producing one of the leading international carp fishing specialist magazines called CARPology, and also an acclaimed FREE iMag, not to mention its range of smart clothing.
Finance Director Karl Jackson commented, ‘I am so proud that we can sponsor a club that is both local and one that I once played for myself a long time ago. This club has grown so much in recent years it’s amazing to see what it’s giving to both the local community and further afield. There never seems to be a weekend without some activity at the venue. Well done to all the members of the club from the management at Toffee Publications Ltd. CARPology website can be found at www.carpology.net
Jon Fuller, Chairman of Bungay Town FC, said: 'It is really marvellous that local business wants to get involved with Bungay Town FC in this way. Our philosophy has always been sport for all but ultimately we also would like to see our 1st team challenge other high profile teams in the area for the honour of being top dog! The cost of match balls and referees increases all the time and any help we can find to offset this cost is always gratefully received. If there are any other ex-Black Dogs out there who would like to help in this way please contact me on 07876 614617 or come along to our club reunion we are holding in November'.
Pictured is Robert Long, Bungay Town goalkeeper and Health & Safety Manager of Tubes Scaffolding Ltd with some of the Bungay Town players before their Suffolk Senior Cup match with Leiston St Margarets on Saturday.
Jon Fuller, Chairman of Bungay Town FC, said : 'We are trying to reach a standard off the pitch to enable this club to move forward. We believe that we have some of the best facilities and almost certainly the very best pitch in the area and gradually the playing side of the club is on a roll in the right direction. Creating and maintaining the best facilities for football we can, costs significant sums of money and we are always extremely grateful for support from local companies. We are ever mindful of the hard economic times that business is facing, with the building industry one of the hardest hit; and for that reason it is pleasing to know that Tubes Scaffolding chose Bungay Town FC as a vehicle to maintain their high profile in the area.'
Robert Long, Health & Safety Manager of Tubes Scaffolding Ltd said : 'We are
delighted to be sponsoring a club that is not only a big part of the local
community but also a club that I proudly represent myself. From both a
sporting and social point of view the club caters for everyone with events /
activities regularly taking place and although Bungay Town FC has come a long
way over recent years I know ambitions within the club remain high, and we
hope to continue our partnership in the future.'
This midweek competition, which Bungay won last season, will be running again this year. The six competing sides have been drawn in two groups of three, which each team playing the other two teams in their group, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the semi-final.
| Group A | Group B |
Bungay Town |
Long Stratton |
Halesworth Town |
Wenhaston United |
Wortwell |
Loddon United |
This season's new kit is now available and can be seen below as modelled by Craig Hunting (left) and striker Paul Bullen (right).
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To celebrate 25 years of continuous sponsorship by Waveney Truck Parts we have returned to one of Bungay Town's old colours of sky blue and black. The kit is also sponsored by Bovingdon Bricks and Eastern Power Systems.
Mike Derbyshire (1st Team manager), Jon Fuller (Chairman), Paddy Linfield (Director of Youth Football), Graham Mickleburgh, Pete Reynolds and Brian Gower (Secretary) with the Charter Standard Community Club of the Year Award at the presentation at Ipswich Town F.C.
