In addition to being open on matchdays/evenings, the Blue Diamond Social Club at Shildon AFC will also be open at the following times:
Friday 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Saturday 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Sunday 6:30pm – 10:30pm
This will take effect from Friday 17th December 2021.
The postponed game against Liversedge (30/11/21) has now been re-arranged:
Liversedge FC vs Shildon AFC – Tuesday 11th January 2022 – 7:45pm – Clayborn Ground, Liversedge WF15 8DF
For an up-to-date list of fixtures, please check the club website.
Following the recent draw of the first round of the Durham Challenge cup we can now confirm the following fixture:
Annfield Plain FC vs Shildon AFC – Tuesday 14th December 2021 – Dean Street, Shildon DL4 1EZ – 7:30pm
Please note the venue change – the tie was orginally drawn to be held at Annfield Plain it is now being held at Dean Street, Shildon.
Admission will be £5 Adults / £3 concessions.
Shildon AFC, with only 11 first team players in the squad due to injury and suspension, earned a draw against Frickley Athletic FC in a wet but entertaining encounter at the Sika Everbuild Stadium in South Elmsall.
Frickley started strongly with a couple of goalmouth scrambles almost leading to goals. Shildon settled into the game and took the lead in the 12th minute with an excellent finish from Michael Sweet. Dean Thexton was unlucky on a couple of occasions, both times hitting the woodwork. Frickley equalised with a looping header from Bradley Wells in the 40th minute, 1-1 a fair reflection of the first half.
The second half brought chances for both sides with the pitch getting heavier due to the conditions. Shildon had long periods of possession and tested the Frickley keeper on a couple of occasions. However, Frickley could have won it with a free kick in the final minutes of the game with a long-range effort but it was smartly saved by Shildon keeper Shaun Newbrook.
Daniel Moore, Shildon AFC manager said “it has proved to be a great point away from home in tough conditions against a team who have performed well at home. We only had 11 first team players available and I’m proud of every single one of them for how they have performed not just today but over the last few weeks. We now will have 3 possibly 4 players back for next week so we have to get on the training pitch and work hard on putting another run of results together. I also want to say a big thank you to the fans that travelled down”.
Daniel Craggs was given the man of the match for Shildon by Chairman David Dent, Daniel said “I’m absolutely delighted to be given man of the match after I hadn’t played for so long! I thought we played very well considering the quality of players we had missing, but the lads put a right shift in for the full 90 mins and were unlucky not to win in the end. It was a good point in difficult conditions and not the best of pitches. I would like to thank everyone at the club for the support they have given me over the last 4 weeks in what has been a very difficult period for me personally”.
David Dent, Shildon AFC Chairman, said “I’m really delighted with the performance and result today with an understrength side. Especially pleased for Danny today who showed his experience and quality. It’s an exciting time for the Club with lots of things happening off the pitch as well, and this result sets us up nicely for the forthcoming festive period where I hope to see more supporters come through the gate to complement our core fans who were also fantastic today”.
Frickley Athletic FC 1 – 1 Shildon AFC
Last Saturday’s postponed game against Ossett United has been re-arranged:
Shildon AFC vs Ossett United FC – 12th February 2022 – 3:00pm – Dean Street.
For an up-to-date list of fixtures, please check the club website.
Shildon AFC Supporters Club will be holding a meeting on Sunday 12th December 2021 at 11:00pm in the Blue Diamond Social Club at Dean Street. All supporters are welcome to attend.
As a result of the membership’s vote to adopt a formal constitution, membership of the Shildon AFC Supporters Club is now charged on an annual basis. Membership is £5 Adults (over 18) and £3 juniors (under 18). Only current members will be able to vote at the club AGM. The renewal date for membership is the month of September.
For further details on the meeting or membership applications please contact Russ Henderson on 07538 789464.
Due to the weather, today’s game vs Ossett United has been postponed as the pitch being unplayable. The Liversedge vs Lancaster City game in the FA Trophy has also been postponed today which means our game against Liversedge on Tuesday (30/11/21) will now have to be re-arranged. We will, of course, publish the new dates once agreed.
Shildon AFC is pleased to announce Wayne Gredziak and Steven West as the new management team for Shildon AFC Reserves.
Wayne is currently the manager of Darlington under 16’s academy and will be well known to Shildon fans and followers of north east football having played for Shildon, Bishop Auckland, Bedlington Terriers, Hebburn Town, Chester Le Street, Northallerton and Darlington RA. Wayne has also gained experience in management with spells at Durham & Wolviston. Wayne will take on the role of Reserve Team Manager.
Steven, also well known in local football, having played at Bishop Auckland, Whitby, West Auckland and Crook, works with Wayne at the Darlington under 16’s Academy and was assistant manager at Bishop Auckland when they won the Durham Challenge Cup. Steven will be Assistant Manager of the reserve team.
Darren Tait (Shildon AFC Director & Director of Football – Bishop Juniors) said, “I’m really pleased with the appointment of Wayne & Steven. As well as coaching/managing at a Northern League Level they will also bring in a wealth of experience from their playing days. They both understand the importance of the role & where that lies within the partnership pathway but have also already identified players that they would like to bring into the Club”
Darren continued, “I would also like to say a huge thank you to Wayne Claydon, who along with Mark Hallimond & Lee Bendelow, had a very successful first season gaining promotion to Wearside League Division 1. I’m also very pleased that Mark will be staying at the Club to work with the new management team”.
Wayne and Steven will be starting work with Shildon AFC Reserves immediately.
Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.
The main element of Play Safe is a series of short films which emphasise the importance of clubs such as ours having safeguarding as an everyday reality. The films also explain to parents/carers and children themselves what to do if they feel unsafe or worried, because nothing matters more than making sure football is safe for everyone, especially children and young people. You can see these films on the front page of our club website.
“As a youth team coach, I will be working with my club to ensure we support the Play Safe messaging,” says FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham. “I am also pleased that the campaign has the support of the former footballers with lived experience of abuse in football, who are on our Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group. The Group has collectively said:
“Learning from the past is crucial, so that we can prevent the horrific experiences that happened to us and so many others in football, from happening again.
“As a group of survivors, we fully support the ethos and important messages that Play Safe conveys – whether to club officials, parents/carers and or vitally, children and young people themselves. Equally important is that Play Safe is not a one-off campaign – it will be used at key points in the football calendar to remind everyone in football, that children’s welfare and keeping them safe, should be at the heart of all that we do.”
As the Survivor Group points out, you’ll see Play Safe appearing at various points throughout the season to keep safeguarding front of mind in football. Together, we want to do everything we can so everyone – particularly children and young people – has a consistently positive experience of our great game.
Shildon AFC are seeking a coach/manager for their reserve team.
Shildon AFC is a charter standard club with its first team playing in the Northern Premier League East Division (Step 4 of the national league system), with its reserve’s playing in the 1st Division of the Wearside League.
The Club is looking for a passionate and enthusiastic coach/manager to work within the club’s team structure to support the development of players, supporting the first team and helping support the proven partnership pathway within the Club from junior football through the reserves and into first-team football:
You will hold the relevant FA coaching badges and be willing to commit 1.5 hours during the week and of course matchdays during the season.
This is an ideal opportunity for anyone looking to gain experience and development in football at a high level and the Club will provide opportunities for support, development and progression within the football club for the right candidate.
The Club is asking all potential applicants to email, Darren Tait, at: daztait@googlemail.com with a covering letter and CV before the deadline of 5pm Tuesday 23rd November 2021.
David Dent
Chairman, Shildon AFC
An official groundbreaking ceremony was held today (12th November 2021) for the Shildon AFC Community Garden. The garden is being constructed on the waste ground at the Dean Street end of the football ground, with work already underway.
The Garden was made possible by the Club’s successful bid to the Buildbase Community Club Award, which resulted in an award of £25,000. The Club were also successful in achieving funding from the Councillors Neighbourhood Budget (which is administered by the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership (AAP)), which wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Councillors Shirley Quinn, Samantha Townsend and Matt Johnson along with Andrew Walker from the AAP.
Beverley Williams, Branch Manager (Buildbase Gateshead) said “As sponsors of the FA Vase and FA Trophy, Buildbase and Hirebase Gateshead are very proud that this year the busary award will benefit the community and locals as well as the Club and players.”
Andrew Walker, AAP Co-ordinator continued “We are delighted that through Councillors Johnson, Quinn and Townsend we could support Shildon Football Club with this fantastic community project.”
David Dent, Chairman of Shildon AFC thanked everybody involved in helping bring this project to fruition.
“This garden will be a true community asset for the people of Shildon. It wouldn’t have happened without the support of Buildbase and the AAP for which we are extremely grateful. It now provides the Club with a fantastic opportunity to build upon our community work with our partners Shildon Alive and the Solan Connor Fawcett Trust but more so it allows us to have greater reach within our community which we intend to do via our charitable arm, Shildon AFC Foundation, which we intend to launch in the New Year”.
Ashley Wharton from Shildon Alive commented “We are very excited to support this amazing initiative and work in partnership to provide an outdoor space that will not only benefit the wider community of Shildon, but bring all members together and instil pride in their hometown”.
Construction work is being undertaken by Club partner Trilogy Turf with equipment from Hirebase Gateshead and is scheduled to be completed early in the New Year.
