Competitive football returns this weekend as the first team travel to Coggeshall Town FC to open their league campaign for the new season.

It was just 90 days ago that the the curtain came down on the 23/24 season, culminating in a 2-1 away win at Burham Ramblers, courtesy of goals from George Rankin and Connor Bolton. A 10th placed finish along with cup success in the Herts Senior Centenary Trophy seems like only yesterday and the road to victory starts all over again at league newcomers Coggeshall Town on Saturday.

After the dust settled on last season, we looked back with pride on a campaign that ultimately ended with silverware and a top ten placing in the Thurlow Nunn Division One South. Truth be told, prior to the Christmas period, a season of disappointment looked to be in the offing, with Hoddesdon locked in the bottom three positions and any thoughts of putting a pot in the cabinet, far from the mind of even the most passionate supporter. Credit has to be given however, to both the team and the management for turning things around in the New Year and kicking on for the rest of the season. There was even talk at one point of a late push for the playoff places. Ultimately, that proved a bridge too far but as we gear up for another 38 games of league football, thoughts will return to a top five finish and the possibility of promotion back to Step 5 football.

Winning the league outright and gaining automatic promotion will undoubtedly be a difficult, if not impossible task, especially with so many good teams in the league, all aiming for that one spot. But the target must be to be in the mix come the end of the season. Another year older, the squad has the benefit of 365 more days of experience in this league and many will be hoping that stability will be the key to success this season. From the pre season games, the bulk of last season's squad remains including top goalscorer Connor Bolton, giant between the sticks Liam Nugent, midfield maestro Blue Gallagher and four time end of season award winner and club captain, Jack Gibbs.

Fan favourites including Connor Casey, Kyle Roberts, Jack Riddle and Bailey Eden have also been spotted in white during pre season and there is something to be said for familiarity in the squad moving forward. There is also the sprinkling of some new blood at Lowfield, and we reported on the signing of wide man Jonah Evans last week.

Jonah re-joins the club after a period away, having been an ever present in the club squad during the Gavin Kelsey and Alec Ward era. He featured heavily in the reserve squad that went on to win an impressive League and Cup double in the 2015/16 season.

Evans spent last season at Wormley Rovers, who secured promotion to the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division, and he amassed 40 appearances across all competitions, including 31 starts for the 'Worms', and so will surely bring great quality and a winning mentality to the team. It will also be great to see Jonah's dad back at Lowfield regularly!!

And so to our hosts this weekend, Coggeshall Town.

Founded in 1878, The Colchester based club finished bottom of the Essex Senior Premier Division, winning just 4 games all season, drawing 5 and losing 29 with a goal difference of -66 and 17 points on the board. Heavy defeats such as the 7-0 away loss to FA Vase Runner Up, Great Wakering Rovers, and the 7-2 home defeat to FA Vase Winners Romford, saw them endure a torrid season and finally finish plum last in Step 5. Even Reggie Gregory’s nine goals in 31 appearances couldn’t save the Essex outfit and they will drop down into our division, giving us a nice new ground to visit.

Affectionately nicknamed 'The Seedgrowers', Coggeshall will be no pushovers however, and they have plenty of experience in this league, being the Eastern Counties League Premier Division Winners 2017/18 and the Eastern Counties League Division One Runners Up 2016/17. You can watch the moment Coggeshall became Premier Division champions in 2018 HERE.

Back in June 2023, Chelmsford City Football Club and Coggeshall Town Football Club announced a new footballing partnership. The agreement saw Chelmsford City work closely with Coggeshall Town to help develop the Coggeshall Town men’s first team and, over time, seek promotion back to the Isthmian League whilst enhancing the Chelmsford City Player Development Pathway.

That agreement however has now come to an end, and Chairman and Owner, Graeme Smith, posting the following statement last month, which outlines the new club direction, as well as drawing on his own personal battles in recent years:

'I would like to take the time to thank everyone for all the support the club has been given over the last 3 years. Whilst I’ve been recovering from a serious stroke which nearly took my life, for the last 3 years I’ve been having speech therapy to help me recover my speech which thankfully is returning. Unfortunately football had to take a back seat, but I’ve now decided to come back in the roll of chairman for the club. After which has been a tough 3 years for the club seeing 2 relegations and numerous managers, we have mutually decided to end our partnership with Chelmsford City Football Club and we will be welcoming a new management team who are keen to progress through the leagues. We currently have a new ground share with Stanway Pegasus who are also keen to progress through the leagues and we welcome Ian, Rosie and the team to our ground.'

We are glad to see the club back on it's feet and of course wish Graeme all the very best of health for the future.

It remains to be seen how the squad shapes up for the new season after suffering relegation from Step 5 and being placed in a new league. New Manager Dave Harrison, supported by Assistant Manager Mike Reeve and Player Coach Sam Hollocks will be hoping to hit the ground running this season and bounce back as quickly as possible. A home game to start them off will surely get the juices flowing and our hosts will undoubtedly be bang up for it.

It is unknown if last seasons top goalscorer (9) Reggie Gregory remains with the team for the new season.

As fate would have it, Hoddesdon Town and Coggeshall Town have a rather extraordinary link with each other, all of which stems from our Chairman, Stuart Varney, the FA Vase, and the Coggeshall Supporters Club Chairman, Kevin Christmas.

The following is an excerpt taken from a recent Coggeshall pre season match programme, where Kevin explains the connection in detail:

'It was in 1963, when I was 4 years old, that my Uncle Ron come to pick me up to go and watch Hoddesdon Town. My interest in football had begun and I have never looked back. My 6d pocket money got me in to the ground, with enough left over for a glass of lemonade and a packet of crisps at half time. My first major memory was in season 1970/71, when a unique treble was achieved, Spartan League, Spartan League Cup and Herts Charity Shield were all stored in the clubs Trophy Cabinet.'

'Four years later, the FA scrapped the old Amateur Cup and introduced 2 new competitions for non-league clubs, the Trophy and the Vase. Hoddesdon beat Epping Town in Round One of the Vase followed by Billericay Town in Round 2. Another two victories against Basildon United and Molesey and we were in the Quarter Finals, only 2 rounds away from the Final at Wembley Stadium. We were drawn at home against fellow Spartan League side Farnborough Town. The Hampshire side were top of the league and turned up at Lowfield in their Wembley suits, so sure of beating us and going all the way to the final itself. They hadn’t taken into account the battling qualities of Hoddesdon and went home disappointed after a 2-0 defeat.'

'A two-legged semi-final against a team from Leicester was next, Friar Lane Old Boys. The first was at home on a very wet pitch, but Hoddesdon made themselves favourites to reach Wembley after a 2-0 win. A week later and 3 coach loads of supporters made their way up to the Midlands for the second leg. The team bus left earlier with the committee members and their families, amongst them were a few good friends. One of them was Stuart Varney, whose father Fred was a long serving volunteer of the club. Again, the weather was rain, rain and more rain. Hoddesdon scored in the first half and led 3-0 on aggregate. Friars Lane pulled one back in the second half, but it was not enough and Hoddesdon were on their way to Wembley. Uncle Ron and myself went into a packed clubhouse to get a celebratory drink. After a short time, someone came to us and said our coach had left without us and we were stranded. Elmer, the chairman said there were 2 spare seats on the team coach and we could go home on that. We stopped somewhere on the way home for a celebratory drink, still haven’t got a clue where it was, but the drink was flowing and as a 15 year old, I made the most of it, not getting home until after 1 o’clock in the morning.'

'Onto 19th April and the FA Vase final, against Epsom and Ewell at Wembley. Nearly 10,000 watched Hoddesdon take a 2-0 lead at half time and although Epsom got a goal back in the second half, Hoddesdon held on to win 2-1 and become the first ever winners of the FA Vase. Celebrations in the town went on long into the night and the day is etched into my mind as if was yesterday.'

'It was a few years later when my local pub, The Old Highway Tavern, started up their own Sunday League team. I was the goalkeeper and one of the centre half’s was my good friend Stuart Varney. After each game, we rushed back to the pub for a few drinks with our fathers, who were work colleagues at a local firm. In those days, pubs had to close at 2.00pm on a Sunday, so it was a couple of drinks and then home to mums roast dinner. I continued to support Hoddesdon up to the mid 1990’s, when I met my now wife Michelle, whilst working in North London. We married and started a family, 3 lovely daughters, Courtney, Allana and Ela. Football became an unaffordable luxury and we moved to Braintree, close to Michelle’s family. I followed Hoddesdon from afar, always checking their results. It was in 2007 when finances improved enough for me to go and watch Braintree Town.'

'Later on, I was invited to help out at Coggeshall United. Although it was only a short time, my enjoyment of following non-
league football returned and I was disappointed the season ended. During the summer, I received a phone call from Suzy (bar manager) asking if I wanted to help out at Coggeshall Town, a chance I jumped at. Although United didn’t last too long, the friendship I received at Town was enough for me to want to carry on. I became Chairman of the Supporters Club when Mike stood down and the support I received from everyone was amazing. Despite the breaks due to covid and the illness to Graeme led to a down turn in fortunes, I now feel it is time to get the club back on track and with David and his team’s ambitions matched by us, the supporters, a move back up the pyramid beckons.'

'I have always dreamt of Coggeshall Town and Hoddesdon Town meeting in a league or cup match and today that dream comes true. My good friend Stuart is now chairman and things are looking up for the club. There is nothing I would like more than for both clubs to be promoted.'

Some wonderful words and memories from Kevin and we hope he enjoys the game, a match that has been 61 years in the making!

You can follow Coggeshall Town on Twitter/X by clicking HERE, follow them on Instagram HERE, or head to their website by clicking HERE.

Kick Off is 3pm and all travelling support is welcome.

Admission
£8 Adults
£5 Over 65’s
£2 Under 16’s

Cash is preferable as our hosts have had problems with their card machine recently.

Coggeshall do have a car park, which normally fills up, but plenty of street parking along West Street.

Turnstiles, clubhouse bar and kitchen all open from 1.00pm.

Enjoy the game.

#COYL