Tuesday night saw the second semi final in the Fountain Trophies Cup with Division One champions Larkhall Athletic Development up against the expected champions in the Premier Division Trowbridge Town. Larkhall were expected to give the Premier Division leaders a stern test and it proved to be just that. Trowbridge gave Larkhall a guard of honour as they came onto the pitch in recognition of their title achievement, which was a nice touch ahead of such an important game. The match itself saw a tight first half, with the two sides turning round at half time with the game still looking for its first goal. The deadlock was eventually broken in the second half when Theirry Swaby continued his rich vein of form in front of goal when he put Larkhall ahead with his 14^th of the season, this was his third in the Fountain Trophies Cup this season. Both sides were then reduced to ten men when Larkhall’s Harley Prior and Trowbridge’s Connor McKay both saw red. Just as it looked like it would be Larkhall who progressed to the final in normal time, a late equaliser from Tom Mack levelled matters up meaning extra-time was needed to settle matters. The winning goal in extra time was to come four minutes from the end of the additional half-an-hour, and it went the way of home side Larkhall, Harvey Kendrick with the winning strike to send his Larkhall side through to the cup final. The final is scheduled to take place at Corsham Town on Saturday 13^th May where Larkhall's opponents will be Devizes Town.

Thierry Swaby & Harvey Kendrick whose goals saw Division 1 champions Larkhall Athletic Development through to the final of the Fountain Trophies Cup

As well as that cup game on Tuesday night there were also three games in the Premier Division and all three games were to see five goals scored. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development found themselves 1-0 down at home against Odd Down (Bath) Development to an early Andy Keen goal but two goals from Matt Bennett, in what was his final game in a Royal Wootton Bassett Town shirt, ahead of him taking over the joint manager position at Purton next season, put Royal Wootton Bassett ahead. Further goals from Kevin Lartey and Mani Mesas rounded off a good performance for the home side who had secured their safety last Saturday with that win over Devizes Town.

Matt Bennett who scored two for Royal W. Bassett Town Dev ahead of taking over the hot seat at Purton next season

(picture courtesy of Steve Green)

There were also five goals at the Weir Field where Wroughton entertained Kintbury Rangers. Both teams came into the game much in need of a win after a series of disappointing results. Kintbury had lost two in a row, failing to score in either game, with the two defeats including a 3-0 reverse against bottom side Stratton Juniors. Wroughton meanwhile were without a win in six. On Tuesday night Kintbury led by a solitary Josh Davis goal at the break. Wroughton got back on level terms only for Davis to notch a second to restore Kintbury’s lead. Wroughton once again came back to level matters but a late goal from leading scorer Aidan Maycock made sure it was Kintbury who left with all three points in the bag. On target for Wroughton were Jonathan Peachey-Score with his 35^th goal of the season and Luigi Hernandez.

Jonathan Peachey-Score and Luigi Hernandez who both scored for Wroughton in their 3-2 home defeat at the hamds of Kintbury Rangers

The final game on Tuesday night was at the Flying Monk where Blunsdon were the visitors and once again the game produced five goals with the home side Malmesbury Vics Development just edging it. Kyle Witt put Malmesbury ahead, but Lee Toomey restored parity from the penalty spot. Malmesbury restored their lead through Sam Jenner with his first of the season and went into the break two goals to the good with a third from Dale Richards. Eliot Wheatley then reduced the deficit within five minutes of the restart but that was to be the end of the night’s scoring as Malmesbury picked up the win that saw them move further clear of the relegation positions. 

Kyle Witt and Dale Richards who both scored in Malmesbury Vics Development's 3-2 win over Blunsdon on Tuesday night

There was one more league game played in the Premier Division with Trowbridge Town back in action on Thursday night after the heartache of that extra-time defeat on Tuesday, the league game seeing the visit of Pewsey Vale. With ground maintenance already underway at Woodmarsh, the game was switched to the Southbank Ground, home of Corsham Town FC. On a wet evening Trowbridge went in front when player manager Ryan Baggs scored from the penalty spot. It remained just the one goal at half time. Trowbridge had welcomed back a few of the players who had departed to Bradford Town mid-season and it was one of those players who fired them further in front in the second half, Ben Wickens reacting quickly after Pewsey keeper Louie Latouche failed to hold a shot across goal in the difficult wet conditions. For Wickens that was goal number 22 of the season, but it was his first goal in a Trowbridge shirt since the 12^th of November. Wickens then went from scorer to provider setting up Tom Mack for his second of the week, Mack's initial shot  from Wickens pass being blocked by a Pewsey defender but when the ball came back to him he made no mistake to make it 3-0 to Trowbridge. Pewsey were then reduced to ten men when a poor challenge on Wickens from behind as he raced through the Pewsey defence saw Lee Himsworth dismissed. Adam Shipman improved Trowbridge’s goal difference advantage over rivals Devizes heading in from a free kick to the far post and the 4-0 win was enough to send them back top of the table, two points clear of Devizes who had just the one game left to play. Your Sport Swindon were at the game and subscribers can view the highlights by clicking on the link below or access from the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the website.

Ryan Baggs and Adam Shipman (picture courtesy of Alwyn Bodman) who were both on target in Trowbridge's 4-0 win on Thursday night against Pewsey Vale

After Trowbridge Town’s win on Thursday night Devizes Town travelled to Blunsdon for their final game of the season knowing that defeat would see Trowbridge crowned champions, whilst a draw would see Trowbridge just needing a point on Monday in their game against Salisbury FC Development to claim the title. It started well for Devizes as they went in front thanks to a Jack Baker goal, Baker restored to the starting line-up after his early exit the previous Saturday. Blunsdon got themselves back on level terms midway through the half, centre back Wes Britten heading in from a corner. However, Devizes were to go into the half time break with their lead restored, Keiron Gleed with his 14^th goal of the season putting the visitors 2-1 ahead at the break. Blunsdon pushed for an equaliser after the restart and finally got themselves back level midway through the half, Britten going from scorer to provider as he set up Rob Curtis to make it 2-2. Discipline has been an issue for Devizes on a number of occasions this season and it was once again to prove to be the case as they saw two players dismissed ten minutes from time. Despite being down to nine men for those final minutes they were able to avoid conceding again but more importantly they were unable to add to their own tally as it finished 2-2. The point saw them move level on points with Trowbridge but with an inferior goal difference they remain second having finished their games. They would now need Trowbridge to lose both their final two games conceding more than 12 goals to erode a 12 goal difference margin advantage for Devizes to be champions which seems improbable. Trowbridge will make sure of the title if they can avoid defeat away at Salisbury FC Development on Monday. If they were to lose at Salisbury on Monday, they would then have a second chance away to Kintbury next Saturday to make sure of the title.

Jack Baker (picture courtesty of David Giles) and Keiron Gleed whose goals were not enough to secure all 3 points for Devizes in their final league game of the season away at Blunsdon

Frome Collegians have had an excellent season and can still finish in third spot. They started the day seven points adrift of the team who started the day in that third spot, Pewsey Vale, today’s visitors to the Old Showfield Ground. It started well for the Collegians as they went in front as early as the first minute, a Lee Handford shot being deflected in by leading scorer Jack Newman, his 23^rd goal of the campaign so far. That was to be the only goal of the first half but Frome extended their lead just before the hour mark and once again it was Handford with the assist, Laurence Ludgate getting on the end of a Handford free kick to make it 2-0. Pewsey got themselves back in the game 20 minutes from time from the penalty spot, Connor Marsden putting the spot kick away. Handford’s eventual afternoon then took a turn for the worse as he was shown a red card. Pewsey were unable to make the numerical advantage count and the game was put beyond them seven minutes from time when a looping header from Ross Knapton made it 3-1. The win for Frome saw them move above Blunsdon into fourth spot and they are now just four points behind Pewsey with two games in hand.

Jack Newman and Ross Knapton who were both on target in Frome Collegian's 3-1 win over Pewsey Vale

Since their appearance in the Wiltshire Senior Cup Final Wroughton have been having a torrid time of it and went into their game against Malmesbury Victoria Development without a win in seven games. That tough run of results continued as they equalled their worst result of the season as the fell to a 6-0 defeat. Wroughton started brightly but once Malmesbury went in front there only looked like being one winner. Malmesbury got themselves in front as early as the seventh minute, a ball over the top was not dealt with by keeper Eddie Salsbury, his attempted clearance rebounding off Harrison Archer and seeing the Malmesbury striker clean through with an open goal and he made no mistake to put the visitors ahead. Wroughton’s first real chance of the game came the way of leading striker Jonathan Peachey-Score, but his shot was straight at keeper Adam Clatworthy who held it at the second attempt. Malmesbury then went straight down the other end and this time it was Salsbury’s turn to make the save, diving to his left to push away a good low shot from Joe Ward. Wroughton thought they had got back on level terms on 36 minutes when Peachey-Score fired into the net after being put through, but a flag from the assistant referee ruled the goal out. Two minutes later Wroughton found themselves two down, a cross in from the left was headed into the net by Sam Parker to make it 2-0 to the visitors. Wroughton went close to getting themselves back in the game just before the half time break, Sam Long fed the ball through to Luke Adams but his shot to the far post went the wrong side of the post and it remained 2-0 at the break. It was effectively game over five minutes after the restart, once again Wroughton’s defence failed to deal with a cross into the box, and this time it was Kyle Witt who headed in unmarked at the far post to make it 3-0 to Malmesbury. It was to be another headed goal that saw Wroughton fall even further behind when Parker headed in from a Witt corner for his second of the game. On 68 minutes Malmesbury had another goal, a shot from Reuban Badman came back off the crossbar and fell to Parker who fired in to complete his hat-trick. It was to be his last contribution of the game though as he was substituted shortly after with the game effecively already won by the visitors. There was still time for one more Malmesbury goal, George Evatt netting after Wroughton once again failed to clear a Kyle Witt corner to make the final score 6-0 to Malmesbury. A bad day at the office for Wroughton who not so long ago were eying up a third-place finish but their bad run of results has seen them fall to seventh spot in the table and for them the end of season cannot come quickly enough now.

Sam Parker who bagged a hat-trick in Malmesbury Victoria Dev's 6-0 win over Wroughton this afternoon plus action from today's game

There were two vital games at the bottom of the division as four sides in the relegation battle met each other. Salisbury FC Development knew that victory against Stratton Juniors would confirm their Premier Division status whilst for Stratton it was pretty much a must win game if they were to escape the bottom three. Stratton travelled to Salisbury knowing that fixtures between the two sides had always been won by the visiting side and they were hoping that trend would continue this afternoon. It was a tight affair for the opening 35 minutes, but the deadlock was broken by a sixth goal of the season from Salisbury’s Abdul Razak. Having finally made the breakthrough it became two in two minutes when leading scorer Dyllan Roocroft doubled Salisbury’s lead with his 12^th goal of the campaign. It remained that way until midway through the second half when a Harry Mealing goal put Salisbury three goals to the good. They went on to add a fourth 15 minutes from time, a second of the game for Razak, nudging his total for the season onto seven as the fixture between the two sides finally saw a home winner. The three points were enough to confirm Salisbury’s Premiership status whilst for Stratton Monday’s encounter with Marlborough Town is now definitely a must win game, but it is also the same for Monday’s opponents who will be playing their final game of the season and sit just one place and one point above Stratton. A win for either side may in the end still not prove to be enough, but both know that nothing less than three points will do on Monday.

The other big game at the bottom end of the table saw Shrewton United entertain Odd Down (Bath) Development. The teams started the day with Odd Down in the bottom three and with Shrewton just one place above them with a two-point gap. Odd Down had defeated Shrewton 4-0 in Mid-November and were hopeful of being able to climb out of the bottom three with another win. It started well for them, Jake O’Brien scoring for the eighth time this season to put Odd Down 1-0 up. However, by half-time they were to find themselves 3-1 down, a Mike Glasson penalty plus further strikes from Lewis Cross and James Collins giving Shrewton a well deserved 3-1 half time lead. Two further goals from Lewis Woodward and a sixth of the season from Charlie Utterson made sure of the three points for Shrewton who opened up a five point lead over Odd Down and are now close to being safe. With Odd Down and the other side below them Melksham Town set to meet, it would need Odd Down to beat Melksham and then Melksham and Odd Down to win their final games for Shrewton to need to get something from their final game against Wroughton, but their safety may well be confirmed come Monday night.

Charlie Utterson who scored his sixth of the season in Shrewton's 5-1 win over Odd Down

Both games in Division One were postponed with both Devizes Town Reserves and Pewsey Vale Development unable to raise a second side this weekend. The postponement of Devizes trip to Larkhall Athletic Development unfortunately meant the scheduled presentation of the Division One trophy has had to be delayed until next week at the earliest.

29 April 2023