Premier Division

With Premier Division leaders Kintbury Rangers inactive due to their scheduled opponents Shrivenham being engaged in County Cup action, the chasing pack had the chance to close the gap at the top of the table. On a day of close games, with five of the seven games played decided by a one goal margin, it was mission accomplished for four of the five teams just below Kintbury in the table. The one team who did not take advantage of Kintbury’s inactivity were second placed Wroughton who fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat away at Calne Town Reserves, Sean Bailey with his sixth of the season with the all-important goal. The win for Calne saw his side pick up their eighth win of the season and move up to eighth place in the table as a result. Despite the defeat Wroughton remained in second place but saw the four teams immediately below them in the table close the gap to them.

Third placed Melksham Town Reserves moved level on points with Wroughton following a hard fought 3-2 win over Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves with the visitors ending the game with just eight men as they had one sent off and two sent to the sin bin. On target for Melksham were Daryl Jones, Sam Whitehead and recent signing from Trowbridge Town, Nick Taylor, Archie Downes and Liam Greenough with the two goals for Bemerton. With promotion ambitions Melksham are now nine points behind Kintbury Rangers but have played three more games than the leaders.

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

Letcombe are just one point behind Melksham after they returned from Tucker Park with all three points following their local derby encounter with Faringdon Town. Faringdon are a tough proposition on their own patch, and they certainly made Letcombe work hard for the three points. Jordan Davies put Letcombe ahead with just seven minutes on the clock, Davies being put through by Kieran Kerby and firing in for 1-0. Faringdon were back on level terms just after the half hour mark, Adam Rudman putting Kyle Bowyer in on goal and Faringdon’s leading scoring making no mistake for his tenth goal of the season and it remained 1-1 at the break. Letcombe got themselves back in front within three minutes of the restart Xavi Diaz smashing in a free kick to restore his sides lead with what also proved to be the match winner. There were chances at both ends with Faringdon pushing for an equaliser, but Letcombe made sure they did not concede again to claim all three points.

Park United are the form team in the division and went into the game against Trowbridge Town unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions, six of which have been won. That run now extends to eight unbeaten and seven victories as they secured a narrow 4-3 win over Trowbridge whose promotion ambitions took another knock. Park raced into an early 2-0 lead and whilst Trowbridge pulled one back through Charlie Maddison just before the half hour mark, Park restored their two-goal advantage seven minutes later. Deep into injury time Trowbridge were given a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty which Ben Wickens successfully despatched to make it 3-2 at the break. It remained that way until 15 minutes from time when Park restored their two-goal advantage but a third for Trowbridge seven minutes from time from James Cox ensured a few nervous moments at the end before Park knew the points were safe. On target for Park were Lewis McCarron with two, taking his total for the season to 14, Ben Pring and Ben Selman. Park remained in fifth place in the table just one point below second placed Wroughton.

More of Alwyn Bodman's pictures from this game can be found on the League Facebook Page.

Pewsey Vale remain in sixth place, two points behind Park having played two games more, after a narrow 1-0 win away at Blunsdon, James Guthrie with the only goal of the game. The defeat for Blunsdon sees them remain in the bottom four on goal difference.

Kingsdown moved up to seventh spot in the table following a 2-0 away win at Salisbury Development giving them back-to-back wins and their ninth victory in sixteen games. Aiden Miller who had scored twice in the 7-0 win at Blunsdon last week again bagged a brace at Salisbury as he continued his goal scoring form since his return to the side.

At the bottom end of the table there was another vital win for Larkhall Athletic Development away at Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. When the two sides had met a few weeks previous, Royal Wootton Bassett had returned from Bath with all three points following a 4-2 win but Larkhall avenged that defeat with a 2-0 away success. Harvey Kendrick had put Larkhall ahead and it remained just the one goal in it with 15 minutes to go when the home side were awarded a penalty. Unfortunately for Royal Wootton Bassett George Lance was unsuccessful with his spot kick and Larkhall made sure of the points with a second from Andreas Smolka to record their second win of the week. On Wednesday night Larkhall had secured thier second win of the season with a 6-0 home victory over Malmesbury Vics Development, two more Kendrick, plus further goals from Angus Williamson, Alex Peapell, Archie Morris and James Okell.

Shrivenham were involved in Berks & Bucks County Cup action with a Third Round tie in the Charles Twelftree Trophy but our last representative in that County Cup competition are to take no further part after they fell to a 3-0 defeat away at AFC Winkfield from the Thames Valley League Premier Division.

Division One

Cricklade Town march on at the top of the Division One table with their 12^th straight win but they were made to work hard for all three points by a Lambourn Sports side who started the day in fourth place in the table. A solitary strike by Callum Parsons, with his 11^th goal of the campaign, just after the half hour mark was all that separated the two sides as Cricklade completed a league double over Lambourn. With results elsewhere Cricklade opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table and look set for a return to the Premier Division if they continue their current form, although there are still plenty of points to be won and lost. Lambourn dropped a couple of places in the table to sixth place as a result of the defeat. Your Sport Swindon were at the game and subscribers can view highlights of the game by clicking on the link below or using the link from the Your Sport Swindon page of the League website where you can access all other games covered by Your Sport Swindon.

Second placed Bishops Cannings lost ground when they were defeated in a goal fest at Green Lane, visitors Bratton winning 5-4 in a pulsating game. There were two goals for both Louis Wilkins and Joe Whiteman for Bratton, with Jack Hayward getting the other Bratton goal. In reply for Bishops Cannings there were two first half goals for Harry Drewitt who took his total for the season to six, plus further goals from Ethan Howard and Samuel Brewer in reply for Bishops Cannings who slipped to third place following their defeat. For Bratton that is now five wins in their last six games after an indifferent start to the season.

Down Ampney moved above Bishops Cannings into second place with a 4-0 away win against Shrivenham Development at the Ian Richardson Football Ground with Paddy Cripps and Harvey Coster both scoring twice in a 4-0 win for Down Ampney. The two goals for Coster took his total for the season to 20 and leadership of the Division’s goal scoring chart.

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Biggest winners of the day were Devizes Town Reserves who put 19 unanswered goals past a Purton side who continue to struggle at this level. Star of the goal fest for Devizes was Jordan Anning who scored ten of the Devizes goals, Liam Moffat notched a hat-trick, Theo Corbin bagged a brace and there were further goals from Harvey Swain, Jamie Wallen and Joseph Muir. The win for Devizes, who have promotion ambitions of their own this season, saw them climb up to fourth place in the table five points behind near neighbours Bishops Cannings but with three games in hand. In midweek the two neighbours had met in the Wiltshire Junior Cup in what was the third meeting of the season. The two earlier games had both been settled by one goal margins and the latest game was to prove to be the third close encounter again settled by a one goal margin. It was Bishops Cannings who won for the first time this season against Devizes, having lost in both the league fixture and Fountain Trophies Cup tie, goals from Kieran Chivers and Joseph Fallon doing the damage for Bishops Cannings, Joseph Muir with the Devizes reply. Bishops Cannings will now be home to Holt in the Fourth Road. The two sides are set to meet again in the return league fixture at the end of the month.

Kintbury Rangers Development are one of the form teams in the division and they made it seven wins in their last eight games in all competitions with a hard fought 2-1 home win over Marlborough Town at the Recreation Ground. They lead 1-0 at the breakthrough a Sean Cook goal and whilst Marlborough got themselves back on level terms a winner from Charlie Allsop with his ninth goal of the campaign ensured Kintbury maintained their winning form and saw them climb up to fifth place in the table level on points with Devizes Town Reserves.

Bradford Town Reserves recent good form in their last five games has seen them win twice in the County Cup and twice in the league. Their latest success came on Saturday away at Pewsey Vale Development where two first half goals from leading scorer Kieran Balchin, who moved onto 14 for the season, and another one before half time from Jordan Pincher secured the three points in a 3-0 win. An improved showing after the break from Pewsey meant there were no more goals, but the damage had been done in that opening half.

The final game of the weekend saw Kingsdown Development pick up their fifth league win of the season with a narrow 2-1 win over Redhouse, their near neighbours from just up the road. On target for Kingsdown were Josh Atwell and Ramon Faruq, veteran Dave Pratt with the Redhouse goal.

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9 November 2024