WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Tag: 2023/24

  • Wandering Free.

    Wandering Free.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 24th March 2024
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~15
    – Distance Travelled: 1.5 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Wiltshire County Women’s League
    – Lambrok Playing Fields, Trowbridge
    – Weather: Sunny
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    A bit of an underwhelming season for both of these sides so far, in a league which – as I’ve said before – feels a little unbalanced. Wanderers are currently 9th in a league of 12 teams with 3 wins to their name. They haven’t scored in their past 4 games although 2 of these were against 4th place Bemerton Heath Harlequins, and one was against runaway leaders Corsham Town. The reverse of today’s fixture came on the opening day of the season, and saw Wanderers win 5-2 in Swindon.

    Kingsdown’s only league victory this season came as the result of a walkover against Bath Athena. There have been some heavy defeats along the way, but they must be commended for putting out a team just about every weekend. Last Sunday they went up against 2nd place Durrington and were defeated 5-1 – a morale-boosting goal scored by Charlotte Chandler, and indeed they have scored at least once in each of their last 4 matches. That includes a 4-4 draw against Calne Town in the League Cup which led to the Lions winning on penalties.

    I reckon this will be a tight game between two sides looking to end the season on a high.

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  • In Reserve.

    In Reserve.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Wednesday 13th March 2024
    – 19:30 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 30
    – Distance Travelled: 65 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Western League – Division One
    – The Lawns, Bristol
    – Weather: Cloudy, Windy
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: Online only

    Intro

    Cribbs Reserves are enjoying a fruitful first season in the National League System after being promoted from the Gloucestershire County League last season. Currently they are just 6 points off top spot in 3rd position. Despite this lofty position it would appear they would not be eligible for promotion, presumably due to the First Team’s current standing in the NLS. At the weekend Cribbs actually suffered a rare home defeat – going down 4-0 to 7th place Wells City. The reverse of this fixture, back in August, finished in a 1-1 draw down in south east Bristol.

    I saw AEK Boco get held to a 2-2 draw with Bradford Town at the end of February. Since then they have played just one match – a narrow 1-0 win over struggling Cheddar. They lie in 8th position, 6 points behind Brislington who occupy the final play-off place. Boco faced Cribbs Reserves in the Les Phillips Cup (the Western League’s cup competition) in November – a game which went to penalties and had Cribbs coming out on top 4-3.

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  • Go West.

    Go West.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 10th March 2024
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~15
    – Distance Travelled: 10 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Wiltshire County Women’s League Cup – Quarter Final
    – Redland Lane, Westbury
    – Weather: Cloudy, mild
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    These two teams have met twice in the league already this year, with Westbury coming out on top both times. Currently in 7th position (out of 12), Westbury’s last game (due to being handed a walkover, and then a postponement) was in fact a 2-1 away win over Highworth.

    Today’s visitors to Redland Lane are a place lower than their hosts in the league, and in their last match lost 5-2 to Durrington. Their standout result so far this season is probably their 6-1 win over Calne Town back in September, while a result to forget was their 4-0 defeat to strugglers Bath Athena.

    The league strikes me as somewhat unbalanced with the top 4 teams – Corsham Town (who at the time of writing have scored 100 goals, and conceded just 4 in 16 games), FC Chippenham, Durrington and Bemerton Heath Harlequins seemingly streets ahead, and regularly inflicting heavy defeats on their opponents.

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  • Two-All A Good Night.

    Two-All A Good Night.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Tuesday 27th February 2024
    – 19:30 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 49
    – Distance Travelled: 42 miles

    – Western League – Division One
    – Greenbank Road, Bristol
    – Weather: Drizzle
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: £1

    Intro

    AEK Boco currently occupy 8th position in the Western League Division One. On Saturday their game against Wells City was postponed due to recent heavy rain. Boco started the season well enough, with just one loss in their opening 7 matches. In the FA Vase, they took Hellenic Premier side Tuffley Rovers to a penalty shootout, which Rovers won 4-1. With recent performances being generally underwhelming, they’ll be looking for a big showing tonight to keep up with the teams in and around them.

    Bradford Town have had a quiet season since their relegation from the Hellenic Premier (and subsequent lateral movement back to the Western League). They currently sit in 12th with an impressive +18 goal difference, thanks in part to 5-0 and 8-0 wins over bottom club Bishop Sutton. Like today’s hosts, Bradford forced a penalty shootout in their opening FA Vase match, but also lost – in this case to Longwell Green Sports. This came after a strong start to the season which saw the Bobcats win their first 5 league matches including a 3-1 victory over the aforementioned Longwell Green. At the weekend Bradford made another trip to Bristol but lost 1-0 to Bristol Telephones, a result which saw Phones leapfrog Town in the standings.

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  • College Football.

    College Football.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 24th February 2024
    – 13:30 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~30
    – Distance Travelled: 16 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – A&B Cup – Quarter Final
    – Selwood Academy, Frome
    – Weather: Overcast
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Sadly at the start of the season Frome Collegians felt it necessary to drop out of the Wiltshire Senior League and merge with their reserve team in the Trowbridge & District League. This season just 8 teams have been competing in the First Division after The Lodge FC and Trowbridge Town Reserves forfeited. Collegians are currently 5th in the League, having won 6, drawn 1 and lost 5 matches. A fortnight ago, in the Spring Cup, they drew 4-4 with FC Devizes United despite being 3-0 up at half time. They have really benefitted from their home pitch’s proximity to the Selwood Academy – using their 4G pitch to beat the recent wet weather. Despite this, last week their game at Bradford Town Reserves was called off after the referee withdrew.

    Hilperton Greyhound are 3rd in the Second Division, a league with 12 teams competing this season. They’ve played out no draws in the league this season, but 10 managed wins and just 5 losses. The league, as it often is, is quite hard to read with teams having played vastly different amounts of games due to postponements. At one end of the spectrum Holt FC have played 20 matches, while Semington Magpies at the other end have played just 13. Last weekend Greyhound impressively beat First Division Heytesbury & Codford 4-0 away in the Knockout Cup, while the Saturday before that they went down 3-2 to the aforementioned Holt in the League.

    This, for me, is a hard one to call and I look forward to an interesting match up.

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  • Better Yate Than Never.

    Better Yate Than Never.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Tuesday 30th January 2024
    – 19:45 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 227
    – Distance Travelled: 50 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Southern League – Division One South
    – Lodge Road, Yate
    – Weather: Cold
    – Admission: £12
    – Programme: £2

    Intro

    It wasn’t so long ago that Yate Town looked destined for a battle to remain in the Southern League. However the arrival of Joe Guest and Nick McCootie from troubled Taunton Town has jump-started their season and the Bluebells find themselves having won their last 4 matches. In fact they haven’t lost since Boxing Day – a narrow 1-0 loss at fellow strugglers Paulton Rovers. The aforementioned victories came against Larkhall Athletic, Bemerton Heath Harlequins, Mousehole, and – most recently – bottom side Exmouth Town.

    Tavistock make another trip north after visiting Bishops Cleeve on Saturday, and coming away with 3 points after a 4-3 win in Gloucestershire. The Lambs are a couple of places below their hosts today, albeit with a few games in hand. Other recent results have been rather varied – a disappointing 2-0 home loss to Exmouth was swiftly followed by a 6-2 romp over league leaders Frome Town.

    Yate will be confident of continuing their winning streak, but if the right Tavistock show up it could be a close encounter.

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  • The Cirens Calling.

    The Cirens Calling.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 7th January 2024
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~40
    – Distance Travelled: 74 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Gloucestershire County Women’s League – Division One
    – The Corinium Stadium, Cirencester
    – Weather: Cold, Sunny Spells
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: n/a

    Intro

    Top of the table Cirencester Town start the new calendar year with a 100% record in the league. Despite having won every game, they are only 3 points ahead of Whitchurch Ladies thanks to having a couple of game in hand. They’ll hope to continue their impressive form into 2024 as they look to secure promotion to the South West Regional League.

    Cheltenham Civil Service should provide decent opposition today having only lost one game themselves so far this season. That loss came back on the first day of the season against Dursley Town. Since then the Civis have beaten 2nd place Whitchurch so are clearly no pushovers.

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  • Win-canton.

    Win-canton.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 30th December 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~80
    – Distance Travelled: 54 miles
    – Line Ups

    – Western League – Division One
    – Moor Lane, Wincanton
    – Weather: Rainy, windy
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: £1

    Intro

    Wincanton Town start the day in 6th place and, thanks (I presume) to restrictions in how far up the pyramid Cribbs Reserves are allowed to progress, occupy the final play-off place in the division. 2 days before Christmas they managed a morale-boosting 2-1 away win over Shirehampton after something of a topsy-turvy run of results. That run included a heavy defeat at mid-table Middlezoy Rovers and an impressive 3-2 win over 2nd place Radstock Town. Last season the Wasps did make the play-offs, only to lose out in a marathon penalty shootout to Oldland Abbotonians, who were eventually promoted to the Premier Division.

    Wells City find themselves in 10th position, but with at least 2 games in hand over their close rivals in the league. This is thanks to their exploits in the FA Vase where they reached the 3rd Round proper. This game against Hamworthy Recreation of the Wessex League was supposed to take place on the 2nd of December but thanks to the weather didn’t happen until a fortnight later. A narrow 2-1 defeat put an end to the Somerset side’s impressive run which included wins over higher-placed opposition in the shape of Welton Rovers, Laverstock & Ford, and Portland United. In the league, Wells are in a pretty rich vein of form with recent wins over Middlezoy, Gillingham Town and Keynsham Town.

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  • Twin Towns.

    Twin Towns.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 9th December 2023
    – 13:30 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~30
    – Distance Travelled: 52 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Wiltshire Junior Cup – 3rd Round
    – Elcot Lane, Marlborough
    – Weather: Cold, Windy
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    By my reckoning there is a couple of league’s difference between these 2 sides. Marlborough currently play in Division One of the Wiltshire Senior League – 2 leagues below the National League System. Their visitors today are a couple of divisions below that, in the Stroud & District League Division Two.

    Marlborough are 8th out of 15 in their league, but with several games in hand over many of their rivals, there is potential for them to move up the division if results go their way. They don’t seem to have played a game since November 25th when they defeated Trowbridge Tigers in the previous round of this competition. That was a convincing 5-0 win over another team from a couple of levels below them. Prior to that you have to go back a whole for another Marlborough Town game – this time a 2-4 home defeat to Pewsey Vale. Marlborough have been involved in lots of high-scoring matches so far this season, including a 4-4 draw with Devizes Town Reserves, and a 4-3 win over Lambourn Sports.

    Sherston Town are flying high in their league currently. They are in 2nd position; 3 points behind leaders Stroud United but with 2 games in hand. Their last game, at the end of November, was a resounding 8-1 victory over Charfield Reserves. In the last round of this cup they beat Holt FC of the Trowbridge & District League 4-0. Much like today’s opponents, Sherston have been involved in some really goal-heavy matches including a remarkable 16-0 thrashing of Quedgeley Wanderers Reserves. Hopefully, with this in mind, there should be plenty of goals to enjoy today.

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  • The Royal Treatment.

    The Royal Treatment.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 3rd December 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~40
    – Distance Travelled: 66 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – South West Regional Women’s League – Eastern Division
    – Gerard Buxton Sports Ground – Royal Wootton Bassett
    – Weather: Overcast
    – Admission: £4
    – Programme: £2

    Intro

    Unfortunately the ground I had planned to visit today – The Red House at Purton near Swindon – had its game called off just as I arrived. The Bath City Ladies team were deciding which pub to go to instead, as I was approaching the club house. I knew I would have relatively few choices for an alternative as of course there aren’t as many games most Sundays. I was originally tempted to venture across Swindon to see Swindon Town’s Women’s team take on Torquay United, but I had it in my head that parking might not be the easiest, particularly as I was in a hurry to miss as little of the game as possible. The only other option I could see was to revisit the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground in Royal Wootton Bassett. Bassett’s Ladies – 3rd in the league – were taking on rock-bottom Ridgeway FC Ladies. So off I went to the other side of the M4…

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