After a season of highs and lows, Abingdon united finished the season in seventh in the Hellenic league division 1. While performing on the pitch, the club were also engaging the local community in lower league football and supporting the community with their foodbank.

 

Abingdon untied, who play at the Northcourt in Abingdon, have had a season to remember winning twenty-two of their league games this season. The season also saw change for the club, as player John Mills takes over the role as manager. John said, “I started the season not really in the swing of things”. John was later injured but returned at the beginning of January just before when he was asked to step in as interim manager for the remainder of the season. He said, “It was a privilege to be selected but the hard work was ready and waiting for us.”

United then went on a decent run of form John describing it as “a decent honeymoon period, where the players reacted positively to the change”. The side became noticeably much more resilient with numerous comebacks and late winners, keeping the chase in the league and cup alive. John led by example for his side scoring 15 goals himself since taking the role. “For myself I felt better than ever in front of goal, a bit like the Hereford days” Also on the score sheet a lot is the excellent Oli Orzechowski with 13 goals this season.

The team then found themselves going through a little bit of a sticky patch with the team suffering their first defeat under the new manager and dropping some key points. United changed their style of play and ended the season with three extravagant wins. Starting against local rivals Milton untied in front of a bumper crowd of 421 where the team won 3-1. Next up was against Shortwood on Groundhopper day where they also picked up a 3-1 win in front of a crowd of 358. And finally, for the last game of the season united travelled to the league champions Pershore where John said “it was never going to be easy” but the team stuck together and got 2-1 win to round off a memorable campaign. “My players were on it from minute one with high intensity and so much discipline.” John expressed his immense proudness of the team when he said “whether it was the dynamic duo of Jack Badger and Ben Barett or the brick wall of “Daryl Louise and Dan Chalmers at the back. We showed we can mix it up with the best teams”.

 As well as seeing the football grow and develop, the media presence has also improved, most definitely having an impact on seeing attendance increase. Speaking with head of media Harry Burton he said, “The media side of things is growing, and I think alongside the team on the up this has helped galvanize the town.” “We’ve got a great team off the pitch too that has made the Northcourt such a welcoming place” Not only is the media promoting the first team games but also the U18s, women’s and the development side who are champions of North Berks division 1 as well as making it to a cup final.