League Knockout Cup
There was a break from league action last Sunday with games in both the Preliminary and First Rounds of the League Cup.
In the Preliminary Round, Marlborough Town from the Development Division were looking to create a cup upset when they took on Premier Division side Melksham Town and they went mightily close to doing just that. In the end penalties were needed to settle matters after it had finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes. The Melksham Town goal came through Lily Somers on her debut with the other Melksham hero being keeper Cal Adams who saved two penalties in the penalty shoot-out.
Melksham will be away to another Development Division side in the First Round with Salisbury their next round opponents, this after Salisbury ran out 3-0 winners against fellow Development Division side Staverton Rangers on Sunday, matching the league result against the same opponents. There were two goals for Samantha Deacon and one for Georgina Salt as Salisbury completed a league and cup double over Staverton.
Another all-Development Division tie saw Malmesbury Vics entertain South Newton & Barford Hornets. When they had met in the league it had been a close affair with South Newton & Barford edging it by the odd goal in nine, but it was something of a one sided affair in the cup encounter as South Newton & Barford hit five unanswered goals to progress to the First Round. There were five different scorers for the Hornets with one apiece for Lauren Baggot, Georgi Bavister, Molly McCarthy, Lily Burt and Josephine Bromley. South Newton & Barford will now be away to another Development Division side Blunsdon in the First Round.
There was one all Premier Division clash at Brislington where AFC Brislington were at home to Westbury Youth. When the sides met in the league, AFC Brislington ran out 7-1 winners and it was another big win for Brislington in the cup as they hit six goals without reply to progress to the next round. Rhianna Ben-Carew led the way for Brislington netting a hat-trick, Emily Plummer scored two with the other goal in the 6-0 win coming through Clarice White. AFC Brislington will be away to Kingsdown Development in the next round. All three of those outstanding First Round games are set to be played on Sunday 8th December.
There were also four First Round ties on Sunday, three of which were games involving just Premier Division sides and they very much went to form. Swindon Supermarine had defeated Durrington 9-0 in the opening game of the season in the league and they recorded another big win hitting seven goals without reply to progress to the Quarter Final stage of the League Cup. There were seven different scorers for Supermarine with Danielle Tuck, Ellie Philpott, Milli Swift, Beth Turner, Maddison Fox and Eva Johnstone all on target, with the other goal coming courtesy of an own goal.
It was predicted to be a close affair between Kingsdown and Highworth Town, the two sides again having met on the opening day of the season in a game that saw Highworth just edge it by the odd goal in three, and it proved to be just that as the two sides served up the closest tie of the round. The result in the end though was another win for Highworth Town as two goals from Lucy March plus one each for leading scorers Lauren Bulley and Bethan Harris secured a 4-2 win, Louise Corcoran and Siobhan Peplow with the Kingsdown goals. Your Sport Swindon were at the game and subscribers can view highlights by clicking on the link below or using the link from the Your Sport Swindon page of the League Website where you can also access all other games in the league that have been covered by Your Sport Swindon.
The other all Premier Division tie saw Calne Town at home to FC Chippenham with the game played on the main pitch at Bremhill View. Having defeated FC Chippenham 4-0 in the league a few weeks back Calne completed a quick-fire league and cup double with a 4-1 win in the cup. The damage was done in the first half with Calne leading 3-0 at the break but an improved second half showing from the visitors saw them restrict Calne to just one more goal whilst also scoring one of their own through Caitlin Angell. The four Calne goals were scored by Ellie Hamill with two, Lucy Buffham and substitute Sophie Shine.
The final tie of the day in the First Round, on paper looked to be the tie of the round, seeing the Development Division league leaders Trowbridge Wanderers looking to cause a cup upset against the leaders of the Premier Division, Bemerton Heath Harlequins. However, it proved to be very much a one-sided affair with the Premier Division leaders Bemerton putting ten goals past Trowbridge, highlighting the strength of the Bemerton side this season. Whilst a heavy defeat, and their first defeat of the season, Trowbridge Wanderers can take consolation from the fact that they did better against Bemerton than three of the Premier Division sides have done so far this season. Amy Hards led the way for Bemerton scoring a hat-trick, Leanne Griffiths-Lower and Zoe Ridley both bagged a brace, and there were further goals from Mandy Kidd, Imogen Brady and Deyna Davie.
It is back to league action this coming Sunday and in the Premier Division leaders Bemerton Heath Harlequins are home to a Calne side who will come into the game on the back of three straight wins in all competitions. Second placed Highworth Town will look to stay in touch with Bemerton at the top when they travel to Melksham Town. Swindon Supermarine will also look to keep on the heels of the top two when they host FC Chippenham. The final game in the Premier Division sees Kingsdown at home to Westbury Youth, with Kingsdown looking to bounce back from two consecutive 4-2 defeats.
In the Development Division, with second placed Malmesbury Victoria without a game, leaders Trowbridge Wanderers will look to extend their lead at the top when they travel to Staverton Rangers. Third placed Marlborough Town can move second if they can secure a home win over Ferndale Rodbourne. The other two games see Salisbury home to Blunsdon and South Newton & Barford Hornets entertain Kingsdown Development.
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4 November 2024
