Two Deepings teams and Sutton Bridge pushing for promotion
With grassroots football starting again next week, our teams in the ChromaSport Peterborough & District League are looking forward to resuming their season.
In the last two editions of the Guardian we’ve taken a look back at how our teams in the Premier Division and Division one fared before lockdown.
And today, we focus on teams from the south Lincolnshire area who ply their trade in Divisions Two, Three, Four and Five.
Deeping Rangers Reserves have a great season in Division Two, currently sitting in second place and unbeaten..
Long Sutton Athletic Reserves and Holbeach Sports have enjoyed similar seasons as they sit next to each other in the table, with Long Sutton in ninth and Holbeach in tenth.
Deeping have six wins and a draw in their seven games so far this season, with great defensive prowess, having conceded just six goals this season.
Sutton, after quite a slow start, got back into gear with a run of three victories in their last four games.
Jack Greenacre and Matthew Cawthorn have been in rich goalscoring form with five goals apiece.
Manager Jay Rauch said: “It’s been a mixed bag for all of us I’d say.
“With pre-season we had a couple of big injuries, with our captain breaking his leg and another lad breaking his arm, so it was a tough start to the season for all of us.
“We clicked into gear a few weeks into the season, and now we’re all just buzzing to get back playing again.”
Holbeach Sports have had a similar campaign to that of Long Sutton, and after two promotions back-to-back, they have stagnated.
With some players making the step-up into the first team and reserves, it was a tough start, having played the top two of Ramsey Town and Deeping Rangers Reserves in their seven games.
Manager Sam Roberts said: “We’ve lost a few of our more experienced heads in Dean Elston and Oddy (Steve) Barnes, and we’ve probably struggled to score goals this season.
“We’ve probably had one poor performance from this season, and that was against Ramsey. Apart from that, we’ve been competitive in every other game.
“We’ve lacked a goalscoring touch this season, but it’s been a good learning curve for all of the lads.
“We don’t want to be destroying teams every week, and we don’t want to be destroyed every week either, we’ve found a right balance in this division to get our feet planted.
“We’ve got an aim to be in the top half this season, and we’re off it at the moment, but it’ll be better for us now that we can try and play some of the teams around us in the league.
“We’ve got a tricky first game back against Wisbech Town Reserves, and if I had to pick one team out of the league at the start of the season, who I thought would do well, one of them who I would have considered would certainly have been Wisbech.”
In Division Three, it was a tough start for Tydd Reserves, but after a while they picked up the pace and started to find their feet in the division.
Two wins in their last three games saw them rise to ninth, having sat towards the bottom earlier in the season.
“It was a very tricky start after a tough pre-season with some difficult games which led to some significant injuries for us,” said manager Duncan Rees.
“We had our goalkeeper injured for the first four games, so we had an outfield player in until he came back from his injury.
“But, we started to turn on the style once he got back, and since then we’ve enjoyed some great success.
“We’ve got a lot of players to pick from, and that’s given me a massive selection headache.
“We’ve got a great team on paper and pre-lockdown we had just started to click, so it probably came at the wrong time for us.
“We’ve had the lads going out doing jogs, two or three times during the lockdown, because we’ve got to stay fit.
“It’ll be a baptism of fire for the lads when we face up against (second placed) Casterton, as they look like they’re a good team.
“But, there’s not going to be a better time to play them, as they might not be match-fit.
“We’re still aiming for promotion for this season, and I honestly think we can make it, even after the tricky start.
“There’s a real togetherness with the lads now, and that is shown after the game when 12 or 13 of us go into the pub and just enjoy ourselves.”
In Division Four, Deeping United have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season, with a massive plus-40 goal difference.
Their only blip of the season was a draw against Netherton United A, but they’ve enjoyed three big 8-0 victories, against Warboys Town Reserves, Long Sutton A and Parkside Reserves, and have also beat Orton Rangers Reserves 13-2.
Deeping have the top goalscorers in the division, with Steve Juckias on 13 and Nathan Smith on 12.
Long Sutton Athletic A have had an average season with four wins, four losses and a draw for this season.
They have endured some tough results against Deeping and Sawtry, who are first and second, but it has also been mixed in with some good victories against Warboys Town Reserves and Netherton United A.
Manager Adam Fitch said: “It’s been a good start to the season, with plenty of players who want to play so it’s been a bit chop and change all season.
“Everyone’s dying to get back playing again, and we’ll be good for the rest of the season with a good mix between youth and experience in the side.
“We’ve made a few new signings during lockdown, and I think we’re ready for the rest of the season.”
In Division Five, Sutton Bridge have enjoyed a terrific campaign and sit top of the league with an unbeaten start and seven wins in nine games.
They have the top goalscorer in the division in Kurt Scott, with 16 goals in 11 games, with Joseph Sutton not too far behind with ten goals in nine games.
They have another winnable game coming against Park Farm Pumas Reserves when they return from lockdown on December 5.
Joint manager Ben Thompson said: “We are delighted to be sat at the top of the table going into December, especially after the struggles the club faced last season.
“Myself and Liam Burton have worked hard to recruit a strong squad of both old and new faces who have gelled together really well and we now have a tightly knit squad who are always willing to work hard for one another to get the result.
“The lads have been chipping in with big performances all over the pitch and we couldn’t be prouder of them.
“We were very pleased with the early season results but feel that the performances have continued to get better and better as the season has progressed and we can’t wait to get back to action on December 5.
“It’s looking like being a great battle at the top between us, Thorpe Wood, Langtoft and Rippingale.”
Langtoft United have also enjoyed an unbeaten season, and they have two games in hand over Sutton Bridge, which could potentially see them go ahead of them.
Alongside their campaign, they are still in the Lincs Junior Cup after a first round victory over Scamblesby.
NECI Reserves are sitting in sixth, having had five victories and three defeats so far.
With a tough few games prior to lockdown, they lost their last two games, and it doesn’t get any easier for them when they are set to play Sutton Bridge on December 12.
Deeping United Reserves sit one place below NECI Reserves in seventh, having played one game more.
The goalscoring form of Lewis Challis, who has netted seven times, has kept his side high in the division.
But, it hasn’t just been Challis scoring, it’s been a whole team effort, with 11 other scorers in the side throughout the campaign.
Second-from-bottom Holbeach Bank got their first win in two seasons having spent all of their last campaign winless.
The victory came against FC Hampton A, who sit one place below them in the division.
They also managed to get a draw against Kings Cliffe A, and after being in Division Four last season and finishing with a minus 171 goal difference, they have certainly enjoyed a better campaign so far.