Minutes silence impeccably observed at Blunsdon as a show of respect to former Referees Appointments Secretary Colin Nunn who passed away last week
(picture courtesy of Martyn Rosewell)
Following the sad passing of former Referees Appointments Secretary Colin Nunn, all sides were asked to hold a minutes silence ahead of this weekend's games as a mark of respect for the popular and highly respected league offical and referee. Blunsdon also wore black armbands for their game against Shrewton United as a further mark of respect. Pictures from a selection of Premier Division grounds showing their respect before Saturday's games are shown above and below.
Minutes silence impeccably observed at Malmesbury
And at Wroughton
The days action on the field saw all scheduled games played in the Premier Division and Division One of the League for only the second time since the first week of October, although at a number of grounds this was only made possible thanks to some late maintenance work on the pitch due to a heavy rainfall early in the afternoon. Well done to all clubs who ensure their games went ahead despite the difficult conditions. In addition to the league action, Division One side Bratton were also involved in the final of the Wiltshire Junior Cup.
Wiltshire Junior Cup Final
In the Wiltshire County FA’s Junior Cup Final held at the Sustain Stadium, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town, it was not to be for Division One side Bratton’s day as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves. It was a cagey affair in the opening exchanges with little between the two sides. Bratton went close to taking the lead when they had a shot that came back off the crossbar, but the deadlock was finally broken seven minutes from half time, unfortunately the goal went the way of Bemerton. Bemerton had the better of things in the second half but it remained just the one goal until ten minutes from time when they added a second and they rounded off the afternoon’s scoring with a third in the final minute of normal time. Despite the defeat well done to Jake Packer and his side on reaching the County Cup Final. Bratton are still involved in the Division One title race, with the plenty of games in hand over their rivals due to their County Cup exploits, and could yet still lift silverware come the end of the season.
Fountain Trophies Cup Semi Final
There had been cup action in midweek with the two semi-finals in the Fountain Trophies Cup scheduled to have taken place. In the end just the one game went ahead with the game at Larkhall Athletic Development, where Amesbury Town were scheduled to be the visitors, postponed due to issues with the Larkhall pitch. The game is now re-scheduled for this coming Wednesday.
The one game that did go ahead was at the Oakfield Stadium, Melksham where Melksham Town Reserves visitors were Kintbury Rangers. Second placed Kintbury started the game as pre-match favourites, but they were to end up well beaten on the night as Melksham’s high intensity pressing game completely unsettled their high-flying opponents. Melksham went in front on 15 minutes, a move down the left flank saw the ball played into Josh Bright who fired in from 15 yards. What would prove to be the only chance that Kintbury really created all night came on 22 minutes when the Melksham keeper failed to hold on to a shot, but the rebound was fired into the side netting. Melksham doubled their lead just before the hour mark, Elliott Haffenden running through the Kintbury defence and firing in past Charlie McCready in the Kintbury goal. It got worse for Kintbury on 69 minutes when Haffenden was clumsily brought down in the box for a penalty. He picked himself up to take the penalty himself, but his effort was saved by McCready but Bright hammered home the re-bound to make it 3-0 to effectively end the game as a contest. Melksham could well have scored more as they created further chances but in the end settled for the three that saw them safely through to final against either Larkhall or Amesbury on Saturday 11th May at Corsham Town, the traditional home of the Fountain Trophies Cup.
Premier Division
The league action on Saturday saw league leaders Amesbury Town maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the table with a comfortable win away at Malmesbury Victoria Development. Credit to the Malmesbury groundstaff for the work they did on the day to ensure the game went ahead after further rain on Saturday prior to kick-off threatened the fixture. Thankfully the game went ahead and with the wind behind them in the first half Amesbury went in front on 16 minutes, Tyler Brockway holding the ball up inside the box before finding Arran Moore with a short pass that Moore put away to give his side the early lead. They doubled their lead just after the half hour mark, Jack Vallis heading in unchallenged from an Ally McCracken corner to put Amesbury 2-0 up. Then, right on the stroke of half time, Tyler Brockway added a third after a defensive mix-up and a scramble in the box to put Amesbury three up at the break. With the wind now in their favour Malmesbury got a foothold back in the game within four minutes of the restart, young Beau Hicks firing into the top corner of the net from 25 yards out to reduce the deficit. Amesbury restored their three-goal advantage just before the hour mark, a defence splitting pass from Ally McCracken put Josh Moore in the clear and Amesbury’s leading striker made no mistake to put his side 4-1 up and register his 29th goal of the season. Moore then went from scorer to provider three minutes later, a cross from the right by brother Arran found him at the back post and his header back into the centre was smashed home by Robbie Owen from six yards out to make it 5-1. Ten minutes from time Amesbury added a sixth and once again Josh Moore was the provider, setting up Jack Langdown for his fifth goal of the season. That was not the end of the scoring though as Malmesbury scored a late consolation goal through Matthew Jones to make the final score 6-2 to the leaders to maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Josh Moore and Jack Vallis who both scored in Amesbury's 6-2 win over Malmesbury Vics Development at the Flying Monk
Kintbury Rangers bounced back from that midweek cup defeat to remain those eight points behind Amesbury, also hitting their opponents for six, returning from their short trip to Ludgershall Sports with all three points following a 6-0 win. The Premier Division's leading scorer George Armstrong hit another hat-trick to take his impressive tally for the season to 36, Jake Allan scored twice with Kye Williams netting the other Kintbury goal. With Amesbury having some tough looking fixtures coming up in their final eight games, Kintbury know they must keep winning all their league games now, including the game in hand they have, to keep the pressure on Amesbury and hope that their title rivals drop points in some of those upcoming tough fixtures. Amesbury are certainly in the driving seat but there are still plenty of points to be won and lost between now and May the 4th.
George Armstrong (3) and Jake Allan (2) who scored five of Kintbury's six goals in their 6-0 away win over Ludgershall Sports
Pewsey Vale manager Craig Kent was up against his former club Melksham Town Reserves at the Recreation Ground on Saturday. Cup finalists Melksham came into the game on the back of that impressive midweek cup semi final victory over Kintbury Rangers. Whilst they were unable to repeat their cup exploits of beating a top three side they were to prove to be tough opponents for third placed Pewsey. In the end it would be the Pewsey manager who would be celebrating the win over his former club after a close encounter. Pewsey had the better of things in the first half but had just the one goal, scored by Jude Cawley to show for their first half efforts. Melksham were back on level terms within a minute of the restart, Jake Dodge scoring his eighth of the season to level matters up at 1-1 following an error at the bacck by Pewsey. It remained that way until ten minutes from time when Pewsey’s leading scorer James Guthrie fired in with his 17th of the season with what turned out to be the winner for his side to keep Pewsey in touch with second placed Kintbury Rangers.
Fourth placed Larkhall Athletic Development lost ground on the top three when they came up against a determined young Salisbury Development side. There was just the one goal in the first half, and it went the way of Salisbury, Archie Ingram netting his second goal of the season to put the home side ahead at the break. In an entertaining game it remained just the one goal in it until 20 minutes from time and the second goal when it came again went the way of Salisbury, Harry Mealing with a dink over the visiting keeper to double his sides advantage. Mark Winter’s young Salisbury side then made sure of the points eleven minutes from time when Omario Joash Henry fired in with a stunning strike to make sure there would be no Larkhall comeback. A bad day at the office for Larkhall who will look to bounce back when they play the re-arranged cup semi final against league leaders Amesbury Town in midweek. For Salisbury this was by far their best result of the season as they moved off the bottom of the table and they will now look to build on this excellent result and put together a winning run to get out of the bottom two places.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development completed a quickfire double over near neighbours Calne Town Reserves. Having beaten Calne 2-0 at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground in their last outing, Mark Simpkins side repeated that 2-0 scoreline in the return match thanks to two second half goals. Manuel Mesas certainly enjoys playing Calne, he scored both goals in the first meeting between the sides and was again on target in the return game, Flynn Walters with the other goal for the visitors. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development could have added further goals in a dominant second half performance, the main reason they did not was down to Calne keeper Lewis Clarke who pulled off several excellent saves to deny the visitors from adding to the two goals they did score. The win saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development move to within a point of fourth placed Larkhall Ath Dev but having played six more games than the side above them in the table.
Manuel Mesas and Flynn Walters who scored for RWBT Dev in their 2-0 win over Calne Town Reserves (pictures courtesy of Steve Green)
Blunsdon bounced back from their defeat at Larkhall a fortnight ago with a hard fought 2-1 home win over Shrewton United. Nick Craft opened the scoring with a header seven minutes from half time to give Blunsdon a narrow 1-0 lead at half time. However, Shrewton pegged them back early in the second half, Brennan Knowles finding Charlie Utterson who cut inside and fired in for 1-1. There was to be one more goal in the game and it went the way of Blunsdon, once more from a header, Dave Young the scorer to give Blunsdon a tenth win of the season to move within three points of sixth placed Shrivenham with a game in hand.
A heavy downpour at around 1PM put Shrivenham’s home game against Kingsdown in serious doubt with standing water on several areas of the pitch. With Kingsdown so far behind with their fixtures and only travelling from Swindon, Shrivenham were asked to try and leave any decision to the match referee whilst they continued to try and work on the problem areas. To their credit they were able to get the pitch into a playable condition and were rewarded with an entertaining encounter with the two sides sharing four goals and the points. Finnlay Hopkins gave Shrivenham the lead with a delightful free kick but a reply from Antonio Gerrish against his former club, again from another free kick after he had drawn the foul on the edge of the box, meant the two sides went into the break all square. After the interval both sides created some good chances to take the lead but it would be Hopkins who got the goal that restored Shrivenham's advantage, firing in at the far post from a tight angle. Once again though Gerrish came back to haunt his former club capitalising on a poor clearance to slide the ball into an empty net to equalise for a second time to ensure that the points were shared as it finished 2-2.
Another game where the heavy rain that fell before kick-off put the game in doubt was at the Weir Field where Wroughton were set to host Trowbridge Town. However, once again thanks to the efforts of the committee members at the Wroughton club the surface water was forked away enabling the game to go ahead. A tight first half with limited chances came to life just before the break with both sides going close. First two-point blank saves from Trowbridge keeper Cameron Miller prevented his side from going behind. Then Trowbridge went down the other end and went close themselves, Simon Millard's shot from Adam Shipman's free kick being saved by Wroughton veteran keeper Darryl Simms with his feet, again the shot being fired in from point-blank range. Thanks to the efforts of the two goalkeepers the teams turned around with the game still looking for its first goal. That goal duly arrived five minutes into the second half, and it went the way of Trowbridge, Simon Millard firing in to give Trowbridge the lead. The two sides then both created several good chances, but it remained just that one goal until two minutes from time when Cornelius Amponsah grabbed an equaliser for Wroughton to give his side a share of the points following an entertaining contest and reward the club for their efforts in ensuring that the game went ahead.
Simon Millard celebrates Trowbridge's goal at Wroughton & Trowbridge go close again in the second picture (pictures courtesy of Alwyn Bodman)
Division One
Whilst Bratton were involved in that Wiltshire Junior Cup Final, there were also five scheduled fixtures in Division One with all five getting played. The top three were all in action against sides in the top half of the table and all registered wins to leave it as you were in terms of the top three places. That said second placed Faringdon Town left it very late in their game against Kintbury Rangers Development, scoring the winner deep into injury time. Faringdon were to suffer a major blow around the half hour mark when keeper Jack Gibson was injured after being caught by a late challenge forcing him to be substituted with Adam Rudman taking over in goal. The stand-in keeper was beaten early in the second half, Kintbury going in front thanks to a tenth goal of the season from Aidan Maycock. Faringdon managed to get themselves back on level terms 19 minutes from time, Luke Smith firing in at the second attempt after his initial shot is blocked to make it 1-1. Kintbury had suffered the agony of a late equaliser in midweek against Shrivenham Development and they were to once again suffer late pain when, in the 94th minute, Harry Timbrell got behind the Kintbury defence and keeper to fire into an empty net for what could prove to be three vital points for Faringdon.
One of other big games at the top of the table in the division saw leaders Park United entertain Purton at Stanley Park. When they had met at the beginning of February at the Red House Park had edged a close encounter 2-1 and once again it was a tight affair between two good sides. In the return fixture, once again Park were to come out on top, goals from Corey Harbour-Burgess and Adam Mitchell securing a 2-0 win that maintained Park’s two point lead over Faringdon at the top with both teams having seven games to play.
The other big game at the top end of the table saw third placed Marlborough Town up against the side just below them in the table, Devizes Town Reserves. Devizes went in front but Marlborough were back on level terms by half time thanks to a first of the season from Tom Womersley. A second half winner from Marlborough Town’s Tom Etheridge meant Marlborough maintained their third place position in the table, opening up a four point gap over Devizes, although Devizes have a game in hand. David Giles was at the game with his camera and more of David's excellent photos can be viewed on the League Facebook Group Page.
Action from Marlborough Town's 2-1 win at Devizes Town Reserves (pictures courtesy of David Giles)
Cricklade Town have been very pro-active in ensuring that their games are played despite all the wet weather, once again switching their home game, this time against Bishops Cannings, to the 3G at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, just yards away from that County Cup Final involving Bratton. Bishops Cannings play all their home games on the 3G at Green Lane and clearly felt at home on the surface as they pushed Cricklade all the way despite being several places below them in the table. In the end a solitary goal from Cricklade substitute Gergo Komjati was all that separated the two sides, Komjati netting his seventh goal of the campaign.
The big battle at the bottom end of the table between the young Kingsdown Development side and Lambourn Sports on the 3G at Kingsdown School turned out to be a one-sided affair with Kingsdown running out 8-1 winners. Nicholas Wilkes led the way for Kingsdown helping himself to a hat-trick, Tyler Preedy bagged a brace and there were further goals from Harry Gillett, Liam Geraghty and Jack Harper. After having suffered a points deducted for postponement of games Kingsdown had fallen to the bottom of the table but they moved back above Stratton Juniors thanks to this win and to within two points of their beaten opponents who have also suffered a points deduction for postponed games.
Player Registration Deadline
Clubs across all Divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League are reminded that the deadline for player registration and transfers is Sunday 31st March. With some teams still having half their fixtures still to play it is anticpated to be a busy week ahead for the Registration Secretary.
23 March 2024
