After last week’s County Cup action this week attention turned to the League Cup. Unfortunately, as had been the case in last week’s County Cup, there were a number of ties where teams conceded matches, invariably where a team was away to a side from the other division. With three ties conceded, the future format of the cup competition will need to be discussed at Management Committee level with regionalisation of early rounds and/or increased fines for the non-playing of games both on the table for discussion. The three ties that did not go ahead were firstly the game between Mid Wiltshire Division side Melksham Town and ExIntel from the North Wiltshire Division, with the Swindon based side unable to raise a side, and Melksham now set to be at home to Warminster Town or Calne Town in the Second Round. The second awarded game was the tie between North Wiltshire Division side Penhill United and Radstock Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division, with Penhill now set to meet Redhouse in the Second Round. The final awarded tie was actually a Second Round game, the all Mid Wiltshire Division tie between Devizes Town and Chippenham Town, with Chippenham unable to raise a side for a game being played at their normal home ground, Devizes joining Bishops Cannings in the quarter final.

Four games did get played in the First Round and produced three close games and one comfortable passage into the next round. Last season’s cup winners Nationwide (previously known as Coate) were made to work hard in their initial defence of the trophy they won last April by a much-improved AFC Swindon side. In the end, penalties were needed to settle matters after neither side was able to find the back of the net in normal time. The penalty shootout went the way of Nationwide 3-1 with Nationwide now set to make a long journey south in the Second Round having been drawn away to Amesbury Junior Badgers.

This Wednesday Mid Wiltshire Division Durrington made the opposite journey to the one Nationwide are going to have to make when they travelled into Swindon for the second week running for a cup encounter. Having won comfortably the previous week, this week’s visit to take on North Wiltshire Division side Swindon Rovers was to prove a much tougher affair with Durrington eventually edging by the odd goal in a 2-1 win, all three goals coming in the second half. Ben Reilly registered his fifth goal of the season for Durrington with the other goal coming courtesy of an own goal, Taiwo Abolarin with the goal for Swindon Rovers. Durrington will be away again in the next round but with a much shorter journey having been drawn against Trowbridge Town Tigers.

The final two games in the cup were both all-North Wiltshire Division ties. Cricklade Town had a comfortable evening at home against Royal Wootton Bassett Town on the 3G at Cirencester Town. Leading 3-0 at the break two further goals in the second half completed a 5-0 win for Cricklade. Two more goals for TJ Bohane, Adam Smith also bagging a brace, with the other goal coming through Phil Corcoran. Bohane and Smith are now the two leading scorers in the North Wiltshire Division. 

The other all North Division tie between Stratton Juniors and Chiseldon produced seven goals with Chiseldon eventually edging it by the odd goal. Chiseldon’s Ritchie Miles and Stratton’s Neil Lee both scored twice for their respective sides, Ogedi Uzokwe with the other Stratton goal and the other two Chiseldon goals being scored by Sean O’Brien and Adam O’Keeffe. Cricklade Town will now be home to FS Swindon in the Second Round whilst Chiseldon also have a home time with Mid Wiltshire Division side and last season’s finalists Westbury United set to be their visitors. Full results to date and the Second Round draw is shown below:

There was one league game played this week in the Mid Wiltshire Division and it saw Trowbridge Town  Tigers move joint top of the table, level on points with Durrington, following a 2-0 win over Bishops Cannings. A penalty put away by Trowbridge Town's leading scorer Clifford Sakyi and an own goal being the difference between the two sides.

There are no scheduled fixtures next week due to half-term with the next round of the County Cup set for to recommence the following week.

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20 October 2024