There was one game played in midweek in Division One of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with Kintbury Rangers Development hosting Shrivenham Development at the Recreation Ground. It was a fairly even first half with Kintbury edging possession but with chances few and far between. However, Kintbury were to go into the break one goal to the good, with the goal coming right on the stroke of half time.  Awarded a free kick 25 yards out, Luke Gray hit a powerful shot that rocketed into the net to make it 1-0 to Kintbury at the interval. It remained a tight affair after the break with once again very few clear-cut chances being created, with the two defences seemingly on top. As the game went into its closing stages both teams made changes and Shrivenham pushed for an equaliser and they finally got back on level terms from the penalty spot, the penalty coming in the 90th minute. Shrivenham’s Thomas Aseidu held his nerve to fire home to give his side a share of the points as it finished 1-1.

This weekend sees the first of the Wiltshire FA’s County Cup finals with the staging of the Wiltshire Junior Cup and there is Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League representation in the final with Division One side Bratton up against Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves. Bemerton are currently top of the Hampshire Combination & Development Football League and will probably start as slight favourites for tomorrow’s final which is set to place at the Sustain Stadium, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC with an early kick-off of 1:30PM.

Bratton’s journey to final started on October 14^th with a thrashing of Trowbridge & District League side Dilton Marsh Wanderers, Bratton winning 8-1, Bratton scoring four times in each half in their demolition of the Trowbridge & District League Division Two side. Both Joe Moloney and Jack Booth scored twice, with further goals from Brandon Thompson, Drew Adams, Brandon Wheeler and Louis Wilkins.

Action from Bratton's big 8-1 win over Dilton Marsh Wanderers

(pictures courtesy of Martin Pearce)

The Second Round saw them drawn away to Swindon & District League Premier Division side Shield & Dagger but unfortunately the games scheduled for Saturday 4^th November and Saturday 11^th November were both postponed meaning that under the cup rules the game switched to being a home game for Bratton. This switch of venue away from Southbrook Rec to Bratton’s home ground on Saturday 18^th November was to make no difference as the game was once again postponed due to the pitch being unplayable. The game eventually took place at the fourth attempt on Saturday 25^th November with the game being played on a heavy pitch at Penhill Recreation Ground in Swindon. In difficult conditions, a goal from Brandon Thompson eight minutes before the break saw Bratton lead 1-0 at half time. A ninth of the season from Joe Moloney doubled Bratton’s lead early in the second half but Shield & Dagger pulled one back to make it 2-1. A third from Jack Hayward on the hour mark restored Bratton’s two goal advantage before a fourth goal from leading scorer Jack Booth 20 minutes from time ensured Bratton’s progress into the next round courtesy of a 4-1 win. If anyone was wondering why Bratton are behind with their league fixtures the last paragraph gives the explanation.

Next up for Bratton in Round 3 were fellow Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side Kingsdown Dev and it was to be another big win for Bratton in the end as they ran out 6-1 winners to make it through to the quarter final stage. However, Kingsdown worked hard and made it difficult for Bratton. They held them at bay until seven minutes from half time, when a short corner routine saw Matthew Dew fire in from the edge of the area to make it 1-0. Bratton doubled their lead two minutes before the break, a ball from Ryan Stevens found Jack Booth who beat a couple of Kingsdown defenders before slotting home for 2-0. Early in the second half Bratton went further in front, a shot from Jack Booth was deflected to Billal Karmouni who headed home for 3-0. Karmouni and Booth then both scored their second goals of the game to put Bratton 5-0 up to effectively end the tie as a contest and, whilst Kingsdown did pull one back through Harry Komisarek, a sixth for the home side from Toby Murden completed the scoring.

The Quarter Final saw Bratton as the last representative from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League left in the Cup as Cricklade Town, Marlborough Town, Park United and Purton all exited the competition at the Third Round stage. Bratton’s opponents were Trowbridge & District League side Semington Magpies and once again it was to be a reasonably comfortable afternoon for Bratton as they ran out 4-1 winners. The game was switched to the 3G at Beversbrook to ensure the game went ahead and it proved to be a smart move on the part of the two teams as it was the only one of the four quarter final games to get played on the original date allocated for the round. Star of the show was Louis Wilkins who helped himself to a hat-trick, the other Bratton goal coming through Max Bishop.

The semi final draw paired them once again with a side from the Trowbridge & District League in the shape of Premier Division champions Seend United who they met on Saturday 3^rd February. As to be expected this was Bratton’s toughest game on the way to the final. It was to be an excellent afternoon for Drew Adams. Adams put Bratton 1-0 up five minutes before half time with a shot from the edge of the box to give them a 1-0 half time lead. Whilst Adams got the goal Bratton had keeper Ryan Stevens to thank also for that half time lead as he pulled off several stunning saves to deny Seend in that opening half. It remained tight throughout and going into injury time at the end of the game it remained just that one goal. However, a penalty awarded in the 95th minute allowed Adams to make sure of the win as he fired home to complete a 2-0 victory and set up the final against Bemerton.

Like Bratton, Bemerton had a big win in the First Round winning 13-0 away against Hotspire FC. Next up in the Second Round were Trowbridge & District League side Heytesbury & Codford, with Bemerton securing a 4-1 away win to progress to the Round 3.

Round 3 saw them meet Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side Cricklade Town and a 3-0 away win saw the Salisbury based side into the last eight and a tie with Swindon Supermarine Development, a tie which eventually took place on Saturday 27^th January three weeks after Bratton played their quarter final tie after three postponements. In the end penalties were needed to settle matters after it finished 1-1, Bemerton winning the shootout 3-2 to line up a semi final against Sherston Town. As with Bratton’s semi final was to prove to be a tight affair with Bemerton edging it by the odd goal in three.

Best wishes to Bratton from all at the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League for tomorrow's big final which, as noted above, is at the Sustain Stadium at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC, with a 1:30PM kick-off time.