Wroughton ahead of their 4-2 win at Pewsey Vale which saw them move a point clear at the top of the table

Action in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League got underway on Friday night under lights when Kintbury Rangers entertained an in-form Shrewton United side. Kintbury went into the game unbeaten in their opening three games with the chance of moving level on points with leaders Wroughton at the top of the table. After losing their opening game Shrewton had won three in a row including an impressive 3-1 win over Pewsey Vale in midweek. Kintbury had much the better of things in the first half, but the two teams turned around with the game still looking for that elusive goal. The second half continued in a similar vein, but the resolute Shrewton defence continued to frustrate the home side right until the final minute. However, the award of a penalty to Kintbury in the final minute of the game was to prove to be a pivotal moment. The leading scorer in the Premier Division last season, George Armstrong, stepped up to take the spot kick and fired into the bottom corner of the net to secure the three points which sent Kintbury level on points with leaders Wroughton at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s round of fixtures.  

The top match of the day on Saturday was the meeting of the top two after the round of midweek games, Wroughton and Pewsey Vale, at Pewsey Recreation Ground. Wroughton went into the game unbeaten, and Pewsey had won three of their opening four fixtures, their only defeat a midweek reverse against Shrewton United. It proved to be an entertaining affair and with the two teams having quality strikers leading their respective lines there were plenty of well taken goals to entertain the crowd. Pewsey started brightly and went close with just two minutes on the clock, Andy Rossiter being denied by a save by Wroughton keeper Eddie Salsbury. However, it would be Wroughton who got themselves in front with just seven minutes gone. Awarded a free kick on the edge of the Pewsey 18-yard box, Aaran Maximen drilled the free-kick low and around the wall with the ball nestling in the bottom corner of the net to give Wroughton an early lead. Wroughton went close to doubling their lead on 18 minutes, a neat interchange between Maximen and Jonathan Peachey-Score nearly put Peachey-Score in the clear but Pewsey keeper Ben King was quick off his line to come and claim the ball to prevent his side going further behind. A minute later his side were back on level terms, leading scorer Josh Fowler hitting a powerful shot from 20-yards into the bottom corner of the net to level matters up.

Three minutes later the dangerous Fowler went close again, another powerfully hit shot coming back off the crossbar before being cleared. Wroughton broke quickly and went straight down the other end with devastating effect, Maximen setting up Peachey-Score with Wroughton’s leading scorer making no mistake to restore his sides lead. With just 25 minutes on the clock Wroughton were forced to make a change in goal, Salsbury suffering a recurrence of a leg injury which meant he was unable to carry on with outfield player Ryan Major taking over in goal. Just after the half hour mark the stand in keeper did well to deny James Guthrie an equaliser, Major turning Guthrie’s powerfully hit shot from just inside the 18-yard box over the bar. Wroughton extended their lead eight minutes before the break and once again Maximen and Peachey-Score were involved in the goal. An initial shot from Maximen was well saved by King in the Pewsey goal but the ball fell to Peachey-Score who fired in for his second of the game and 3-1 to Wroughton. Wroughton continued to press for more goals and Maximen went close a minute before half-time as he again combined with Peachey-Score but he was unable to find the net this time. Wroughton did have the ball in the net again before the half time whistle though, Peachey-Score shooting in after a neat passing move, but the goal was struck off by the assistant’s flag although it looked like Peachey-Score had timed his run to perfection. 3-1 at the break.

Pewsey came out for the second half in determined fashion and reduced the deficit within six minutes of the restart and it was no surprise that once again it was Fowler with the goal. A defence splitting pass saw the Pewsey striker outpace the Wroughton back line and hit an unstoppable shot past stand-in keeper Major to make it 3-2 and game on with just under 40 minutes still to play. However, the experienced Wroughton defence did a good job in restricting the home sides' opportunity to get shots in on their stand-in keeper and, with 18 minutes to go, gave themselves a bigger cushion with a fourth goal, Nathan Barbato cutting in from the left edge of the box and firing into the far corner of the net for 4-2. There were further chances at both ends, Fowler going close with a couple of shots from distance as he went in search of his hat-trick and Peachey-Score at the other end also looking to get a third goal of his own. There was to be no further goals though as Wroughton extended their unbeaten start to the season to five games. Pewsey meanwhile slipped down to fifth place due to results elsewhere.

More of pictures from this game can be found on the League Facebook Group page.

Elsewhere Letcombe’s excellent start to their first season in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League continued with a hard fought 2-0 away win against Melksham Town Reserves. Ben Cleary set them on their way dispossessing a Melksham defender and scoring with a neat finish to put Letcombe 1-0 up and register his fifth goal of the campaign. They doubled their lead through Xavi Diaz, the winger scoring his third of the season. It wasn’t all plain sailing though for the Berkshire based side, a second yellow card for Kieran Kerby saw Letcombe reduced to ten men early in the second half. With plenty of time to go Melksham had a big opportunity to get something out of the game but some resolute defending by the visitors ensured that keeper Harry Whitehead went home with a fourth clean sheet of the season. The three points for his side saw them move second in the table, a point behind leaders Wroughton. The win for Letcombe saw Kintbury Rangers slip a place to third in the table.

After their heavy defeat away at Pewsey Vale, Trowbridge Town have quickly turned things around and picked up their second win under new manager Wayne Thorne and their third win of the season with a comfortable 7-1 victory over Malmesbury Victoria Development. Leading 3-1 at the break thanks to goals from James Cox, James Rustell and Jamie Lyons, Trowbridge stepped it up in the second half scoring four more without reply. Two more for Cox as he completed his hat-trick, Jordan De Silva and George Bendle with the other Trowbridge goals, Beau Hicks with that first half goal for Malmesbury. The big win for Trowbridge saw them return their goal difference to a positive number undoing the damage from that Pewsey defeat as they moved up to fourth place in the table.

More of Alwyn's pictures from this game can be found on the LeagueFacebook Group page.

Blunsdon have had a tough start to the season with a number of key players missing from their opening games and ahead of their home fixture with Bemerton Heath Harlequins few would have predicted a first win of the season based on results to date. However, the return of a number of those key players saw Blunsdon return to form as they inflicted a second straight defeat for the Salisbury based side after they had lost to Melksham Town Reserves in midweek. Bemerton had a golden chance to get themselves in front on 25 minutes when they were awarded a penalty. However, Luke Kuczynski in the Blunsdon goal saved the penalty to keep the score at 0-0. There was to be just one goal in the game, and it came around the hour mark, Nick Craft scrambling the ball into the net following an Elliot Wheatley corner. Bemerton pushed for an equaliser, but Kuczynski and his defence held firm to register their first clean sheet and their first points of the season. The win for Blunsdon saw them climb off the bottom of the table whilst Bemerton remain in eighth spot.

More of Tony's pictures from this game can be found at www.efc.smugmug.com

After their impressive performance against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development in midweek, it looked like Kingsdown were carrying on from where they left off on Wednesday night in their game against Calne Town Reserves. Leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Antonio Gerrish and Dan Jones it looked like Kingsdown would secure their third win of the season. The young Calne Town Reserves side, however, had other ideas and a storming comeback in the final 15 minutes saw them score three times to take the points. Two goals from Edward Oatley got them back on level terms before Ryan Flynn popped up with the winner to give Calne their first victory of the season which saw them move up to 12th place in the table.

Another side recording their first win of the season were Larkhall Athletic Development who returned from their visit to the 3G pitch at Stanley Park with all three points following a narrow 1-0 win over Park United. Park had a golden chance to go in front in the first half from penalty spot but Zac Hillier saw his spot kick saved by Joe Harper in the Larkhall goal. It remained 0-0 until 20 minutes from time when Tom Dowell rounded the Park keeper and squared for Alfie Prescott to tap in for his second goal of the week. There were chances at both ends after that but both defences held out to ensure that Larkhall went home with those three points as they moved up to 11th place as a result of the win.

The fourth side to pick up their first win of the season were Salisbury Development who inflicted a first defeat of the season on Shrivenham. Shrivenham had picked up three draws against three of the fancied sides to start the season and would have gone into what looked on paper the easier of their opening four fixtures hoping to get that first elusive win. However, things did not go to plan as goals from Harry Guy, Daniel Bazen and substitute Joshua Ngombi saw Salisbury pick up an excellent 3-2 win, Kieran Sutton and Charlie Hampson with the Shrivenham goals.

The final game of the weekend in the Premier Division was at Tucker Park where Faringdon Town entertained Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. The visitors went in front on 12 minutes, Ryan Withers beating a defender on the right-hand side before hitting a shot across Faringdon keeper Jack Gibson into the net for 1-0. Faringdon restored parity around the half hour mark, a ball into the box finding Kyle Bowyer who took a touch before smashing in the equaliser. The visitors Royal Wootton Bassett had a couple of attempts on goal to restore the lead before the break, but the teams turned around at one goal apiece. Faringdon went in front for the first time in the game four minutes into the second half, an initial attempt on goal by Daniel Loyden coming back off a post and Matthew Bibby beating the recovering defenders to the rebound to put the ball away for 2-1 to Faringdon. It remained that way until nine minutes from time when Bowyer made sure of the points with his second of the game, receiving a pass from Jamie Tuck he beat his defender with his first touch before firing in with his second to make the final score 3-1 to Faringdon and a second win of the season.

There is another busy midweek in the Premier Division this coming week and details of all the fixtures are shown below.

Division One

The top match of the day in Division One was at Elcot Lane Marlborough where league leaders Marlborough Town's visitors were Redhouse, the team that started the day just below them in the table. The two sides produced an entertaining encounter with Redhouse probably arguing that a couple of contentious decisions did not go their way. The game opened with chances at both ends with Redhouse going closest to opening the scoring when a powerful shot from the edge of the area came down off the crossbar and was cleared to safety. It would not be long though before they did manage to find the back of the net, a break down the right-hand side ended with a ball across the box that eluded everyone and found Kieren Dunne at the far post who had a simple tap in to make it 1-0. Marlborough got themselves back on level terms when a defensive mix up saw Jake Farrell get clear of the defence and his well-placed side footed shot found the net for 1-1. Marlborough then went in front for the first time in the game when the Redhouse keeper was adjudged to have tripped Farrell in the box and a penalty awarded. The penalty was powerfully struck by Joshua De Souza giving the home side a 2-1 lead. The lead did not last long though as Redhouse hit back with a second goal of their own, a determined run down the left ended with a ball into the box that found Cameron Shrubb whose shot went under the Marlborough keeper’s body and into the net for 2-2. Marlborough would still go into the half time break with a lead though, Farrell restored their advantage with a curling shot from outside the box to make it 3-2 to Marlborough at half time. Early in the second half Redhouse thought they had pulled one back from a header following a corner but the flag from the referee’s assistant saw the goal disallowed. Marlborough extended their lead with a fourth goal and, whilst Redhouse reduced the deficit again when Cameron Shrubb outpaced Josh Connolly to score his second of the game, a second headed goal from a corner was to put Marlborough 5-3 up, the two headed goals coming through Harry Womersley and Connor Chilton. There was one more incident where Redhouse will feel they did not get the rub of the green, Shrubb going down in the box following a challenge but the penalty claims were waived away as it finished 5-3 to Marlborough who sit a point clear of Lambourn Sports and Devizes Town Reserves at the top of the table. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can watch the highlights of the game by clicking on the link below or clicking on the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the League Website where you can also access other games covered by Your Sport Swindon.

Lambourn Sports sit second in the table after they picked up their third win of the season with a narrow 2-1 victory over Stratton Juniors, the winner coming with virtually the last kick of the game. On target for Lambourn were Josh Riggs and Ben Parsons, Cory Cullen with the Stratton goal.

Devizes Town Reserves sit third level on points with Lambourn after they also picked up their third win of season, a 2-0 away win at Bradford Town Reserves thanks to goals from Jordan Anning and Josh Madle. Over 90 minutes separated the two goals, Anning getting his in the very first minute of the match and Madle wrapping up the points with the second deep in injury time with a powerfully hit shot into the far corner of the net.

Bratton moved up to fourth spot with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Pewsey Vale Development. They went in front with just six minutes on the clock thanks to an own goal, Kye Teague’s ball into the box going in off a Pewsey defender. They then doubled their lead two minutes later, a Sam McQueen ball into the box found Jack Booth who made no mistake to give Bratton an early 2-0 lead. Bratton made sure of all three points, Max Bishop smashing home a third after a scramble in the box to make the final score 3-0.

As with the game at Marlborough, there was another high scoring game in the division at Down Ampney where the home side and their visitors Bishops Cannings shared nine goals. In the end it was the visitors who edged it by the odd goal bringing Down Ampney’s winning start to the season to an end. Star of the show was Szymon Raczek who hit a hat-trick, Kieren Chivers and Ben Haffenden with the other goals for Bishops Cannings, two for Paddy Cripps and one apiece for Steven Algar and Harvey Coster in reply for Down Ampney.

Purton finally got their season underway when they entertained Kingsdown Development at the Red House under their new management team. It was not to be a winning start for Purton though, as a hat-trick from Ramon Faruq and further goals from Liam Geraghty and Eden Hewlett secured a 5-1 victory for Kingsdown, and their first win of the season. The consolation goal for Purton was scored by Bonsa Teshome.

There is again another busy midweek of fixtures in Division One this coming week and details of all the fixtures are shown 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.

18 August 2024