Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
   Premier Division
Trophy Presented to RWBT Dev,
Salisbury Denied 5th Spot by Late Equaliser

Action from the 2-2 draw between Salisbury FC Dev & Royal W. Bassett Town Dev

 It has been a good final week of the season for Salisbury FC Development with two excellent results. On Tuesday night they hosted Melksham Town Reserves at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium with both sides looking to keep their chances of finishing fifth alive. Captain Alfie Hawke gave Salisbury a 1-0 lead just after the half hour mark and it remained 1-0 at the break against Craig Kent’s Melksham side. Salisbury turned up the heat in the second half and three goals in a three-minute spell made sure of all three points. Layton Tulk scored the second and third goals before leading scorer Devon Arnold rounded off a good night for Mark Winter’s side with a fourth 20 minutes from time to make the final score 4-0 to Salisbury.

Captain Alfie Hawke who scored the opener for Salisbury in their 4-0 win over Melksham Town Res

On Saturday Salisbury FC Development hosted the league champions Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and acknowledged their opponents title success by forming a guard of honour as the visitors came out onto the pitch. When the game itself kicked off the first clear cut chance of the afternoon fell to Salisbury’s Devon Arnold who was to cause the visitors all kinds of problems all afternoon. In the 13th minute he found himself clean through on goal but U18 goalkeeper Louis Smith, playing only his second game of the season, denied the striker with a good save with Royal Wootton Bassett Town skipper for the day Ben Brown then blocking the follow-up shot from Layton Tulk. Arnold continued to cause problems to the Royal Wootton Bassett defence, 21 minutes in only a last gasp tackle from Josh Connolly denied him a strike on goal and then on 26 minutes he fired a shot just wide of the post. Salisbury continued to have the better of things and Smith in the visitor’s goal was once again called upon to deny the home side a lead, diving to save a free kick from Will Waterson. Three minutes before the break a cross from Salisbury captain Alfie Hawke found the head of Arnold but he was unable to direct his header on target. The Salisbury pressure finally paid off two minutes from the break, a defence splitting pass from Arnold found Connor Ings and he fired low into the net past Smith to make it 1-0 to Salisbury at the interval.

 Devon Arnold who caused the Royal W. Bassett Town Dev defence problems all afternoon

Royal Wootton Bassett Town were back on level terms within five minutes of the restart and, as often has been the case this season, the goal came through some great link up play between Dale Richards and Matt Bennett. The goal was very similar to Salisbury’s opener, Richard’s defence splitting pass finding Bennett who fired powerfully past Dan McCarthy in the Salisbury goal. The visitors were now having their best spell of the game and Bennett went close again to adding a second moments later when he got on the end of a headed Tyler Sheppard pass. Twenty minutes from time Arnold went close to putting his side back in front, his powerful shot from the edge of the box coming back off the crossbar and being cleared to safety. However, he was not to be denied for long, moments later his run at the visitor’s defence saw him turn last defender Sam Ockwell before curling a delightful shot into the top corner of the net for 2-1. Layton Tulk then went close to extending the lead, but another save from Smith, who was having a good game, kept his side in the game. Dale Richards twice went close to getting the visitors back on level terms, firstly a powerful volley from a Nick Mason cross went just the wrong side of the post and then a powerful free kick from just outside the box was held at the second attempt by McCarthy. The equaliser was to come however two minutes from time, Richards firing in a shot that ended up in the back of the net with a possible deflection on the way to leave it all square at two apiece. Unfortunately for Salisbury, the late equaliser resulted in just a point to deny them a fifth-place finish on an afternoon they probably deserved all three points with an impressive performance. Following the conclusion of the game the league winner’s trophy and medals were presented to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development.

Royal W. Bassett Town Dev celebrate their title success with league trophy (picture courtesy of Steve Green)

Royal W. Bassett Town Dev management team with the league trophy

That late equalising goal from Royal Wootton Bassett Town meant that both Malmesbury Vics Development and Frome Collegians kept alive their hopes of securing that fifth-place spot. Both picked up victories on Saturday in their penultimate games of the season. Malmesbury Vics Development entertained Shrewton United looking to end their dismal record against Shrewton which had seen them lose all eight of the fixtures played since Season 2016-17. Harrison Archer got them off to a good start with a neat finish after being set up by Joe Ward. Kyle Witt extended their lead just after the half hour mark controlling the ball before firing in for 2-0. Shrewton pulled one back just before half time to make the score 2-1 to the home side at the interval. It remained a tight affair until just after the hour point when a second of the game for Archer restored his sides two goal advantage. Malmesbury went further in front just two minutes later Joe Tranter following up Archer’s header to make it 4-1 to Malmesbury. The flurry of goals continue as Shrewton hit back almost immediately to make it 4-2. Two further goals for Malmesbury from their two leading marksmen, Tranter and Archer, saw them both take their personal tally for the season to 20. Shrewton also responded with another of their own to make the final score 6-3 to Malmesbury and a first victory over Shrewton in a long while. Lee Weeks scored two for Shrewton to double his total for the season and a third of the season from Taylor Jewell completed the scoring for the visitors. The win for Malmesbury saw them move above their opponents into eighth place with one game to go which is against Frome Collegians on Wednesday night with the winner guaranteed fifth spot. If the sides draw it will be Calne Town Reserves who finish fifth.

Harrison Archer who hit a hat-trick in Malmesbury's 6-3 win over Shrewton

Lee Weeks who scored twice for Shrewton at Malmesbury

Frome Collegians set up that encounter on Wednesday night with a 2-0 away win at Stratton Juniors despite playing the whole of the second half with just ten men following the sending-off of Pete Weston. On target for the Collegians were Laurence Ludgate and Ross Knapton, both registering their fourth goals of the season. Ludgate opened the scoring heading in from a Lee Handford long throw midway through the first half.  Frome suffered a setback when striker Weston was given his marching orders seven minutes before the interval. However, Ross Knapton doubled their lead with another header from a Handford long throw. Despite the numerical disadvantage Frome continued to push for further goals with Alex Pippard and James Hounsell both being denier by saves from the Stratton keeper as it finished 2-0.  It all now comes down to that game on Wednesday night. Calne Town Reserves currently occupy that fifth place with 51 points having completed their fixtures. Salisbury FC Development are also on 51 points in sixth spot having also completed their games but with an inferior goal difference to Calne Town Reserves. If the game between Frome Collegians and Malmesbury Vics Development finishes all square Calne Town Reserves and Salisbury FC Development will retain those fifth and sixth place positions. However, if there is a winner on Wednesday night whoever secures the three points will move above both the current occupants of those positions and secure fifth place.

Malmesbury Vics Development & Frome Collegians who will battle it out for 5th place in midweek at Frome

League Table, Results & Top Scorers

30 April 2022
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