An improvement in the weather towards the end of the week provided a much better day for fixtures in the Premier Division and Division One of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. However, before looking at those games, headline makers this weekend are Cricklade Town who made it through to the final of the Wiltshire County FA Junior Cup with a come from behind victory at Tisbury United from the Dorset Senior League. Cricklade trailed 1-0 at half time but were level early on in the second half when player manager Mani Roper fired home. Cricklade then fell behind for a second time but a penalty from Scott Chilcott restored parity, that is now 16 for the season for Chilcott. Centre back Chris Jackson then put Cricklade ahead for the first time in the game before a fourth from Levi Cox made sure that it would be Cricklade who progress to the final. In that final, which is Scheduled for Saturday 1^st March at the Sustain Stadium, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town, Cricklade will meet Laverstock & Ford Reserves from the Hampshire Combination and Development League who were 2-1 winners over Swindon & District League side Shield & Dagger. Full details of the path to the final of the cup is shown below with all teams from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League shown in bold:

Premier Division

On the league front, whilst all but two of the games went ahead in the Premier Division it was unfortunate that two of the teams who did not get to play were the sides who have played the least number of games in the division, Malmesbury Vics Dev and Letcombe, whose respective home games against Melksham Town Reserves and Calne Town Reserves were postponed due to waterlogged pitches.

The games that did go ahead saw Kintbury Rangers extend their lead at the top of the Premier Division table to a huge 14 points with a hard fought 1-0 win away at third placed Wroughton. It was a tight affair between two good sides on a difficult heavy pitch due to all the recent weather. Despite the tricky pitch conditions both sides tried to play the football on the ground, with Jonny Davoile pulling the strings for Wroughton in midfield and Kintbury skipper Jesse Bowers and Ben Luckett involved in much of the visitors build up play. There was to be limited chances in the opening 45 minutes though with both defences on top. The best chance of the half went the way of the home side, Kassa Anderson finding space on the edge of the box to fire in a low shot that Kintbury keeper Charlie McCready did well to get down to and turn away for a corner. At the other end, as the half was coming to a close, George Armstrong got the wrong side of the Wroughton defence but for some reason decided to check back, allowing a Wroughton defender to get back and dispossess him and the teams turned around with the game still looking for a goal.

The second half continued in a similar fashion to the first half with both teams probing for the opener but not really testing the opposition keeper. It remained that way until the game moved into the closing stages, and it took a set piece to break the deadlock when Kintbury were awarded a free kick. The ball was put into the box and, whilst Wroughton keeper Darryl Simms got his hand to the header towards goal, the ball fell kindly to an unmarked George Armstrong who had a simple tap in to give Kintbury the lead. In the time that remained Wroughton didn’t really threaten to get an equaliser, but the game was to have a controversial ending. A ball out from defence towards Wroughton’s Anderson in injury time was deliberately knocked on with his hand by the Wroughton striker to get beyond the Kintbury defence. The offence was seen by everyone, including the referee, and a free kick awarded to Kintbury. Most present in the ground were expecting a yellow card given how deliberate the offence appeared to be, but with Anderson having already been booked the ref gave him the benefit of the doubt and it was simply a free kick to Kintbury. Having been denied a win at the same ground last season by a controversial last minute goal that should not have stood, Kintbury expressed their anger at the lack of a second yellow card for Anderson. In doing so captain Bowers picked up a second yellow card, goal scorer Armstrong was sent to the sin bin and coach Jake Rowe saw red, with Kintbury playing the last 30 seconds with just nine men. The whistle blew shortly after the free kick they had been awarded was taken and I am sure if the players had known there was so little time left perhaps all that FA paperwork could have been avoided.

More pictures from this game will be found on the League Group Facebook Page in due course.

Fourth placed Park United missed out on a chance to move above Wroughton into third spot when they were beaten at home 4-2 by Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, the second time this season that the young Development side have got the better of Park. Star of the show was recent signing Dylan Griffin who scored four times on his debut. Royal Wootton Bassett dominated the opening half but, despite having most of the play, it took until five minutes before the break to get themselves in front to lead 1-0 at the break. The first half had seen the visitors lose the influential Ben Spackman to a serious eye injury having been struck in the face by the ball which saw him lose vision in one eye and having to be taken to hospital. Thankfully following a scan at the hospital, and having been seen by a specialist, he is now able to see through the damaged eye and it has been confirmed that there is no serious damage, but he will be out for a few weeks. All at the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League wish him a full and speedy recovery. The start of the second half saw Park come out strongly pushing for an equaliser. After putting the visitors goal under serious pressure for a 15-minute spell they brought the game back level thanks to a Ben Selman goal. However, within 30 seconds of the restart the visitors were awarded a penalty that Griffin fired in for 2-1 to Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Park again responded well to going behind for a second time taking the game to the visitors and equalised for a second time with a well taken free kick from Corey Harbour-Burgess to make it 2-2.  However, having restored parity for a second time Park were once again to concede a penalty within a minute of scoring a goal of their own, this time the penalty also saw a Park player pick up a second yellow card and the home side reduced to ten men. Griffin again took responsibility for the penalty and fired in for his hat-trick to restore the visitors lead. With the home side forced to go three at the back following the sending off, the visitors sought to take the game to Park and went close on several occasions, hitting the bar and seeing Park keeper Kierran Ramsey denying them on a couple of occasions. They did, however, add a fourth to make sure of the points, Griffin getting on the end of Will Close cross to score with a one-touch finish for the visitor’s best goal of the game to make the final score 4-2.

Due to the weather, Pewsey Vale have played just the one game since the end of November and the lack of game time had almost certainly caught them out in that one game played, when they fell to heavy 5-0 home defeat at the hands of Shrewton United. There were to be no such issues in their second game of 2025 as they proved too strong for Faringdon Town. Pewsey went in front thanks to a volley from James Guthrie from outside the box that went in off the post and it remained just the one goal in it at half time.  It stayed that way until just after the hour mark when a long clearance out of defence found Josh Fowler and whilst his first effort on goal was saved by Jack Gibson in the Faringdon goal the ball fell kindly for the Pewsey striker who fired in for 2-0. Two minutes later Fowler was at it again firing home with a stunning strike for goal number 23 of the season to put Pewsey 3-0 up. To their credit Faringdon pushed to try and get back in the game, but without creating any clear-cut chances. In the end, they were to concede a fourth goal three minutes from time when a cross into the box from Alex Golder deceived the Faringdon defence and ended up in the back of the net as it finished 4-0 to Pewsey. The win for Pewsey saw them move to within two points of Park United with a game in hand. For Faringdon that is now five straight defeats and just two points from their last seven games and they are now in serious relegation trouble with just eleven games to go. They will take some comfort from the fact that just two of those remaining games are against top four sides and five of the games are against fellow relegation strugglers, but they need to start winning soon if they are to avoid the drop.

Shrivenham remain level on points with Pewsey Vale following a hard fought 2-0 away win over Salisbury Development on the 3G at Bulford. A tight first half saw the sides turn around with neither side having found the net in the opening half. The best chance had gone the way of the home side, Naman Gurung spurning a one-on-one with the keeper which he usually puts away, but on this occasion, he failed to find the back of the net. The deadlock was finally broken ten minutes into the second half, a defensive error at the back let in Jacob Newdick who rounded the keeper to put Shrivenham ahead. The same player then added a second for Shrivenham 18 minutes from time to secure the three points, that is now 17 for the season for Newdick. Despite the result Salisbury remain four points clear of the drop zone and have a chance to increase that buffer this coming Wednesday when they make the short journey across the city to take on neighbours Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves in an important game for both sides.

There was an entertaining game at Shrewton Recreation Ground where Shrewton United were up against Kingsdown. When the two sides had met in Swindon way back in August the South Wiltshire based side had returned with all three points following a 2-0 win and were looking to complete a league double over Adrian Wilkinson’s side. It started well for the home side, Charlie Utterson beating his defender and firing home with just seven minutes on the clock.  Kingsdown pulled one back just after the half hour mark through Antonio Gerrish, with his tenth goal of the season, and then went in front with a second four minutes before the break, Calum Wilkinson the scorer. A third early in the second half from Joe English put Kingsdown 3-1 up and it looked like they would avenge that earlier defeat. Shrewton got themselves a foothold back in the game just after the hour mark and it came courtesy of an own goal. There was to be no further goals until the final minute of the game when a ball into the box from Aiden Compton found Utterson at the back post who fired home into the bottom corner of the net for his second of the game for Shrewton and secure his side a share of the spoils as it finished 3-3. Despite picking up the point Shrewton dropped a couple of places in the table due to those wins for Pewsey Vale and Shrivenham.

Trowbridge Town had picked up only their second win in eight games last week when they had defeated Larkhall Athletic Development for the second time two week's ago but would have expected to make it two wins on the spin with Bemerton Heath Harlequins Reserves, who they had defeated 1-0 earlier in the season, the visitors. The game had been switched to the 3G at Odd Down Sports Centre with the Trowbridge pitch at Woodmarsh still waterlogged. It did not start start well for Wayne Thorne’s side as the discipline issues that have handicapped them in recent games returned with Ben Wickens sent to the sin bin with just seven minutes on the clock. With Trowbridge temporarily reduced to ten men Bemerton took full advantage, Archie Ingram firing them in front. For the rest of the half Trowbridge laid siege to the Bemerton goal, going close on several occasions. They finally had the ball in the back of the net six minutes before the break through Bendle, but the goal was disallowed, Ben Wickens adjudged to have been offside in the build up play and it remained 1-0 to the visitors at the break. The start of the second half saw Trowbridge continue to put the Bemerton goal under pressure and they finally got themselves back on level terms on 62 minutes, Bendle firing home, this time the goal stood as he registered his fourth goal of the campaign.  Having worked so hard to get back on level terms, six minutes later they found themselves trailing once again, substitute Harry Rogers netting from close range to make it 2-1 to Bemerton. The final 20 minutes saw Trowbridge throw everything at Bemerton, with keeper Rob Brown even going up for a corner in the closing stages. The closest they went to scoring was an injury time effort from Nathan Phillimore that went just over as the Bemerton defence held firm to secure a second win on the bounce and three more vital points in their quest to stay out of the bottom four. They will look to make it three wins in a row this coming Wednesday with that local derby game against Salisbury Development.

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

There was the proverbial six pointer game at the bottom end of the table with two teams currently in the drop zone up against each other when Larkhall Athletic Development entertained Blunsdon. The home side got off to a blistering start as two goals from James Okell and one from Harley Prior saw them 3-0 up with just 20 minutes played. Three quickly became four with less than half an hour played, James Horrocks with the goal. Blunsdon steadied the ship and avoiding conceding any more before the interval. There were to be no further goals until the 65^th minute, a fifth for Larkhall from substitute Eddy Pope putting the game beyond Blunsdon. They did however pull one back, Jamie Pidgeon scoring from the penalty spot to make it 5-1. There was to be one more goal though and it again went the way of the home side, Pope firing in for his second of the game as it finished 6-1 to the Bath based side. The win for Larkhall saw them move above their beaten opponents and they are now just four points below Salisbury Development but have played more games than all the teams around them. With five of their last eight games at home they will no doubt be hoping their improved form since the turn of the year will continue see them escape the drop.

Division One

With Cricklade Town otherwise engaged the chasing pack had the chance to reduce the gap at the top of the table. Unfortunately for Down Ampney their game away at Stratton Juniors was the only one in the division to fall to a waterlogged pitch so they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity, but three of the teams just below them in the table were successful in their quest to move closer to the leaders.

Devizes Town Res were away to Kingsdown Development on the 3G at Kingsdown School and it started well for them as two Liam Moffat goals put them 2-0 up within the first three minutes. However, by half time they found themselves trailing as three goals from Steven Davies, Liam Geraghty and Calum Miller turned things round for Kingsdown. Devizes upped their game in the second half and were back on level terms within ten minutes of the restart Theo Corbin with the goal. Logan Anning then put Devizes back in front with a fourth Devizes goal just after the hour mark. It remained that way until 13 minutes from time when a Selemani-Parker goal gave Devizes a two goal cushion when he made it 5-3. Devizes then made certain of all three points five minutes from time when Finley Palmer added a sixth to make the final score 6-3. The win for Devizes saw them move up above Down Ampney into second spot, eight points behind Cricklade Town but with a game in hand. With Cricklade Town and Down Ampney yet to visit Nursteed Road where Devizes Town Res remain unbeaten this season, Devizes are going to have a big say in this season’s promotion race and their own ambitions remain on track after this latest win. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view the highlights by clicking on the link below or by using the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the League Website where all games in the league covered by Your Sport Swindon can also be accessed. 

Another side moving above Down Ampney were Marlborough Town who were involved in a close encounter with Kintbury Rangers Development. Josh De Souza had put Marlborough ahead but Kintbury got themselves back on level terms just before the break with a headed goal from Charlie Adams. Marlborough had the better of things after the break and a second goal from De Souza gave them the narrow 2-1 win that saw them climb up to third spot in the table, two points behind Devizes but having played three games more. Due to their Couty Cup exploits and postponed games Down Ampney are now down to fourth place, a point behind Marlborough but with five games in hand.

The third side amongst the chasing pack to record a win on the day were Lambourn Sports who were away to Purton in a game switched to Penhill Rec with the Purton pitch failing an inspection on Friday. Purton, whilst continuing to lose every game, have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks and to their credit continue to field a side each week. Lambourn had won the first meeting between the two sides 9-0 back in November but is was closer this time with Purton restricting the visitors to five goals and scoring one of their own. Thomas Whitham led the way for Lambourn scoring a hat-trick with further goals from Joseph Wahley and leading scorer Lewis Shaw, the latter taking his total for the season to 21. The win for Lambourn saw them move above Bishops Cannings into fifth spot. With five of their last eight games at home Lambourn will be looking to secure a top four finish come the end of the season.

Bishops Cannings fell to sixth spot as a result of dropping two points away against Bratton in a 1-1 draw, both goals coming in the first half, Harry Drewitt with the Bishops Cannings goal and Lewis Wayman with the Bratton goal.  

The remaining two games both saw away wins. Redhouse  travelled to Pewsey in improved form having avoided defeat in their previous two games and extended that run to three with a narrow 2-1 win over Pewsey Vale Development thanks to two Cameron Shrubb goals, that is now 21 goals for the season for Shrubb. The solitary reply for the home side came from Dominic Terrett with his fourth goal of the campaign.

The final game of the day in the division was at the Ian Richardson Football Ground where Shrivenham Development’s visitors were Bradford Town Reserves. Shrivenham Development led 1-0 at the break thanks to a Harry Phillips goal but Bradford Town Reserves turned things around in the second half. Harry Ledbury brought them back on level terms from the penalty spot before Dylan Berg fired them in front for the first time in the game. Ledbury then made sure of all three points with his second penalty of the game to give Bradford Town Reserves a 3-1 win, their third straight victory which is their best run of form in the league so far this season.