Holdom starts Jets engine

Ian Holdom, who found the net 36 times last season, continued where he left off by opening the scoring on 20 minutes after Jets had previously spurned four glorious opportunities.

On the stroke of half-time, an aberration from Chris Harding gave St Peter's a chance to equalise from the spot which they duly accepted.

Just moments before Gladdy bagged his first, midway through the second half, St Peter's missed a golden opportunity to take a shock lead when Frank Jowle rounded keeper Paul Taylor but struck a post with the goal at his mercy.

That proved to be the turning point as minutes later Gladdy made no mistake from the edge of the box and then wrapped up the win with his second, and Jets' third, a minute from time.

"It was a decent team performance considering the heat and the pitch," said Jets' general manager John Elliott. "It isn't a happy hunting ground for us, so we were just pleased to come away with the points."

St Peter's missed a second chance to register points when Cuffley were the visitors on Wednesday, but a goal from Elroy Richardson could not prevent his side slipping to a 2-1 loss.

Their bright start faded somewhat in midweek, when Bushey Rangers inflicted on them a 3-2 defeat.

Meanwhile, Sun Postal got their campaign off to a winning, if uninspiring, start with a 1-0 success over newly-promoted Bushey Rangers on Saturday.

"It was not pretty but we played well in patches and it gives us something to build on," said a contented Sun manager, Terry Hows.

The match, played on a poor surface, was decided by a strike from Chris Eldridge, whose crisp drive from 12 yards on five minutes proved the defining moment of the match. Sun created chances, particularly from set pieces, but their failure to convert them meant Bushey were always in the game.

Roy Brown's side refused to be dictated to and posed last season's runners-up problems, largely through their lively front pairing of Chris Walker and the impressive Darren Glenister.

Despite some anxious moments, the Sun defence held firm to register their first three points of the season.

"I felt a draw would have been a fair result as we had the better of the second half but there were a lot of positives to take from the game," said an upbeat Brown.

His side weren't the only ones to suffer Sun burn this week, Croxley Guild were cracked for four on Wednesday, when a double-strike from Darren Seabrook inspired a 4-0 victory for the already hot Sun.

Bedmond registered their first win of the campaign on the opening day with a 2-1 win over newly promoted Hadley.

Andy Kent's new-look side took a while to get into their stride, but once Glynn Spurr had given them the lead with a stunning strike from 25 yards that flew into the top corner, they never relinquished their grip on the match.

New singing Nathan Butt, who looked lively all afternoon, doubled the lead after the break with a neat finish, but the dismissal of Craig Ellis provided Bedmond with an anxious last quarter.

Hadley pulled one back through an Uche Egbe penalty and felt they deserved at least of a share of the spoils, but it was Bedmond who ran out winners.

A poor defensive display saw Bovingdon slip to a surprise opening day defeat at home to Wormley.

"I was very disappointed in the performance from most of the lads," said Bovingdon manager Paul Hobbs."We defended badly as a side and mistakes from experienced players cost us dear."

The first of a trio of defensive errors allowed Wormley, boosted by the return of a handful of players from Hertford, to take a half-time lead.

After the break, things got worse for Hobbs, already without Mark Knight, when midfield pivot Jon Devlin (knee) joined earlier casualty Stuart Leader (suspected broken foot) on the sidelines.

However, Bovingdon overcame this setback to level through Michael Dyer after fine approach work from Mark Swailes. They then proceeded to undo all their fine work by gifting the visitors two further goals and, although Marc Fryer capped an impressive debut with a fine goal, the deficit proved too much to overhaul.

They were back on the winning trail on Tuesday night, however, when Angelo Napalatino and Stuart Gallagher scored in a 2-0 win over Bedmond.

Elsewhere, Croxley Guild showed signs of a potential resurgence this season in recording a 2-1 victory over Met Police Bushey that did little to reflect their dominance.

Guild, who along with Met Police were spared relegation by the restructuring of the league, dominated the first half and showed signs that they may have learnt from the last campaign.

They would have had more than the two goals to show for their endeavours had it not been for an inspired performance from stand-in keeper and Met Police manager Andy George.

Having been denied a dream debut goal in the opening minute, new signing Paul Regan only had to wait another nine minutes before he opened his account for the club with a sweet drive from 15 yards into the bottom corner.

Mark Salih, continuing his early season form, made it two, five minutes later, after a mix-up between George and Dusty Miller.

Guild created numerous other chances, but were persistently denied by the brilliance of George, who kept the score to two at the break when five or six would have been a fair reflection.

Met Police regrouped at the interval and hit back with a goal from Ben Green with 20 minutes remaining, but Guild could have increased the lead with a left-footed strike from Steven Eldridge, that struck the bar, the closest

"It should have been a lot more," said Guild spokesman Dave Rickman. "There was only one team in it in the first half, but overall it was a good team performance and a welcome three points."

Among their rivals, Chipperfield manager Greg Pegg was not too despondent despite seeing his second term as manager start begin with a 1-0 defeat at home to a depleted Sandridge Rovers.

"I thought we were the better side and that's why I am not too disappointed as we played very well," said Pegg.

The only goal of the game came midway through the second half with a deflected effort from Kevin Gray that an incensed Chipperfield side felt had more than a suspicion of offside about it.

Chipps had more than enough chances to warrant something from the game but their killer instinct in front of goal cost them dear.

"If we would have won 3-1 I don't think they could have had too many complaints," was Pegg's final assessment.

There was certainly no doubting Rover's claim over the points on Wednesday, when a 4-1 score sent Elliott Star away with tail between legs. Two from Chris Cutmore plus Daryl Smith and Jon Pinkham strikes settled the affair.

But Old Parmiterians were given a harsh baptism on their return to the Premier Division on Saturday, after being handed a 5-1 thumping at home to London Lions.

Five goals and a man down after 20 minutes constituted the worst possible start for Parms', who were badly effected by the late withdrawal of their first-choice keeper.

To their credit, Parms' made a fist of it in the second period and reduced the deficit with a goal from Richard Eames which was the only plus point of an otherwise forgettable afternoon.

"We just weren't at the races for the 20 minutes and there was no way back from there," said Parms' joint manager John Mantle.

August 23, 2002 12:30