WEST COUNTRY FOOTBALL

Tag: March

  • Brom Proof.

    Brom Proof.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 8th March 2025
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: ~55
    – Distance Travelled: 25 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Gloucestershire FA Senior Amateur Cup – Semi-Final
    – Pomphrey Hill Pavilion, Bristol
    – Weather: Sunny, breezy, mild
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: £1

    Intro

    Bromley Heath United were enjoying a very decent run of form – only one loss in 10 games in all competitions – before losing narrowly away at Henbury & Rockleaze last weekend. Currently plying their trade in the Gloucestershire County League in which they are, at present, occupying 7th position. A month ago they beat Filton Athletic in the previous round of today’s cup competition – a 2-0 home win against the newly promoted side who are a place above them in the league.

    Today’s visitors, Longlevens Reserves, are from the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. This is one of the feeder leagues to the Gloucestershire County League, making Longlevens the underdogs today. Despite being 4th in the league, promotion looks impossible thanks to Tewkesbury Town’s phenomenal record of winning all but two games so far, and Whaddon United’s even better effort of only failing to win on one occasion.

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  • Lake Placid.

    Lake Placid.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 30th March 2024
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 20
    – Distance Travelled: 5 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Devon Football League
    – Parkway Sports Club, Plymouth
    – Weather: Sunny spells, windy
    – Admission: Free
    – Programme: N/A

    Intro

    Lakeside Athletic lost 5-1 to 2nd place Appledore last weekend, a result which saw them remain in 9th position in the Devon Football League. They are on a bit of a bad run and haven’t won yet in 2024. This run of games did include 2 matches against league leaders University of Exeter, and a brace of games against the aforementioned Appledore, but also a disappointing loss at home to 14th place Plymstock United. When they travelled east to Beer in December they managed a 2-2 draw, so will be aiming for something a bit more like that today.

    Beer Albion are sitting pretty in 3rd position, although the title is probably out of their reach – the University of Exeter are currently 20 points clear of Albion as I type this. They started the season well – winning 5 out of 6 of their first games, and they will be buoyed by good showings against the table-toppers including a 0-0 draw earlier this month. Last weekend they comfortably beat Elmore; a good recovery from the defeat by lowly Ipplepen Athletic the Saturday before.

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  • Bucket Lisk.

    Bucket Lisk.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 30th March 2024
    – 11:30 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 508
    – Distance Travelled: 36 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – South West Peninsula League – West Division
    – Lux Park, Liskeard
    – Weather: Rain showers, sunny spells
    – Admission: £6
    – Programme: £2

    Intro

    Promotion-chasing Liskeard Athletic host the first Saturday game of the Easter Groundhop today. Currently in 2nd place – 5 points behind 1st position, but with 3 games in hand over AFC St Austell, The Blues have lost just once so far in the league this season. That loss came at the end of January and was a heavy defeat to St Austell. Since then Athletic have played just once – a routine 3-0 win over Wadebridge Town. Subsequent games have been hampered by the awful weather that 2024 has brought with it thus far. Liskeard’s league campaign got off to an incredible start as they won all 9 of their opening matches – one sour point was losing to Bridgwater United in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, quickly followed by a loss to Crediton United in the FA Vase. They didn’t let these blips dent their league form, however, as they continued winning the majority of their matches – often emphatically.

    Dobwalls make the three-and-a-half mile hop eastwards today in 6th position. Their form is currently slightly up and down having won their last 2 matches away against Newquay AFC and Truro City Reserves, but losing the 2 before that at home. They had a decent run in the FA Vase – beating two Western League Premier outfits in St Blazey and Millbrook, before losing narrowly to Longwell Green Sports in Bristol. The Dingos will be looking for an improvement on the reverse of this fixture – a 4-0 loss at Lantoom Park on Boxing Day.

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  • Exe-Tra Time.

    Exe-Tra Time.

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 30th March 2024
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 8,088
    – Distance Travelled: 95 miles
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – League 1
    – St. James Park, Exeter
    – Weather: Mostly sunny, some rain showers
    – Admission: £27
    – Programme: ?

    Intro

    Exeter City will be looking to avoid a repeat of the result when these two teams met in East London in October – Charlton romped to a 4-1 win that day, however the Grecians find themselves a place higher than the Addicks at the start of play today. City had a good run in the League Cup this season; a run which included a win over Premier League Luton Town before succumbing to Championship Middlesborough. Their last league outing was away at Burton Albion who are in something of a relegation battle; Exeter came away with a 1-0 win and all but secured their place in League One next season.

    Charlton were boosted by the arrival of the experienced Kazenga Lua-Lua, and the former Newcastle forward made a cameo appearance in their last fixture – a 1-1 draw with struggling Fleetwood Town. This result made it 8 games undefeated for Nathan Jones’ side and they’ll look to extend that record further today. They did struggle a bit in the FA Cup this season; needing a replay to see off non-league Cray Valley Paper Mills in the 1st Round, before losing to League 2 Gillingham in Round 2.

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  • 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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  • Tea and a Twix

    Tea and a Twix

    TIMSBURY ATHLETIC 0 – 2 WELLS CITY RESERVES

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Saturday 18th March 2023
    – 15:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: c70
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Somerset County League – Premier Division
    – The Conygre, Timsbury
    – Weather: Sunny
    – Admission: Free

    Intro

    These two sides have played the fewest games (16 and 15 respectively) of all the teams in the league, yet currently Timsbury are 5th and Wells City Reserves are 6th in the division.

    Timsbury have won their last 3 league matches, including a 12-0 win over a doomed-looking Stockwood Green who are currently on -1 points. Their last loss in the league was back in October against 2nd place Middlezoy Rovers, and in fact the week before that Timsbury lost 5-2 to today’s opposition. Athletic also find themselves in the semi-finals of the Somerset Senior Cup after a penalty shootout win over Yatton & Cleeve, but they’ll have to get past Premier Division leaders Chilcompton Sports to secure a place in the final.

    Wells Reserves have only lost one league game all season; a record shared with the aforementioned Chilcompton Sports who current hold top spot in the division. That loss, somewhat surprisingly, came against mid-table Ilminster Town. Despite this blip they have managed some impressive wins so far; an away 3-0 win over Middlezoy, and a 2-1 victory at 3rd place Clevedon United particularly stand out. Last weekend Wells lost in the League Cup to Middlezoy; a potentially morale-damaging 5-2 loss at home to the south Somerset outfit.

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  • Devon-sent.

    Devon-sent.

    LARKHALL ATHLETIC WOMEN 0 – 4 EXETER CITY WOMEN

    The Intro
    The Ground
    The Match
    The Photos

    – Sunday 5th March 2023
    – 14:00 Kick Off
    – Attendance: 60
    – Full Photo Gallery

    – Women’s National League – Division One South West
    – Plain Ham, Bath
    – Weather: Cold, cloudy
    – Admission: £3

    Intro

    Going into the business end of the season, the Division One South West of the FA Women’s National League is looking to be a close-run thing. Exeter City are currently leading the way and are in a decent vein of form, barring a 2-1 loss to 3rd place AFC Bournemouth. Before that the last time they didn’t win was back in early December, away at MK Dons in the League Cup. The Grecians were up in this neck of the woods last weekend; beating Keynsham Town 3-0. The low point of the season was probably a 5-0 loss to promotion rivals Cardiff City way back in September.

    Contrastingly, the Larks are fighting for dear life at the other end of the table. Currently occupying the penultimate relegation spot and having played a couple more games than most of those around them they need to find some results in the near future. Despite having lost all but 3 of their league games so far, Larkhall have rarely been on the end of a thrashing. Last weekend saw them gain a vital 3 points against local rivals Swindon Town. After today they have 5 games to save their season, two of which are against relegation rivals AFC St Austell, and Maidenhead United; these could well be season-defining matches.

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  • Wise Guys

    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

    View the full photo gallery HERE

    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.

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