WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Bish. Bash. Bosh.

Bishops Lydeard AFC 0 – 3 Bishop Sutton FC
Western League – Division One
Saturday 9th April 2022
Darby Way, Bishops Lydeard (view on map)

Attendance: 59
Admission: £5
Weather: Sunny

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The Season So Far:

The collective noun for a group of bishops is an episcopate and so if I learn nothing else from today’s visit then at least I’ll be able to shoehorn this little nugget of information into a conversation in the near future. The hosts today find themselves destined to face a possible relegation as they find themselves 2nd bottom, with the bottom 3 in the League possibly being relegated to County level. Presumably this depends on the status of any teams vying for promotion to the Western League. According to my admittedly underwhelming maths skills this is not completely certain, though. However, with 18 potential points to win over their remaining 6 games, and being 13 points from definite safety, this is all but inevitable for the home side. And indeed they have lost their last 10 league matches, having not drawn since early February (away at Cheddar), and not won all 3 points since defeating Gillingham Town in mid-January. The reverse of today’s fixture actually saw Bishops Lydeard coming away from Lakeview with the W back in August after a 2-1 away win. This might give them a glimmer of hope of getting something from today’s clash.

Bishop Sutton come into this game off the back of an impressive 1-0 win over 4th place Warminster Town last weekend. The past couple of months has been a bit of a rollercoaster for the Chew Valley side: the 5-0 away win over mid-table rivals Tytherington Rocks sitting uncomfortably next to the 2-2 home draw with bottom side Devizes Town. There have been enough good times, however, to ensure that they sit in a comfortable 12th place. One particular highlight for the season is surely their 2-0 FA Vase win over Premier Division side Ilfracombe Town in September. The following round saw them lose to Wendron United in Cornwall – a fair reflection of their season as a whole it would seem.

If I was a betting man my money would be on Sutton, but I am never one to rest on his laurels, and Lydeard have already shown their near-namesakes what they are capable of earlier in the campaign.

Wise Guys

Mountwise AFC 2 – 1 Mainstone Social
Plymouth & West Devon League Cup
Saturday 12th March 2022
Manadon Sports Hub, Plymouth (view on map)

Attendance: ~20 (headcount)
Admission: Free
Weather: Windy, rain

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The Season So Far:

These two sides participate currently in Division One of the Plymouth and West Devon League. The League above is one of four feeder leagues to the Devon Football League, which in turn is a feeder to the National League System; the South West Peninsula League, to be precise. To be honest this was not my first choice of game to attend but was happy to be able to go to a game at all, given the weather that had preceded the weekend. The 3G pitch was probably the sole reason for this game going ahead so I am extremely grateful for that! Mainstone are currently top of the table so in my mind come into this Cup contest as favourites. The home side aren’t terribly far behind, in 3rd position (out of 9 teams). Mountwise’s previous game was a loss to League rivals Hooe Rovers in another of the cup competitions, but you’d have to go all the way back to October to find their next most recent defeat. The visitors have only lost one League game all season; a 5-2 home defeat to Horrabridge Rangers who currently occupy 7th position.

A Miner Inconvenience

Radstock Town 2 – 1 Portishead Town
Western League – Division One
Saturday 5th March 2022
Southfields, Radstock (view on map)

Attendance: 67
Admission: £5
Weather: Cold, windy

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The Season So Far:

5th place Radstock Town, occupying the last play-off spot in the Western League Division One, were game-less last weekend (presumably due to the odd number of teams in the division this season). The newsworthy storms put pay to their game against Oldland Abbotonians the previous week so we have to go back to the 12th February for the Miners’ last league fixture: a somewhat surprising 2-0 home loss to mid-table Hengrove Athletic. Recent form has been pretty inconsistent: a 6-1 defeat here, a 7-1 victory there, but they remain well placed for the play-offs and potential promotion to the Premier Division. Les Phillips Cup action midweek at home to Gillingham Town was called off due to a waterlogged pitch so today is the Miners’ first game in 3 weeks.

Today’s opponents are down in 17th position (out of 21) but with a handful of games in hand over several of their near rivals. They are probably safe from relegation, however, being 9 points clear of Bristol Telephones who occupy the highest relegation spot (although even these teams aren’t necessarily doomed to relegation). An impressive 4-1 win over Almondsbury last weekend was followed by a 3-0 defeat away at Premier Division Ashton and Backwell United in the Les Phillips Cup on Tuesday The reverse of today’s fixture, back in September, saw Radstock emerge victorious at Portishead’s Bristol Road ground. Radstock may be a tad rusty having not played a game in 21 days, while Portishead come into today’s match off the back of a heavy defeat.

Marlborough’s Plight

Trowbridge Town 3-1 Marlborough Town
Wiltshire Senior League
Saturday 22nd January 2022
Woodmarsh, Trowbridge (view on map)

Attendance: ~55
Admission: £3
Weather: Overcast, cold

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The Season So Far:

Trowbridge Town began this season with a new lease of light: now under the guidance of Westbury United legend Jamie Jordan and with a squad peppered with local players with good experience playing in the Western League, it was clear what the Bees’ intentions were for this season. If promotion is to be achieved it would be interesting to see where they would play their home games as Woodmarsh sadly lacks floodlights, which are needed for the next level up. The proposed new 3G pitch near Hilperton, by the rugby club, is still in early stages of development so if that was being targeted by the football club as a possible new home it wouldn’t be for a number of years. As it happens, promotion is still a possibility but far from guaranteed.

The Bees are in 5th position currently, with a game in hand over 4th place Corsham Town Development. The presence of several Reserve teams in the league may benefit Trowbridge as presumably the former would be restricted in how far they can be promoted. Last weekend saw Town go down 0-1 away at 2nd place Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, but prior to that they had a run of 3 comprehensive victories: 4-0 away at Corsham Development after an 11 (eleven) -0 drubbing of basement side Purton and a 9-0 pummeling of Frome Collegians.

Today’s visitors from north east of here are down in 13th (of 17) and in danger of falling into the three team relegation zone. They started the season strongly enough, with a 0-0 away at Odd Down Reserves and then a 5-1 win over Stratton Juniors. 3 defeats – including a 0-5 and 0-7 – followed and results after that were inconsistent at best: the only wins coming against fellow strugglers Purton and Ludgershall Sports.

Ace in the Hole

Aces FC 1 – 2 Shrewton United Development
Trowbridge & District League – Spring Cup
Saturday 5th February 2022
Sulis Sports Club, Bath (view on map)

Attendance: 4
Admission: Free
Weather: Windy, rain showers, cold

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The Season So Far:

Aces FC are a bit of an enigma – seemingly no social media presence and just the odd mention online courtesy of opponents mentioning a score line or a local paper announcing when they joined the Trowbridge & District League (TDFL) back in 2014. What I could discern is that they are a Bath-based team… and that is about it. Their home games are played at the Sulis Sports Club which is owned by the nearby University of Bath, but to be honest has probably seen better days.

Their previous 2 games have been awarded to the opposition, presumably for Aces being unable to raise a side (although I’m happy to be corrected on that matter). On January 15th they came up against TDFL Division 2 runaway winners Seend United and found themselves on the wrong end of a 13-0 scoreline in the A&B Cup. Their last win came in the League back at the start of December when they beat Bradford Town A 2-0 at home. They are sat in 8th (of 10) in the TDFL Division 2 with just a handful of wins so far, but at least a couple of games in hand over the other teams in the division.

Shrewton United Development share a league with their hosts today and are currently 4th in the league. Last weekend they lost narrowly to The Duke FC, who they drew with the week before that. Both of those games were in the Spring Cup (as is today’s match). Shrewton’s last league action saw them beat Dilton Marsh Wanderers 3-1 at home in mid December. Their stand out result came at the end of November when they thrashed Calne Eagles 9-1.

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

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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.

Nice as Pies

Semington Magpies 5 – 0 Heytesbury FC
Trowbridge & District League – Division One
Saturday 18th December 2021
Little Marsh, Semington (view on map)

Attendance: 5 (headcount)
Admission: Free
Weather: Cloudy

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The Season So Far:

With only ten teams competing in each Division of the Trowbridge and District League, the season is actually nearly over. In fact the Champions of Division Two have been confirmed already (Seend United). I believe after the League element of the season, the teams then compete in a Spring Cup. Semington Magpies are currently in 5th position, 6 points behind today’s opponents but with 3 games in hand. Last week’s game away at Staverton Rangers was called off due to the rain, and the week before that the Pies crashed out of the Wiltshire Junior Cup to Blunsdon FC of the Swindon and District League (SDFL). Prior to that, however, they managed two impressive away wins against mid-table Marshfield and 2nd place Hilperton United.

Heytesbury FC have had a mixed time of it recently: Last week they beat Westbury United Reserves away 7-3, and before that also exited the Wiltshire Junior Cup to a SDFL team – KO Plastering. November was a mixed bag too with an 8-0 win over Warminster Town Reserves and a draw against bottom side Freshford. The last meeting between Semington and Heytesbury was another high scoring affair – the latter taking the points with a 6-4 win.

Semington will therefore be out for revenge today, while the visitors will be looking to make 3rd place theirs.

Rockin’ Robins

Frome Town 3 – 0 Willand Rovers
Southern League – Division One South
Saturday 11th December 2021
Badgers Hill, Frome (view on map)

Attendance: 377
Admission: £10
Weather: Drizzle

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The Season So Far:

My first Southern League game of the season sees me head 8 miles south and across the border into Somerset. Frome Town are sitting pretty at the top of Division One South, six points clear of AFC Totton, although Town have played one more game than their Hampshire rivals.

The Robins recently suffered their first League loss of the season – a surprise 1-0 defeat to Highworth Town. Other than that the League season so far has been fairly plain sailing – Frome have won all their other games apart from three draws. They have, however, been knocked out of the FA Cup and Trophy, albeit after decent runs in the earlier rounds: The FA Cup saw them defeated convincingly by National League South Bath City. Prior to this they did manage a very impressive victory over Oxford City, who compete 2 levels higher alongside the aforementioned Romans. Frome were knocked out of the FA Trophy on penalties by AFC Totton (and will be hoping that result does not foreshadow the end of the League season!), after having beaten Didcot Town from the equivalent Division One Central, and then Poole Town from one of the Leagues above – the Premier Division South.

Visiting from Devon, Willand Rovers are currently in 12th position in the League and come into this game off the back of a 3-1 win over struggling Cinderford Town (Willand’s midweek game against Highworth Town was called off due to a waterlogged pitch). Like their opponents, Rovers have also been knocked out of both main Cup competitions: falling at the first hurdle away to Aylesbury Town in the FA Cup, and making it to the 1st Round proper of the Trophy before losing to Hartley Wintney. To get to that stage Willand beat Yate Town from the Southern Premier Division South.

On paper this looks like another win for Frome, but both teams have shown this season that the unexpected can happen, and so I keep an open mind about the result and look forward to an entertaining game.

Ford Focus.

Laverstock & Ford FC 6 – 1 Infinity FC
Wessex League – Division One
Saturday 20th November 2021
The Dell, Salisbury (view on map)

Attendance: 101
Admission: £6
Weather: Overcast

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The Season So Far:

Laverstock and Ford FC, one of the Salisbury-based teams in the Wessex League, are currently on a decent run of results – unbeaten since the 18th September in the league they currently lie in 7th position. Recent results include draws against high-flyers Bemerton Heath Harlequins, and Folland Sports who currently sit top and 3rd respectively. The only real blips recently were losing to Liskeard Athletic in the FA Vase, and being knocked out of the Wiltshire Senior Cup on penalties by local rivals Downton FC.

Today’s visitors to The Dell are recent newcomers to the Wessex League Infinity FC. They were promoted alongside Millbrook FC from the Hampshire Premier League for the start of this season. Presently sat in 18th position (out of 20), they are seemingly not having the best of seasons so far, and will be eager to put an end to the run of 5 consecutive league losses that they are currently on. Their debut campaign at this level got off to the perfect start on the Isle of Wight with a 2-0 win at East Cowes Victoria, but since then the team currently ground-sharing with Hythe and Dibden FC have only won 3 times in the league.

Beat The Odds

Almondsbury FC 2 – 1 Odd Down AFC
Western League – Division One
Saturday 23rd October 2021
The Field, Almondsbury (view on map)

Attendance: 16
Admission: £6
Weather: Overcast

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The Season So Far:

With Odd Down having taken voluntary demotion ahead of this season, they come into this game as favourites, particularly as their hosts are struggling at the wrong end of the Division One table. Almondsbury had to wait until Match Day 4 before picking up their first point away at Longwell Green, and then remained on a solitary draw until mid-September when they beat Gillingham Town. Last weekend Almondsbury succumbed to a 4-2 loss at Cheddar. Today’s visitors sit in 8th position with a mixed record so far – an impressive 5-2 win over league newcomers Tytherington Rocks sits alongside heavy defeats to Warminster and, in the FA Cup, Alresford Town. 7 days ago Odd Down beat Portishead 3-1 in Bath – revenge for the mirrored result earlier in the season against Portishead.

With all this in mind, my money would be on the away side taking all 3 points today. However Almondsbury will be looking to spring a surprise and kick start their season with a strong performance today.