Blanketmen v Kingfishers - 27th August

Witney United are back in action in the world's most prestigious cup competition when they travel to Thatcham Town in the FA Cup Preliminary Round tomorrow.

Having overcome Miton United in the last round its another away trip for The Blanketmen and a difficult one in the face of the Zamaretto League side managed by former Reading Town boss Colin Millward.

Millward made the switch to Waterside Park in the summer and recruited a number of his former players to Thatcham including striker Graham Lewis and former Witney winger Aaron Parfitt.

The two sides have met in FA Cup action once before Witney were held 2-2 at Marriotts Stadium before bowing out 3-1 after extra time in the replay.

On the team news front United will have to make do without on-loan Lee Stevens who is suspended and also central defender Carl Evans is unavailable as he is at a wedding. Drafted into the squad are Mark Hague, Sam Wright and Dan Walker as United go looking to create a cup upset.

If the scores are level after 90 minutes the tie will be replayed at Marriotts Stadium on Tuesday 1st September and the Carterton game will be postponed.

The winners of tomorrow's tie will be at home in the 1st Qualifying Round where they will meet the winners of the all Uhlsport Hellenic League clash between Thame United and Lydney Town.

 

Squad Boost - 24th August

The Blanketmen have been handed a boost ahead of this evening's trip to Highworth Town with the news that young striker Chris Zoldan (pictured) has recovered from injury and returns to the squad.

Zoldan picked up an injury in the opening day defeat at Binfield and has been missing since but is now fit and back in contention for a starting place. Also returning is midfielder Eddie Everett who was unavailable for the win over Flackwell Heath but injury rules out John Rixon who limped off in Saturday's match.

Highworth have had a similar start to the season to us with one win in the league and one in the FA Cup. In the league they lost their opener at Slimbridge (0-2) and then were beaten at home by Ardley United (0-3) but they recovered at the weekend to get an excellent win at Ascot United (2-0) with former United man Tom Dingle amongst the goals.

In the FA Cup they also progressed at the expense of Melksham Town winning 2-1 to move into the Preliminary Round.

United boast a good record at Highworth losing only once their in the league in six outings and also winning our only cup encounter. Last season saw us draw 1-1 at Highworth with our goal coming from Andrew Younie.

 

Witney United Highlights On TV- 24th August

Witney United's first two home matches have been covered by witneytv.co.uk and can now be viewed on that website.

Witney report that the on-line service has good sound, commentary and some good interviews to boot make it a "must watch" service for all their fans, forthcoming away teams and match day opponents alike. Next Monday they will feature the Bank Holiday clash versus United's nearest rivals Carterton FC. So if you cannot get there not all is lost as you can see the action in the comfort of your own home.

Bahamian Blanketman - 21st August

The Blanketmen will have a goalkeeper with International caps to his name in goal for this afternoon's clash with Flackwell Heath at Marriotts Stadium.

Dwayne Whylly has 12 caps for the Bahamas, played in their World Cup Qualification campaign and has signed for United as cover for the unavailable Paul Tassell. Whylly has previously been with Oxford City Nomads and will make his Witney debut today. He played for the Bahamas national youth and U-23 teams making his debut for the senior Bahamas team in a March 2004 World Cup qualification match against Domincia, aged 17. He had earned 12 caps by November 2008, 6 of them in World Cup qualification games. The "Rake n' Scrape Boyz" keeper has also represented his college sides playing for Yale University in the US and for Oxford University. Whylly's penalty save in the 126th Varsity football match, held in May this year, gave Oxford the spoils over rivals Cambridge University.

There is also a return for midfielder John Rixon who missed the win at Milton and the midweek draw with Bracknell as United go in search of their first league victory.

The Heathens have suffered a difficult start to the season losing 3-0 at home to Abingdon Town and then suffered a 2-1 reverse at Wokingham and Embrook in midweek and will be keen to get their first points on the. United don't have the best home record against Flackwell having won, drawn and lost one of the three meetings at Marriotts Stadium. Last season they suffered a 4-2 reverse with goals coming from Gary Wickens and Ani Odihambo.

 

Friday Nights At Marriotts - 19th August

After last season's successful trial Witney United Football Club are pleased to announce they have confirmed two Friday Night Football fixtures for this season.

The local derby against Kidlington in the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier has been brought forward to Friday 10th September.

Also the clash with Wantage Town has been moved to Friday 15th October with both matches at Marriotts Stadium and kicking off at 7-45pm.

 

Blanketmen At Home - 17th August

Witney get a chance to show the home town public their new look side tonight when they entertain Bracknell Town in the Uhlsport Hellenic Premier Division at Marriotts Stadium.

Having played the first two matches of the season on the road Darren Teggart will be hoping his new look Blanketmen can carry on where they left off on Saturday at Milton. As opponents go though its a tricky opening home league match against a side recently relegated from the Southern League and who have won both their opening two matches without conceding a goal. They beat Oxford City Nomads 2-0 in their opening league fixture and followed that up with a 5-0 thumping of Dorking in the FA Cup on Saturday.

United however will have gathered some confidence from Saturday and will be further boosted with the arrival at the club of Lee Stevens who has signed on loan from Thatcham Town and goes straight into the squad for tomorrow night. Stevens is a midfielder who has also been on the books of Salisbury City, AFC Totton, Cirencester Town and Swindon Supermarine. Also back in the squad for the match is young striker Chris Zoldan who was unavailable for Saturday and he will replace Sam Wright in the squad who is unavailable. There is still a fitness doubt over defender Jon Steedman who is struggling with a calf injury. Admission prices have remained the same for this season with Adults £5, OAP £3-50 and Under 16's £1 but supporters are advised that due to rising printing costs the matchday programme will now cost £1-20

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Witney's Journey Begins Tonight - 9th August

After three and a half months the real action gets underway again tonight. Witney United kick off their Uhlsport Hellenic Premier League campaign at Binfield (7-45pm).

After a pre-season of changes on the management and playing front the talking stops and they get down to the real business of trying to rack up points in what this season looks a very tight division.

Of course it will also be new boss Darren Teggart's first competitive match in charge since replacing Andy Lyne and he has no injury worries as he heads into the opening encounter. It will be interesting to see the opening line up of the season with probably only Paul Tassell guarenteed to be starting the game and the remaining places all up for grabs. Binfield of course will be no easy opener as they showed last season when they did the double over us beating us 2-0 in both encounters and they will be looking to push on into the top six this season. They have also lost their manager over the summer so will be keen to get their new man off to a flying start to the season as well.

United's squad building process for the new season continued taking shape last week with more players committing to the cause. Central defender Joel Meade has signed from Oxford City Nomads having made 34 appearances last season scoring three times and was on the bench for Oxford City in their recent friendly against Oxford United. Fellow Nomads team mate Matt Blenford has also put pen to paper following 27 appearances and 10 goals for the Oxford side last season. Also putting pen to paper was striker Sean McKeon who has moved to the club from Wantage Town having scored 13 goals in 33 appearances last season for The Alfredians. Two of the pivotal members of last season's youth team champions have also signed for the club with Chris Zoldan returning from Carterton and Sam McNally looking to build on his susbtitute appearances from last season.

 

Three More For The Score - 5th August

Witney United have added to their squad for the forthcoming season by bringing in three players from fellow Uhlsport Hellenic Premier League side Oxford City Nomads.

Pete Nagy (right) is a centre-half who has featured in pre-season so far made 21 appearances last season for the Nomads scoring five goals and his height will no doubt be a major factor at both ends of the field. Joining him at Marriotts Stadium are full back Darren Queegan and midfielder John Rixon both of whom again have featured through pre-season. Along with them midfielder Richard Conway has signed for the club having just moved to the area.

 

Two From Last Season Stay! - 1st August

Witney United have been given a major boost with news that two of last season's squad have committed to the club for the forthcoming season.

Goalkeeper Paul Tassell (pictured) has put pen to paper for the Blanketmen having made 19 appearances last season following his signing in the middle of the season. Tass is also heading towards another landmark as four more matches will see him through the 150 appearances barrier for the club and his decision to stay is a huge positive for manager Darren Teggart. Also remaining at the club is midfielder Dan Walker who made the step up from Witney & District football last season and although he only made 1 starting appearance for the club he featured as a substitute on 9 occasions.

 

More Signings At Witney - 30th July

As the season draws closer Witney United announce three more players who have put pen to paper for the forthcoming season.

First up is highly rated youngster Cameron Lagan who scored 11 goals for the Reserves last season before they folded and also scored a hat-trick in Tuesday's friendly against Stonesfield.

Former youth team player Jamie Wyatt has also agreed to put pen to paper following in the footsteps of older brother Robbie Wyatt who of course played for United.

Young defender Lewis Colwell who was with Oxford City Nomads last season has also decided his future lies at Marriotts Stadium.

The Blanketmen expect to announce more signings over the weekend.

 

Signings For Witney - 29th July

The Blanketmen announce they have re-signed defender Jon Steedman from Abingdon Town for the forthcoming season along with two members of last year's Under 18's championship winning side in Conor Allmond and Frank Harrison.

Steedman has returned to the club for his fourth spell following a year at Culham Road last season and the left back cum central defender will be a popular signing amongst the United faithful. In his previous spells he has made a total of 60 starting appearances for United with another 18 as substitute and has scored twice for the club.

Allmond was a regular amongst the first team squad last season coming off the bench on numerous occasions and also started the Floodlit Cup clash at Milton United.

Harrison was another member of that youth side and has made one substitute appearance for United already also in the Floodlit Cup at Milton United last season.

 

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