Steve Castle & Cole Dasilva | Bishop's Stortford

Bishop's Stortford have started the season is superb fashion. The Blues have picked up six points out of six, and scored eight goals, conceding one solitary goal.

Cole Dasilva (Left) | Steve Castle (Right) 📸 Bishop's Stortford

The side from Hertfordshire currently sit top of the Southern League Premier Division Central, all be it two games in. But it is the first time they have sat at the summit since winning promotion to step 3 in April 2023.

The Blues brought in seven new signings ahead of the new season, but it is the old guard who have shone so far this season. New man Saleem Akanbi scored a brace on Tuesday night, but the rest of the goals have come from Cole Dasilva (3), Nahum Melvin-Lambert (2), and Luka Chalwell (1) who all played for the club last season.

I spoke with Bishop's Stortford's current top scorer this season, Cole Dasilva after their win over Bromsgrove Sporting last weekend to discuss his reasons to stay at the club, how he spent the summer, and his and the teams' expectations for the next nine months.

"It was massively important to start the season with a victory, especially one that was away from home. We had a tough 2025, so needed the win to boost the squads morale. We had a good pre-season, brought some excellent new players to the club so we went into the game last weekend full of confidence.

"My decision to stay at Stortford was an easy choice. There is a brilliant family feel around the club, the changing room, the management team and staff. The gaffer's (Steve Castle) ideas and plans align nicely with mine for the next nine months, so staying was a no brainer.

"I spent the majority of my off season in Qatar, running off season camps with my colleague and lead coach Brodie Couzins. I managed to do a bit of work out there in between sessions, and maintained that as well as I could when I arrived back into the UK ahead of pre-season.

"As a club we are aiming to be right up there come the end of the season. We had a tough campaign last season, but after a full year back at step 3, we feel ready to push up the table. We have recruited well and kept hold of key players and will look to build each week and add as many points as possible. We want to give it a proper go, and give the fans what they deserve, step 2 football."

I also spoke with Bishop's Stortford boss Steve Castle after the Bromsgrove win to chat about the opening day win, his current squad, retained players, and his sides expectations for the 25/26 campaign.

"The win on Saturday was extremely pleasing. We had a reasonable pre-season, nothing special, but positive, however it means nothing unless you start the season well, which we have so far. I do not think we played that well. We won with two penalties, but I was happy with the clean sheet against a side who added a lot of goals to their side in the summer.

"The squad has definitely been strengthened over the last three months. We made sure we brought in a mixture of qualities to the side, experience, energy and of course quality. We never say we are finished when bringing in new faces, because things change quickly at this level, and you always need to be on the lookout for talent.

"We were very pleased to have kept hold of Nahum Melvin-Lambert and Luka Chalwell for the upcoming season. They are two great lads who score goals and made a huge impact at the end of last season. The next challenge for them is to continue that into this season, which is a big one for everyone.

"I think our expectations for the season is to really push for wins and top performances week in and week out. I really feel that we can take on any team in this league, and we showed it last season with back to back wins against Spalding United and Harborough Town, both of which away from home. We will not win every game, but we are no pushovers in this league.

"Realistically there are bigger budget sides in our league than us, but we will work with what we have. I am not complaining when I say there are better sides than us, it is a fact, there are some extremely high quality teams in this division. Saying that good team spirit, and good work ethic takes you a long way in football, and I know we will be in for an interesting next nine months."

Bishop's Stortford's Season In Numbers

4️⃣ | Across the opening two fixtures this season, Bishop's Stortford are one of four sides to have kept an away clean sheet, alongside Alvechurch, Banbury United and Quorn.

4️⃣ | Bishop's Stortford are one of four sides across the opening two games to have scored first in both fixtures, alongside Banbury United, Spalding United, and Quorn.

5️⃣ | Across the opening two rounds of fixtures, Bishop's Stortford have scored more second half goals than any other side, with five.

4️⃣ | In similarity to the previous statistic, Bishop's Stortford have scored more goals after the 76th minute this season than any other side, with four goals.

1️⃣4️⃣9️⃣ | Across the opening fixtures, Bishop's Stortford have led in the two opening games for a total of 149 minutes, 43 minutes more than the league's next best Banbury United.