Match Preview | Biggleswade Town (A)

Feb 285 min read

Halesowen travel to rock bottom Biggleswade Town with the aim of a first away win this year

Written by Ben Ditchfield

The Yeltz are faced with a second away match in five days following the stalemate against Kettering midweek as they travel to Langford Road in Bedfordshire on Saturday against a Biggleswade side with just three league wins all season.

There have been five meetings this century, which have seen just the one defeat for Halesowen. In the five clashes, the Yeltz have failed to score in just one of them, but on the other hand, the side have failed to keep a single clean sheet in the meetings. The one occasion where the club failed to find the net against Biggleswade, came in the last trip to Langford Road in April 2019.

The most recent clash came at The Grove back in November, a game that at the time earnt the Yeltz a fifth league straight win. Kieren Donnelly opened the scoring in the third of four additional minutes at the end of the first half. A low rising corner from Conor Tee allowed Donnelly to manoeuvre his way through a crowded penalty area to head home. Biggleswade were sent down to 10 men early in the second period, when Liam Andrews was awarded a straight red.

The visitors failed to lay a glove on Halesowen, and Jordan Ponticelli soon doubled the advantage. A run and shot from Donnelly, forced Waders keeper Jack Berman to palm into the path of Ponticelli for a two goal lead just before the hour mark. A third goal followed through Tee's penalty 10 minutes later, which marked the side's 50th goal under Russ Penn's reign. Biggleswade managed to score a consolation five minutes before the 90th, a second penalty of the game. Obidinma Onyeagwara was the man who stepped up and curved a right footed shot into the corner of Dan Platt's right post.

The Yeltz come into this weekend's game against the Waders, after a 0-0 draw in Northamptonshire against Kettering Town. Penn's side dominated large periods of the contest and should have taken a late lead, only for Dan Jezeph to stop Kieren Donnelly's goal bound header with his feet. A save that secured a second 0-0 draw in eight games for Halesowen, after the club went 58 games without one. Biggleswade come into the game after a 2-0 home defeat against Stamford on Tuesday night, with a brace from James Blunden for the visitors.

Our opponents have had a torrid campaign too date with just 20 points from 31 games, and a huge 13 points from safety. A second successive relegation from step 3 beckons for the Waders, although there have been a few positives. After they managed just the one win in 23 league games at the start of the campaign, they have since won two of their last eight, which also included two draws. The side have won just once at home this season in the league, a 1-0 victory over St Ives, their only victory in the last 19 league games at step 3 on home soil.

Their boss Jimmy Martin was formerly the academy boss at Stevenage, before he left for his first role as a manager, at Biggleswade United. He only lasted six months in the role, as an opportunity to work at the then Premier League side Watford arose in a coaching capacity. He returned to management in February 2020 when he took over at Potton United.

He spent just over three years at the Bedfordshire side in step 5, where he finished 10th in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns. Martin left Potton in the summer of 2023 to work with Danny Payne at Biggleswade, where he worked as his assistant before joining forces with the latter as joint boss in December of that year. The pair led to the side back to step 3 last season, but Payne departed in the summer, which meant Martin took over the full role as manager. He has since been in charge of 41 games, but has overseen just nine wins, and his side have conceded a huge 75 goals.

Despite their struggles this campaign, Biggleswade have the most in-form player in the league at this current moment. Dan Izekor has found the net five times in the league in just February alone. He has 10 for the season for the club and only joined in November from Royston Town. He left the latter without a goal in his nine games for them at the start of the season, but since his move to Biggleswade, he has managed a 1.7 goals per game ratio. Izekor is not the clubs top scorer though, Cyrus Babaie has scored 11 times, seven of which in the league. Babaie scored those seven goals in the first 14 games of the league campaign. Since he claimed the seventh against Hitchin Town at the start of November, the striker has gone 17 league games without a goal.

Biggleswade have some poor defensive records this campaign in the league. No other side in the division have kept fewer clean sheets than tbe Waders three, and only Lowestoft Town (41) have conceded more second half goals this season than Biggleswade's 34. The side also struggle at the other end of the pitch, no other team have scored fewer goals at home than the Waders' 11. Biggleswade have only scored 16 first half goals this campaign too, only Barwell, Harborough Town (14), and Banbury (11), have scored less. Martin's side are extremely vulnerable when they have led in games this season too. They have dropped a whopping 24 points from winning positions, five more than any other team.

Key Seasonal Stats

Biggleswade

League Position - 22nd

Season Record - PL41 9W 12D 20L 48GS 75GC

Form (Last 5 Games) - LWDLL

Top Scorer - Cyrus Babaie (11 Goals)

Most Appearances - Cyrus Babaie (41)

Most Starts - Cyrus Babaie (41)

Biggest League Win - 2-0 vs Banbury United (Away - 15th February)

Biggest League Defeat - 4-0 vs Royston Town (Home - 26th November)

Longest Unbeaten Run - 4 Games (26th October - 23rd November)

Longest Winless Run - 6 Games (10th August - 3rd September & 14th December - 25th January)