laTEST 1st team NEWS.
08.03.10 mACCA BACK TO FACE THE FLACK!!
United are boosted by the return of captain John McMahon from suspension as they begin a period of 3
games in 5 days when they entertain Flackwell Heath on Tuesday evening at The Polythene UK Stadium (7-45pm).
The influential midfielder has missed a glut of games but makes his return at a vital time with the games coming thick and fast between now and the end of the season.
Long term absentees Ben Thompson, Jamie Mills and Jon Okole are all ruled out whilst their is a doubt over Paul Tassell who missed the weekend win at Carterton.
The Heathens started the season on fire and although they had a dip in the middle of the season they have returned to form winning 3 of their last 5 matches and gaining a very creditable 0-0 draw at Wantage Town.
In striker Riccardo Cannon they have a player who on is day is as dangerous as any other striker in the league and United know they will have to be on their game tomorrow to keep pressuring the top 4.
We have met already this season when we drew 1-1 at Wilkes Park after we fell behind a point was gained when Stuart Cattell glanced home a header.
All Five Previous meetings between the 2 Clubs.
Hellenic Premier Flackwell Heath 1 WITNEY UNITED 1 (Cattell)
Hellenic Premier WITNEY UNITED 3 (JP Mills, Wickens, Burnley) Flackwell Heath 0
Hellenic Premier Flackwell Heath 0 WITNEY UNITED 5 (Wickens 3, JP Mills, McMahon)
Hellenic Premier WITNEY UNITED 1 (Marriott) Flackwell Heath 1
Hellenic Premier Flackwell Heath 1 WITNEY UNITED 3 (OG, Wickens(pen), Brownhill)
06.03.10 SMITHY STUNNER SEALS DERBY WIN!!
A 25 yard screamer from Dean Smith completed an excellent turnaround for United as they clinched a 
2-1 win the West Oxfordshire derby at Carterton this afternoon.
Despite dominating possession in the opening half it was the home side who took the lead eight minutes before the break when Andrew Styles was robbed of the ball by former United favourite Kevin Lewis who calmly rounded young keeper Eddie Dale and fired home.
United continued to press and had a strong penalty appeal turned down when Chris Harper appeared to be bundled over in the box by Jamie Butt but the referee waved away the United protests.
However on 66 minutes United were on level terms when a free-kick by Dean Smith was helped on by Lee Henderson and Ani Odihambo superbly controlled the ball before firing home.
Five minutes later and United were in front when Dean Smith charged down a clearance and set himself before giving James Domm no chance from 25 yards to give United a second successive away victory.
05.03.10 BYFIELD BACK FOR DERBY!!
United welcome back central defender Vinny Byfield back into the squad for tomorrow's West 
Oxfordshire local derby clash at Carterton.
The experienced man missed the midweek win at Ascot United following his man of the match performance at Reading Town but is back in contention for a starting place tomorrow.
It has been a difficult season for The Toon who have hovered in and around the relegation places all season and currently only goal difference seperates them from the bottom four places. They have also recently changed manager with Andy Zoldan taking over from Tim North in the hotseat.
The two sides have met twice already this season with one win apiece with United winning 4-3 in the Floodlit Cup and Carterton running out 2-1 winners in the Oxon Senior Cup.
United have not had the best of times on the road this season but have picked up two wins out of the last three trips and were desperately unlucky not have got better at Reading last week and will be looking for a victory that would see them cement their top five league positions.
Last Six Meeting between the two clubs in all competitions.
Oxon Senior Cup Carterton 2 WITNEY UNITED 1 (Zoldan)
Floodlit Cup WITNEY UNITED 4 (McMahon, Johnson, Harper, Thompson) Carterton 3
Hellenic Premier WITNEY UNITED 3 (Thompson 2, McMahon) Carterton 0
Hellenic Premier Carterton 2 WITNEY UNITED 2 (Thompson, Byfield)
Hellenic Premier Carterton 1 WITNEY UNITED 3 (Lewis, Wickens 2)
Hellenic Premier WITNEY UNITED 2 (Concannon, Douglas) Carterton 0
03.03.10 HARPS LEAVES ASCOT FEELING FLAT!!
A solitary strike from Chris Harper a minute after the break was enough to give United a 1-0 win over in 
form Ascot United this evening.
A goalless match sprung into life just after the break when Harper raced clear and slotted the ball past the keeper to give United the lead.
Victory saw United climb to fifth in the table and ended the mini goal drought that had seen them fail to score in the previous two matches.
03.03.10 UNITED LOOK TO GET BACK ON TRACK!!
United make the trip to Berkshire this evening to face a resolute Ascot United side looking for a little 
more luck than they had in the Royal County on Saturday.
It will be a quick reunion between the two sides of course having played less than 2 weeks ago at The Polythene UK Stadium when the sides fought out a 0-0 draw.
Ascot have had much improved home form of late beating both Flackwell Heath and Highworth Town on their own patch so it is without doubt a tricky test for United and one where league positions should almost be ignored with their current form.
With so many games coming up over the coming couple of weeks manager Andy Lyne has added youngster Will Bridgewater to the squad as we go in search of a victory that would hoist us into the top 5 of the table.
27.02.10 LUCKLESS UNITED LOSE OUT AT READING!!
United endured an afternoon of frustration at Scours Lane this afternoon as they lost 1-0 at league 
leaders Reading Town despite restricting the home side to two efforts of goal all afternoon.
The only goal came just after the half hour when Mark Hughes powered home a header after a deep corner from Aaron Parfitt.
United pressed for almost the entire second half but were left without any reward despite Ani Odihambo striking the post and Andrew Younie seeing his effort cleared off the line.
27.02.10 WINNERS FACE SLIMBRIDGE TRIP!!
The draw has been made for the Quarter-Finals of the Bluefin Insurance Challenge Cup and whoever is
victorious from our tie with Woodley Town faces an away tie.
The draw sees the winners making the trip to Gloucestershire to face our old rivals Slimbridge currently plying their trade in Division One West following their return to the Hellenic League. The draw in full is listed below.
Abingdon Town or Eton Wick v Shortwood United or Shrivenham
Almondsbury Town v Oxford City Nomads or Wantage Town
Ardley United v Reading Town
Slimbridge v WITNEY UNITED or Woodley Town
26.02.10 HENDO OUT FOR SCOURS LANE TRIP!!
United make the trip to Berkshire to face league leaders Reading Town at Scours Lane on Saturday but 
will have to do so without central defender Lee Henderson.
Henderson is away on a short trip to Egypt and is likely to be replaced by either Jack Smith or Vinny Byfield as manager Andy Lyne prepares to shuffle his pack again.
It adds to the growing list of absentees with Ben Thompson (knee), Dan Szczuckiweicz and Jon-Paul Mills (unavailable) and John McMahon (suspended) leaving the United squad somewhat depleted.
This however tends to be the time when United step up their game when things are stacked up against them and they will be facing a Reading Town side in the middle of a little wobble having looked certainties for the title around the Christmas period when at one stage they held a 16 point lead and were sitting unbeaten.
That lead has been whittled away and Almondsbury Town are now breathing down their necks and with their game in hand could overhaul the Berkshire outfit who needless to say will be keen to get back to winning ways tomorrow.
This will be our first meeting this season and last season gives no real guide with both sides winning their home encounters. We were comfortable 4-0 winners at The Polythene UK Stadium but in the return at Scours Lane we were undone by a last minute goal and slipped to a 1-0 reverse.
26.02.10 DATE SET FOR WOODLEY CUP TIE!!
United face a gruelling schedule of 9 games in 20 days as the Hellenic League tried to combat the 
fixture chaos caused by the poor weather.
The latest addition to the fixture list is the re-arranged Bluefin Insurance Challenge Cup 2nd Round match against Woodley Town which will be played at The Polythene UK Stadium on Thursday 11th March with a 7-45pm kick off.
For the latest update on fixture please click here.
24.02.10 cUP TIE WASHED OUT!!
United's scheduled Bluefin Insurance Challenge Cup 2nd Round clash last night against Woodley Town was a victim of the weather.
Heavy rain and sleet had seen the pitch subject to a lunchtime pitch inspection and whilst the game was given the go ahead then further downpours throughout the afternoon left large parts of the pitch waterlogged and the match was postponed.
No new date has yet been set for the match.
23.02.10 QUARTET OUT FOR CUP CLASH!!
United will still be without a quartet of players when they entertain FTL Futbol Hellenic Division One East 
side Woodley Town at The Polythene UK Stadium this evening (7-45pm).
John McMahon (suspended), Dan Szczuckiewicz and Jon-Paul Mills (unavailable) and Ben Thompson (knee) are all missing as United look to see off lower league opponents.
There will certainly be no danger of United being over confident though as they come up against a side brimming with confidence currently sitting third in the table.
Woodley already have one Premier League scalp having knocked Carterton out in the previous round and in this the first meeting between the two clubs they will be looking to add another.
United have already played one match in this competition when they thumped Letcombe 8-1 in an astonishing cup-tie that saw central defender Stuart Cattell score a hat-trick.
Should the scores be level after 90 minutes there will be a period of 30 minutes extra-time and a penalty shoot out if necessary to ensure a winner on the night.
21.02.10 UNITED LEFT BLANKED OUT!!
United failed to find the net for the first time since early October in any competition as they were 
frustrated by Ascot United at The Polythene UK Stadium .
Looking to continue their winning sequence of league victories at home United were on top for 95% of the match but could only hold their heads in their hands as chance after chance went begging.
The best two chances of the game fell to Andrew Younie who stood on the ball as he went to fire into an empty net and Ani Odihambo who headed a cross over the bar from 4 yards out in the dying minutes.
The visitors almost snatched victory right at the death with Paul Tassell making an excellent save to deny Chris Page whose powerful header was destined for the top corner.
20.02.10 YOUNGSTERS CALL UP FOR ASCOT!!
Youngsters Sam McNally and Chris Zoldan have been added to United's squad for this afternoon's FTL 
Futbol Hellenic Premier League clash with Ascot United at The Polythene UK Stadium (3-00pm).
The pair have been an impressive part of Darren Teggart's table topping Under 18's side and earn their call up as United contend with a list of absentees.
John McMahon still misses out through suspension whilst both Dan Szczuckiewicz and Jon-Paul Mills are both unavailable and on top of that top scorer Ben Thompson suffered a knee injury in midweek and is ruled out.
Ascot have suffered a difficult introduction to the Premier League and although they currently sit outside the relegation places they have played a lot more games than those around them.
That said though in recent weeks they have tightened up defensively and have earned some decent results as they look to claw themselves up the table.
13.02.10 VICS TRIP FROZEN OFF!!
United's scheduled FTL Futbol Hellenic Premier League clash at Malmesbury Victoria has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
No new date has yet been set for the match.
12.02.10 MONK BACK FOR THE MONK TRIP!!
United will welcome back Jon "The Monk" Okole for Saturday's FTL Futbol Hellenic Premier League 
clash at The Flying Monk Stadium against Malmesbury Victoria.
With Paul Tassell unavailable due to work commitments Okole gets a chance to re-establish himself between the sticks as United go in search of three more points.
John McMahon and Jon-Paul Mills will also be missing although Vinny Byfield and Andrew Younie return to the squad having been unavailable for Wednesday night's clash at Shrivenham.
There will also be a late decision made over defender Lee Henderson who has had to be substituted in the last two matches.
The Vics have suffered a turbulent season since their promotion to the Premier Division and no more so than this week when their management duo resigned following the midweek 3-1 defeat at home to Melksham Town in the Wiltshire Senior Cup.
The troublesome pitch at Malmesbury has suffered through the bad weather and the midweek match was the first match played on it since mid November.
This lay off has not helped their league position as midweek results went against them and they dropped into the bottom four for the first time this season. At home however they have been a tough nut to crack with only Abingdon Town, Ardley United and Reading Town leaving the Flying Monk with all three points from eleven visitors this season.
The bad weather has seen them play their last seven matches away from home where they have lost five of the last six matches and in the last three have failed to score a goal.
The two sides have met at The Polythene UK Stadium already this season when United ran out 4-0 winners thanks to goals from John McMahon, Ani Odihambo (2) and an Own Goal.
11.02.10 IT'S SHORTWOOD AGAIN!!
There are no two ways about it that Shortwood and ourselves will be getting thoroughly sick of the sight of each other.
Having already met twice in the league and also been drawn together in the FA Cup which took two games to settle it will come as no surprise to people that we have been paired together in the Floodlit Cup Semi-Finals.
The tie will be played over two legs and United will be at home in the first leg with a date still to be announced. In the other semi-final league leaders Reading Town will meet Premier League new boys Binfield.
10.02.10 SHRIVVY FROZEN OFF!!
Tonight's scheduled FTL Futbol Hellenic Premier League clash at Shrivenham has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
With temperatures dropping below freezing during the afternoon having inspected the pitch and left it as late as possible before making a decision the game was postponed.
Both clubs were in full agreement with the decision of the referee and will await a new date for the fixture in due course.
09.02.10 VINNY OUT FOR SHRIVVY TRIP!!
United will travel to Shrivenham on Wednesday evening for their latest FTL Futbol Hellenic Premier League clash without John McMahon and Vinny Byfield.
McMahon remains suspended whilst Byfield is ruled out due to work comittments and youngster Sam McNally has been added to the squad which won at Bicester.
Shrivenham will be content with their current league position sitting a healthy eight points above the bottom four and only a poor run of form in recent matches has seen them slide.
We have of course met already once this season when United ran out 2-0 winners at The Polythene UK Stadium with goals from Andrew Younie and the since departed Ricky Johnson.
Last season we produced one of our better away performances of the season when we fought back from a goal down with an excellent second half display and won 4-1.
06.02.10 ANI AT THE DOUBLE!!
A double from Anaclet Odihambo and further goals from Gary Wickens and Ricky Bridges were enough to give United a 4-0 victory at improving Bicester Town.
Having picked up four points from their last two games the home side were full of confidence but it was United who were in front with only six minutes on the clock. Some excellent work by Chris Harper saw him win the ball and feed Odihambo who raced through and clipped it over Jeff Simmonds.
Midway through the half United doubled their advantage and it was that man Odihambo again. Stuart Cattell done well to win the ball and feed Jack Smith whose clever lofted pass saw a straight race between Odihambo and Simmonds and the front man got their first to prod the ball home.
The game was killed as a contest seven minutes before the break when a Tom Butler free-kick was met by the head of Gary Wickens who sent a looping header into the net.
The scoring was rounded off two minutes from time when two substitutes combined with Andrew Styles showing great strength to hold off two challenges and roll it into the path of Ricky Bridges who slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
05.02.10 UNITED LOOK TO HALT BICESTER RECOVERY!!
United make the short trip across West Oxfordshire tomorrow looking to halt the recent recovery of relegation strugglers Bicester Town.
A couple of weeks ago this would have been seen as a game United should comfortably pick up the points but a 6-1 win at Pegasus Juniors followed by a 3-3 draw with Carterton shows that The Foxhunters have maybe found some form just as the season enters the important stage.
Bicester's problems have been well documented this season and they will be hoping that 2010 brings them some joy and certainly those last two results would be seen as a great start.
The two sides met at The Polythene UK Stadium earlier in the season on Fabulous Friday when United produced one of their best displays of the season to run out 6-0 winners.
In the league Bicester has been a happy hunting ground for United failing only once to register maximum points with last season seeing us run out 4-1 winners despite being reduced to 10 men after only 20 minutes when Dean Smith was sent off.
On the team news front tomorrow Andy Lyne has almost a full squad to choose from with John McMahon still missing through suspension the only absentee.
04.02.10 DUO PASS MILESTONE!!
Before Tuesday night's home clash with Abingdon Town two more United players were awarded trophies for passing an appearance milestone with the club.
Dean Smith and Gary Wickens both passed 100 starting appearances for the club in recent weeks taking the tally of players who have now passed this milestone for the club to 7.
The other 5 players to complete 100 starting appearances for United since its formation are John McMahon (now passed 200), Paul Tassell, Tom Butler, Lee Keyes and Mark McMeeking.
03.02.10 uNITED EXTEND HOME RECORD!!
United extended their run of consecutive league wins at The Polythene UK Stadium to eight as they 
fought back from a goal down to see off Abingdon Town 3-1.
The visitors struck with just eleven minutes on the clock when former United man Dwight Jones was given the freedom of the pitch to run on and slot home.
United however then produced their best spell of the game in the 25 minutes leading up to the interval and midway through the half a thumping header by Gary Wickens from Tom Butler's free-kick brought the sides level.
Six minutes later and the game had turned on its head as Anaclet Odihambo chased down a Wickens header and Gareth Walker could only watch in horror as his clearance bounced off the striker and into the net.
The scoring was rounded off on the hour when Chris Harper produced a cross which was expertly turned in by Ben Thompson to ensure United picked up maximum points.
01.02.10 DAN BACK IN FOR DERBY CLASH!!
United welcome back Dan Szczuckiewicz when we entertain Abingdon Town at The Polythene UK 
Stadium on Tuesday evening (7-45pm).
The defender/midfielder missed the weekend draw at Wantage Town and joins up with the squad which will still be missing the suspended John McMahon.
Abingdon have improved significantly on last season when they were embroiled in a relegation battle for the majority of the season under the stewardship of former United player Mark O'Hara.
Marco has signed a host of experienced players as he seeks to lift Town into a top half of the table side including a number of former United favourites in Jon Steedman, Luke Brandon, Stuart Douglas and Dean Moss.
The two sides met at Culham Road earlier in the season when we fought out a 1-1 draw in a game that United dominated and we will be looking for a victory that continues to cement our current top six position.
Victory tomorrow would see United stretch their run of league victories at home to eight and extend the new record that they set during the Highworth Town victory.
