C&G AFC est 2007
11 Aug 2009

C&G AFC were formed in the summer of 2007 by C&G employee Jon Owen, who was looking for a new challenge having previously set up fellow Cheltenham League outfit Southside FC. Owen had also previously been involved in competitive football under the C&G brand with a Sunday League side under the same name. Armed with a generous sponsorship package from C&G’s Marketing Department, Owen set about the task of forming a side who would ply their trade in Cheltenham League Division 5. Owen enlisted the help of his colleague, Rob Brooke, who was without a club following the collapse of Naunton Park Rovers II the previous season. The involvement of Brooke proved to be a stroke of genius as, even though the full-back would shortly move to London, the wheels were already in motion.

Brooke persuaded former school colleagues Ross Mahoney, Daniel Baggott, Nick Dill and John Hutton to join the venture, while Owen recruited Chris Lovell, who was also a survivor from the C&G Sunday League side. These seven players, together with Rob Tite, were the first to pull on the yellow of C&G and kick a ball in anger, as the side faced Tewkesbury Dynamos II in a pre-season friendly. The result, somewhat predictably, was a 5-0 defeat, but the project had at least taken the first of its formative steps.

Following the resounding defeat and disappointing turnout in their first friendly, Owen pushed the recruitment drive into top gear, persuading other fellow C&G employees to throw their weight behind the campaign. Paul Huitson was coaxed into signing from Cirencester and brought Ryan Best and Steve Littlewood with him. Andy Lovell was recruited to make he and Chris the first in a long list of siblings to have played for the club, while Edd Layton and Paul Jenkins also joined from within the walls of the C&G offices in Barnwood. Brooke was not sitting on his hands either and, through his network of friends, enlisted James Evans, Gareth Barnett and Matt Dill for the following friendly game against Cleevonians. The game itself ended in a 3-3 draw, but saw a total of 14 players in attendance and the C&G management a lot more confident about the prospect of running a football team.

C&G played two further friendlies and their troubles in getting a team together continued, with only nine players present for their next game, a 5-5 draw with Cheltenham Civil Service IV. With days to go before the start of the new season and the prospects for the new side looking increasingly bleak, C&G embarked upon a busy period in the transfer market. In a bold move, the offer of an involvement in the managerial side of the team persuaded Rich Newman to switch allegiance from Longlevens, while Mahoney’s housemate Steve Lowe was brought into to look to shore up a leaky defence. Brooke convinced teenagers Ben Howell and Jack Keegan from his regular five-a-side outfit to sign on, while Nick Bourne-Jones and Aiden Best were won over by approaches from the management.

The result of this transfer activity was victory in their opening league fixture; a 5-2 home win over Sherborne Harriers. The historic first competitive goal for C&G was something of an anticlimax as a Sherborne defender inadvertently blasted the ball off his ‘keeper’s back and into the net when looking to make a clearance. Nevertheless, C&G built on this and led 2-0 at the break, with their second scored by Aiden Best. At half time things were looking comfortable for the newly-formed Titans, but their inexperience of playing together caught up with them in the second half as the Harriers fought back to 2-2. Jon Owen saw fit to make changes to the side and brought on Bourne-Jones and Howell from the bench to provide some attacking impetus. C&G steadied the ship and regained the lead with another Aiden Best strike before Howell weighed in with two debut goals to close the game out.

In the following weeks, Adam Dodwell signed from Falcons to fill the troublesome goalkeeper’s position, Newman convinced Scott English and Mark Kelly to sign on, Huitson brought Alex Ballingall along and Brooke’s web of recruitment continued as “Polish Express” Andy Krasnik put pen to paper on a contract with the club after some issues surrounding his work permit were resolved.

The opening weeks of the season were a fruitful time for C&G as they put their pre-season indifference behind them and raced to the top of Cheltenham League Division 5, recording five league wins in a row. In doing so the Titans racked up a massive 40 goals, with Howell grabbing 10. The opening five league fixtures saw C&G dispose of Tewkesbury Dynamos by a margin of 13-1; a club-record victory which still stands to this day.

Sadly, the good results did not last and neither did the commitment of some players. A dip in form during October coincided with a mass exodus of players. Andy Lovell left after the first game, while Aiden Best left the club after two games and five goals. Huitson and Ryan Best each made three appearances for the club before leaving, while Alex Ballingall and Nick Bourne-Jones made 4 and 6 appearances respectively. Matt Dill and Jack Keegan also left the club having played less than 10 games and Paul Jenkins had to leave after moving to London. Regardless of this, the core of a side had been formed and existing players once again called upon friends to get involved in the Titans project. James Evans and Ross Mahoney recruited first Lee and then Jordan Wintle to play for the side at the end of October 2008 and in doing so they became the third set of brothers to pull on the C&G jersey after the Bests and the Lovells. The “band of brothers” was up to four shortly afterwards as Lee Mahoney joined Ross in the C&G ranks at the start of December.

After October, the side gained a stability which had been lacking previously and partnerships began to be formed as C&G went through the remainder of the calendar year unbeaten in the league. A strong defence was built in front of Dodwell, with Lowe and Newman forming a solid central pairing, ably assisted by Krasnik and Barnett in the full-back slots. Evans and Howell invariably formed the front two for the Titans and were proving potent, scoring a combination of 42 goals in the process. The C&G midfield usually comprised Baggott, Mahoney, English and Jordan Wintle, while multi-functional Lee Wintle would often be deployed wherever needed that week.

Despite progressing to the third round of the County Cup, C&G met their match against fellow Cheltenham League Division 5 outfit FC Barometrics II, who dismantled them 4-1 on the Titans’ home turf in what was to be the first of four meetings between the clubs that season. C&G were able to put that disappointment behind them immediately, however, by advancing through the first round of the League Cup in their next outing thanks to goals from Ben Howell and Jordan Wintle.

In January 2008, Huitson re-signed for C&G and brought with him Al Simpson and Adam Newport. Dane Shakespeare was convinced by Jon Owen to dust off his scoring boots at the tender age of 46, having previously been the top scorer for the C&G Sunday outfit. With the league title seemingly now out of their grasp, C&G’s League Cup fixtures took on an increased significance. They managed to overcome Southside 4-3 in the quarter-final and held off a late surge from Gaffers II to win the semi-final 3-2 after extra time and book their place in the final in their debut season. C&G’s league form, however, continued to fluctuate, as they lost three consecutive games in February, including a 4-3 home defeat against lowly Charlton Rovers III. Typically though, the Titans followed this by winning six games in a row, which included four straight games without conceding a goal. In that run of results, Al Simpson became the first man to net four goals in a game for C&G when he came off the bench in a 6-0 defeat of Gaffers II, while James Evans repeated the feat against the same opponents during a 5-1 hammering.

The upturn in form reignited the quest for a league title and, with only four games remaining, victory in each would assure C&G of promotion and potentially deliver the Division 5 title. However, the games were against tough opposition and C&G stumbled to the finish line, as they could only manage a 0-0 draw with Star III before going on to lose to Barometrics II and then Star III. The end of season capitulation saw C&G finish a disappointing, but respectable fifth in the league, 8 points adrift of the title. By the time the final league fixture rolled around, C&G were focused on the League Cup final which awaited them, although it was not going to be an easy contest against a strong Barometrics II side.

In their three meetings so far that season, Barometrics II had beaten C&G every time. The match had to be rescheduled twice after the venue was waterlogged due to excessive rain on the originally-scheduled date and was eventually played at Kayte Lane, home of Bishop’s Cleeve FC on 8th May 2008. The management due of Owen and Newman selected a 4-5-1 formation to look to counter the Barometrics midfield trio that had proved so effective in previous encounters. C&G stunned the hefty crowds by racing into a 2-0 lead early on, as Scott English headed home from Jordan Wintle’s free kick before Steve Lowe converted Ross Mahoney’s corner. Despite heavy pressure from the favourites, C&G’s back line held strong until the final minute of the first half. As the back line stood waiting for an offside flag that would never come, Barometrics equalised with the last kick of the half. The second half proved no-less entertaining as Barometrics threw everything at the underdogs. An equalising goal was flagged offside by the linesman but the referee overruled and allowed the goal to stand. With only minutes remaining on the clock, Barometrics scored what looked to be the winning goal against the run of play as a cross from the left-hand side looped into the far corner of the net. Fortunately, C&G had enough energy to come back and stun the victors-elect as Lee Wintle converted an Al Simpson cross in the dying seconds to force extra time. With the momentum now back in their favour, C&G took the lead as James Evans nodded the blues in front with a thumping header from another Ross Mahoney corner. The Titans then clung on for dear life as Barometrics launched wave after wave of attack in search of an equaliser. Eventually, the breakthrough came with minutes remaining as a hopeful ball forward was misjudged in defence and was volleyed home by the Barometrics forward. Penalties ensued and, despite Evans and Huitson missing, Al Simpson, Ross Mahoney and Jordan Wintle all netted, while Dodwell made a superb save down to his right. The final Barometrics spot kick cannoned off the bar to hand the Titans the title in their first season.

The end of season awards ceremony saw Gareth Barnett take the plaudits as the Manager’s Player of the Year. Ross Mahoney scooped the accolade as Players’ Player of the Year while Ben Howell was top goal scorer with 22 goals. Rob Brooke won the Club Man of the Year award for his determination to set the club up despite a personal move to London.

The 2008-09 season saw a new era begin. Huitson, Simpson, English, Kelly, Newport, Littlewood and Howell all left the club to join other teams, while Steve Lowe became the latest Titan to move job and leave the area. As always though, manager Jon Owen set about the task of building another team, always looking to improve upon the last one. Jordan Wintle signed Martin Nash, Rich Newman brought Paul Upton along, James Evans persuaded Joe Lyons to sign up, while Ross Mahoney enlisted the services of David Evans and Lloyd Dobson. Matt Dill re-signed for the club following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a recurring knee injury picked up against Southside during the previous campaign and brought housemate Phil Edwards along with him, having just returned from London. Dan Hastings and Daniel Moss were added to the previous season’s compliment and the new season began in earnest.

The season started as the previous one had finished, with C&G winning in a cup fixture. This time, the Titans smashed nine without replay past St. Briavels II in their opening fixture of the County Cup. Paul Upton and Joe Lyons netted debut goals while Jordan Wintle became the third Titan to score four goals in a single game. As with the previous season, C&G raced out of the starting blocks. The team won their opening five fixtures and were unbeaten in all competitions until 9th November, when they lost to a last minute winner, away to Tewkesbury Town II.

Once again, the Titans were in free-scoring mode at the start of the season and hammered 44 goals home in their opening 8 games. September saw the fifth set of brothers turn out competitively for C&G as David and James Evans both started against Belmore United II. After C&G received a walkover in the second round, David Evans became the latest addition to the list of players to have scored 4 goals in a single game as he struck four past Sherston in the third round of the County Cup during a 9-1 victory. With the signing of Phil Edwards during the close season, manager Jon Owen asked Jordan Wintle to play an unfamiliar role as a forward in the 2008-09 season. Despite being a centre-midfielder by trade, Wintle took to the task like a duck to water, scoring 16 goals before the turn of the year.

By the time C&G lined up to begin their defence of the League Cup in December, they had already advanced to the quarter-final of the County Cup and were sitting pretty at the top of Cheltenham League Division 5. C&G disposed of Division 6 newcomers Leckhampton Rovers 4-0 in the second round of the League Cup, having received a bye in the opening round. At the turn of the year, C&G had played 14 games, won 12, drawn 1 and lost 1. They then advanced to the semi-final of the County Cup with a 5-1 hammering of Trident, during which Dane Shakespeare became the oldest player to net for the club, beating the record previously held by manager Jon Owen.

From 15th November 2008 until 14th March 2009, C&G were unbeaten in all competitions, winning all of their 14 games and scoring 79 goals. During this run, C&G recorded impressive victories against Star III, Electrics II and Charlton Kings, while also avenging their only defeat of the season by beating Tewkesbury Town 9-0 at home. The club record victory was equalled by virtue of a 13-1 win against Apperley & Tewkesbury Dynamos III, while James and Evans and Jordan Wintle (twice) scored four goals in the same game to equal the club record. Gareth Barnett finally broke his scoring duck for the club on 17th January 2009 after 3,635 minutes of trying.

The run of victories was, however, brought to an end during a 3-1 defeat away to a competitive Star III team who had their own designs on the league title. By this point, however, C&G were sitting pretty at the top of the table and had advanced to the semi-finals of the League Cup, having defeated a solid Falcons II team 2-0 in the quarter-final. C&G had also earned a spot in the County Cup final by defeating Viney St. Swithens of the North Gloucestershire League 4-0. Before that cup final though, they were looking to book their place in their third cup final in two years when they faced R.S.G. in the League Cup semi-final. R.S.G. proved a very good side and played some nice, passing football. They dominated throughout the first half and were unfortunate to be trailing 2-1 at the break through goals from James Evans and Jordan Wintle. To counter the R.S.G. dominance, C&G reverted to a 4-5-1 formation and Lee Wintle dropped into centre midfield to snuff out the danger. The second half was a different matter, however, with superior fitness levels proving decisive for C&G. They counter-attacked with potency as James Evans completed his hat-trick and Lee Mahoney forced an own goal to seal the game.

In March 2009, Gareth Barnett became the first player to make 50 competitive appearances for C&G and he was then followed into the 50 Club in consecutive games by Ross Mahoney and then Andy Krasnik.

The County Cup was the first trophy to be decided, as C&G faced off against Bush from Stroud Division 8. Bush had won every single game they had played during the season so C&G were expecting a difficult game. C&G stuck to their task and the midfield of Jordan Wintle, Ross Mahoney, David Evans and Daniel Baggott were surprised at the room they were afforded to dominate the game. The back line of Lloyd Dobson, Andy Krasnik, Gareth Barnett and Phil Edwards marshalled the opposition front line well and ensured Dodwell had nothing to trouble him throughout the game. C&G gradually took the game to their opponents and took the lead when a Ross Mahoney corner drifted straight in at the back post. The lead was doubled when Mahoney converted David Evans’ cross ahead of Daniel Baggott and, although Mahoney was unlucky not to net a hat-trick when his long range effort cannoned off the post, David Evans sealed victory with a left-foot cracker from 25 yards.

With one cup down, the league was the next trophy to be decided. With their minds on the two cup finals, C&G almost took their eyes off the league and, when Gala Wilton became the only team to take anything all season from the Titans’ new home venue at Dowtys, C&G needed to win all their remaining games to be assured of the Division 5 title. Fortunately, the side had clearly learned the lessons of the previous year and closed the league out without conceding a further goal. The league went to the final game of the season, with C&G needing a draw to clinch the title. Daniel Baggott, captaining the side on his 50th appearance, settled the nerves with an early goal and C&G didn’t look back. In the second half, Jordan Wintle grabbed his 29th and 30th league goals of the campaign in only his 20th league game of the season to seal victory and the league trophy.

In 22 league games, the Titans conceded a meagre 17 goals thanks to a settled, confident defence. Dodwell was once again protected at all times by four from Nash, Krasnik, Newman, Dobson and Barnett. Goals were never in short supply as C&G’s attacking force, invariably made up of six from James Evans, Jordan Wintle, Ross Mahoney, David Evans, Phil Edwards, Lee Wintle, Daniel Baggott and Matt Dill, contributed 88 out of a staggering 106 Titans goals in the league.

With the league wrapped up, the only remaining milestone was to complete the treble with victory over Apperley & Tewkesbury Dynamos III. C&G had beaten them 3-0 and 13-1 already in their league meetings and the cup final was to prove to be no upset despite a spirited performance from the Dynamos. Jordan Wintle and James Evans netted first-half strikes and, although the Dynamos came back into it though a header from a corner early in the second half, it was all in vain as Lee Wintle made it 3-1 from a breakaway shortly afterwards. Jordan Wintle completed his free-scoring season with a second after James Evans’ shot was parried before Dane Shakespeare broke his own record for being the oldest player to score for C&G with the final goal of an epic season.

During the 2008-2009 season, C&G scored an incredible 155 goals in all competitions, conceding only 23 goals in 32 games. In 29 games, Jordan Wintle netted 42 goals to smash the club goal scoring record. As of August 2009, Gareth Barnett holds the record for most appearances for the club, with 57 games. Jordan Wintle is the club’s record goal-scorer with 55 goals in 49 games, while James Evans boasts 47 goals in 47 outings for the Titans. As well as delivering titles, C&G have built a reputation as a fair and friendly team. The side collected only two bookings during the entire 2008-2009 season, while no player has ever been sent off playing for C&G.

At the end of season awards ceremony, Jordan Wintle won the Players’ Player of the Year and the Top Goal Scorer award. Ross Mahoney won the Manager’s Player of the Year award, while Andy Krasnik was given the Most Improved Player of the Year award. The Club Man of the Year plaudits were split between club coach Jordan Wintle and Assistant Manager Rich Newman.

Gary Raynor
The Titan Tribute