Amesbury Town Champions of the Premier Division

Premier Division

On a warm and sunny day, with the league title already confirmed, it was an afternoon of celebration at Bonnymead Park with Amesbury Town set to receive the Premier Division trophy following the conclusion of their game against Kingsdown. Prior to the game opponents Kingsdown and the match officials provided a guard of honour as Amesbury entered the field and then the two teams held an impeccably observed minutes silence for Amesbury President Sammy Dunford who passed away recently.

Kingsdown & the match officials provide the champions a guard of honour before the game

The game itself saw Kingsdown start the brighter of the two sides with Isaac Osazuwa going close to putting them ahead on 10 minutes, his effort being saved by AMesbury keeper McAulie Stubbs with his feet and then scrambled away by the Amesbury defence. Four minutes later Amesbury created a golden chance at the other end, a ball over the top from Harry Lawton put Harry Beckley clean through but his shot came back off the crossbar and was cleared to safety. Amesbury were now starting to get on top and a ball into the box from Harry Hale found leading scorer Josh Moore who controlled the ball before smashing a shot which was well saved by Dan Lawrence in the Kingsdown goal. He was not to be denied for long though, in the next attack on the Kingsdown goal, after a first Amesbury effort was cleared the ball was recycled into the box by Ben Morris and this time Moore made no mistake firing into the top corner of the net for his 37^th goal of the season. Amesbury pushed for a second and it came around the half-hour mark. A cross from the right by Harry Lawton found Harry Beckley whose scuffed shot was deflected to Moore who provided a heat finish to double his sides lead and take that goal tally onto 38. Amesbury were now dominating play with the impressive midfield trio of Kimron Quashie, Harry Lawton and Harry Hale running the show. Three minutes before the break Lawton combined with Morris who cut the ball back for Moore who fired home for what would have been the hat-trick goal, but it was struck off by a flag from the assistant referee for offside as the first half finished with Amesbury two goals to the good.

Whilst Amesbury had the better of things in that opening half it was a different story after the break as Kingsdown came out fired up for the second half and really took the game to the champions. Seven minutes in they had their best chance of the game so far when a pass found Finley Merchant on the edge of the Amesbury box, but his well hit shot went just centimetres over the bar. At the other end Moore had a glorious chance for his hat-trick goal, a cross into the box was met by the head of Moore with the goal gaping but somehow the normally prolific striker put the header over the bar.

Kingsdown had another good chance to reduce the deficit just after the hour mark when neat build up play saw the ball fall to Oliver Rejek but he fired well over and it remained 2-0 to the home side. With Kingsdown pushing for that goal that would give them a foothold back in the game, they left themselves open to the quick break which Amesbury are very good at executing. From one such break Kieron LeBrun found the unmarked Tyler Brockway in acres of space in the box but his header sailed over the bar. Kingsdown did get themselves back in the game on 68 minutes. A neat one-two in the box saw Isaac Osazuwa clear of the defence and he made no mistake to reduce the deficit. Kingsdown continued to push for an equaliser, but it was not to be and Amesbury’s tenure back in the Wiltshire Senior League was to end on a winning note.

The league trophy was presented at the end of the game and credit to Kingsdown, not only for their endeavours in giving the champions a tough final outing in an encounter played in a sporting manner from start to finish, but they continued the excellent sportsmanship they had shown throughout the afternoon’s proceedings by staying out for the trophy presentation. Similarly the three match officials led by Rhiannon Stevens and assisted by Neil Meadows and Adrian Campbell who had been excellent all afternoon. Congratulations again to Amesbury on winning the trophy and best wishes for your return to the Wessex League after just one season.

Amesbury lift the Premier Division trophy for Season 2023-24

Kintbury Rangers bounced back from that midweek defeat with a hard fought 3-2 win away at Malmesbury Vics Development. It was a come from behind win as Robin Collier put the Vics ahead with his second of the season on 15 minutes with a terrific drive from the edge of the box. Kintbury were back on level terms by half time though and got themselves in front ten minutes into the second half with an overhead kick. The lead did not last long though, Collier hitting another powerful shot to level matters up within four minutes of Kintbury getting their noses in front. Three minutes later Kintbury were back in front with what would prove to be the winner. On target for Kintbury were Ben Young, George Armstrong with his 43^rd goal of the season and Jake Allan. So Kintbury finish just seven points behind Amesbury in the final table and eight points clear of Pewsey Vale in third spot. Well done to them on pushing Amesbury all the way in what has been an enthralling title race between the two sides. We understand that this was manager Danny Langford’s final game in charge and that he will now take a short break before considering his options.

Pewsey Vale went into their game against Blunsdon on the back of three straight defeats, their worst spell of the season. However, they brought that run of defeats to an end in what was also manager Craig Kent’s last game in charge, Pewsey announcing after the game that their manager was moving on to another club.  Goals from Charlie Warren, captain Liam Edmondson and Ryan Banks secured a 3-0 win for Pewsey to end their season with a victory despite third place having already been secured. It has been a good season for Pewsey who took maximum points off champions Amesbury but in the end finished eight points short of that runners-up spot due to their run of defeats prior to Saturday's encounter with Blunsdon.

Larkhall Athletic Development warmed up for next week’s Fountains Trophies Cup Final with a narrow 2-1 away win at Shrivenham, Raphael Oppong continuing his good form in front of goal for Larkhall, with Andreas Smolka getting the other goal for the visitors. Shrivenham pulled one back from the penalty spot through Brad Hirst ten minutes from time but there was to be no equaliser as Larkhall consolidated their fourth-place finish. They finish their league fixtures on Wednesday with a visit from Kingsdown whilst Shrivenham complete their fixtures on Tuesday night at home to Wroughton in a re-arranged game that was abandoned at half time on Easter Bank Holiday Monday.

Trowbridge Town have spent much of the season in the bottom half of the table due to multiple postponements and narrow defeats, but an impressive run of form since the turn of the calendar year has seen them slowly climb the table and after this weekend’s round of matches, they find themselves in their highest position of the season, sixth spot in the table. This weekend saw them involved in a local derby against Fountain Trophies Cup finalists Melksham Town Reserves. Trowbridge got themselves off to a flyer, Jake Samuel scoring as early as the second minute. There were to be no further goals in the half as the teams turned round with just the one goal in it. Trowbridge had two good chances early in the second half, both falling to Nick Taylor, but twice he was denied by Dave Cardus in the Melksham goal. Melksham’s chance of getting back in the game took a turn for the worse when they had a player sent off on 67 minutes for a foul on Liam Milburn. Ten minutes later Melksham’s task got even harder, having made all their substitutions they saw a player injured which meant having to play the last 13 minutes with nine men. They successfully kept the score to just the one until injury time when James Rustell, who has been scoring for fun of late, lobbed the keeper from 35 yards to make sure of all three points for his side. Alwyn Bodman was at the game with his camera and more of his excellent photos can be found on the League’s  Facebook Group Page.

Wroughton climbed into ninth spot in the table with a 3-2 away win at bottom of the table Ludgershall Sports. Leading scorer Jonathan Peachey-Score scored twice to put Wroughton in the driving seat, taking his total to 32 for the season, but Ludgershall pulled one back before Max Scholefield restored Wroughton’s two goal advantage. A late penalty for Ludgershall gave them hope of getting something out of the game but that was to be the end of the scoring, Tom Gee and Luke Holden with the Ludgershall goals.

Division One

As set out in last night’s midweek round-up, three teams went into Saturday’s round of fixtures still in with a chance of winning the Division One title. 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. If Park won on Saturday and Faringdon did not take maximum points from their two games, Park would be champions. If Faringdon were to win both of their games, 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 lose their remaining games or Park lose and Faringdon take 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. The stage was set for an exciting end to the season.

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 a tricky away fixture at Wiltshire Junior Cup finalists Bratton, with the game being switched to Westbury United's ground with Bratton's pitch not being available due to cricket. Faringdon did not get off to the best of starts, Brandon Thompson giving Bratton the lead in the very first minute of the match with a shot from outside the area. Peter Fletcher went close to restoring parity just after the half-hour mark, seeing his shot go just wide of the post. They didn’t have to wait much longer though before they were back on level terms, Morgan Watts heading in from a Peter Fletcher corner on 35 minutes. They almost scored a second straight away, winning back the ball from the kick-off and George James trying his luck from distance but seeing his effort strike a post and it remained 1-1 at 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, James 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. Martin Pearce was there with his camera and more of his excellent photos can be found on the League's Facebook Group Page.

Park United’s game at Shrivenham Dev was a 4PM kick-off as Shrivenham first team were also at home on 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 thanks to two goals from Corey Harbour-Burgess and one from Zac Hiller. 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 through Dante Anderson to seal a 4-0 victory which sees them crowned Division One champions for Season 2023-24. Congratulations to Darrin Moss and his side on their achievement but well done also to Faringdon Town and Purton for taking the title race down to the wire in what has been a very competitive Division One this season, once again vindicating the decision to carry on with the division after a difficult first season.

Purton did what they needed to do in their final game but the win for Park ended any hopes they had of the title. For now, they remain in second spot after they completed their fixtures with a 3-1 away win against Devizes Town Reserves. Gio Wrona continued his rich vein of form in front of goal for Purton with another goal to finish the season on 17 goals, just one behind Levi Cox who also added to his total, Alex Hammond with the other Purton goal. On target for Devizes was 16-year old Theo Corbin with a stunning strike. The win sees Purton currently occupy the other guaranteed promotion spot for now, but they could be displaced by Faringdon if Faringdon win on Monday against Kingsdown Development. If Purton are overtaken, they will then have to wait to see how many vacancies are created in the Premier Division by promotions/relegations as to whether three teams are elevated to the Premier Division. David Giles was there with his camera and more of his excellent photos can be found on the League's Facebook Group Page.

Marlborough Town ended their season in style with a 5-0 home win over Kintbury Rangers Development at Elcot Lane. Henry MacPherson led the way helping himself to a hat-trick with further goals from Kieran Maidment, who took his total for the season to 14, and Harry Womersley who finished the campaign on 13. Marlborough moved above Devizes Town into fifth spot, but Devizes can move back above them on goal difference if they win their final game of the season against Lambourn Sports.

Well done to the 16 teams across the two divisions who have completed their fixtures by the original scheduled end date despite the horrendous wet winter we have had to endure. There are now just five league games to play in the Premier Divsion and six in Division One.  All of the Premier Division games must be completed by next Saturday, 11th May, and are set to do so. Whilst Division One in theory has an additional week, only one game is scheduled to go beyond next Saturday with the division set to finish on Tuesday 14th. All games need to be played to avoid any issues with League Rule 12 (D) and whilst all games are expected to be played, with more applicants than vacancies for next season, it is in the interests of all clubs to make sure that is the case. All of the remaining fixtures are set out below. 

For exclusive insight from the team managers of our clubs read Your Sport's Swindon weekly coverage of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. For details of how to subscribe see the advert below.

4 May 2024