WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Tag: 2023/24

  • Intensive Cary.

    Intensive Cary.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 11th November 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~50
    – Distance Travelled: 49 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Somerset County League – Division One
    – Donald Pither Memorial Ground, Castle Cary
    – Weather: Sunny, Cold
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Castle Cary picked up their first win of the season last weekend when a lot of other games were called off on account of the weather. A somewhat surprising 2-1 win over Peasedown Miners Welfare meant Cary climbed up to 13th position, but still in the relegation spots. Their only draw this season so far could also be seen as a poor result – a 3-3 draw at home to winless Stockwood Green.

    Ashcott sit in 8th place having won 3, drawn 3 and lost 2 games so far this campaign. Last weekend they travelled to the North Somerset coast, and came away with a point after a 1-1 draw with Minehead. The stand out result of the season so far could be a penalty shootout win in the League Cup over Premier Division Fry Club. Ashcott currently find themselves in a rich vein of form having recently won 3 games on the trot. However this was ended by the aforementioned Peasedown Miners Welfare in the Cup.

    A fact that might well give Castle Cary hope that, if they can beat Peasedown, then they can beat Ashcott.

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  • Muddy Waters.

    Muddy Waters.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 28th October 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 369
    – Distance Travelled: 88 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Western League – Premier Division
    – Fairfax Park, Bridgwater
    – Weather: Heavy rain
    – Admission: £8
    – Programme: £2

    Intro

    Two teams in pretty decent form meet today as 3rd plays 8th. Shepton Mallet haven’t lost in the league since the end of September as they succumbed 4-0 away at 4th place Brixham. Probably their most memorable result so far this season would be the 3-1 away win over Falmouth Town – the Cornish side doing well in 5th position. Sadly for Shepton they are already out of both the FA Cup and Vase; losing in a replay to Sherborne Town in the Cup, before slipping to a 2-1 home defeat to Barnstaple Town in the Vase.

    Bridgwater United occupy 3rd spot in the League, but in fact their last league game ended in a shock 1-0 loss to mid-table St Blazey. Before that blip they had won every match since their narrow FA Cup loss to Southern League Premier outfit Salisbury FC. That cup run began with a win over Liskeard Athletic, before they thrashed Street FC 4-0 in the next round. The only time Bridgwater have failed to score this season was in that loss to St Blazey so they should be confident of scoring today.

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  • All Greek To Me.

    All Greek To Me.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Wednesday 18th October 2023
    – 16:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~200
    – Distance Travelled: n/a
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – EPS Heraklion – A1 Category
    – Municipal Stadium, Hersonissos, Crete
    – Weather: Sunny and Warm
    – Admission: €5
    – Programme: none

    Intro

    From the moment we booked our holiday in Crete I was on the lookout for a game to go to. Most leagues seemed to begin in September or October, presumably to avoid the searing heat of the summer. My visit coincided with an international break so a visit to the island’s main team OFI – based in Heraklion, the main city – was off the cards as they compete in the top division in Greece. Giouchtas, one of two island teams in the second tier, were playing the day after we arrived. Ordinarily they would play their games in the outskirts of Heraklion but this season they appear to be hosting games in the southern town of Ierapetra. A technicality meant that this was out of the question for me. Similarly a visit to Agios Nikolaos of the Gamma Ethniki (3rd tier) was off the cards. So I had to dig deeper. The 4th tier is split into many regional divisions, and information on match information is sketchy at best. Fortunately the league local to where I was staying is one of the few with a working website and I was able to be fairly certain that this match was taking place as planned!

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  • Call it a Draw.

    Call it a Draw.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Tuesday 22nd August 2023
    – 19:45 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 32
    – Distance Travelled: 42 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Western League – Division One
    – BTRA Sports Ground, Bristol
    – Weather: Sunny, mild.
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: £1

    Intro

    Saturday saw Bristol Telephones beat Hallen 1-0 in an away win that was the latest result in a topsy-turvy beginning to the season for the south Bristol club. Currently 8th in the league, the Phones have won 4 and lost 3 of their 7 games so far. A home win over Odd Down was swiftly followed by a 4-3 loss to Cribbs Reserves as the season began with a bang. A slightly concerning loss to struggling Gillingham Town is probably the low point of the season so far.

    League newcomers Middlezoy Rovers – who won the Somerset County League last season – started life in the National League System with two wins. A 4-1 win away at Hallen gave them the perfect beginning and they followed that up with a 1-0 win over Bishop Sutton in south Somerset. They were brought back down to Earth with a couple of defeats to Bradford Town and Portishead Town, before beating Cadbury Heath. Their last game, at the weekend, was a 1-0 loss to Shirehampton, and Rovers currently lie in 12th position.

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  • Border Control.

    Border Control.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 19th August 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~110
    – Distance Travelled: 74 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Welsh Cup – 2nd Qualifying Round
    – Larkfield Park, Chepstow
    – Weather: Sunny spells
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: Free

    Intro

    These two teams coincidentally faced each other just 4 days ago as they played out a 2-2 draw over at Ystrad Mynach in the Ardal League South East. Last weekend Chepstow conceded an injury time equaliser to draw in the local derby at home to Caldicot Town. Before that they won their first two league games of the season – 4-1 at home to Hay St Mary’s, followed by a 4-3 away win at Blaenavon Blues. To reach this stage of the Welsh Cup, Chepstow beat Wattsville FC 3-2 at home back at the end of July.

    Risca’s season has been a bit of a rollercoaster so far: close-sounding losses to Undy AFC and Newport City either side of a convincing win over Brecon Corries, mean they will need to find some consistency if they want to replicate last season’s good showing which culminated in a promotion play-off loss to Baglan Dragons. Risca seemingly received a bye to this round of the Cup and so will look to kick off in this competition on the right foot.

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  • Rocky Road.

    Rocky Road.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 6th August 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~45
    – Distance Travelled: 54 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Preseason Friendly
    – Cockrams, Shaftesbury
    – Weather: Sunny Spells
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    An impressive 22/23 season in the Dorset Women’s League in which they only lost 2 games, means promotion to tier 6 for Shaftesbury. They’ll be playing in the Eastern Division of the South West Regional Leagues for the new campaign. Today’s opponents will compete in the level above: the Southern Region Football League Premier Division. Seemingly spared relegation last season despite finishing at the bottom of the pile with just the 2 wins to their name. Winchester City Flyers will be looking for an improved performance in 23/24.

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  • Green About The Gills.

    Green About The Gills.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 5th August 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 32
    – Distance Travelled: 49 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Western League – Division One
    – Woodwater Lane, Gillingham
    – Weather: Rain
    – Admission: £6.50
    – Programme: £1

    Intro

    An inauspicious start to the burgeoning season has seen Gillingham Town lose both of their 2 matches so far, conceding 4 goals on both occasions. The Gills hosted Shirehampton on the opening day and lost 4-0, while midweek they travelled west to Cheddar and fared little better – a 4-1 loss this time.

    Cadbury Heath travel down from Bristol today looking to continue their quest for an immediate return to the Premier Division of the Western League. The opening day of the season had the Heath visit Portishead; the hosts won that close encounter 1-0. The Bristol club then won a 5 goal thriller in midweek over last season’s 3rd place finishers Wells City.

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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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  • Release the Hounds!

    Release the Hounds!

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 8th July 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~15
    – Distance Travelled: 5 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Preseason Friendly
    – Whaddon Lane, Hilperton
    – Weather: Cloudy, light rain showers
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Semington went last season without a team representing the village, with Trowbridge Town’s Development side using their Little Marsh pitch for their home matches. The Magpies are back for the 2023/24 season and will take part in the Trowbridge & District League (TDFL) Division 2. 2021/22 ended in a respectable 4th place in Division 1 for Semington; a season during which I saw them thrash Heytesbury FC 5-0 just before Christmas.

    Today’s hosts had a disappointing 22/23 season; finishing one off the bottom of the TDFL Division 2. Only thanks to a disastrous season for Staverton Rangers did they avoid finishing bottom. A campaign to forget saw the Greyhounds only managing wins against teams around them in the league, and suffering some heavy defeats along the way.

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