WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Tag: July

  • Marine Life.

    Marine Life.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Date: Saturday 12th July 2025
    – Kick Off: 15:00
    – Attendance: ~150 (complete guess!)
    – Distance Travelled: 84 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Competition: Pre-Season Friendly
    – Venue: Imagine Cruising Stadium | SN3 4BZ
    – Weather: Hot, Sunny
    – Admission: £8
    – Programme: N/A

    The Intro

    2024/25 was a season to forget for Swindon Supermarine, as they ended the last campaign in 20th position in the Southern League Premier Division South. Some standout results included a 5-0 thrashing of Poole Town, and a 1-1 home draw with eventual play-off winners AFC Totton. Alas, it was not enough as they finished the season 3 points from safety; not helped by a tricky run-in against the likes of Gloucester City, and Walton & Hersham who both ended the campaign in the play-off spots.

    Barton Rovers – of the Southern League Division One Central – had a somewhat better season in 2024/25. They finished in 4th place, but fell at the first play-off hurdle; losing 2-0 to Flackwell Heath (who then lost spectacularly to Berkhamstead in the final). Their season got off to an inauspicious start as they lost their first two matches 5-0 and 4-0. In October a win over Stotfold kick-started a 10 game unbeaten run – ironically including victories over the aforementioned Flackwell Heath, and Berkhamstead.

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  • Heyt Mail.

    Heyt Mail.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 6th July 2024
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~30
    – Distance Travelled: 40 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Preseason Friendly
    – Broadleaze Fields, Codford
    – Weather: Windy, mostly sunny
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Heytsbury & Codford didn’t have a brilliant season last time out; finishing 6th out of just 8 teams after a couple of drop-outs. Nevertheless I understand they’ll remain in Division One next season and have a chance to achieve a higher finishing position.

    Last season Holt returned to the Trowbridge & District league for the first time since 2018/19 when they actually won the first division. Their absence was down to a lack of showers at their home ground, but fortunately that seems to have been rectified. They’ll be back in Division One next season after finishing 3rd behind Freshford United and Hilperton Greyhound.

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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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  • Hammer Time

    Hammer Time

    Westbury United 1 – 4 Shepton Mallet AFC

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    Saturday 23rd July 2022

    Preseason – Friendly

    15:00 Kick Off

    Meadow Lane, Westbury

    Attendance: c100 (estimate)

    Cloudy, warm, breezy

    Full Photo Gallery

    Admission: £ FREE

    Intro

    A successful first season in the Hellenic League Premier Division (after a lateral movement from the Western League) saw Westbury United promoted as runners up, meaning this season they will compete in the Southern League for the first time. An opening couple of months saw them suffer 3 of their eventual 4 defeats of the season failed to suggest that they would win promotion, however a run of 16 games undefeated saw them fly up the table. Poor FA Cup and FA Vase runs would’ve eased fixture congestion, which is not to suggest that the White Horse Men would’ve been happy about their early exits from these competitions. A 4-2 win over Wessex League Christchurch in the Extra-Preliminary Round of the FA Cup showed early promise. However another Dorset team – Hamworthy United – would make the trip to Wiltshire in the next round and come away with the victory. Hamworthy were just getting started on a very successful season – promotion from the Wessex League Premier Division, and coming within a hair’s breadth of a Wembley final only to lose on penalties in the FA Vase semi-finals. There was no such success to be had for Westbury in the FA Vase as they crashed out at the first time of asking at home against Alresford Town. It will be interesting to see how well United adapt to Southern League football in the coming months, with survival surely their initial aim.

    Shepton Mallet came a very respectable 6th place in what is becoming a really strong and competitive Western League Premier Division. Now featuring teams from Cornwall, and more from Devon, this League has seen a sharp increase in miles travelled for all teams involved. However, there are plans afoot to restructure the Leagues in the South West in time for the 2023/24 season which should help combat those long hours on the motorway. A strong start to the season saw Shepton keep clean sheets in all 4 of their opening games and pulling off 6-0, 7-0 and 5-0 wins over Cadbury Heath, Bridport (who would end up relegated at the season’s end), and Ashton & Backwell respectively. A decent FA Cup run saw the Somerset side beat Andover New Street after a replay, then knock out Southern League Melksham Town in the Preliminary Round. The reward was a home tie against Taunton Town who, by the end of the season would see themselves promoted to the National Leaugue South after winning the Southern League Premier Division South. Sadly for The Mallet they found The Peacocks in a ruthless mood that day and were convincingly beaten 8-1. In the FA Vase Shepton faced off against a couple of League rivals in the opening rounds: travelling to, and beating Exmouth Town in the 1st Qualifying Round, then hosting Cornish side Mousehole in the next game but coming up short and losing 1-0. Exmouth would be promoted alongside Tavistock at the end of the season; both teams will be coming up against today’s hosts in the impending Southern League season. Will Shepton Mallet be able to improve on last season and really push for promotion? Time will tell.

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  • Duke Nuked ‘Em

    Duke Nuked ‘Em

    The Lodge FC 2 – 9 The Duke FC

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    Saturday 23rd July 2022

    Preseason – Friendly

    12:00 Kick Off

    Land Warfare Centre, Devizes

    Attendance: c15 (headcount)

    Cloudy, warm, breezy

    Full Photo Gallery

    Admission: £ FREE

    Intro

    This game saw a clash of two Trowbridge and District League teams. The newly-formed hosts – wearing old Warminster United kit – will be competing in Division 2 this season, whereas today’s visitors will be duking it out in the top Division. In fact The Duke won the league last season, but were not promoted – whether this was to do with ground grading or not I am not certain. Regardless, they beat 2nd place Hilperton United by 9 points, and managed just one loss along the way.

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  • Watch your Mouth!

    Watch your Mouth!

    Avonmouth FC 1 – 2 Bristol Manor Farm
    Preseason Friendly
    Sunday 11th July 2021
    King George V Recreation Ground, Avonmouth (view on map)

    Attendance: c120 (Head count)
    Admission: Free
    Weather: Overcast/Rain

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    The Season So Far:

    Avonmouth FC currently play in the Premier Division of the Bristol and Suburban League – a feeder league to the Gloucestershire County League. Today they face higher-league opposition in Bristol Manor Farm who play 4 divisions above in the Southern League Division One South. This is the home team’s second friendly this preseason after facing Western League Premier side Bitton AFC the previous weekend. This game finished in a 5-2 victory for the side making the trip from the other side of Bristol. Manor Farm, on the other hand, have a couple of games under their belt having faced off against Welsh sides Llantwit Major last weekend, and Barry Town United yesterday. This suggests there will be some rotation in their squad and perhaps some trialists getting a runout, given they’ll be playing 2 games in 2 days!

    Most will be expecting a win for the visitors, but as we know friendlies can be very unpredictable so we will see what happens.

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  • Bitton AFC 0 – 4 Bristol City

    Bitton AFC 0 – 4 Bristol City

    Bitton AFC 0 – 4 Bristol City
    Preseason Friendly
    Saturday 7th July 2018
    The Recreation Ground, Bitton
    Attendance: ~ 2000

    This was Bristol City’s chosen Community Match for the 2018/19 preseason – their attempt to help out a local club by playing them in a friendly and allowing the hosts to split the gate receipts with the Robins’ Community charity.

    The Championship side won this match comfortably, and fielded 33 different players for 30 minutes each, but of course it was about more than just the final score.

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  • Up with the Larks

    Up with the Larks

    Larkhall Athletic 3 – 1 Roman Glass St George
    Preseason Friendly
    Saturday 15th July 2017
    Plain Ham, Bath
    Attendance: c50

    The Visit:

    For my second game I took the reasonable walk from the centre of Bath to the eastern suburn of Larkhall. Being in a valley many parts of Bath are pretty steep, and Larkhall is no exception. Of course every cloud has a silver lining and in the case of Larkhall that lining is the view you get from Plain Ham – the home ground of Larkhall Athletic. From the raised side of the pitch you can see Solsbury Hill, made famous by Peter Gabriel in the 70s. If you’re tall enough it is also possible to look back down into Bath itself.

    The game today saw Larkhall take on the oldest team in Bristol – Roman Glass St George. Playing two leagues below the Larks in the Western League Division One, The Glass spent much of the first half on the back foot. Larkhall looked a dangerous attacking team with two tricky wingers – Josh Egan and Joe Tumelty giving the away full backs something to think about. The Glass keeper kept the scores level, pulling off a couple of good point blank saves from headers by new Larkhall striker George King.

    The halftime substitutions proved pivotal as winger Cory Simpson hit home two goals – the second of which a lovely strike from the edge of the box – and fan favourite Tyler Sibbick tucked home a low cross for the third. A Glass attacker was brought down in the box late on for a penalty which was dispatched by their captain to make it 3-1. A couple of whole-hearted tackles gave the second half a bit of bite and meant for a rather entertaining preseason fixture. Living so close to this lovely little ground, it will be hard not to return later in the season.


  • A Bit On the Side

    A Bit On the Side

    Bitton AFC 2 – 1 Welton Rovers
    Preseason Friendly
    Monday 24th July 2017
    The Recreation Ground, Bitton
    Attendance: c75

    The Visit:

    Finally a gloriously sunny evening to enjoy a preseason friendly in the way they should be enjoyed. This was something of a last minute decision but it was definitely worth it. I got the bus along to Bitton – the journey itself providing brilliant views of the countryside around Bath.

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