Wade in Full: Biggleswade United 2-1 Baldock Town
This is not a slight on Stevenage by any means, who've been fantastic over the last few years. If anything, I'm kind of frustrated that the only possible chance of seeing them this side of Christmas is up against a B-Team in an ultimately meaningless fixture. Give me a ninth tier fixture featuring my adopted non-league side any day.
Both Stevenage and Biggleswade United were reeling to different extents following disappointing results at the weekend, Stevenage perhaps less so given that it was away to a strong Huddersfield side expected to be right up there come the end of the season. Biggleswade United, however, gave up two late goals to crash out of the FA Cup at home to Enfield.
By all accounts, United did themselves proud against higher opposition, but will always be left wondering what could have been, with the club never having gone beyond the First Qualifying Round. Their league season also seems to be going well so far, with the side unbeaten in their Spartan South Midlands Premier Division campaign - two wins and two draws.
Baldock Town, however, had just one win in their opening five games, so the hosts will have fancied their chances in this particular game.
The ground, the game, and any other business
In my bid to write about as many games I attend as possible, I thought; why not write about a team I've been following keenly since 2017? My first game was a thriller at home to Stotfold, which the hosts won 4-2 - I've been hooked ever since.
It hasn't always been smooth sailing; especially in the 2021-22 season in which Biggleswade United were inexplicably placed in a regional league with the likes of Coventry Sphinx and Rugby Town, despite the fact a great deal of the club's part-time players couldn't afford to make such challenging journeys on a regular basis through the season.
Suffice to say, I saw a couple of drubbings that year (1-7 at home to Godmanchester Rovers, and 0-10 at home to Coventry Sphinx), but the club seem to have returned from that particular precipice, now playing in a regional league in which they can compete.
The last time I saw United was away at Tring Athletic - a nice day out, but a 4-1 defeat which was perhaps unfortunate on the day. This was in September 2022, just before I left for pastures new in Czech Republic, and it feels a shame not to have seen them during my intermittent returns to the UK.
As is generally the case at Biggleswade United, it was far from boring. Well, the first half was a little scrappy, but there was still a brutal challenge from Baldock Town's number 7, which should have seen red having left skipper Connor Inskip in a pretty bad way. The referee certainly made himself public enemy number one throughout with countless baffling decisions for both sides.
While there were no goals in that first half, the second half saw the game burst into life, as Kye Andrews opened the scoring from range, albeit via a fortuitous deflection. It didn't take long for Baldock Town to hit back following some confusion in the box. It would be United's day, however, as Kit Brown (renowed Tik Tok teacher influencer) bagged a later winner to keep the points in Bedfordshire.
It was an excellent way to say goodbye to England, at least until Christmas. One thing you're almost always guaranteed at Second Meadow is entertainment.
Five things you didn't know about; Biggleswade United
1. The club chairman is none other than Spanish football journalist supremo Guillem Balague, who became chairman in 2014. If you visit the clubhouse, you'll find countless pictures of various footballing icons holding Biggleswade United shirts. The club have even had the likes of Enrique de la Lucas and Nacho Novo on their books at one point.
2. Bigglewade might not strike you as a footballing haven, but there are actually three teams that reside in the town, all donning the Biggleswade moniker - Biggleswade United (Step 9), Biggleswade (Step 8) and Biggleswade Town (Step 8). Pretty crazy for a town of only 22,541 people. Might this be the most football clubs per person in Britain?
3. Nearby Broom is home to the last working flour mill in Bedfordshire, which was build some 150 years ago. Jordan's Mill is where Dan Albone changed the face of agriculture with the invention of the first successful light farm tractor in 1902. Jordans is also a household name when it comes to cereals and breakfast foods, and its headquarters are in the town.
4. Another place you may have seen the word Biggleswade is on a packet of Piper's Crisps, which bear the name Biggleswade Sweet Chilli. It may not be the first thing you associate with Bedfordshire, but the chillis are grown in Biggleswade.
5. Everyone knows about The Great Fire of London, but what about The Great Fire of Biggleswade? Well, in 1785, a fire apparently started due to a servant's carelessness, as he dumped ashes from a kitchen fire near some dry straw. It cost £22,500, with 332 people made homeless by the fire, which took at least four hours to get under control.
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