WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Category: Hellenic League

  • Brim and Proper.

    Brim and Proper.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 12th October 2024
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 70
    – Distance Travelled: 72 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Hellenic League – Premier Division
    – The Meadow, Brimscombe
    – Weather: Mostly sunny, cool
    – Admission: £7
    – Programme: Online only

    Intro

    Bottom of the pile Brimscombe & Thrupp already have an unenviable goal difference of -47. This unwelcome statistic comes largely courtesy of two consecutive thrashings within four September days of each other. On September 21st they hosted Westfields who mercilessly defeated the Lilywhites 11-0, then the following Wednesday Brimscombe headed south to face off against Roman Glass St George but somehow managed an even worse result; losing 12-0 at the Gloucestershire FA HQ. Despite these two low points, it’s not been all doom and gloom – last weekend they travelled to Sporting Club Inkberrow at came away with a 2-1 victory. The Lilywhites’ other victory came at home to Cirencester Town, and with a couple of games in hand over a number of teams around them it shouldn’t take too much to climb the table.

    Worcester Raiders sit in 9th position and haven’t suffered defeat since mid-September when they lost away at Highworth Town. They have drawn half of their 14 games so far including back-to-back 3-3 ties with Slimbridge and Cirencester Town. An impressive 6-0 win over promotion hopefuls Corsham Town last weekend demonstrates the potential of this Raiders side. They enjoyed a midweek win in the County Cup against Malvern Town, so on the one hand they have built up some momentum, but also have had less of a break than their hosts today.

    On paper this looks like a win for the visitors, however Brimscombe have brought in a number of new signings so who knows! Let’s hope for a competitive game with plenty of talking points.

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  • Victoria’s Secret.

    Victoria’s Secret.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Tuesday 16th April 2024
    – 19:45 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 286
    – Distance Travelled: 48 miles

    – Hellenic League – Division One Play-Off Semi Final
    – The Flying Monk Ground, Malmesbury
    – Weather: Sunny, becoming cold
    – Admission: £5
    – Programme: ?

    Intro

    A decent improvement on last season – when they finished in 8th position – has seen Malmesbury Victoria comfortably qualify for the play offs this time around. Despite finishing 9 points behind champions Hartpury University, Vics inflicted one of the Gloucestershire side’s 2 defeats back in August. Their run-in has been good, with only 2 league defeats this calendar year – against 2 sides who themselves narrowly missed out on play-off spots this season – FC Bristol and FC Stratford. The season got off to a great start as they won 8 of their 9 opening league matches, although they did lose in the opening round of the FA Vase to Tuffley Rovers from the league above.

    Promoted from the Wiltshire County League last season, Devizes Town are looking to make it back-to-back promotions as they battle for a place in the Hellenic Premier Division. It would be no mean feat, but if they do manage it it would be in no small part thanks to the experience of player-manager Chris Allen. They snuck into the play-off places level on points with FC Bristol, but with a better goal difference. Some strong performances of late – including a 0-0 draw at home to the league winners – secured 5th place for Town. It looked at one point like they might have blown it, as they went down 0-1 at home to FC Bristol, but inconsistency from Bristol allowed Devizes to keep above them.

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  • High Time.

    High Time.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 22nd July 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~60
    – Distance Travelled: 88 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Preseason Friendly
    – The Elms, Highworth
    – Weather: Rain
    – Admission: £5
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Highworth Town were relegated from the Southern League Division One Central at the end of last season, after a disastrous end to the campaign in which they won only one of their last 12 matches. As a result they find themselves in the Premier Division of the Hellenic League for the 2023/24 season and will hope to make an immediate return to Step 4. Preseason has so far seen Highworth lose to new League rivals Cinderford Town, before a 2-2 draw at home to a youthful Swindon Town XI. Their latest friendly saw them take on Devizes Town at home which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

    I’m not ashamed to say that I wasn’t sure where Wallingford OR Crowmarsh (Gifford) was, before discovering – with the help of a certain online map – they are both located in Oxfordshire, each one either side of the Thames just east of Didcot. The football team plies its trade in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North, finishing in 10th position (out of 21) last time out. They finished the season strongly, losing just one of the final 8 games, including two convincing wins over London Lions who were similarly placed in the table.

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  • A Long Story.

    A Long Story.

    CALNE TOWN 2 – 2 LONG CRENDON FC

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 7th January 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 65
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Hellenic League – Division One
    – Bremhill View, Calne
    – Weather: Rain
    – Admission: £5

    Intro

    Despite believing geography to be one of my stronger subjects I’ll admit I had to look up where exactly Long Crendon is. The village is located in west Buckinghamshire, while the club currently groundshare over the border at Oxford City as they work on getting their ground in Bucks compliant with Step 6 football. They travel westwards today 4 league places lower than their hosts. Their league form seems a tad patchy – losing their previous 3 games including a 4-1 loss at home to Stonehouse Town last time out. Conversely they got off to an impressive start to the season, winning all of 3 of their opening matches, beginning with a 5-2 away victory over Southam United and following that up with a 4-0 success over Littleton. Since then it’s been a bit inconsistent, although Long Crendon did beat Calne in Oxfordshire back in October.

    Calne Town are currently in 8th position after being relegated from the Hellenic Premier Division last season. Of course they’ll be eager to return to that level, however it isn’t looking likely to happen this spring as The Lilywhites struggle to keep a positive run of form together. Having said that, good recent wins over higher-placed Abingdon United in the league, and over Worcester Raiders (of the Hellenic Premier) in the League Cup, show what Calne are capable of. The Wiltshire side’s first game of the year saw them lose narrowly to 2nd placed Milton United who are 12 points behind leaders Pershore Town but with 4 games in hand.

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  • Battle Royale.

    Battle Royale.

    ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT TOWN 1 – 1 WINDSOR FC

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    Saturday 6th August 2022

    FA Cup – Extra Preliminary Round

    15:00 Kick Off

    Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, Royal Wootton Bassett

    Attendance: 119

    Sunny and Warm

    Full Photo Gallery

    Admission: £6

    Intro

    A fixture with regality written all over it marks the 2nd game of the season for the home side – a tough match against Hellenic League new boys Mangotsfield United on Tuesday ended in an impressive 1-0 victory for Bassett. Last season they finished in a comfortable mid-table position, losing as many games as they won. In last year’s FA Cup they made it past this round, before succumbing to Ardley United in a Preliminary Round replay. They had more success in the FA Vase, lasting until December when they lost to eventual semi-finalists Hamworthy United in the 3rd Round.

    Windsor make their competitive debut for the season today, with the Combined Counties Premier League North not starting until next weekend. They finished last season’s campaign at 7th in the league but quite a way off the promoted teams. Not too surprising when you hear that league winners Hanworth Villa drew 4 and didn’t lose a game all season, storming to the title. Like their opponents today, The Royalists had an equal number of losses and wins. A short-lived FA Cup campaign last season had Windsor beaten by Tuffley Rovers in the Extra Preliminary Round, while in the FA Vase they beat Kensington & Ealing Borough, before losing heavily to Wellingborough Whitworth in the 2nd Qualifying Round.

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  • A Tuff Result to Take

    A Tuff Result to Take

    Bradford Town 7 – 1 Tuffley Rovers
    Hellenic League – Premier Division
    Saturday 15th January 2022
    Trowbridge Road, Bradford-On-Avon (view on map)

    Attendance: 116
    Admission: £6
    Weather: Cold and dry

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    The Season So Far:

    Today’s hosts are enjoying a fruitful first season in the Hellenic League after moving over from the Western League prior to this campaign. Currently in 2nd position, 9 points behind leaders Bishops Cleeve but with a game in hand over the Gloucestershire side. Only a few real blips in the last couple of months – losses to 5th place Brimscombe & Thrupp and the aforementioned Mitres, along with a midweek exit from the Wiltshire Premier Shield to local rivals Corsham Town – take the sheen off a strong run of games. There will be strong competition for 2nd position and potential promotion to the Southern League via the play-offs, with only 7 points separating 2nd and 10th place.

    At the other end of the table we find Tuffley Rovers. Currently in 17th place (out of 20), they are certainly in a relegation scrap. 20th place Hallen look destined for demotion with just 9 points – 8 from safety. Whoever finishes in 19th will be part of a somewhat convoluted system to work out who else goes down: the 4 second-from-bottom teams at Step 5 (out of 16 leagues) with the worst points per game record will be relegated. Rovers come into this match off the back of a rotten run of form. Other than a decent win over Shrivenham last weekend, you have to go back to late October to find their last 3 points. 11 straight losses in the league won’t fill them with confidence, not least against opponents gunning for promotion. One source of hope for Tuffley may well be their impressive 0-0 draw away to the league leaders Bishops Cleeve back in October, showing that they aren’t a lost cause.

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