Season 2023-24, like the proceeding season, was once again to prove to be a difficult one, with the weather once again blighting matters. In total some 250 games did not take place either due to the wet weather or teams being unable to raise a side. It felt like that from October right through to March that it just didn’t stop raining and if it had not been for the midweek games played at the beginning of the season there is no way the season would have been concluded until late-May in the Premier Division and Division One. All games were eventually played in the Premier Division and Division One and, in the end, just five games in the Premier Division and six in Division One needed to be played beyond the original deadline of 4^th May. Special mention to Kingsdown in the Premier Division who, through a combination of teams calling off against them on several occasions and problems with their own pitch at Southbrook Rec, were forced to play 13 games in the space of 35 days at the end of the season. A big thank you to the clubs for their co-operation and understanding in helping us get the season to a final conclusion. 

Premier Division

As had been the case last season, the battle for the Premier Division title was to turn into a two-horse race. Having been relegated from the Wessex League at the end of the 2022-23 Season, Amesbury Town did not get off to the best of starts in the league. Forced to postpone their opener against last season’s champions Trowbridge Town due to a wedding, they then proceeded to lose at home against Pewsey Vale in midweek in what should have been their second game of the season. However, after this less than impressive start they then went on a winning run of four games ahead of their trip to Kintbury Rangers. Kintbury had started the season well with five wins in their opening six games, their only blemish a 3-2 away defeat at the hands of last season’s champions Trowbridge Town and they sat top of the table ahead of the visit from Amesbury, who were just behind them in second place. A first half goal put Kintbury in front at the break in the first meeting between the two sides who would go on to battle for the title, but an equaliser midway through the second half levelled matters up for Amesbury. Amesbury then had captain Jack Vallis sent off for an off the ball incident and Kintbury eventually made the extra man count. With the clock running down there was to be late drama in what had been an enthralling contest. A ball out to the right found George Armstrong who beat his man down the flank and then hit a powerful shot which took a deflection off an Amesbury defender and flew into the net for what proved to be the winner. Armstrong would go on to be the Division’s top scorer with an impressive 42 goals in all competitions.

After suffering that second defeat of the season Amesbury then put together an impressive winning run fired by the goal scoring exploits of Josh Moore that saw them win their next 20 games in all competitions. Along the way they made it through to the final of the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup and built up a ten-point lead at the top of the table, although Kintbury who sat second had a game in hand. That run of 20 games included a 4-2 home win over Kintbury in the return match, the return game this time seeing Kintbury end the game with ten men following a sending off. As well as that defeat at Amesbury, Kintbury had also been surprisingly beaten at home by Kingsdown and had been held to draws by Malmesbury Vics Dev and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev which had seen them lose ground in the title race. Pewsey sat third in the table two points behind Kintbury Rangers as the season moved into the final couple of months.

At the other end of the table both Frome Collegians and Odd Down Development had both pulled out of the league after difficult starts to the season, Frome Collegians after just five games whilst Odd Down lasted until the start of the New Year playing 15 games before they started to struggle to field a side due to players being unwilling to travel. This left Salisbury Development and Ludgershall Sports somewhat cut adrift from the rest at the bottom of the table. Ludgershall had found it tough on their return to the Premier Division after finishing last season in the third promotion spot. In the end Ludgershall would win just three of their thirty games and have been relegated back to Division One for next season where they will look to rebuild. Salisbury finished second from bottom but have been reprieved from relegation due to the two sides pulling out and no side being relegated into the league from Step 6.

Returning to the top end of the table Amesbury’s ten-point lead at the top was initially reduced to eight when their winning run was finally ended by Melksham Town Reserves, the side they had beaten 5-1 just four days earlier to reach the final of the Fountain Trophies Cup, Melksham returning from Bonnymead Park with a point following a 1-1 draw. Back-to-back away wins over Malmesbury Vics Dev and Melksham Town Res saw Amesbury extend their lead at the top of the table to eleven points come the end of March but Kintbury were still a threat with three games in hand over the leaders. Bank Holiday Monday was to see Amesbury lose for a third time, Pewsey Vale completing a league double over them with a 3-1 win. Five days later Amesbury returned to winning ways, securing a narrow 3-2 win away at Kingsdown. Kintbury Rangers were also narrow 1-0 winners over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development to maintain their challenge.

Next up for Amesbury was the final of the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup, with holders and near neighbours Downton their opponents. Step 6 Downton had been given a reprieve at the semi-final stage with opponents Bradford Town having beaten them but found to have played an ineligible player that led to Bradford Town’s expulsion and were keen to make the most of their second chance in the defence of the cup. It was a tight affair with Downton going in front on the hour mark, but the lead did not last long through as Amesbury were back on level terms within three minutes. Amesbury had some great chances to get the winner in normal time but with neither side able to find that elusive second goal the game went to penalties. Unfortunately for Amesbury it was Downton who were deadly with their spot kicks to run out 4-1 winners and lift the cup for a third successive season. They knew they had been made to work hard for the win as Amesbury went close to becoming the first team from the Wiltshire Senior League to lift the Wiltshire County FA Senior Cup since Trowbridge Town achieved that feat back in Season 2003-4.

On their return to league action, Amesbury were to suffer their fourth defeat of the season when Shrivenham came away from Bonnymead Park with all three points following an impressive 2-1 win. It could well have given Kintbury Rangers the edge in the title race but for the fact that the same afternoon Kintbury were also falling to defeat, going down 2-1 at home against Pewsey Vale. So, with four games to go Amesbury held an eight-point lead over Kintbury but Kintbury had two games in hand and were still very much in the hunt for the title with Amesbury having some tricky looking fixtures to come against Larkhall Athletic Development (twice), Blunsdon and Kingsdown.

Both teams won their next two games, Amesbury defeating Larkhall and Blunsdon, Kintbury Rangers defeating Trowbridge Town and Larkhall to keep the pressure on. Kintbury then secured a midweek away win at Shrivenham to close the gap at the top to five points with a game in hand. The following night Amesbury were in cup action with the much-postponed semi-final tie in the Fountain Trophies Cup against cup holders Larkhall Athletic Development. At the end of 90 minutes the two sides could not be separated with the score 1-1 and the game went into extra-time. However, the game would not be finished as, with 12 minutes to go, just after Larkhall had scored a second goal to go in front, Amesbury had Jack Vallis sent-off for comments made to the match officials and he then committed a misdemeanour as he left the pitch causing the referee to abandon the game. The League Discipline Committee decided that, with Amesbury the cause of the abandonment, the score at the time the game was brought to a premature end should stand, ending Amesbury’s hopes of a league and cup double.

Amesbury met Larkhall again in the league and this time there were no discipline issues and Amesbury avenged that cup defeat with a comfortable 3-1 win. With Kintbury dropping two points following a controversial 2-2 draw against Wroughton, with Wroughton scoring a last-minute equaliser that video evidence showed should not have stood, Amesbury were almost there. With one game to go they led Kintbury by five points, although Kintbury still had a game in hand. That game was a midweek away trip into Swindon to take on Kingsdown. Kingsdown led 1-0 going into the closing minute of the game and Kintbury’s title hopes were ended by a 91^st minute second goal for Kingsdown to give Amesbury the title with one game to spare. Both teams ended their season with wins, Amesbury defeating Kingsdown on an afternoon when they were presented with the league trophy, and Kintbury won away at Malmesbury Vics Development. Well done to both sides on achieving league honours in Season 2023-24, Amesbury on winning the title and promotion back to the Wessex League, and Kintbury Rangers for their part in a fascinating title race.

The final game of the 2023-24 Season was the final of the Fountain Trophies Cup which was once again staged at its spiritual home of Corsham Town FC, with cup holders Larkhall Athletic Development looking to defend the cup they won the previous season against Melksham Town Reserves. Things did not go to plan for the Bath based side as Josh Bright inspired Melksham to a 2-0 win, scoring one of the two Melksham Town goals, substitute Elliot Haffenden making sure of the win with a late second for Melksham.

Over the season there were 87 games postponed or abandoned in playing the 240 league games, giving a very high ratio of postponed games to games played of 36.25%. In the end, all 240 games were played in the division with 13 games postponed for unacceptable reasons. No clubs incurred a points deduction in the final table, although Odd Down Development would have suffered an eight-point deduction had they remained in the league. Nine teams (including Frome Collegians) postponed a single game due to being unable to raise a side, which is way too many and the punishment next season for such an offence will see both an increased fine and an immediate two-point deduction, there will no longer be any suspension of points deductions. The eight other teams charged under Rule 20E were Amesbury Town, Blunsdon, Kintbury Rangers, Larkhall Ath Dev, Ludgershall Sports, Salisbury Dev, Trowbridge Town and Wroughton.

Division One

Division One started the season with 15 teams, more than double the number of the previous season although only 14 would go the distance with Wroughton Development withdrawing mid-season after some heavy defeats and having difficulty in raising a side. It was to prove to be a very competitive division with the title race going right down to the final scheduled weekend of the season, with three teams going into the final round of games with the chance of winning the league.

New side Faringdon Town, who had joined from the Hellenic League, had a great start to the season and come the beginning of September sat top of the table having won all seven of their opening league games. Just behind them in second place were Purton who had won six of their opening seven games, their only defeat a narrow 3-2 loss away at Faringdon. Two points behind Purton were Park United who had won five of their opening seven games, their only defeat a narrow 2-1 reverse away at Cricklade Town. It would be these three teams, along with Bratton, who would go on to battle it out for the league title with all of the top three winning 19 of their 26 league games come the season end with just three points separating them in the final league table.

Going into the round of fixtures on May 4^th there were just three points separating the sides and any of the three could still win the league. Park United led the way three-points ahead of Purton and Faringdon Town, with both Park and Purton playing their final games of the season on that Saturday. Park were away at Shrivenham Development, whilst Purton meanwhile had a tricky looking final game away to Devizes Town Reserves. Faringdon also had a tricky looking fixture away to Bratton and would then finish their season on the Bank Holiday Monday with a game against Kingsdown Development. If Park were to beat Shrivenham they would win the league if Faringdon did not take maximum points from their two games. If Faringdon were to win both of their games, then they would take the title as a result of their superior goal difference. For Purton to lift the title they needed to win and then hope either both Park and Faringdon lost their remaining games or Park lost and Faringdon took just three or less points from their two games and also fail to make up the three-goal differential in the two sides respective goal difference.

For Faringdon Town, the destiny of the title was in their own hands at the start of the afternoon. Win both their games and they would take the title, but they had that tricky away fixture at Wiltshire Junior Cup finalists Bratton. Faringdon did not get off to the best of starts, Bratton taking the lead in the very first minute of the match. However, Faringdon were back on level terms before the break. The opening exchanges of the second half saw neither side really create any chances of note but Faringdon were to go close again 15 minutes from time, smashing a shot against the crossbar from just six yards-out. Both teams went for the win and whilst chances were created at both ends there was to be no further scoring meaning two points dropped in Faringdon’s quest for the title.

Park United’s game at Shrivenham Dev was a 4PM kick-off as Shrivenham first team were also at home on that Saturday, having kicked-off at 1PM. Park kicked off knowing that Faringdon and Bratton were all square at half time and it was still as you were at the start of the afternoon. Park came straight out the blocks, taking the game to Shrivenham, knowing that nothing less than a win would do and an impressive first half showing saw them lead 3-0 at the break. With the news coming through that Faringdon had only drawn they knew they now needed to prevent a Shrivenham comeback. They shut up shop and then made sure of all three points with a fourth to seal a 4-0 victory which saw them crowned Division One champions for Season 2023-24. Purton did what they needed to do in their final game with a 3-1 win over Devizes Town Reserves but the win for Park ended any hopes they had of the title. After the Saturday’s round of matches Purton remained in second spot but could be overtaken by Faringdon if they were to win their final game against Kingsdown Development on the Bank Holiday Monday. The young well organised Kingsdown side proved to be tough opponents in that final game for Faringdon, and it took until the hour mark for Faringdon to break the deadlock and settle the nerves. Kingsdown pushed for an equaliser, but Faringdon keeper Jack Gibson ensured his side did not concede and held out to secure those three vital points that confirmed their runners-up spot and elevation to the Premier Division in their first season with the league. Congratulations to both Park United and Faringdon Town on their league honours and also to Purton for their part in taking the title race down to the wire.

As well as the top three, Bratton, Devizes Town Reserves and Marlborough Town all had good seasons and are expected, along with Purton and Cricklade Town, to be battling for league honours next season. Bratton were somewhat distracted in their quest for league honours by an extended run in the Wiltshire Junior Cup which saw them make it through to the final of the countywide competition. Unfortunately, they came up against a very strong Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves side in the final, going down 3-0 at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. The consequence of that cup run was that they fell behind with their league fixtures and were forced to play nine games in the final 28 days of the season. Draws against eventual champions Park United, runners-up Faringdon Town and Marlborough Town, coupled with a defeat to Purton in that run of nine games saw their end title ambitions ended in that final month of the season.

Over the season there were 52 games postponed or abandoned in playing the 182 league games, giving another high ratio of postponed games to games played of 29.6%. In the end, all 182 games were played in the division with 13 games postponed for unacceptable reasons. Two clubs incurred points deductions in the final table for postponed games, Lambourn Sports were deducted ten points and Kingsdown Development were deducted six points. Four team teams (including Wroughton Development) postponed a single game due to being unable to raise a side. The three other teams charged under Rule 20E were Kintbury Rangers Development, Purton, and Shrivenham Development.

Under 18 Division

After three seasons of a competitive and entertaining Under 18 Floodlight Division, Season 2023-24 was to prove to be something of a disappointment with the competition being very much stop-start for much of the season. The wet weather that blighted the season had the most impact on the Under 18 Division, with clubs who play on grass understandably protecting their pitch for their first team fixtures. In addition, the County Youth Cups had a major impact on fixtures. Whilst the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire County Cup competitions were generally played on a Sunday, this was not the case with the newly introduced Somerset County Cup, which had mid-week fixtures. This impacted Radstock Town who saw fixtures postponed in several rounds that saw them fall way behind with their fixtures. In addition, with Bristol Manor Farm were allowed to enter both the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire competitions and, with them playing their home games on a Monday, this too caused issued with fixture scheduling.

The Division started with ten teams but in the end only eight were represented in the final league table, Bradford Town and Bristol Manor Farm both withdrawing without completing their fixtures and having their records expunged due to not having completed 75% of their fixtures. Kingsdown also did not last the distance, advising the league that they would not be able to complete their final four fixtures due to impending A levels and players having to also play midweek games for other teams. Having reached the 75% threshold, the remaining four games were awarded to their opponents.

Of the eight teams represented in the final league table, only Royal Wootton Bassett Town and FC Chippenham actually played all 14 fixtures, with Kintbury Rangers and Wims 11 playing 13 of the 14 games that counted in the end. Last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers got off to a good start with an 8-1 home win over FC Chippenham but were beaten in their second outing, losing 3-2 away at Calne. This would turn out to be their one and only defeat all season. Meanwhile new side Bristol Manor Farm looked to be the side who would be Kintbury’s main challenger for honours, winning their first five games to lead the early table. They dropped points for the first time when they were held to a draw away at Royal Wootton Bassett Town and the ramifications of this game would come back to bite them with sending’s off at the end of the game seeing players pick up lengthy suspensions. Royal Wootton Bassett Town sat second in the table after the 1-1 draw with Bristol Manor Farm, with Kintbury a point behind them having bounced back from that defeat at a-Calne with three straight wins.

Come the end of January, both Kintbury and Bristol Manor Farm had played half their league games with Kintbury two points clear at the top of the table. Royal Wootton Bassett Town sat third level on points with Bristol Manor Farm but had played three more games than the other two title contenders. Kintbury were then held to a 0-0 draw by Radstock Town to give Bristol Manor Farm the chance to move level on points if they were to win their game in hand. February ended with Royal Wootton Bassett Town top of the table after a 4-1 win over FC Chippenham, but they had played four more games than Kintbury and five more than Bristol Manor Farm.

Bristol Manor Farm then suffered a heavy defeat in the semi-final of the Gloucestershire County Cup and also picked up more suspensions with several players being dismissed in the 6-0 defeat at the hands of Slimbridge to add to their player availability issues.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town completed their 16 fixtures on Friday March 22^nd with a 3-2 away win at Wims 11 to sit seven points clear at the top of the table. Bristol Manor Farm in contrast still had half their league fixtures still to play, and Kintbury had seven still to play! In the week that Royal Wootton Bassett Town completed their league games, Kintbury and Bristol Manor Farm had met in the cup semi-final with Kintbury edging a close game 3-1 after extra-time to make it through to the final where they would meet cup holders Calne Town, who had defeated Kingsdown in the other semi-final.

The following week Kintbury Rangers and Bristol Manor Farm met for the first time in the league. In contrast to the tight affair in the cup meeting, the first league encounter between the two sides proved to be a one-sided affair with Kintbury putting six unanswered goals past their opponents from Bristol in front of a large crowd of 121.  The win for Kintbury saw them move six points clear of their beaten opponents and to within four points of leaders Royal Wootton Bassett Town with six games in hand over the leaders who, as noted above, had completed their league fixtures.

Kintbury then moved to within a point of the leaders with a 4-1 win over Wims 11, whilst Bristol Manor Farm were beaten 2-1 at home by Radstock Town, a major blow to their title hopes. This was to prove to be the last game that they played. Issues with raising a side due to a lack of player availability saw them eventually forced to withdraw from the league and their record was expunged given they had not reached the 75% threshold.

Whilst the league season was not the most memorable, Kintbury Rangers and Calne Town produced an excellent cup final that was decided by the narrowest of margins. The two sides produced a game of the highest quality which just lacked goals. At the end of 90 minutes, it remained 0-0 meaning extra-time was required. As the game entered the final minute of extra time it looked like penalties would be needed to decide matters, but there was to be a pivotal moment in the game. As James Tomlinson ran at the Calne defence and into the box he was brought down, and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot. Captain Cameron Squires took responsibility for the resulting penalty and fired into the bottom corner to give Kintbury the lead. There was just about time for Calne to take the kick-off before the referee blew for full-time and Kintbury lifted the cup for the first time.

Having won the cup final, Kintbury Rangers, made sure of a league and cup double with wins over both FC Chippenham and Melksham Town. The game against FC Chippenham was a close affair with Kintbury eventually edging it by the odd goal in five. A 2-0 win over Melksham Town confirmed the title before it was even known that Bristol Manor Farm would not complete the season.

Radstock Town had finally caught up with their fixtures and went into their final game of the season against champions Kintbury Rangers looking to secure runners-up spot with a win. Whilst Kintbury Rangers had lost just once all season, they had failed to find the net in two games this season against Radstock in open play, drawing 0-0 in the league and then seeing their cup game end up 0-0 at the end of extra time, with penalties being needed to decide matters. If Radstock failed to win, then Royal Wootton Bassett Town, who played their final game way back on 22nd March would finish as runners-up. There were to be goals in the third meeting of the season but that win for Radstock proved elusive, as both sides scored the one goal, both from the penalty spot meaning that Royal Wootton Bassett Town would finish as runners-up.

Congratulations to Kintbury on their second successive title, once again losing just the one game all season, as had been the case last season. Congratulations also to Royal Wootton Bassett Town on securing runners-up for the third consecutive season and well done also to Radstock Town and Calne Town for their excellent seasons once again, with just three points in the end separating the runners-up and fourth position.

The postponement of games in the Under 18 Division was once again to be the key theme throughout the season, with a ridiculous above average level of postponements. The Under 18 games on a Thursday night were frequently being postponed due to waterlogged pitches as clubs looked to protect the pitches for the first team games on a Saturday. Ironically the Friday night games, disliked by many of the teams who played on other nights, were getting played due to the use of 3G pitches. However, there were once again issues with Friday night, with Melksham Town in particular struggling to raise a side on a Friday. Over the season there were some 51 games postponed in playing the 56 league games that counted in the end. Last season’s ratio of postponed games to games played was depressing enough at 62.6%, this seasons ratio close to 100% took things to a new unwanted level. 14 games were postponed for unacceptable reasons, with six games in total being awarded across the division.

Veterans' Divisions

Once again, we were able to run two divisions in the Veterans’ category. The North Division was based around the 3G facilities at New College Swindon, the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground at Royal Wootton Bassett, the Wiltshire FA Headquarters at Devizes Green Lane which was used mainly for cup fixtures when used for North Division sides and Cirencester Town’s ground, which Cricklade Town had managed to secure use of for their games. The division started with 12 teams, an increase of two on the previous season. The Mid-Wiltshire Division also started with 12 teams, again an increase of two and, whilst also using Green Lane, saw most of the teams playing on their own grounds which made fixture scheduling for the Mid Wiltshire Division a lot easier than in the North. Following issues last season with postponed games due to teams being unable to field sides, the policy adopted in Season 2023-24 was to automatically award games when teams could not raise a side.

Mid-Wiltshire Division

Each and every season since the formation of the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division both Corsham Town and Melksham Town have featured in the top three and Season 2023-24 was to be no different with the two sides battling out for the league title. Corsham had been champions in the inaugural season in 2020-21 and Melksham had been champions the following season, with Bradford Town pipping the two of them to the title last season. Bradford Town were looking to defend the title they had won the previous May but issues within the club which saw them unable to play at Trowbridge Road anymore, a situation which eventually saw the Veterans’ side forced out of the club. Thanks to the efforts of the Wiltshire FA and the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League they were able to carry on their fixtures with a name change to Winsley and playing out of Green Lane from mid-September. However, they were not to last long and by the end of November had decided to withdraw from the league due to ongoing issues with raising a side. This was somewhat disappointing given the efforts that had been made to try and allow them to continue when forced out of the Bradford Town club.

The wet weather meant that the teams who played their fixtures on grass pitches fell behind with their fixtures, most notably Devizes Town and Warminster Town. Warminster were a new side to the league and started the season really well and by the end of October sat top of the table, winning seven of their opening nine league fixtures, losing just the once. They sat three points ahead of Melksham Town, but Melksham had two games in hand over them and were unbeaten at this stage. Chippenham Town sat third with just one defeat in their opening nine fixtures with Corsham back in fourth spot but with games in hand.

Due to the weather and cup games Warminster would play just one more league game before the turn of the year, and as 2023 came to an end Corsham Town had moved top of the table with just one defeat in their opening ten games. Warminster were one point behind with a game in hand, with Melksham third and still unbeaten. A pivotal moment in the title race came mid-January when Corsham Town entertained Melksham Town and a 3-0 win for Chris Jones’ Corsham side saw them inflict a first defeat of the season on Melksham, also avenging a 1-0 defeat at the start of the season. With Warminster not playing a game at all in January due to the weather Corsham ended the month with a four-point lead at the top of the table.

February was to prove to be a productive month for Corsham with three straight wins, including a 3-1 victory over Warminster which put them in the driving seat at the top of the table. Melksham Town also had a good February, remaining unbeaten in the month with three wins and a draw but that draw against Trowbridge Town Tigers was likely to prove costly, given how Corsham were performing.

Both teams continued to win and after the round of games in week commencing 15^th April, with three games to go, Corsham Town led Melksham Town by two points. Warminster Town were still in the title race, sitting five points behind Melksham with a game in hand but needed the top two to slip up in those final three games. It was very much advantage Corsham the following week as a 2-0 win over Westbury United came on a night when Melksham Town were beaten at home by a Devizes Town side who had climbed up to fourth place after playing catch-up with their fixtures. With two games to go Corsham were now five points ahead and could clinch the title with a victory in either one of their two remaining fixtures.

They duly won their penultimate game with a 2-0 victory over Devizes to secure the title with a game to spare and also won their final game away at Radstock Town to finish five points clear of Melksham, who also defeated Radstock and were awarded the points for their game against Warminster Town with Warminster unable to fulfil the fixture. Warminster ended the season in third spot, an impressive showing in their first season in the league, with Devizes Town in fourth spot, a point behind. At the other end Amesbury Town Badgers lost all 20 games but had the honour of being the first team to complete their fixtures, all 20 of which had been played. In the end, after expunging Winsley’s record, six games were awarded with Durrington calling off four times due to being unable to raise a side and Westbury United and Warminster Town calling off once each. In addition, 22 games were lost to waterlogged/frozen pitches.

Corsham Town champions of the Mid Wiltshire Veterans' Division

(picture courtesy of John Cuthbertson)

North Wiltshire Division

As noted above the North Wiltshire Division started with 12 teams but just nine would go the full duration with both Nomads, Blunsdon and Swindon Old Boys withdrawing due to issues with being able to raise a side. Nomads suffered some heavy defeats early on in the season and with players not paying subs were forced to withdraw after just playing four games and having one game awarded to opponents. Blunsdon’s participation was in doubt right at the start of the season, but they were given a second chance by the club’s own committee and commenced the season and would still be playing games early in the New Year. However, following a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Cricklade, with only ten players, the club’s committee called time on the side and their league record was expunged after 11 league games and two cup matches. Their record was expunged with them not having reached the 75% threshold. Swindon Old Boys withdrew from the league at the end of March after failing to raise a side for their game against Coate. Their remaining four games were awarded to their scheduled opponents.

Right from the start three sides dominated the division, the last two champions Cricklade Town and Redhouse and new side Coate. At the turn of the year Redhouse led the way seven points clear of Cricklade Town but having played two more games than last season’s champions. Redhouse were unbeaten having won 10 of their opening 12 games which included a 1-0 win over Cricklade Town at the end of September, this being Cricklade’s only defeat. Coate were also unbeaten but due to cup games and twice requesting games against Cricklade be moved were behind with their fixtures. Another new side Penhill United had also made a good start with six wins in their opening nine games.

As Coate caught up with their fixtures in the New Year it was looking clear that the title would be a three-way contest that would go right down to the wire, and it proved to be just the case.  Both Coate and Cricklade enjoyed extended runs in the two competitions, with both reaching the final of the County Cup and Coate also reaching the league cup final, Cricklade losing narrowly in their league cup semi-final against Westbury United from the Mid Wilts Division to avoid the two cup finals involving the same two sides.  Coate would win both cup finals in the space of six days, defeating Westbury 2-0 in the League Cup Final on a Friday night before then repeating the score against Cricklade Town the following Wednesday.

When Coate and Redhouse met at the Gerard Buxton Ground on Wednesday 1st May the title race still involved all three sides. A win for Redhouse, in what was their final game of the season, would have seen them crowned champions. A win for Coate followed by victory in their final game against Chiseldon would see Coate lift the title, whilst a draw would open things up for Cricklade Town to overtake both sides if they could then defeat Royal Wootton Bassett Town in their final game of the season. What transpired was that Coate and Redhouse both failed to find the net in their encounter that Wednesday night and had to settle for a point apiece meaning that Cricklade Town could still secure the title with a win by a margin of two or more goals in their final game.

Before that game Coate won their final game of the season against Chiseldon to go second in the table behind Redhouse. Cricklade Town went into that final game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town knowing that nothing less than a win was needed if they were to win the title. Any other result would also see them miss out on honours altogether, with Redhouse champions and Coate runners-up. Cricklade were three points adrift and one goal worse off in terms of goal difference compared to Redhouse going into that final game. A win by just a single goal margin would have given Redhouse the title on the basis of goal scored which would have been harsh on Cricklade given that bottom of the table Stratton Juniors had called off twice against them removing the chance to improve their goal difference in those games. Next season, due to games continuing to be awarded where teams fail to raise a side (with a much bigger fine set to be introduced), goal difference and goals scored will cease to be used as a differentiator and the Vets’ rules will mirror those of the Under 18 Floodlight Division.  In the end an impressive performance from Cricklade saw them score four unanswered goals against Royal Wootton Bassett to make sure of the title, pipping Redhouse on goal difference to give Cricklade back-to-back league titles.

In the end, after expunging Blunsdon and Nomads records, 11 games were awarded due to sides being unable to raise a side with Swindon Old Boys the worst offenders calling off two times before those final four games were also awarded, Stratton Juniors and Swindon Rovers both called off twice and Chiseldon once. Invariably, these games were scheduled to be against one of the top three.

Cricklade Town champions of the North Wiltshire Veterans' Division

(picture courtesy of the Wilts FA)

Coate Vets winners of both the Vets County Cup and Vets League Cup

(picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)