WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Tag: April

  • A Last Hurrah.

    A Last Hurrah.

    Oldland Abbotonians 2 – 1 Portishead Town
    Western League – Division One
    Saturday 30th April 2022
    Aitchison Playing Field, Oldland Common (view on map)

    Attendance: 42
    Admission: £6
    Weather: Sunny

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    The Season So Far:

    The final game of the season for both of these teams – no chance of the play-offs for either, however Oldland should be pleased with their season, after struggling somewhat in recent campaigns. Win today and they will finish 10th – by leap-frogging Bishop Sutton – and avoid a negative goal difference. Another highlight was the Abbots’ FA Vase run which saw them beat Combined Counties side Eversley & California on their own patch. The reward was a home tie against Helston Athletic from the league above. The match finished 2-2 and the lower league team beat the odds to win on penalties. Another Western Premier Division side awaited in the next round – Street FC. Again Oldland held their own over 90 minutes – 1-1 the score in Somerset. Their luck ran out, however, at the Cobblers won 5-4 in the shootout. It was a high-scoring affair when Oldland met Portishead in the reverse fixture back in October. Portishead were on the right end of a 4-3 result that day.

    If my maths are correct, the highest Portishead can finish is 13th this season. They would obviously need to win today in order for that to happen, and as mentioned previously they did beat Oldland earlier this season. That was on home turf, though so who knows what might happen. They are on a pretty decent run of games including draws with 3rd place Wincanton Town, and 4th place Welton Rovers. I saw Portishead play out a 2-1 loss at Radstock Town last month. An impressive couple of home games in March saw Posset beat struggling Bishops Lydeard and then play-off-seeking AEK Boco. There was no such joy in the FA Vase though – falling at the first hurdle at home to Royal Wootton Bassett Town.

    So, hopefully today won’t be a damp squib with neither side having anything to play for other than the pride of winning on the day. I for one am hoping for the seven goals that these sides provided in October.

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  • Bish. Bash. Bosh.

    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

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    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.

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  • The Taming of the Shrews

    The Taming of the Shrews

    Frome Collegians 3 – 0 Shrewton United
    Fountain Trophies Senior Cup – Group B
    Saturday 24th April 2021
    The Old Showfield, Frome (view on map)
    Attendance: ?
    Admission: Free

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    The Season So Far:

    As with most league competitions, the Wiltshire Senior League’s 20/21 season was curtailed thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. These two sides both currently participate in that same competition (despite Frome not being in Wiltshire); today’s home team were 4th of 11, with their visitors in 9th when the season was halted. Like a lot of leagues, positions were slightly skewed due to a disparity in games played, with one team having played 15 games, while a couple had managed just 8. So this competition was given the task of making up for the lost season. A change in format due to the pandemic sees 14 teams split geographically into north and south. Within the two groups teams will play each other once, with the top sides from each playing out the final at the end of May. Both Collegians and Shrewton come into this match having played one game each so far, with decidedly different outcomes. The visitors winning 2-1 at home to Melksham Town Reserves, while Frome crashed to a 4-0 home defeat to local rivals Trowbridge Town. One the face of it there was only one winner.…

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