Click on Your Sport Swindon logo to see video highlights of the 2018-19 Fountain Trophies Cup Final
Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
Season 2018-19 Round-ups
Season Preview
All Change in the Dugout
Whilst the list of teams in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division is very much as you were it is certainly “all change” in the dugout for this coming season. 75% of the teams in the league have changed their manager during the summer with just four sides having the same man in charge. The four clubs who have retained their manager from Season 2017-18 are Cricklade Town, Purton, Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Shrewton United.
Champions Kintbury Rangers, who will be looking to retain their title in their second season in the league, have appointed Michael McNally as their new manager. The former Shrivenham boss will be assisted by Mark Stevens and former manager Jimmy Greenwood this coming season. McNally spent three years at the helm of Hellenic League side Shrivenham, where he was again assisted by Stevens, but was surprisingly replaced after five games last season with Shrivenham having made a reasonable start to the season. At Shrivenham his focus was on bringing on young players and it will be interesting to see if some of those players now follow him to Kintbury. Pre-season results have seen the reigning champions defeat sides from both the Western and Hellenic League, so confidence will be high for another successful season.
Last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves have also made a change to their managerial team with David Macey and Ben Deacon appointed as joint managers, replacing Steve Burns who stood down due to work and family commitments after overseeing the reserves for the previous 8 years. Macey is a former Melksham Town player who made around 400 appearances for the first team and reserve teams whilst Deacon, has coached at youth level for both Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle. The new joint managers will focus on continuing to develop the youth talent within the Melksham Town club in a competitive environment and are again expected to be one of the teams challenging for the title this season.
With Cricklade Town and Shrewton United, who finished 3rd and 4th respectively last season, sticking with their managers Albert Dearing and Scott Young, it will be interesting to see how those that have retained their managers fare relative to the two top sides who have made changes. All four sides at the top last season are certainly again expected to feature heavily in the forthcoming title race. In the case of the other two clubs who have retained last season’s managers, Neil Lee and Liam Lewis remain at the helm at Purton and will look to build on last season’s 6th placed finish whilst Paul Gerrish remains in charge at Royal Wootton Bassett Development.
Elsewhere, the summer has seen last season’s reserve team manager at Corsham Town, Justin Flowers, promoted to the first team position for the Western League club. Flowers has been at the club since he was 16, playing in the U18’s, reserves and first team. Corsham Town reserves certainly ended last season in a good run of form and Flowers is expected to do well in his new role at the Step 6 level. In his place Corsham Town have appointed Jamie Moss as their new reserve team manager. Moss moves into management after a successful playing career at Corsham Town which was unfortunately cut short by injury.
Once the top non-league side in the County, Trowbridge Town will be hoping that new manager Ant Ottaviano can return the club to their former glories. Ottaviano takes over from Tom Robson who left after the end of last season to join Westbury United and will be the new manager of their reserve team this season in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, assisted by Andy Mullen and David Jenkins.
The new man in charge of Pewsey Vale Development is young Colby Cain who takes over from Dave Force-Jones. Cain started as a volunteer coach for one of Pewsey’s U14 side and four years later is making the transition to managing an adult side. He is currently working towards his UEFA B Licence and if he succeeds in improving on recent seasons, which have seen Pewsey Vale Development finish in the bottom three two seasons running, he is obviously going to be a potential future first team manager at Pewsey.
Another manager who has stepped down in the summer due to work and personal commitments is Geoff Jenks at Devizes Town and he will be replaced for the coming season by Scott Clark who returns to the management dugout having been in charge of the reserve team at Devizes previously.
Football ID, who have dispensed with the Bremhill name during the summer, have also made a change on the management front with Mo Bokot replacing Joe Sharples in the dugout and he will be looking to improve on last season’s second from bottom finish.
The three remaining sides to make changes are Ludgershall Sports, Malmesbury Victoria Development and Marlborough Town. The new man in charge at Ludgershall is Steve Slater who replaces Paul George. Scott Liddington takes over the managerial position of the young Malmesbury Victoria Development side, replacing Dave Sheppard. The final change ahead of the new season sees Andy Ealey takeover from Thomas Thatcher at Marlborough Town.
So, with 12 clubs changing manager in the summer there will certainly be a lot of new keen managers in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this coming season. With pre-season in full swing and the new season now just over 3 weeks away excitement is building for what will be the 43rd season for the league. The good news with every new season is that everyone starts equal again. It does not matter that you had a bad season last time round, every side can dream that this will be the season when they lift the league title or cup come the end of the season.
The following is the list of pre-season fixtures and results we are aware of involving sides from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League:
Saturday 14th July
Corsham Town 0 Wroughton 1
Kintbury Rangers 3 Calne Town 1
Redhouse 3 Marlborough Town 2
Monday 16th July
Melksham Town Res 7 Radstock Town 2
Purton 5 Carterton 1
Tuesday 17 July
Corsham Town 6 Trowbridge Town
1
Wednesday 18th July
Kintbury Rangers 2 Andover New Street 2
Cirencester Town Dev 4 Marlborough Town 1
Thursday 19th July
Purton 0 Adderbury Park 2
Friday 20th July
Warminster Town 1 Trowbridge Town 0
Saturday 21st July
Burnham Utd 4 Melksham Town Res 2
Carterton 8 Cricklade Town 1
Kintbury Rangers 2 Wokingham & Emmbrook 1
Carterton 8 Cricklade Town 1
Kintbury Rangers 2 Wokingham & Emmbrook 1
Pewsey Vale 2 Wroughton 1
Marlborough Town 2 Swindon AFC 3
Tuesday 24th July
Carterton 3 Purton 2
Marshfield 0 Melksham Town Res 3
Pewsey Vale Dev 6 Athletico Marlborough 0
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 6 New College 3
Heytesbury 4
Shrewton United 3
Wednesday 25th July
Ludgershall Sports 5 Andover New Street Swifts 2
Hilperton 0 Westbury United Res
9
Friday 27th July
Warminster Town 2 Melksham Town Res 6
Saturday 28th July
Chiseldon 1 Marlborough Town 0
Kintbury Rangers 3 Reading City 1
Devizes Town 1 Shrewton United 4
Devizes Town 1 Shrewton United 4
Pewsey Vale Res 2 FC Dorcan 4
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 4 Carterton Res 0
Shrivenham 7 Cricklade Town 1
Tuesday 31st July
Kintbury Rangers
0 Wantage Town Dev 5
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 1 Chippenham Park 1
Wednesday 1st August
Ludgershall Sports 4 Arms Athletic 2
Thursday 2nd August
Marlborough Town 4 Village Inn 0
Saturday 4th August
Faringdon Town 0 Wroughton 1
Kintbury Rangers 6 Bakers Arms 0
Letcombe 3 Marlborough Town 4
Pewsey Vale Development 1 Spectrum 0
South Wonston Swifts 0 Shrewton United 8
Tuesday 7th August
Amesbury Town 2 Ludgershall Sports 1
Wroughton 8 Redhouse 0 (Faringdon TM Cup)
Wednesday 8th August
Cricklade Town 8 Ashton Keynes 1
Lambourn Sports Res 2 Kintbury Rangers 4
Shrivenham Development 1 Purton 0
Saturday 11th August
Kintbury Rangers Res 2 Royal W. Bassett Dev 1
Ludgershall Sports 4 Porton Sports 1
Marlborough Town 5 Stratton Juniors 1
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 3 Chesterton AFC 6
Tuesday 14th August
Faringdon Town 1 Purton 2
Wheatsheaf Stratton FC 2 Wroughton 2 (5-4 on pens) (FTMC)
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 11 Royal W.Bassett T Vets 2
Trowbridge Town 2 Frome Collegians 1
Wednesday 15th August
Broughton 1 Ludgershall Sports 0
Corsham Town Res 1 Cribbs 1
Devizes Town Res 1 Semington Magpies 0
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 3 Kingshill Sports 1
Warminster Town Res 2 Westbury United Res 1
The new 2018-19 Season kicks-off on Saturday with the top sides from last season in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League again expected to be at the upper end of the table this coming season. Champions Kintbury Rangers are one of 13 teams who start the new season with a new man at the helm, this following the recent change of manager at Cricklade Town that means just 3 sides retain managers from last season. Former Shrivenham manager Michael McNally has the task of defending the title which Kintbury won in their first ever season in the league. Looking at the registered players most of last season’s squad have returned although one notable absentee is leading scorer Charlie Allsop who posted on his Twitter account in the summer that he was taking a break from football this season. Despite his absence Kintbury have shown strong form in pre-season defeating a number of sides playing at a higher level.
Last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves are again expected to be there or thereabouts, but they are another side who have seen their top scorer depart. The prolific Callum Demkiv joined Westbury United in the summer and at the time of writing these notes second top scorer Rhys Talmarsh had also not registered for Melksham. However, with their First Team now playing at Step 4 and with a number of players progressing from the successful Under 18 side it is safe to expect the cup winners and league runners-up will do well again this season.
One top striker who has stayed put in the summer is the leagues overall top scorer last season Devan Bryan who has remained with Cricklade Town, who finished 3rd last season. Matty Bennett, however, has departed to Hellenic League side Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Craig Shand always has goals in him and experienced former Highworth Town player Jonny Davoile could be a key signing. After suffering a couple of heavy defeats in early pre-season games against Hellenic League sides Cricklade results have improved in recent weeks and they will no doubt be up the top end of the table again this season. Just prior to the big kick off they had a change in manager with Albert Dearing moving upstairs to become the clubs development manager, with Craig Kent taking over as player-manager. Craig has played both at Western League and Hellenic League level and will bring a wealth of experience and player contacts with him.
If the league last season had been decided on the last six games Shrewton United would have been champions as they won all six. That form has continued in pre-season that has seen them get an impressive win over Western League side Devizes Town. The squad looks relatively unchanged with top scorers the veteran Jesse Walters (21 goals last season), Charlie Utterson (17 goals) and Dan Burton (13 goals) all signing again for the new season.
Wroughton ended last season in 5th place but with successful manager Mark Love departing at the end of the season it looks like free scoring striker Shane Hibbert who hit 41 goals last season has also gone as, at the time of writing, he has not registered for Wroughton. Wroughton look to have a much-changed squad for this coming season. Earlier in the week they lost on penalties in the Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup quarter final, having been the cup holders. Despite this defeat pre-season results have been good, they defeated Step 6 side Corsham Town in their first friendly before losing narrowly to another Step 6 side Pewsey Vale. In the First Round of the Faringdon Memorial Cup they smashed Swindon & District side Redhouse 8-0. It will be interesting to see how they fare in their opening league fixtures, starting with a tough looking trip to Westbury United Reserves.
Westbury United Reserves, like Melksham Town, are another side who should obtain a bounce from having their first team play at a higher level. As noted above they have signed Callum Demkiv but he has started in all three first team fixtures so his appearances in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League may be limited. Westbury ended last season in 7th spot after getting off to a flying start which saw them win their first four games and going unbeaten in their first six games. Ironically their first defeat of the season game at home to Wroughton, who they open up against on Saturday.
One side who appear to be on the up under a new manager are Ludgershall Sports. Pre-season has seen Steve Slater’s side defeat Andover New Street Swifts, Arms Athletic, Porton Sports and lose narrowly to Step 6 side Amesbury Town. They will be keen to improve on last season’s 11th place finish but with one of their team getting married on Saturday they will start their season in midweek with a home game against near neighbours Shrewton United.
Purton finished in 6th place last season, their first back in the league after being forced to drop down from the Hellenic League due to ground grading issues with a lack of floodlights at the Red House. Last season’s top scorer Chris Avery has re-signed for the coming season but pacy winger Rob Lincoln has stepped-up to the Hellenic League with Royal Wootton Bassett Town. A key new signing is experienced centre-back Richard Gee who has Step 5 experience with Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Malmesbury Victoria. Taylor Gill is another experienced signing for the club. Whilst pre-season results have been mixed if they get off to a good start expect Purton to be challenging at the top this season.
Marlborough Town will be looking to repeat last season’s top half finish. After winning four games on the bounce at the end of March/early April they had hopes of a top six finish but just one win in the final 7 fixtures put paid to that. Pre-season saw a few defeats early on but results have improved as the friendlies have progressed and they will go into the new season on the back of a run of victories. Like Ludgershall they don’t kick-off their season until midweek with a tough looking trip to champions Kintbury Rangers.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Corsham Town Reserves meet on Saturday and how each will fare over the season is likely to depend on how many of the players registering for their first teams are also willing to hang around playing for their second teams and how their respective Under 18 sides bring on players for senior football. Like Shrewton United, Corsham had an impressive end to last season going unbeaten in their last 8 games and losing just twice in their final 14 games. Both sides have retained the services of their top scorer from last season, Ryan Withers hitting 14 for Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Aaron Masson 13 for Corsham last term and will be the dangerman in their respective sides.
After going through a spell mid-season last time round, which saw them fail to win in 12 games, Trowbridge Town picked up towards the end of the season and finished the season with three wins in their final four outings. They suffered more than most with the wet weather last season and as a result finished the season with five home games and will be hoping the weather is kinder this season. Their manager from last season Tom Robson has departed to Westbury United Reserves and new manager Ant Ottaviano has already had the misfortune of losing last season’s top scorer Natti Morgan to injury in pre-season. A 2-1 win over Frome Collegians in their final pre-season friendly means they will go into their opening fixture against Cricklade Town in a confident mood and will be looking to repeat last season’s 2-0 home win over Cricklade to get the season off to a positive start.
If enthusiasm is a judge as to how a team will fare this season, then young Colby Cain’s Pewsey Vale Development are in for a much better season than last time round. The young manager has overseen a few decent pre-season results and their opening fixtures against last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves and Westbury United Reserves should be a good barometer as to how they will perform this season.
Malmesbury Victoria Development have, at the time of writing, registered a massive 70 players for the forthcoming season. As to who will be playing for which of their three sides is unclear at the moment, but the list includes last season’s top scorers Harrison Archer and Gareth Jones, as well as veteran striker Allan Webb.
Devizes Town Reserves look to have retained the bulk of last season’s squad. One year on and with more experience they will be looking to improve on last season’s 13th place and finish and are another of 13 teams with a new manager in the dugout, Scott Clark taking over from Geoff Jenks. Clark returns to manage the side he was in charge of a few season’s back.
It is hard to predict what the final side, Football ID will do this season with just two players registered at the time of writing this preview. With much of last season’s side having signed for Chippenham Park in the Western League it will certainly be a different side from last season, probably again a very young side, who look to improve on last season’s second from bottom finish. Much of the better form last season was saved for the cup competitions and with a young side it is likely that the cup competitions will again be where the club shows its best form.
Opening Day Fixtures
Devizes Town Res v Football IDMalmesbury Vics Dev v Kintbury Rangers
Pewsey Vale Dev v Melksham Town Res
Purton v Shrewton United
Royal W. Bassett T Dev v Corsham T Res
Trowbridge Town v Cricklade Town
Westbury United Res v Wroughton
Saturday 18th August 2018
Opening Day Round-up
Defending champions Kintbury Rangers are not going to let go of their title lightly as they kicked off the new season in impressive style with a 5-0 away win at Malmesbury Victoria Development. However, it was a tight affair in the first half as all that separated the two sides was an own goal, the unfortunate scorer being Malmesbury’s Robbie Pitman. Malmesbury went close to equalising in that first half but Kintbury keeper Kyle Clough pulled off a fine save to deny the home side. Veteran Shaun Thorp then put the defending champions two up just after the break before further goals from George Smith and Chris Cox extended Kintbury’s lead. Thorp completed the scoring with his second of the game, but he could have had a hat-trick in this opening day fixture as he missed two penalties in the game. In the end a convincing win for the defending champions who next meet Marlborough Town at home this coming Wednesday.
Runners-up Melksham Town Reserves also showed they mean business again this season with a comfortable 4-0 away win at Pewsey Vale Development. Jamal Chevolleau was the star of the show as he fired a hat-trick, Billy Gleed with the other goal.
It looked the to be the top game of the day on paper and the match at the Red House between Purton and Shrewton United did not disappoint. The visitors Shrewton United went 2-0 up in the first half thanks to a penalty from Craig Lewis and Dan Burton goal. Second half goals from Jack Duckers and Sam English pulled it back for Purton before Shrewton then produced two wonder goals out of the top draw to secure all three points. A powerful 25-yard strike from Charlie Utterson put Shrewton 3-2 in front and the same player added another superb strike to make the final score 4-2 to Shrewton.
There was another tight contest at the Westbury Park Engineering Stadium where visitors Wroughton and Westbury United Reserves were involved in another entertaining and competitive game. The match was decided 10 minutes from time when substitute Jordan Lea scored the only goal of the game. Westbury came back seeking the equaliser but the Wroughton defence held out to ensure the opening day win. Wroughton just about deserved the win but it had been mighty close between two good sides.
Runners-up Melksham Town Reserves also showed they mean business again this season with a comfortable 4-0 away win at Pewsey Vale Development. Jamal Chevolleau was the star of the show as he fired a hat-trick, Billy Gleed with the other goal.
It looked the to be the top game of the day on paper and the match at the Red House between Purton and Shrewton United did not disappoint. The visitors Shrewton United went 2-0 up in the first half thanks to a penalty from Craig Lewis and Dan Burton goal. Second half goals from Jack Duckers and Sam English pulled it back for Purton before Shrewton then produced two wonder goals out of the top draw to secure all three points. A powerful 25-yard strike from Charlie Utterson put Shrewton 3-2 in front and the same player added another superb strike to make the final score 4-2 to Shrewton.
There was another tight contest at the Westbury Park Engineering Stadium where visitors Wroughton and Westbury United Reserves were involved in another entertaining and competitive game. The match was decided 10 minutes from time when substitute Jordan Lea scored the only goal of the game. Westbury came back seeking the equaliser but the Wroughton defence held out to ensure the opening day win. Wroughton just about deserved the win but it had been mighty close between two good sides.
Westbury United Res v Wroughton, Picture courtesy of Martin Pearce
Trowbridge Town and Cricklade Town turned around goalless at the break but three unanswered second half goals from Alex Pippard (2) and Joshua Hard secured all three points for home side Trowbridge Town. The opening goal came from the penalty spot on 70 minutes which also saw Cricklade go down to 10 men and Trowbridge made the extra man count scoring those two further goals.
Two first half goals from Ashley Barnett and Darrin Moss put visitors Corsham Town Reserves 2-0 up at the break at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. The young Development side pulled one back in the second half through Gabe Costello but were unable to find the elusive equaliser as Corsham continued the fine form that had seen them go eight games unbeaten at the back end of last season.
A solitary goal from Kyle Pogue-Elms settled the match between Devizes Town Reserves and the young Football ID side. Last season playing under the Bremhill name the visitors did not win a game in their first 15 league fixtures but this time round they got the season off to a winning start thanks to that Pogue-Elms goal. They will look to continue that good start to the season when they travel to Corsham Town Reserves on Tuesday night.
Two first half goals from Ashley Barnett and Darrin Moss put visitors Corsham Town Reserves 2-0 up at the break at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. The young Development side pulled one back in the second half through Gabe Costello but were unable to find the elusive equaliser as Corsham continued the fine form that had seen them go eight games unbeaten at the back end of last season.
A solitary goal from Kyle Pogue-Elms settled the match between Devizes Town Reserves and the young Football ID side. Last season playing under the Bremhill name the visitors did not win a game in their first 15 league fixtures but this time round they got the season off to a winning start thanks to that Pogue-Elms goal. They will look to continue that good start to the season when they travel to Corsham Town Reserves on Tuesday night.
Results
Devizes Town Res 0 Football ID 1
Malmesbury Vics Dev 0 Kintbury Rangers 5
Pewsey Vale Devs 0 Melksham Town Res 4
Purton 2 Shrewton United 4
Royal W. Bassett T Dev 1 Corsham T Res 2
Trowbridge Town 3 Cricklade Town 0
Westbury United Res 0 Wroughton 1
Midweek - Tuesday 21st August & Wednesday 22nd August 2018
Hat-Tricks Fire Melksham to the Top
Melksham Town Reserves, last season’s runners-up are the early leaders of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. They followed up Saturday’s 4-0 opening day win over Pewsey Vale Development with a 9-0 demolition of the young Malmesbury Victoria Development side. There were hat-tricks for both Seth Wain and Shaun Benison, Billy Gleed bagged a brace and Leigh Rogers added the other Melksham goal. Six points from their opening two games and with 13 goals scored and none conceded Melksham are off to a flying start, but it should be a harder task on Saturday when they travel to Cricklade Town. Malmesbury have had the toughest of possible starts having now played both the champions and runners-up from last season and will be hoping for a better outcome from their trip to Marlborough Town on Saturday.
Shrewton United are carrying on from where they left off last season as they added to the six straight wins at the back end of last season and Saturday’s opening day win with a 4-0 away success over Ludgershall Sports, making it eight straight league wins in a row. All four goals were scored in the first half with Dan Burton and Craig Lewis getting their second goals of the season and Dean Smith and Nathan Osgood with their first of the campaign. They took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half and they were unable to add to the first half goal tally. Like Melksham Town Res they now have six points from six ahead of Saturday’s trip to Football ID whilst Ludgershall will be looking to get their first points of the season against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development.
Corsham Town and Football ID both remain unbeaten after they shared four goals and the points. Darrin Moss followed up his goal in Corsham’s win on Saturday with another on Tuesday night, Jordan O’Dwyer the other Corsham scorer. On target for Football ID were Ethan Gilson-Clarke and Adam Bloomfield. On Saturday Football ID have that difficult looking home game against a rampant Shrewton side whilst Corsham are home to Pewsey Vale Development. Pewsey will go into the game in a confident mood as they avenged last season’s heavy loss against Westbury United Res with a 3-0 win on Tuesday night. Connor Marsden, James Blake and Hayden Culliford with the Pewsey goals. Whilst Pewsey travel to Corsham Westbury will make the trip to Purton on Saturday.
Wroughton joined Melksham and Shrewton at the top of the table at the end of Tuesday night following an excellent 5-0 away win at Purton, building on from their victory over Westbury on Saturday. Leading 1-0 at the break Wroughton turned on the style in the second half scoring four more times. The Wroughton goals came courtesy of Kyle Parker, Jack Allan, Zak Robinson, Jordan Lea and an own goal. On Saturday they will look to maintain their 100% record when they make the trip to Trowbridge to play a Trowbridge side that were involved in a seven-goal game on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for them they were on the wrong end of a 4-3 score line against Devizes Town Res. Trowbridge led 1-0 at the break but an excellent second half performance saw Devizes turn it round to take the points, their goals coming from Luke Enderby (2), Sam Dodds and Liam Mortimer. The Trowbridge Town scorers on the night were Joshua Hard, Jordon Gullis and Ben Howlett.
Two games were played on Wednesday evening including the defending champions Kintbury Rangers at home against Marlborough Town, who were playing their first game of the season. George Smith put the champions in front before Marlborough got back on level terms from the penalty spot, Ben Crame tucking away the spot kick. With Kintbury having most of the play in the first period Harry Way restored Kintbury’s lead to make it 2-1 at the break. Kintbury, as they had done on many occasions last season, came out strong in the second half but it took a penalty to extend their lead further. After missing two spot kicks on Saturday, Shaun Thorp was relieved of penalties duties with George Smith taking over the responsibility and he duly dispatched his spot-kick into the back of the Marlborough net. Harry Way scored his second of the match to complete the scoring, 4-1 to Kintbury the final score. The win lifted Kintbury into 2nd spot in the table
In the other match on the night Cricklade Town visited Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and left with all three points to make up for the disappointment of Saturday’s opening day loss at Trowbridge. In a tight affair the only goal of the game was scored by Billy Sly and gives Cricklade added confidence going into this Saturday’s big fixture with league leaders Melksham Town Res.
ResultsShrewton United are carrying on from where they left off last season as they added to the six straight wins at the back end of last season and Saturday’s opening day win with a 4-0 away success over Ludgershall Sports, making it eight straight league wins in a row. All four goals were scored in the first half with Dan Burton and Craig Lewis getting their second goals of the season and Dean Smith and Nathan Osgood with their first of the campaign. They took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half and they were unable to add to the first half goal tally. Like Melksham Town Res they now have six points from six ahead of Saturday’s trip to Football ID whilst Ludgershall will be looking to get their first points of the season against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development.
Corsham Town and Football ID both remain unbeaten after they shared four goals and the points. Darrin Moss followed up his goal in Corsham’s win on Saturday with another on Tuesday night, Jordan O’Dwyer the other Corsham scorer. On target for Football ID were Ethan Gilson-Clarke and Adam Bloomfield. On Saturday Football ID have that difficult looking home game against a rampant Shrewton side whilst Corsham are home to Pewsey Vale Development. Pewsey will go into the game in a confident mood as they avenged last season’s heavy loss against Westbury United Res with a 3-0 win on Tuesday night. Connor Marsden, James Blake and Hayden Culliford with the Pewsey goals. Whilst Pewsey travel to Corsham Westbury will make the trip to Purton on Saturday.
Wroughton joined Melksham and Shrewton at the top of the table at the end of Tuesday night following an excellent 5-0 away win at Purton, building on from their victory over Westbury on Saturday. Leading 1-0 at the break Wroughton turned on the style in the second half scoring four more times. The Wroughton goals came courtesy of Kyle Parker, Jack Allan, Zak Robinson, Jordan Lea and an own goal. On Saturday they will look to maintain their 100% record when they make the trip to Trowbridge to play a Trowbridge side that were involved in a seven-goal game on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for them they were on the wrong end of a 4-3 score line against Devizes Town Res. Trowbridge led 1-0 at the break but an excellent second half performance saw Devizes turn it round to take the points, their goals coming from Luke Enderby (2), Sam Dodds and Liam Mortimer. The Trowbridge Town scorers on the night were Joshua Hard, Jordon Gullis and Ben Howlett.
Two games were played on Wednesday evening including the defending champions Kintbury Rangers at home against Marlborough Town, who were playing their first game of the season. George Smith put the champions in front before Marlborough got back on level terms from the penalty spot, Ben Crame tucking away the spot kick. With Kintbury having most of the play in the first period Harry Way restored Kintbury’s lead to make it 2-1 at the break. Kintbury, as they had done on many occasions last season, came out strong in the second half but it took a penalty to extend their lead further. After missing two spot kicks on Saturday, Shaun Thorp was relieved of penalties duties with George Smith taking over the responsibility and he duly dispatched his spot-kick into the back of the Marlborough net. Harry Way scored his second of the match to complete the scoring, 4-1 to Kintbury the final score. The win lifted Kintbury into 2nd spot in the table
In the other match on the night Cricklade Town visited Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and left with all three points to make up for the disappointment of Saturday’s opening day loss at Trowbridge. In a tight affair the only goal of the game was scored by Billy Sly and gives Cricklade added confidence going into this Saturday’s big fixture with league leaders Melksham Town Res.
Tuesday 21st August 2018
Corsham Town Res 2 Football ID 2
Ludgershall Sports 0 Shrewton United 4
Melksham Town Res 9 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 0
Pewsey Vale Dev 3 Westbury Utd Res 0
Purton 0 Wroughton 5
Trowbridge Town 3 Devizes Town Res 4
Wednesday 22nd August 2018
Kintbury Rangers 4 Marlborough Town 1
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 0 Cricklade T 1
Saturday 25th August 2018
Shrewton Go Top of the Table
With Melksham Town Reserves scheduled game at Cricklade being postponed due to the Cricklade pitch being deemed unplayable as a result of the dry weather over the summer there are new leaders of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. That honour goes to Shrewton United who made it three straight wins with a 4-0 away win at previously unbeaten Football ID. Two long range efforts from Lee Weeks put Shrewton in command at the end of the first half. Further goals from Craig Lewis and Dominic Jackson completed the scoring and means that Shrewton have now scored four in each of their opening three fixtures to sit two points clear at the top of the table. Shrewton travel to Pewsey Vale Development on Tuesday night and will be in confident mood of maintaining their early lead of the table. Football ID will look to bounce back with a visit to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development on Wednesday night.
Wroughton moved up into second spot following a 1-1 draw away at Trowbridge Town thanks to a Shane Hibbert headed goal. Hibbert, last season’s top scorer, was making his return after missing the start of the season due to injury. Josh Howlett scoring for the home side. Wroughton will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they travel to Marlborough on Tuesday evening whilst Trowbridge make the short trip to Westbury United Reserves for their first away game of the new season. The point against Wroughton left Trowbridge in 6th place in the table.
Corsham Town Reserves fantastic run, which started at the back end of last season, continued as goals from Mark Dolman and Tony McElhone gave them a 2-0 home win over Pewsey Vale Development. Corsham have now gone 11 games unbeaten in the league when you include that run last season and will be looking to make that 12 on Tuesday night when they travel to Malmesbury Victoria Development.
Marlborough Town secured their first win of the season today and moved up into 8th place in the table as a result. Two goals from both Ben Crame and last season’s top scorer Aaron Presley did the damage, the other goal being scored by Luke Connolly in a 5-0 win over luckless Malmesbury Victoria Development who have yet to score a goal and have conceded 19 in their opening three fixtures and it does not get any easier in midweek with in-form Corsham Town Reserves their visitors.
Purton and Westbury United Reserves were two sides who were looking for their first points of the season when they met at the Red House and it is Westbury who have smiles on their faces tonight as they secured all three points courtesy of a solitary goal scored by Matt Mead, their first goal of the new campaign. Purton are scheduled to meet Cricklade on Tuesday night and will be hoping that some much needed rain will allow the game to go ahead as they look to get off the mark this season.
A close game at Ludgershall between the Sports and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development saw Ludgershall pick up their first points of the season after a 3-2 win. After scoring in the first minute of the match they then had to come back from trailing 2-1 to secure the points after Josh Bolton had firstly equalised for Royal Wootton Bassett and then put them in front five minutes after the break. The Ludgershall scorers were David Cotter, Luke Sadler and Nathan Strong. The win will send Ludgershall into Wednesday’s tough looking trip to last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers in a confident mood.
Wroughton moved up into second spot following a 1-1 draw away at Trowbridge Town thanks to a Shane Hibbert headed goal. Hibbert, last season’s top scorer, was making his return after missing the start of the season due to injury. Josh Howlett scoring for the home side. Wroughton will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they travel to Marlborough on Tuesday evening whilst Trowbridge make the short trip to Westbury United Reserves for their first away game of the new season. The point against Wroughton left Trowbridge in 6th place in the table.
Corsham Town Reserves fantastic run, which started at the back end of last season, continued as goals from Mark Dolman and Tony McElhone gave them a 2-0 home win over Pewsey Vale Development. Corsham have now gone 11 games unbeaten in the league when you include that run last season and will be looking to make that 12 on Tuesday night when they travel to Malmesbury Victoria Development.
Marlborough Town secured their first win of the season today and moved up into 8th place in the table as a result. Two goals from both Ben Crame and last season’s top scorer Aaron Presley did the damage, the other goal being scored by Luke Connolly in a 5-0 win over luckless Malmesbury Victoria Development who have yet to score a goal and have conceded 19 in their opening three fixtures and it does not get any easier in midweek with in-form Corsham Town Reserves their visitors.
Purton and Westbury United Reserves were two sides who were looking for their first points of the season when they met at the Red House and it is Westbury who have smiles on their faces tonight as they secured all three points courtesy of a solitary goal scored by Matt Mead, their first goal of the new campaign. Purton are scheduled to meet Cricklade on Tuesday night and will be hoping that some much needed rain will allow the game to go ahead as they look to get off the mark this season.
A close game at Ludgershall between the Sports and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development saw Ludgershall pick up their first points of the season after a 3-2 win. After scoring in the first minute of the match they then had to come back from trailing 2-1 to secure the points after Josh Bolton had firstly equalised for Royal Wootton Bassett and then put them in front five minutes after the break. The Ludgershall scorers were David Cotter, Luke Sadler and Nathan Strong. The win will send Ludgershall into Wednesday’s tough looking trip to last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers in a confident mood.
Results
Corsham Town Res 2 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Cricklade Town v Melksham Town Res – postponed, pitch not playable
Football ID 0 Shrewton United 4
Ludgershall Spts 3 Royal W. Bassett T D 2
Marlborough T 5 Malmesbury Vics Dev 0
Purton 0 Westbury United Res 1
Trowbridge Town 1 Wroughton 1
Midweek - Tuesday 28th & Wednesday 29th August 2018
Treble six but Shrewton maintain lead at top
Shrewton United maintained their two-point lead at the top of the table in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with a 5-1 away win at Pewsey Vale Development. Shrewton led 3-1 at the break courtesy of a stunning strike from Dominic Jackson, a fourth of the season from Craig Lewis and a third from Jake Watson on his return to action. Goals number 5 and 6 for the season for Lewis came in the second half as he completed his hat-trick and ensured his record of scoring in every game this season continued. Ryan Thomas scored the consolation goal for Pewsey. Shrewton will go into the tough looking trip to Cricklade Town in a confident mood having stretched their winning sequence in the league which started at the back end of last season to 10 games. Pewsey will look to bounce back from a couple of defeats when they entertain Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development.
Wroughton stay second after an impressive 6-0 away win at Wroughton. Shane Hibbert is back in the groove as he bagged a brace and the other four goals came courtesy of Gareth Davies, Ollie While, Zak Robinson and Jack Allan, the latter getting their second of the season. Saturday sees Wroughton travel to Ludgershall Sports whilst Marlborough look to pick themselves up with a trip to Football ID.
Corsham Town Reserves matched Wroughton goal for goal as they also hit the young Malmesbury Victoria Development side for six joining Wroughton on 10 points from their opening four games and in the process stretched their unbeaten league run to 12 games. Ben Wickens led the way for Corsham with a brace, Darrin Moss socred his third of the season, Alex Pring, Nathan Davis and Jordan O’Dwyer also on the score sheet for the visitors. Corsham make the trip to Westbury on Saturday.
It was a tight affair in the local derby at Cricklade with visitors Purton settling matters thanks to a solitary goal from Will Backhouse who was put clean through on goal by a great cross from Leigh Brown. The goal can be seen in the Your Sport Swindon’s video coverage of the game on their website. Next up for Purton is a tough looking trip to Melksham Town Reserves whilst Cricklade have that home game against the leaders Shrewton.
In a week of 6-0 results, on Wednesday night current champions Kintbury Rangers matched both Wroughton and Corsham Town as they hit six goals without reply against Ludgershall Sports. Harry Way and George Smith have stepped into the scoring boots of Charlie Allsop this season, Way firing a hat-trick in this one to take his total to five from just three games. Smith is just one goal behind him scoring one on the night. The other goals coming from Chris Cox and Tom Mahoney. The win made it three wins out of three for Kintbury as they moved into 3rd spot in the table with a game in hand on the three teams above them. Ominously for the rest of the league Charlie Allsop has also come out of his ‘early retirement’ and re-signed for the season. Next up for Kintbury is a home game against Devizes Town Reserves whilst Ludgershall have that home fixture against Wroughton.
It was a lot closer at Devizes where last season’s runners-up Melksham Town ensured their excellent record against Devizes Town Reserves continued, Devizes not having beaten Melksham in a league fixture in the twelve games played between the two in the last ten seasons. A solitary goal from Leigh Rogers, his second of the season, settled matters for the visitors. Melksham join Kintbury with a 100% record on nine points, also having that game in hand on the top three.
Trowbridge Town sit in 6th place in the table following a hard-fought draw against their former manager Tom Robson’s Westbury United Reserves side, Dan Cockerill scoring for Trowbridge Town, Otis Young for Westbury in what was a good competitive match.
The final game of the night saw an entertaining second half at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Football ID. The game turned around at the break without a goal but both sides found their shooting boots in the second half. Jack Stanley fired the home side in front with a curling free kick, but the lead was short lived as Football ID got back on level terms almost immediately. The visitors then went in front, the two goals coming from Ethan Gilson-Clarke and Caine Bradbury, and just as it looked like they would make it three wins from three visits to the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground Josh Bolton scored for Royal Wootton Bassett Development to make it 2-2. Football ID then thought they had won it at the death with a last minute winner but the goal was disallowed making it honours even and the points shared. The point for Football ID left them in 7th place whilst Royal Wootton Bassett Town development are second from bottom two points adrift of the six sides on three points.
Wroughton stay second after an impressive 6-0 away win at Wroughton. Shane Hibbert is back in the groove as he bagged a brace and the other four goals came courtesy of Gareth Davies, Ollie While, Zak Robinson and Jack Allan, the latter getting their second of the season. Saturday sees Wroughton travel to Ludgershall Sports whilst Marlborough look to pick themselves up with a trip to Football ID.
Corsham Town Reserves matched Wroughton goal for goal as they also hit the young Malmesbury Victoria Development side for six joining Wroughton on 10 points from their opening four games and in the process stretched their unbeaten league run to 12 games. Ben Wickens led the way for Corsham with a brace, Darrin Moss socred his third of the season, Alex Pring, Nathan Davis and Jordan O’Dwyer also on the score sheet for the visitors. Corsham make the trip to Westbury on Saturday.
It was a tight affair in the local derby at Cricklade with visitors Purton settling matters thanks to a solitary goal from Will Backhouse who was put clean through on goal by a great cross from Leigh Brown. The goal can be seen in the Your Sport Swindon’s video coverage of the game on their website. Next up for Purton is a tough looking trip to Melksham Town Reserves whilst Cricklade have that home game against the leaders Shrewton.
In a week of 6-0 results, on Wednesday night current champions Kintbury Rangers matched both Wroughton and Corsham Town as they hit six goals without reply against Ludgershall Sports. Harry Way and George Smith have stepped into the scoring boots of Charlie Allsop this season, Way firing a hat-trick in this one to take his total to five from just three games. Smith is just one goal behind him scoring one on the night. The other goals coming from Chris Cox and Tom Mahoney. The win made it three wins out of three for Kintbury as they moved into 3rd spot in the table with a game in hand on the three teams above them. Ominously for the rest of the league Charlie Allsop has also come out of his ‘early retirement’ and re-signed for the season. Next up for Kintbury is a home game against Devizes Town Reserves whilst Ludgershall have that home fixture against Wroughton.
It was a lot closer at Devizes where last season’s runners-up Melksham Town ensured their excellent record against Devizes Town Reserves continued, Devizes not having beaten Melksham in a league fixture in the twelve games played between the two in the last ten seasons. A solitary goal from Leigh Rogers, his second of the season, settled matters for the visitors. Melksham join Kintbury with a 100% record on nine points, also having that game in hand on the top three.
Trowbridge Town sit in 6th place in the table following a hard-fought draw against their former manager Tom Robson’s Westbury United Reserves side, Dan Cockerill scoring for Trowbridge Town, Otis Young for Westbury in what was a good competitive match.
The final game of the night saw an entertaining second half at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Football ID. The game turned around at the break without a goal but both sides found their shooting boots in the second half. Jack Stanley fired the home side in front with a curling free kick, but the lead was short lived as Football ID got back on level terms almost immediately. The visitors then went in front, the two goals coming from Ethan Gilson-Clarke and Caine Bradbury, and just as it looked like they would make it three wins from three visits to the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground Josh Bolton scored for Royal Wootton Bassett Development to make it 2-2. Football ID then thought they had won it at the death with a last minute winner but the goal was disallowed making it honours even and the points shared. The point for Football ID left them in 7th place whilst Royal Wootton Bassett Town development are second from bottom two points adrift of the six sides on three points.
Action from game between Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev and Football ID, Picture courtesy of Steve Green
Results
Tuesday 28th August 2018
Cricklade Town 0 Purton 1
Malmesbury Vics Dev 0 Corsham T Res 6
Marlborough Town 0 Wroughton 6
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Shrewton United 5
Kintbury Rangers 6 Ludgershall Sports 0
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 2 Football ID 2
Westbury United Res 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Tuesday 28th August 2018
Cricklade Town 0 Purton 1
Malmesbury Vics Dev 0 Corsham T Res 6
Marlborough Town 0 Wroughton 6
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Shrewton United 5
Wednesday 29th August 2018
Devizes Town Res 0 Melksham Town Res 1Kintbury Rangers 6 Ludgershall Sports 0
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 2 Football ID 2
Westbury United Res 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Saturday 1st September 2018
Wroughton Are The New Leaders
There are new leaders of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior Premier Division tonight as Shrewton United lost their 100% record when Cricklade Town returned to form to inflict an impressive 5-1 defeat on the previous leaders. Max Scholefield, who has swapped the goalkeepers jersey for an outfield one this season, got Cricklade on their way with their opening goal. Last season’s top scorer Devan Bryan then got in on the act to make it 2-0 at the break. Two further second half goals from Bryan completed his hat-trick and Tom Hoskins also got on the score sheet for an in-form home side serving up their best performance of the season so far. He may have scored a hat-trick, but Bryan also failed to score from the penalty spot, but it was comfortable in the end for Cricklade against a Shrewton side having an off-day, Craig Lewis with their consolation goal. Shrewton slipped to fourth in the table whilst Cricklade moved up into eighth place as a result of their fine win.
New leaders are Wroughton who continued their excellent unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 away win at Ludgershall Sports. The two sides turned around goalless at the break but two goals from Tom Price and one from Jordan Lea, his third of the season, gave Wroughton the points. Luke Sadler scored the consolation goal for Ludgershall.
Kintbury Rangers went second in the table and did their goal difference no harm at all with an 11-0 thrashing of Devizes Town Reserves. Veteran Shaun Thorp led the way with five goals, George Smith hit a hat-trick, Chris Cox bagged a brace and Tom Mahoney completed the scoring as Kintbury maintained their 100% record in style,
Last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves also maintained their 100% record and joined Kintbury on 12 points with a 2-0 home win over Purton, Will Thomson and Jarred Chevolleau with the Melksham goals. Melksham may not be matching Kintbury in the goal scoring stakes, but their defence are yet to concede a goal in their four games to date. That record will be tested next week, however, when they travel to Wroughton in the top game in the division next weekend.
Football ID achieved their best ever result in the league with a 7-0 home win over an out of sorts Marlborough Town. Fred Porter, Dawid Fedyk and Alfie Presley all scored twice with a goal from Ethan Gilson-Clarke, his third of the season, completing the scoring for the young Football ID side. The win lifted them into 6th place in the table after a good start to the season which they will look to continue on Wednesday night when they travel to Malmesbury Victoria Development for a midweek fixture under lights.
Corsham Town Reserves long unbeaten run finally came to and end after they went down 3-0 away to Westbury United Reserves. Two goals from George Bendle and one from Matty Mantay with the other as Westbury secured their second win of the season.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development climbed five places in the table with a comeback win away at Pewsey Vale Development, trailing 2-1 at the break to goals from Kierron Kiff and Eden Bunce for Pewsey, Carl Shepherd with the Royal Wootton Bassett Town goal, four unanswered goals from Ben Spackman, Gabe Costello, Tyrhys Mifsud and Carl Shepherd, his second of the game, secured all three points as they claimed their first win of the season. Pewsey slipped to 12th place in the table.
New leaders are Wroughton who continued their excellent unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 away win at Ludgershall Sports. The two sides turned around goalless at the break but two goals from Tom Price and one from Jordan Lea, his third of the season, gave Wroughton the points. Luke Sadler scored the consolation goal for Ludgershall.
Kintbury Rangers went second in the table and did their goal difference no harm at all with an 11-0 thrashing of Devizes Town Reserves. Veteran Shaun Thorp led the way with five goals, George Smith hit a hat-trick, Chris Cox bagged a brace and Tom Mahoney completed the scoring as Kintbury maintained their 100% record in style,
Last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves also maintained their 100% record and joined Kintbury on 12 points with a 2-0 home win over Purton, Will Thomson and Jarred Chevolleau with the Melksham goals. Melksham may not be matching Kintbury in the goal scoring stakes, but their defence are yet to concede a goal in their four games to date. That record will be tested next week, however, when they travel to Wroughton in the top game in the division next weekend.
Football ID achieved their best ever result in the league with a 7-0 home win over an out of sorts Marlborough Town. Fred Porter, Dawid Fedyk and Alfie Presley all scored twice with a goal from Ethan Gilson-Clarke, his third of the season, completing the scoring for the young Football ID side. The win lifted them into 6th place in the table after a good start to the season which they will look to continue on Wednesday night when they travel to Malmesbury Victoria Development for a midweek fixture under lights.
Corsham Town Reserves long unbeaten run finally came to and end after they went down 3-0 away to Westbury United Reserves. Two goals from George Bendle and one from Matty Mantay with the other as Westbury secured their second win of the season.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development climbed five places in the table with a comeback win away at Pewsey Vale Development, trailing 2-1 at the break to goals from Kierron Kiff and Eden Bunce for Pewsey, Carl Shepherd with the Royal Wootton Bassett Town goal, four unanswered goals from Ben Spackman, Gabe Costello, Tyrhys Mifsud and Carl Shepherd, his second of the game, secured all three points as they claimed their first win of the season. Pewsey slipped to 12th place in the table.
Results
Cricklade Town 5 Shrewton United 1
Football ID 7 Marlborough Town 0
Kintbury Rangers 11 Devizes Town Res 0
Ludgershall Sports 1 Wroughton 3
Melksham Town Res 2 Purton 0
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Royal W. Bassett T D 5
Westbury Utd Res 3 Corsham Town Res 0
Midweek - Wednesday 5th September 2018
Football ID Good Start Continues
Just one midweek game this week in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and it saw Football ID continue their good start to the season with a 4-1 away win at Malmesbury Victoria Development. On a firm and lush green pitch, the young Football ID side found a venue, that can be difficult to play passing football when wet, in perfect condition on the night for their short passing game. The first chance of the game came their way in the opening minutes following good down the right but Malmesbury’s keeper pulled off a great save to deny the visitors from opening the scoring. They were not to be denied for long however as in the 5th minute Zayn Alime put them 1-0 in front with a superb strike from 25 yards out that gave the Malmesbury keeper no chance.
Football ID continued to dominate possession but without creating any clear-cut chances as the Malmesbury defence did well to prevent the visitors, with the pacy Edidiong Essien leading the line, from getting in behind the back four. On 16 minutes Malmesbury had a chance of their own at the other end as a ball over the top caught the Football ID defence out and the keeper rushing out to punch was lucky to get away with his poor clearance as the ball was cleared for a corner. Unfortunately for the home side the corner came to nothing. Football ID then broke down the right and a robust shoulder barge by Ed Swain, which could easily have been adjudged a foul on another day, saw Swain race clear of the Malmesbury defence for a solo goal to make it 2-0 to the visitors.
Edidiong Essien had been causing the home defence all kinds of problems with his pace and he got in on the scoring act moments later scoring a fine individual goal after his initial effort had been well saved by the Malmesbury keeper. It looked all over when Essien again out paced the Malmesbury back four to fire home his second of the game to make it 4-0 to the visitors. Credit to the young Malmesbury side though as they continued to try and get back into the game and they got their reward on the stroke of half time when Dan Scull fired in an excellent free kick from 25 yards out to reduce the arrears and make it 4-1 at the break. This was Malmesbury’s first goal of the season, having not manging to find the net in their opening four fixtures, and what a way to get off the mark.
The second half saw the young Malmesbury side take the game to the visitors as they tried to get back into the match and the opening ten minutes of the half saw them create a couple of half chances, but no goals came from them. Football ID then came close to extending their lead on 65 minutes when a free kick from the influential Zayn Alime was headed just wide of the post. The home side Malmesbury continued to create chances at the other end but that second goal proved elusive. The closest they came to getting a second was when they were awarded another free kick about 25 yards from goal in a similar position to where they had scored from in the first half. Up stepped their free kick specialist Dan Scull and he very nearly repeated that first half effort with another superb free kick but was denied by an equally fine save from the Football ID keeper. Ten minutes from time former manager Joe Sharples went close to extending the lead for Football ID but he headed over. The last real chance of the evening fell to Malmesbury substitute Gareth Jones as a neat interplay put him through, but his shot was again well saved by the Football ID keeper. So, it ended 4-1 to the visitors with all the goals coming in the first half. It was pleasing to report that referee Steven Brenchley, who had an excellent game, was not required to show any cards in a match that was played in a great sporting spirit with two young sides trying to play passing football. The win lifted Football ID one place in the table into 5th spot, two points behind leaders Wroughton.
Football ID continued to dominate possession but without creating any clear-cut chances as the Malmesbury defence did well to prevent the visitors, with the pacy Edidiong Essien leading the line, from getting in behind the back four. On 16 minutes Malmesbury had a chance of their own at the other end as a ball over the top caught the Football ID defence out and the keeper rushing out to punch was lucky to get away with his poor clearance as the ball was cleared for a corner. Unfortunately for the home side the corner came to nothing. Football ID then broke down the right and a robust shoulder barge by Ed Swain, which could easily have been adjudged a foul on another day, saw Swain race clear of the Malmesbury defence for a solo goal to make it 2-0 to the visitors.
Edidiong Essien had been causing the home defence all kinds of problems with his pace and he got in on the scoring act moments later scoring a fine individual goal after his initial effort had been well saved by the Malmesbury keeper. It looked all over when Essien again out paced the Malmesbury back four to fire home his second of the game to make it 4-0 to the visitors. Credit to the young Malmesbury side though as they continued to try and get back into the game and they got their reward on the stroke of half time when Dan Scull fired in an excellent free kick from 25 yards out to reduce the arrears and make it 4-1 at the break. This was Malmesbury’s first goal of the season, having not manging to find the net in their opening four fixtures, and what a way to get off the mark.
The second half saw the young Malmesbury side take the game to the visitors as they tried to get back into the match and the opening ten minutes of the half saw them create a couple of half chances, but no goals came from them. Football ID then came close to extending their lead on 65 minutes when a free kick from the influential Zayn Alime was headed just wide of the post. The home side Malmesbury continued to create chances at the other end but that second goal proved elusive. The closest they came to getting a second was when they were awarded another free kick about 25 yards from goal in a similar position to where they had scored from in the first half. Up stepped their free kick specialist Dan Scull and he very nearly repeated that first half effort with another superb free kick but was denied by an equally fine save from the Football ID keeper. Ten minutes from time former manager Joe Sharples went close to extending the lead for Football ID but he headed over. The last real chance of the evening fell to Malmesbury substitute Gareth Jones as a neat interplay put him through, but his shot was again well saved by the Football ID keeper. So, it ended 4-1 to the visitors with all the goals coming in the first half. It was pleasing to report that referee Steven Brenchley, who had an excellent game, was not required to show any cards in a match that was played in a great sporting spirit with two young sides trying to play passing football. The win lifted Football ID one place in the table into 5th spot, two points behind leaders Wroughton.
Result
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 1 Football ID 4
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 1 Football ID 4
Saturday 8th September 2018
Shrewton Go Back Top With 6-2 Win
Shrewton United returned back to the top of the league after an impressive 6-2 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. Playing their first home game of the season after five on the road to kick off the season they dominated the young Royal Wootton Bassett Town side in the second half and quickly put behind them last week’s defeat at Cricklade. In a good all-round team performance, Shrewton led 2-1 at the break but a third just after the break was the killer goal and they went on to score three more. The goals were shared across the team with one apiece for Zac Mcnally, Dominic Jackson, veteran Jesse Walters, Ryan Jones, Tyren Harrington and Craig Lewis, the latter with his eighth of the season. The two consolation goals for the young Royal Wootton Bassett Development side coming from Josh Bolton and Tyrhys Mifsud.
The reason Shrewton went back top of the table was because the big match of the day between leaders Wroughton and last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves finished one goal apiece at the Weir Field. A penalty from Shane Hibbert put the leaders at the start of the day in front after Tom Price had been upended in the box, but a late equaliser from Jake Hutchings ensured the points were shared. As a result both teams maintained their unbeaten records, but Melksham dropped their first points of the season and also conceded for the first time in five games. The draw left Wroughton in second place in the table and Melksham one point behind in third place having played one less game.
Corsham Town Reserves and Purton were involved in an eight-goal thriller at the Southbank Ground in a really open game. Andrew Bilko and Gianluca Costabile put the visitors Purton two up but Corsham then scored three to go 3-2 up. This was not the end of the first half scoring as Nathan Marland, returning to Purton’s starting eleven after almost a year out, made it 3-3 at the break. Will Backhouse then put Purton 4-3 up but Corsham came back once again to ensure a sharing of the points. Two goals from last seasons top scorer Aaron Masson, his first goals of the season, plus one from both Mark Dolman and Adam Mitchell for the home side. The draw left Corsham in 7th place in the table with Purton back in 11th place.
Cricklade Town are starting to find their form after a difficult start to the season. They carried on where they left off last week when beating leaders Shrewton United with a comprehensive 6-0 home win over Devizes Town Reserves. As well as the team finding their feet last season’s top scorer Devan Bryan is also running into form smashing five goals, making it eight in the last two games. The other Cricklade goal was scored by Elliott Corp.
Trowbridge Town continued their good start to the season with a 4-1 home success over Pewsey Vale Development. Star of the show was Joshua Hard who scored a hat-trick taking his total to five for the season, Daniel Sandford with the other goal for the home side. Pewsey Vale Development’s goal was scored by 16-year-old William Garrett who came on as substitute for the visitors to score his first goal in senior football. The win lifted Trowbridge into 8th place in the table.
In the final league game of the day the defences were on top with Marlborough Town and Ludgershall Sports both failing to find the net despite chances at either end. Having conceded seven the previous week Marlborough will no doubt be pleased with the much-improved defensive performance but will be ruing the missed chances at the other end of the pitch. The draw left the two sides in 12th and 13th place in the table.
In the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy, reigning champions Kintbury Rangers made an early exit after a disappointing first half, this despite taking an early lead against Kennington Athletic through George Smith. The visitors then hit four unanswered goals to lead 4-1 at the break. Kintbury came back at the visitors in the second half but fell one goal short, eventually going down 4-3. Scorers in the second half for Kintbury were Luke Johnson and Shaun Thorp.
The reason Shrewton went back top of the table was because the big match of the day between leaders Wroughton and last season’s runners-up Melksham Town Reserves finished one goal apiece at the Weir Field. A penalty from Shane Hibbert put the leaders at the start of the day in front after Tom Price had been upended in the box, but a late equaliser from Jake Hutchings ensured the points were shared. As a result both teams maintained their unbeaten records, but Melksham dropped their first points of the season and also conceded for the first time in five games. The draw left Wroughton in second place in the table and Melksham one point behind in third place having played one less game.
Corsham Town Reserves and Purton were involved in an eight-goal thriller at the Southbank Ground in a really open game. Andrew Bilko and Gianluca Costabile put the visitors Purton two up but Corsham then scored three to go 3-2 up. This was not the end of the first half scoring as Nathan Marland, returning to Purton’s starting eleven after almost a year out, made it 3-3 at the break. Will Backhouse then put Purton 4-3 up but Corsham came back once again to ensure a sharing of the points. Two goals from last seasons top scorer Aaron Masson, his first goals of the season, plus one from both Mark Dolman and Adam Mitchell for the home side. The draw left Corsham in 7th place in the table with Purton back in 11th place.
Cricklade Town are starting to find their form after a difficult start to the season. They carried on where they left off last week when beating leaders Shrewton United with a comprehensive 6-0 home win over Devizes Town Reserves. As well as the team finding their feet last season’s top scorer Devan Bryan is also running into form smashing five goals, making it eight in the last two games. The other Cricklade goal was scored by Elliott Corp.
Trowbridge Town continued their good start to the season with a 4-1 home success over Pewsey Vale Development. Star of the show was Joshua Hard who scored a hat-trick taking his total to five for the season, Daniel Sandford with the other goal for the home side. Pewsey Vale Development’s goal was scored by 16-year-old William Garrett who came on as substitute for the visitors to score his first goal in senior football. The win lifted Trowbridge into 8th place in the table.
In the final league game of the day the defences were on top with Marlborough Town and Ludgershall Sports both failing to find the net despite chances at either end. Having conceded seven the previous week Marlborough will no doubt be pleased with the much-improved defensive performance but will be ruing the missed chances at the other end of the pitch. The draw left the two sides in 12th and 13th place in the table.
In the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy, reigning champions Kintbury Rangers made an early exit after a disappointing first half, this despite taking an early lead against Kennington Athletic through George Smith. The visitors then hit four unanswered goals to lead 4-1 at the break. Kintbury came back at the visitors in the second half but fell one goal short, eventually going down 4-3. Scorers in the second half for Kintbury were Luke Johnson and Shaun Thorp.
Results
League
Corsham Town Res 4 Purton 4Cricklade Town 6 Devizes Town Res 0
Marlborough Town 0 Ludgershall Sports 0
Shrewton Utd 6 Royal W. Bassett T Dev 2
Trowbridge Town 4 Pewsey Vale Dev 1
Wroughton 1 Melksham Town Res 1
Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy 1st Round
Kintbury Rangers 3 Kennington Athletic 4
Midweek - Tuesday 11th September 2018
Pewsey and Devizes Draw
Midweek action again in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League last night with a game at the bottom end of the table between Pewsey Vale Development and Devizes Town Reserves. The two games between the sides last season yielded just one goal and it was another tight affair last night with neither side again scoring as they battled to a 0-0 draw. There were chances at both ends but none were taken so it was a point a piece which left it as you were in terms of the league table although both moved level on four points with four other sides at the bottom end of the table.
The First Round draw for the Wiltshire Senior Cup
2018-19 was made on Tuesday Evening and the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League is guaranteed at least three of the eight teams from the league competing in the Second Round. This is due to two all Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League ties and Trowbridge Town having been granted a bye along with the three giants of Wiltshire Football in the competition, Chippenham Town, Swindon Supermarine and Salisbury.
The first all Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League tie sees Football ID, the side from the league who went the furthest in last season’s competition, play Marlborough Town at Stanley Park. The two have already met in the league this season with the young Football ID side winning comfortably 7-0 and they will be hoping to repeat that win when the two sides meet on Saturday 13th October.
In the other all Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League tie Ludgershall Sports will host Cricklade Town, the game which will again be on Saturday 13th October coming a fortnight after the two sides meet at Ludgershall in the league in a dress rehearsal for the cup game.
The other four Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League sides have drawn higher league opposition. Purton and Wroughton have both been drawn at home meaning their games will also be played on Saturday 13th October. Purton have drawn Sydenham’s Wessex League Premier Division side Bemerton Heath Harlequins who currently sit second bottom of their division having played just three league matches due to a good run in the FA Cup which has seem them defeat Cowes Sports and last season’s FA Vase winners Thatcham Town before losing heavily to Taunton Town last weekend. Wroughton will be at home to Toolstation Western League Division 1 side Devizes Town who last season were the victims of the main giant killing by the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League when they lost to Bremhill (Football ID). With Wroughton going so well this season could they create another upset? It will be a tough ask, however, with Devizes starting the season well, currently sitting in 3rd spot in the table, having won four of their opening five games.
The other Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side, Shrewton United, will have to travel to play another Toolstation Western League Division 1 side in Warminster Town, who were very nearly members of the Wiltshire League this season having been granted a late relegation reprieve by the National League System committee. They are certainly making sure they do not have to rely on any such favours at the end of this season, having won four of their opening six fixtures they currently occupy second place in the Division 1 league table. This tie will be played midweek under floodlights on Wednesday 17th October, kick-off 7.45PM.
The full First Round draw is shown below with most of the other games scheduled for Tuesday 16th October with the New College v Melksham Town game taking place the day before on Monday 15th:
Calne Town v Pewsey Vale
Chippenham Park v Highworth Town
Corsham Town v Bradford Town
Downton v Laverstock & Ford
Football ID v Marlborough Town
Ludgershall Sports v Cricklade Town
Malmesbury Victoria v Amesbury Town
New College v Melksham Town
Purton v Bemerton Heath Harlequins
Royal W. Bassett Town v Westbury United
Warminster Town v Shrewton United
Wroughton v Devizes Town
Chippenham Town bye
Salisbury bye
Swindon Supermarine bye
Trowbridge Town bye
Saturday 15th September 2018
Wroughton Crush Reigning Champions
Edidiong Essien who scored one of the Football ID goals at Westbury (Picture courtesy of Martin Pearce).
The last 100% record went as the reigning league champions were brought back down to earth by a rampant Wroughton side who ran out 5-1 winners maintaining the record of being one of two clubs in the league never to lose to Kintbury Rangers. Top scorer Shane Hibbert set them on their way scoring from the penalty spot as early as the 3rd minute after a controversial penalty award. Tyler Wilkinson extended Wroughton’s lead from another set piece before Shaun Thorp pulled one back for Kintbury with his 8th of the season. Tyler Wilkinson regained Wroughton’s two goal advantage with his second of the game to make it 3-1 at the break. Further second half goals from Tom Price and Kyle Parker ensured Wroughton remain the only unbeaten side in the league, one point behind league leaders Shrewton United
Shrewton United maintained their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 6-2 home win for the second week running, their victims this time being Corsham Town Reserves. Two quick goals in succession from Tyren Harrington gave Shrewton an early 2-0 lead but Corsham clawed their way back into the game with two goals of their own through Adam Mitchell and Emilio Mudrak. Dominic Jackson restored Shrewton’s lead before half-time to make it 3-2 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals ensured Shrewton took all three points. Tyren Harrington completed his hat-trick, Dominic Jackson fired in his second of the game and veteran Jesse Walters completed the scoring to maintain that one-point lead at the top of the table.
After three games without a win, Ludgershall Sports got their season back on track with an impressive 1-0 home win over previously unbeaten Melksham Town Reserves. A last minute goal from David Cotter was all that separated the two sides. Despite the defeat Melksham remained in 3rd place while Ludgershall climbed two places in the table into 11th spot.
Football ID remain in 5th spot after throwing away a two-goal lead in the last ten minutes of their game at Westbury United Reserves. Goals from Ethan Gilson-Clarke, with his fourth of the season, Edidiong Essien and Tiger Harris had put Football ID in a winning position only to be denied by those two late goals both scored by Matthew Mead, the equaliser coming in the last minute, ensuring the points were shared. George Bendle had scored the earlier goal for Westbury.
Goals from Ben Howlett and Daniel Sandford ensured Trowbridge Town’s good start to the season continued with a 2-1 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. Trowbridge had trailed at the break to a Josh Bolton goal for Royal Wootton Bassett Town who also had a couple of good chances in the second half that were missed. Trowbridge’s first came from a deflected free kick and the winner came four minutes from time with a powerful shot into the top corner of the net. That is now four games unbeaten for Trowbridge with the win lifting them two places in the table into 6th place. For Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development that is now four single goal defeats in their opening seven games as they dropped down to 12th place in the table.
Purton secured their second win of the season in a close affair at the Red House against Marlborough Town. A brace from leading scorer William Backhouse and one from Nathan Marland had put Purton 3-1 up at half time and despite a much improved second half performance from the visitors Marlborough they could only score once more, and Purton ran out 3-2 winners. Scorers for Marlborough were Aaron Presley and Jordan Ball.
The game between Cricklade Town and Malmesbury Victoria Development was postponed due to a lack of match officials caused by the day’s FA Vase games in the county.
Results - Premier Division
Ludgershall Sports 1 Melksham Town Res 0
Purton 3 Marlborough Town 2
Shrewton United 6 Corsham Town Res 2
Trowbridge T 2 Royal W. Bassett T Dev 1
Westbury United Res 3 Football ID 3
Wroughton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1
The Under 18 Division got underway in midweek with FC Chippenham Youth winning 1-0 at home against New College to be the early leaders of the division.
Shrewton United maintained their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 6-2 home win for the second week running, their victims this time being Corsham Town Reserves. Two quick goals in succession from Tyren Harrington gave Shrewton an early 2-0 lead but Corsham clawed their way back into the game with two goals of their own through Adam Mitchell and Emilio Mudrak. Dominic Jackson restored Shrewton’s lead before half-time to make it 3-2 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals ensured Shrewton took all three points. Tyren Harrington completed his hat-trick, Dominic Jackson fired in his second of the game and veteran Jesse Walters completed the scoring to maintain that one-point lead at the top of the table.
After three games without a win, Ludgershall Sports got their season back on track with an impressive 1-0 home win over previously unbeaten Melksham Town Reserves. A last minute goal from David Cotter was all that separated the two sides. Despite the defeat Melksham remained in 3rd place while Ludgershall climbed two places in the table into 11th spot.
Football ID remain in 5th spot after throwing away a two-goal lead in the last ten minutes of their game at Westbury United Reserves. Goals from Ethan Gilson-Clarke, with his fourth of the season, Edidiong Essien and Tiger Harris had put Football ID in a winning position only to be denied by those two late goals both scored by Matthew Mead, the equaliser coming in the last minute, ensuring the points were shared. George Bendle had scored the earlier goal for Westbury.
Goals from Ben Howlett and Daniel Sandford ensured Trowbridge Town’s good start to the season continued with a 2-1 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. Trowbridge had trailed at the break to a Josh Bolton goal for Royal Wootton Bassett Town who also had a couple of good chances in the second half that were missed. Trowbridge’s first came from a deflected free kick and the winner came four minutes from time with a powerful shot into the top corner of the net. That is now four games unbeaten for Trowbridge with the win lifting them two places in the table into 6th place. For Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development that is now four single goal defeats in their opening seven games as they dropped down to 12th place in the table.
Purton secured their second win of the season in a close affair at the Red House against Marlborough Town. A brace from leading scorer William Backhouse and one from Nathan Marland had put Purton 3-1 up at half time and despite a much improved second half performance from the visitors Marlborough they could only score once more, and Purton ran out 3-2 winners. Scorers for Marlborough were Aaron Presley and Jordan Ball.
The game between Cricklade Town and Malmesbury Victoria Development was postponed due to a lack of match officials caused by the day’s FA Vase games in the county.
Results - Premier Division
Ludgershall Sports 1 Melksham Town Res 0
Purton 3 Marlborough Town 2
Shrewton United 6 Corsham Town Res 2
Trowbridge T 2 Royal W. Bassett T Dev 1
Westbury United Res 3 Football ID 3
Wroughton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1
The Under 18 Division got underway in midweek with FC Chippenham Youth winning 1-0 at home against New College to be the early leaders of the division.
Results - U18
FC Chippenham Yth 1 New College 0
Saturday 22nd September 2018
Shrewton Remain Top Despite Defeat
Action from Friday night's game between Melksham Town Res and Shrewton Utd (Picture courtesy of Starsphinx).
The big game of the weekend took place under the lights at the InfiLED Stadium on Friday night when league leaders Shrewton United visited last season’s runners-up and cup winners Melksham Town Reserves. Craig Lewis put the league leaders in front early on from the penalty spot, but an own goal put the home side back on level terms. Melksham then scored three goals themselves to go into what looked an unassailable 4-1 lead. Two goals from leading scorer Jamal Chevolleau, taking his total to six for the season, plus a rare Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League goal for Gary Higdon, a player who has scored over 250 goals for the Melksham club, doing the damage for Melksham. Shrewton continued to battle away and were rewarded with two goals in the final ten minutes, Craig Lewis with his second of the game taking his total to ten for the season and Tyren Harrington with his fifth of the season. Shrewton continued to push forward but they were unable to find the elusive equaliser. Despite the defeat Shrewton remained top of the table.
Reigning champions Kintbury Rangers returned to winning ways with a come from behind victory at home to Trowbridge Town. The visitors led 1-0 at the break and scored a second after the interval but two second half goals from Shaun Thorp and one from Kye Williams ensured Kintbury made it five wins from six. On target for Trowbridge who pushed Kintbury all the way were Joshua Hard and Alex Pippard. Kintbury moved up into 4th place as a result of the win.
Cricklade are 5th after a hard fought 3-1 home success over Marlborough Town, this was Cricklade’s third win in a row as they start to show they will again have a big say in the title race this season. Marlborough made a real game of it though with the third Cricklade goal not coming until the final minute. For Cricklade Devan Bryan made it nine for the season and Tom McCulloch bagged a brace, his first goals of the season. Elliott Smith with the goal for Marlborough Town.
Football ID slipped to 6th in the table as they lost 4-2 at home to a resurgent Ludgershall Sports who won for the second week running against one of the sides at the top end of the table. Star of the show was Kiefer Roper who started for the first time this season after a couple of appearances as substitute and fired a hat-trick, Barry Forster added a fourth for the visitors. Both Football ID goals were scored by Kyle Pogie-Elms.
Two goals from Rhys Talmarsh and one from Nathan Flower gave Westbury United Res their third win of the season at home against bottom of the table Malmesbury Victoria Development who lost their sixth straight game. They did have the consolation of scoring their second goal of the season, Elliott Drage with the Malmesbury goal.
The final game of the weekend was the local derby at the Gerard Buxton Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Purton where the visitors Purton left with all three points following a narrow 2-1 win, Gianluca Costabile and Andrew Bilko netting for Purton, Jamie Richards scoring for Royal Wootton Bassett Town.
The game between Wroughton and Devizes Town Reserves was postponed due to Devizes being unable to raise a side, denying Wroughton the opportunity to go back top of the table with Shrewton losing.
Two games were played in the Under 18 Division this week. Last season Melksham Town missed out on the title on goal difference only and have started this season where they left off last season, smashing 9 goals past FC Chippenham, who had won their opening game of the season, to win 9-1 and go top of the league. There were hat-tricks for both Joe Lamb and substitute Louis Wilkins, Luca Costentino, Jordan Croad and Eddie Swain with the other goals. FC Chippenham’s consolation goal was scored by Ashley Alchin. The other game played in midweek saw New College bounce back from their opening game defeat to FC Chippenham to win 4-1 away at Calne Town. On target for New College were Elijah Ogunwale with two, Barnaby Bushnell and Rhys Evans, Oscar Webster with the Calne goal
Results – Premier DivisionReigning champions Kintbury Rangers returned to winning ways with a come from behind victory at home to Trowbridge Town. The visitors led 1-0 at the break and scored a second after the interval but two second half goals from Shaun Thorp and one from Kye Williams ensured Kintbury made it five wins from six. On target for Trowbridge who pushed Kintbury all the way were Joshua Hard and Alex Pippard. Kintbury moved up into 4th place as a result of the win.
Cricklade are 5th after a hard fought 3-1 home success over Marlborough Town, this was Cricklade’s third win in a row as they start to show they will again have a big say in the title race this season. Marlborough made a real game of it though with the third Cricklade goal not coming until the final minute. For Cricklade Devan Bryan made it nine for the season and Tom McCulloch bagged a brace, his first goals of the season. Elliott Smith with the goal for Marlborough Town.
Football ID slipped to 6th in the table as they lost 4-2 at home to a resurgent Ludgershall Sports who won for the second week running against one of the sides at the top end of the table. Star of the show was Kiefer Roper who started for the first time this season after a couple of appearances as substitute and fired a hat-trick, Barry Forster added a fourth for the visitors. Both Football ID goals were scored by Kyle Pogie-Elms.
Two goals from Rhys Talmarsh and one from Nathan Flower gave Westbury United Res their third win of the season at home against bottom of the table Malmesbury Victoria Development who lost their sixth straight game. They did have the consolation of scoring their second goal of the season, Elliott Drage with the Malmesbury goal.
The final game of the weekend was the local derby at the Gerard Buxton Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Purton where the visitors Purton left with all three points following a narrow 2-1 win, Gianluca Costabile and Andrew Bilko netting for Purton, Jamie Richards scoring for Royal Wootton Bassett Town.
The game between Wroughton and Devizes Town Reserves was postponed due to Devizes being unable to raise a side, denying Wroughton the opportunity to go back top of the table with Shrewton losing.
Two games were played in the Under 18 Division this week. Last season Melksham Town missed out on the title on goal difference only and have started this season where they left off last season, smashing 9 goals past FC Chippenham, who had won their opening game of the season, to win 9-1 and go top of the league. There were hat-tricks for both Joe Lamb and substitute Louis Wilkins, Luca Costentino, Jordan Croad and Eddie Swain with the other goals. FC Chippenham’s consolation goal was scored by Ashley Alchin. The other game played in midweek saw New College bounce back from their opening game defeat to FC Chippenham to win 4-1 away at Calne Town. On target for New College were Elijah Ogunwale with two, Barnaby Bushnell and Rhys Evans, Oscar Webster with the Calne goal
Melksham Town Res 4 Shrewton United 3
Cricklade Town 3 Marlborough Town 1
Football ID 2 Ludgershall Sports 4
Kintbury Rangers 3 Trowbridge Town 2
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 1 Purton 2
Westbury Utd Res 3 Malmesbury V. Dev 1
Wroughton v Devizes T Res - Postponed
Results – U18 Division
Calne Town 1 New College 4
Melksham Town 9 FC Chippenham 1
Thursday 27 September 2018
Corsham Move Up to 5th Spot
Phil Baker scores his 2nd for Corsham Town Res v Devizes Town Res (Picture courtesy of Steve Green).
Midweek action in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this week in the end was limited to just one game with Devizes Town Reserves meeting Corsham Town Reserves at Nursteed Road. Meetings between the two had been pretty even over the years with the last twenty league meetings between the two showing eight wins a piece and four draws. It had all the makings of a close game and so it proved. Corsham took the lead when Phil Baker netted with a fine left foot finish into the bottom corner on his debut. Devizes cause was then not helped by having a man sent off, but it remained 1-0 at half time. Corsham extended their lead in the second half when Baker scored his second of the match, firing in a superb goal from all of 25 yards (see picture above). Devizes pulled one back in the closing stages through Angus Webster but Corsham held out to take all three points and move up to 5th place in the table. Devizes remained second from bottom after this narrow defeat.
On Wednesday night New College Swindon went top of the Under 18 Division after a comprehensive 11-4 away win at Downton who are new to the division this season. It was a tough introduction for the South Wiltshire side as New College made it two wins from their opening three fixtures. Edrin Asante led the way for New college firing a hat-trick. Elijah Ogunwale and Jack Rockett both bagged a brace, the other goals coming courtesy of Robert Friend, Adam Drew, Bruno Martins and an own goal. For Downton Adam Castle scored two, Ronnie Weeks and Lee Johnson with the other two goals.
On Wednesday night New College Swindon went top of the Under 18 Division after a comprehensive 11-4 away win at Downton who are new to the division this season. It was a tough introduction for the South Wiltshire side as New College made it two wins from their opening three fixtures. Edrin Asante led the way for New college firing a hat-trick. Elijah Ogunwale and Jack Rockett both bagged a brace, the other goals coming courtesy of Robert Friend, Adam Drew, Bruno Martins and an own goal. For Downton Adam Castle scored two, Ronnie Weeks and Lee Johnson with the other two goals.
New College’s time at the top lasted just 24 hours as Melksham went top on goal difference the following evening after an emphatic 9-1 away win at Pewsey Vale to maintain their 100% record.
Results – Premier Division
Devizes Town Res 1 Corsham Town Res 2
Results – U18 Division
Downton 4 New College Swindon 11
Pewsey Vale 1 Melksham Town 9
Saturday 29th September 2018
Maximen and Lea Send Wroughton Top
There are new leaders of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League tonight as overnight leaders Shrewton United lost whilst Wroughton maintained their unbeaten record to go a point clear at the top.
Wroughton may have maintained the only unbeaten record in the division but they were made to work very hard for the points by a young and enthusiastic Pewsey Vale Development side. Twice Wroughton went ahead with goals from Aaron Maximen on 8 minutes and 19 minutes only to be pulled back each time by the visitors, the two Pewsey equalising goals coming from Joe Gentlemen and Corey Cullen. It remained 2-2 until twenty minutes from time when Jordan Lea put the home side in front and then added his second of the game to finally make sure of all three points for his side and take them to the top of the table. Wroughton have now won six of their opening eight games, drawing the other two to head the table. Pewsey, whose nine goals this season have all been scored by different players, remain in 13th place.
Overnight leaders Shrewton United were involved in the top match of the day when they hosted last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers at the Recreation Ground. Shrewton took the lead but were pegged back before the break when veteran Shaun Thorp, restored to penalty taking duties, fired home from the spot. A second half effort from Tom Mahoney secured all three points for the reigning champions who with their sixth win of the season moved above Shrewton into 3rd spot in the table, two points behind leaders Wroughton but with a game in hand. Shrewton slipped to fourth spot.
Up into second place in the table are Melksham Town Reserves who defeated Corsham Town Reserves 2-0 at the InfiLED Stadium. A spectacular goal from Jordon Coulter and a seventh of the season from Jamal Chevolleau did the damage for Melksham who have also recorded six victories in their opening eight games. Corsham dropped a place in the table to 6th as a result of the defeat.
Westbury United Reserves climbed four places in the table to 5th spot courtesy of a 4-0 away win at Marlborough Town. Star of the show was George Bendle who fired a hat-trick, doubling his total for the season in the process, Brad Hill with the fourth Westbury goal.
Ludgershall Sports went into their home game with Cricklade Town in the knowledge that their visitors had smashed 27 goals past them in the last three league games. They put that bad record behind them with a useful point in a 1-1 draw. It could have been even better as Ludgershall led thanks to an own goal until ten minutes from time when Tom Hoskins netted for Cricklade to ensure a share of the points. Cricklade moved up a place in the table to 7th, Ludgershall remain 11th.
It also finished 1-1 at Woodmarsh in the game between Trowbridge Town and Football ID, Joshua Hard with his 7th of the season for Trowbridge, Zak Mitchell netting for Football ID. The draw left Football ID in 8th spot and Trowbridge two places below in 10th.
Purton recorded their third straight win with what in the end was a comfortable 3-0 win away at Devizes Town Reserves. All the goals came in the first half with last season’s top scorer Chris Avery getting his first goals of the season, bagging a brace, Gianluca Costabile with the other Purton goal. Devizes missed an opportunity to net early on when Purton goalkeeper Luke Kuczynski saved a penalty in the first five minutes on his return to the side. The win lifted Purton to 9th place in the table.
Wroughton may have maintained the only unbeaten record in the division but they were made to work very hard for the points by a young and enthusiastic Pewsey Vale Development side. Twice Wroughton went ahead with goals from Aaron Maximen on 8 minutes and 19 minutes only to be pulled back each time by the visitors, the two Pewsey equalising goals coming from Joe Gentlemen and Corey Cullen. It remained 2-2 until twenty minutes from time when Jordan Lea put the home side in front and then added his second of the game to finally make sure of all three points for his side and take them to the top of the table. Wroughton have now won six of their opening eight games, drawing the other two to head the table. Pewsey, whose nine goals this season have all been scored by different players, remain in 13th place.
Overnight leaders Shrewton United were involved in the top match of the day when they hosted last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers at the Recreation Ground. Shrewton took the lead but were pegged back before the break when veteran Shaun Thorp, restored to penalty taking duties, fired home from the spot. A second half effort from Tom Mahoney secured all three points for the reigning champions who with their sixth win of the season moved above Shrewton into 3rd spot in the table, two points behind leaders Wroughton but with a game in hand. Shrewton slipped to fourth spot.
Up into second place in the table are Melksham Town Reserves who defeated Corsham Town Reserves 2-0 at the InfiLED Stadium. A spectacular goal from Jordon Coulter and a seventh of the season from Jamal Chevolleau did the damage for Melksham who have also recorded six victories in their opening eight games. Corsham dropped a place in the table to 6th as a result of the defeat.
Westbury United Reserves climbed four places in the table to 5th spot courtesy of a 4-0 away win at Marlborough Town. Star of the show was George Bendle who fired a hat-trick, doubling his total for the season in the process, Brad Hill with the fourth Westbury goal.
Ludgershall Sports went into their home game with Cricklade Town in the knowledge that their visitors had smashed 27 goals past them in the last three league games. They put that bad record behind them with a useful point in a 1-1 draw. It could have been even better as Ludgershall led thanks to an own goal until ten minutes from time when Tom Hoskins netted for Cricklade to ensure a share of the points. Cricklade moved up a place in the table to 7th, Ludgershall remain 11th.
It also finished 1-1 at Woodmarsh in the game between Trowbridge Town and Football ID, Joshua Hard with his 7th of the season for Trowbridge, Zak Mitchell netting for Football ID. The draw left Football ID in 8th spot and Trowbridge two places below in 10th.
Purton recorded their third straight win with what in the end was a comfortable 3-0 win away at Devizes Town Reserves. All the goals came in the first half with last season’s top scorer Chris Avery getting his first goals of the season, bagging a brace, Gianluca Costabile with the other Purton goal. Devizes missed an opportunity to net early on when Purton goalkeeper Luke Kuczynski saved a penalty in the first five minutes on his return to the side. The win lifted Purton to 9th place in the table.
Results – Premier Division
Devizes Town Res 0 Purton 3
Ludgershall Sports 1 Cricklade Town 1
Marlborough Town 0 Westbury United Res 4
Melksham Town Res 2 Corsham T Res 0
Shrewton United 1 Kintbury Rangers 2
Trowbridge Town 1 Football ID 2
Wroughton 4 Pewsey Vale Development 2
Midweek - Wednesday 3rd & Thursday 4th October 2018
Melksham Head Premier & New College Top U18
Action from U18 game between New College Swindon & Pewsey Vale (picture courtesy of Steve Green)
Again, just one midweek game in the Premier Division this week and it saw last season’s runners-up and cup winners, Melksham Town Reserves, go top of the league courtesy of a 5-1 home win over Trowbridge Town. A hat-trick from Leigh Rogers, taking him to five for the season, plus further goals from Shaun Benison and Stuart Greener secured the three points for Melksham against a Trowbridge Town team who had started the season in reasonable form. The consolation goal on the night for Trowbridge was scored by Daniel Sandford.
Two games in the Under 18 Division this week. On Tuesday night FC Chippenham moved level on points with Melksham Town and New College at the top of the table courtesy of a 7-3 away win at Downton which included a couple of penalties. Lewis Morrissey fired a hat-trick and substitutes Stefan Bruggers and Harrison Fitzsimons both bagged a brace for FC Chippenham. On target for Downton were Ronnie Weeks, Scott England and Bradley Waters. There is a match report on the game on the Downton website.
The following night New College moved three points clear at the top after a thumping 14-1 home win over Pewsey Vale. The New College goals were shared around the team with Jack Rockett, Harry Yeates, Barnaby Bushnell, Calum Lansley and Bruno Martins all netting twice, and with George Webb, Jonah Isaacs, Fabian Crane and Josh Lewis all getting one apiece.
Two games in the Under 18 Division this week. On Tuesday night FC Chippenham moved level on points with Melksham Town and New College at the top of the table courtesy of a 7-3 away win at Downton which included a couple of penalties. Lewis Morrissey fired a hat-trick and substitutes Stefan Bruggers and Harrison Fitzsimons both bagged a brace for FC Chippenham. On target for Downton were Ronnie Weeks, Scott England and Bradley Waters. There is a match report on the game on the Downton website.
The following night New College moved three points clear at the top after a thumping 14-1 home win over Pewsey Vale. The New College goals were shared around the team with Jack Rockett, Harry Yeates, Barnaby Bushnell, Calum Lansley and Bruno Martins all netting twice, and with George Webb, Jonah Isaacs, Fabian Crane and Josh Lewis all getting one apiece.
Results – Premier Division
Melksham Town Res 5 Trowbridge Town 1
Results – U18 Division
Downton 3 FC Chippenham 7
New College 14 Pewsey Vale 1
Downton 3 FC Chippenham 7
New College 14 Pewsey Vale 1
Saturday 6th October 2018
Wroughton Defeat Shrewton
Action from Westbury United Reserves 4-0 defeat of Ludgershall Sports (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
The big game of the day was at the Weir Field between second in the table Wroughton and fourth placed Shrewton United who, after a great start to the season, went into the game on the back of two defeats against the other two sides in the top four. A win would take Wroughton, the only unbeaten side in the league, back to the top of the table. Visitors Shrewton United drew first blood with a goal from Jake Watson, but Tom Price quickly equalised for the home side, both goals coming in the opening five minutes. Shrewton went back in front, Ben Jenks the scorer, but Wroughton’s top striker Shane Hibbert put Wroughton back level again with just 25 minutes gone on the clock with a shot from outside the box. A second half winner from Tom Price was enough to give Wroughton the three points which took them back top of the table and inflicted the third straight defeat on Shrewton who will look to get their season back on track when they entertain Trowbridge Town next Saturday. Wroughton will look to extend their lead at the top in midweek when they visit Malmesbury Victoria Development.
Whilst Wroughton are unbeaten they have dropped more points than third placed Kintbury Rangers who moved to within two points of the leaders with a game in hand following a 4-2 home win over Football ID. The last time the two sides met last season’s champions had smashed 13 goals without reply past their opponents. It was much closer this time round, first half goals from Charlie Allsop, last season’s top scorer getting his first of the season, and Fabio Pinto put Kintbury 2-0 up at the break. Further second half goals from the division’s top scorer Shaun Thorp with his 13th of the season and Kye Williams put the home side 4-0 up before two late goals from the pacey Edidiong Essien made the score look more respectable for the visitors as it finished 4-2. Kintbury remained 3rd in the table but with that game in hand on the top two. Football ID slipped a place in the table to 9th.
Westbury United Reserves stayed 5th and in touch with the leading pack following a comfortable 4-0 home win over Ludgershall Sports. Former Melksham Town player Rhys Talmarsh bagged a brace, leading scorer George Bendle took his total to seven for the season and Nathan Flower completed the scoring.
On a wet Saturday afternoon, the conditions were tough at Cricklade, but the home side ensured that visitors Malmesbury Victoria Development were still looking for that first elusive point of the season after a 3-1 win secured thanks to goals from Devan Bryan, Elliott Corp and Tom McCulloch. Credit to the young Malmesbury side though who continued to battle away and were rewarded with a late goal from Brett Gardiner. They will look to get that first point of the season when the leaders Wroughton visit in midweek.
Purton moved up into 7th place after a 2-0 away win at Pewsey Vale Development. Jack Duckers gave them a 1-0 half time lead before new signing Callum Little secured the three points with a second for the visitors.
Corsham Town Reserves dropped a couple of places as they were held to a 0-0 by visitors Marlborough Town as both sides failed to score for the second week running.
The final game of the day saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town secure their second win of the season as they defeated Devizes Town Reserves 5-2 at the Gerard Buxton Ground. Leading scorer Josh Bolton got them on the way as he chased down a lost cause and took the ball off the Devizes keeper to make it 1-0. Bolton scored a second with a powerful shot, with further goals coming from Tyrhys Misfud, Nick Mason and a good team goal finished off by Jack Sanderson to put Bassett 5-0 up. Devizes did not give up and were rewarded with two late goals from Angus Webster and Richard Tandy.
Whilst Wroughton are unbeaten they have dropped more points than third placed Kintbury Rangers who moved to within two points of the leaders with a game in hand following a 4-2 home win over Football ID. The last time the two sides met last season’s champions had smashed 13 goals without reply past their opponents. It was much closer this time round, first half goals from Charlie Allsop, last season’s top scorer getting his first of the season, and Fabio Pinto put Kintbury 2-0 up at the break. Further second half goals from the division’s top scorer Shaun Thorp with his 13th of the season and Kye Williams put the home side 4-0 up before two late goals from the pacey Edidiong Essien made the score look more respectable for the visitors as it finished 4-2. Kintbury remained 3rd in the table but with that game in hand on the top two. Football ID slipped a place in the table to 9th.
Westbury United Reserves stayed 5th and in touch with the leading pack following a comfortable 4-0 home win over Ludgershall Sports. Former Melksham Town player Rhys Talmarsh bagged a brace, leading scorer George Bendle took his total to seven for the season and Nathan Flower completed the scoring.
On a wet Saturday afternoon, the conditions were tough at Cricklade, but the home side ensured that visitors Malmesbury Victoria Development were still looking for that first elusive point of the season after a 3-1 win secured thanks to goals from Devan Bryan, Elliott Corp and Tom McCulloch. Credit to the young Malmesbury side though who continued to battle away and were rewarded with a late goal from Brett Gardiner. They will look to get that first point of the season when the leaders Wroughton visit in midweek.
Purton moved up into 7th place after a 2-0 away win at Pewsey Vale Development. Jack Duckers gave them a 1-0 half time lead before new signing Callum Little secured the three points with a second for the visitors.
Corsham Town Reserves dropped a couple of places as they were held to a 0-0 by visitors Marlborough Town as both sides failed to score for the second week running.
The final game of the day saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town secure their second win of the season as they defeated Devizes Town Reserves 5-2 at the Gerard Buxton Ground. Leading scorer Josh Bolton got them on the way as he chased down a lost cause and took the ball off the Devizes keeper to make it 1-0. Bolton scored a second with a powerful shot, with further goals coming from Tyrhys Misfud, Nick Mason and a good team goal finished off by Jack Sanderson to put Bassett 5-0 up. Devizes did not give up and were rewarded with two late goals from Angus Webster and Richard Tandy.
Results – Premier Division
Corsham Town Res 0 Marlborough Town 0
Cricklade Town 3 Malmesbury Vics Dev 1
Kintbury Rangers 4 Football ID 2
Pewsey Vale Development 0 Purton 2
Royal W. Bassett T Dev 5 Devizes T Res 2
Westbury United Res 4 Ludgershall Sports 0
Wroughton 3 Shrewton United 2
Wednesday 10th & Thursday 11th October 2018
Leaders Lose on Consecutive Nights
Midweek action saw table topping Wroughton travel to Malmesbury Victoria Development looking to defend the only unbeaten record in the league. In contrast the home side were seeking their first point of the season in their eighth fixture of the 2018-19 Season. Whilst all the previous games had been lost the results had been improving of late with the previous two games seeing them go down narrowly 3-1 to two of the top six sides, Westbury United Reserves and Cricklade Town. On Tuesday evening they put in their best performance of the season in front of a healthy crowd at the Flying Monk Ground. They went in front on 22 minutes when last season’s top scorer Harrison Archer scored his first goal of the new season. That remained the only goal of the game until three minutes from time when Dan Scull scored his second of the season to ensure all three points belonged to Malmesbury. Any chance of a late comeback was ended when Wroughton had a player sent off and Malmesbury saw out the closing minutes to secure their first points and first clean sheet of the season, as well as ending the last unbeaten record in the division. Wroughton remained top but both Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers can now go above them if they win their games in hand.
There was also a defeat for the league leaders in the U18 Division as New College lost to FC Chippenham for the second time this season. In a keenly contested match that was played in good sporting spirit between two evenly matched teams, New College had the better of the first half and took their chances to take a 2-0 half time lead thanks to goals from Barnaby Bushnell and Jack Rockett. FC Chippenham began the second half well and the New College goalkeeper Jack Harper, after making some smart saves, was finally beaten after FC Chippenham's Ash Alchin's deflected shot came off the crossbar and Harry Fitzsimmons was there to force the ball over the line. With FC Chippenham now on top, Harry Fitzsimmons scored his second goal of the game to level the match at 2-2. With just minutes to play FC Chippenham were then awarded a penalty and Lewis Morrissey stepped up to fire the ball past the keeper to give his team a 3-2 victory and that second win of the season over New College.
In the other game played Calne Town picked up their first points of the season with a 6-1 away win at Pewsey Vale. Such a big final score would not have been predicted at half-time. Both sides started well and in an evenly matched first half all that separated the two sides was a penalty scored by Brandon Martin for Pewsey just before half time. Calne made a few changes at half time and it seemed to make the difference as they came out second half to score six unanswered goals. Shortly after the restart Harry Blower got them on their way with the equaliser. An own goal from a Pewsey defender then put Calne in front. Having obtained the lead, the Calne side never looked back and then went on to score four more times, two from Declan McStavrick, one from Jordan Anning and a second own goal from a Pewsey player to make the final score 6-1 to Calne Town.
There was also a defeat for the league leaders in the U18 Division as New College lost to FC Chippenham for the second time this season. In a keenly contested match that was played in good sporting spirit between two evenly matched teams, New College had the better of the first half and took their chances to take a 2-0 half time lead thanks to goals from Barnaby Bushnell and Jack Rockett. FC Chippenham began the second half well and the New College goalkeeper Jack Harper, after making some smart saves, was finally beaten after FC Chippenham's Ash Alchin's deflected shot came off the crossbar and Harry Fitzsimmons was there to force the ball over the line. With FC Chippenham now on top, Harry Fitzsimmons scored his second goal of the game to level the match at 2-2. With just minutes to play FC Chippenham were then awarded a penalty and Lewis Morrissey stepped up to fire the ball past the keeper to give his team a 3-2 victory and that second win of the season over New College.
In the other game played Calne Town picked up their first points of the season with a 6-1 away win at Pewsey Vale. Such a big final score would not have been predicted at half-time. Both sides started well and in an evenly matched first half all that separated the two sides was a penalty scored by Brandon Martin for Pewsey just before half time. Calne made a few changes at half time and it seemed to make the difference as they came out second half to score six unanswered goals. Shortly after the restart Harry Blower got them on their way with the equaliser. An own goal from a Pewsey defender then put Calne in front. Having obtained the lead, the Calne side never looked back and then went on to score four more times, two from Declan McStavrick, one from Jordan Anning and a second own goal from a Pewsey player to make the final score 6-1 to Calne Town.
Results – Premier Division
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2 Wroughton 0
Results – U18 Division
New College 2 FC Chippenham 3
Pewsey Vale 1 Calne Town 6
Saturday 13th October 2018
Purton In Senior Cup Giant-Killing as Melksham Move Top
Action from Westbury Utd Res v Melksham Town Res which saw Melksham go top (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
With the Wiltshire Senior Cup reducing the number of league fixtures for this weekend to four there were still a number of key games affecting both the top and bottom of the table, with both Kintbury Rangers and Melksham Town Res knowing that a win might take them top of the table.
For Kintbury to go top they needed to win and hope that Melksham dropped points at Westbury. Kintbury did what they themselves needed to do by smashing eight goals past Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development at the Recreation Ground. A clinical first half performance saw Kintbury score five times before the break, Fabio Pinto led the way with a brace, with Charlie Allsop, Shaun Thorp and George Smith also netting. Royal Wootton Bassett managed one in response through Calum Courtney to make it 5-1 at the break. Kintbury took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half but still managed to score three more with Charlie Allsop, Shaun Thorp and George Smith all getting their second of the game. As a result, Shaun Thorp moved onto 15 goals at the top of the goal scoring chart for the league.
Melksham Town Reserves had a tough looking fixture against a Westbury United Reserves side who had gone unbeaten in their previous seven games, the last three which had all been won. In a highly competitive game the only goal of the game came in the first half courtesy of Melksham’s Leigh Rogers, ten days after firing a hat-trick against Trowbridge in Melksham’s last game he scored the goal which sent Melksham to the top of the table. So, despite their impressive win, Kintbury had to settle for second spot, one point behind but with a game in hand.
Shrewton United, who had received the news in the week that manager Scott Young was stepping down after four years at the helm, went into their match against Trowbridge Town with caretaker manager Joe Sheldrake in charge. He got off to a winning start as Shrewton ended their recent disappointing run as goals from Craig Lewis and Charlie Utterson secured a 2-1 win, Jordan Gullis with the Trowbridge Town goal. Shrewton remain in fourth place but the win lifted them to within two points of previous leaders Wroughton in third place.
At the other end of the table both Devizes Town Res and Pewsey Vale Development went into their game on the back of seven games without a win. Games between the two sides are usually tight affairs, last seasons two matches between the sides had seen just one goal scored and when the two met a few weeks back it had again finished 0-0, so another tight game was expected and so it proved. The match was decided right at the death when Kieron Kiff scored the only goal of the game following good set up play from youngster William Garrett.
Five sides were scheduled to be in Wiltshire Senior Cup First Round action but the game between Football ID and Marlborough Town was called off by Football ID late Friday night when they pulled out of the competition with a large number of their players dual signed with one of the Chippenham sides also in the competition.
In the two ties that did get played, the big shock of the day was at the Red House where Purton met Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division side Bemerton Heath Harlequins and defeated their higher league opposition courtesy of a 1-0 win. Purton’s hero was Daren Regis who came on as a substitute to score his first goal for the club and send his side through to the second round. This win means that the league is now guaranteed at least four sides in the last sixteen as Purton join Marlborough Town, Trowbridge Town and Cricklade Town in the Second Round.
Cricklade made it through to the Second Round by defeating Ludgershall Sports in an all Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League tie. The two sides had drawn 1-1 recently in the league at Ludgershall but this time Cricklade made sure of progress through to the next round with a convincing performance. Devan Bryan led the way firing a hat-trick to take him to 13 for the season, the other goals coming from Dave Coleman, Elliott Corp and Reece Gilliver in a 6-0 win.
Results – Premier Division
Devizes Town Res 0 Pewsey Vale Dev 1
Kintbury Rangers 8 Royal W. Bassett T D1
Shrewton United 2 Trowbridge Town 1
Westbury Utd Res 0 Melksham Town Res 1
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Ludgershall Sports 0 Cricklade Town 6
Purton 1 Bemerton Heath Harlequins 0
For Kintbury to go top they needed to win and hope that Melksham dropped points at Westbury. Kintbury did what they themselves needed to do by smashing eight goals past Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development at the Recreation Ground. A clinical first half performance saw Kintbury score five times before the break, Fabio Pinto led the way with a brace, with Charlie Allsop, Shaun Thorp and George Smith also netting. Royal Wootton Bassett managed one in response through Calum Courtney to make it 5-1 at the break. Kintbury took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half but still managed to score three more with Charlie Allsop, Shaun Thorp and George Smith all getting their second of the game. As a result, Shaun Thorp moved onto 15 goals at the top of the goal scoring chart for the league.
Melksham Town Reserves had a tough looking fixture against a Westbury United Reserves side who had gone unbeaten in their previous seven games, the last three which had all been won. In a highly competitive game the only goal of the game came in the first half courtesy of Melksham’s Leigh Rogers, ten days after firing a hat-trick against Trowbridge in Melksham’s last game he scored the goal which sent Melksham to the top of the table. So, despite their impressive win, Kintbury had to settle for second spot, one point behind but with a game in hand.
Shrewton United, who had received the news in the week that manager Scott Young was stepping down after four years at the helm, went into their match against Trowbridge Town with caretaker manager Joe Sheldrake in charge. He got off to a winning start as Shrewton ended their recent disappointing run as goals from Craig Lewis and Charlie Utterson secured a 2-1 win, Jordan Gullis with the Trowbridge Town goal. Shrewton remain in fourth place but the win lifted them to within two points of previous leaders Wroughton in third place.
At the other end of the table both Devizes Town Res and Pewsey Vale Development went into their game on the back of seven games without a win. Games between the two sides are usually tight affairs, last seasons two matches between the sides had seen just one goal scored and when the two met a few weeks back it had again finished 0-0, so another tight game was expected and so it proved. The match was decided right at the death when Kieron Kiff scored the only goal of the game following good set up play from youngster William Garrett.
Five sides were scheduled to be in Wiltshire Senior Cup First Round action but the game between Football ID and Marlborough Town was called off by Football ID late Friday night when they pulled out of the competition with a large number of their players dual signed with one of the Chippenham sides also in the competition.
In the two ties that did get played, the big shock of the day was at the Red House where Purton met Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division side Bemerton Heath Harlequins and defeated their higher league opposition courtesy of a 1-0 win. Purton’s hero was Daren Regis who came on as a substitute to score his first goal for the club and send his side through to the second round. This win means that the league is now guaranteed at least four sides in the last sixteen as Purton join Marlborough Town, Trowbridge Town and Cricklade Town in the Second Round.
Cricklade made it through to the Second Round by defeating Ludgershall Sports in an all Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League tie. The two sides had drawn 1-1 recently in the league at Ludgershall but this time Cricklade made sure of progress through to the next round with a convincing performance. Devan Bryan led the way firing a hat-trick to take him to 13 for the season, the other goals coming from Dave Coleman, Elliott Corp and Reece Gilliver in a 6-0 win.
Results – Premier Division
Devizes Town Res 0 Pewsey Vale Dev 1
Kintbury Rangers 8 Royal W. Bassett T D1
Shrewton United 2 Trowbridge Town 1
Westbury Utd Res 0 Melksham Town Res 1
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Ludgershall Sports 0 Cricklade Town 6
Purton 1 Bemerton Heath Harlequins 0
Tuesday 16th & Wednesday 17th October 2018
Shrewton Utd in Another WSC Giant-Killing
Action from Shrewton United's win over Warminster Town (picture courtesy of Steve Green)
The midweek action this week saw two sides from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League looking to cause upsets against higher league opposition in the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup. After the action had finished on Wednesday night, Shrewton United joined Purton in having the honour of knocking out teams who play at Step 5 /6 of the National League System.
On Wednesday evening Shrewton United travelled to an out of sorts Warminster Town, who had lost their last five games after having made such a great start to the season following last season’s relegation scare, winning four of their first five league fixtures. An impressive all-round team performance saw Shrewton dominate proceedings and defeat their Toolstation Western League opponents 3-0. They survived a first half scare when Warminster hit the post twice in a matter of seconds but after that Shrewton took control of the game. Jake Watson opened the scoring with a tap in for his third of the season after some great set up play from Daniel Burton. Then on the stroke of half time Charlie Utterson played in William Harries to score his first goal for the club to make it 2-0 at the break. Shrewton continued to have the upper hand after the break and made sure of progress to the Second Round when another Charlie Utterson set up enabled Daniel Burton to also score. An impressive result for Shrewton against Step 6 opponents.
The other side looking to cause an upset that night was Wroughton who had agreed to switch their tie to their opponents Devizes Town’s Nursteed Road ground and play under floodlights. Wroughton must have fancied their chances of another upset and Devizes went into the game in the knowledge that they had lost to Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League opposition at the same stage last season, but this time round made no mistake as they put in an assured performance to run out 4-1 winners. On target for Devizes were Jack Hopper with two, Ryan Bole and Matt Russell, Aaron Maximen with the Wroughton goal.
Despite Wroughton losing, the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League will have five teams representing the league in the last sixteen, Cricklade Town, Marlborough Town, Purton and Trowbridge Town joining Shrewton United in that Second-Round draw.
Elsewhere in the competition, ties not involving sides from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League commenced on Monday night when a rampant Evo-Stick Southern League side Melksham Town scored six first half goals and four more after the break to ensure that New College’s miserable start to the season continued. They have lost all seven of their Uhlsport Hellenic League games to date and have now conceded double figure scores three times this season. Four goals apiece for both Neikell Plummer and Luke Ballinger with one for both Lee Davidson and Nick Evans in the 10-0 win.
The following night there was an exciting game at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Westbury United. First half goals from Mark James and Nick Stanley put Uhlsport Hellenic League side Royal Wootton Bassett Town 2-1 up at the break, Callum Demkiv with the reply for Westbury United. A long-range effort from Jamie Jordan then put the Toolstation Western League Premier Division side back on level terms and they then scored a late winner through Joe Stradling to maintain their excellent start to the season, which has also seen them win all their league fixtures to date.
The following night there was an exciting game at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Westbury United. First half goals from Mark James and Nick Stanley put Uhlsport Hellenic League side Royal Wootton Bassett Town 2-1 up at the break, Callum Demkiv with the reply for Westbury United. A long-range effort from Jamie Jordan then put the Toolstation Western League Premier Division side back on level terms and they then scored a late winner through Joe Stradling to maintain their excellent start to the season, which has also seen them win all their league fixtures to date.
Also on Tuesday night, a solitary effort from Stuart Windsor saw Western League side Calne Town progress to the Second Round at the expense of Pewsey Vale from the Hellenic. Highworth Town from the Evo-Stick Southern League were 2-0 winners at Western League side Chippenham Park. The young Chippenham side made their higher league opponents work hard for the win and the game was not finally decided until late on. The close encounter between two sides that are two steps apart in the National League System saw Matthew Grabe give Highworth the lead on the half hour mark and the Step 4 side finally ensured they would progress to Round 2 with a second scored by Toumani Sidibe a minute from time.
The final game on Tuesday night saw two sides from the Sydenhams Wessex League Division 1 in action and it is Laverstock & Ford who will continue to fly the flag for that league in the Senior Cup as they made it through to the Second Round with a 2-1 away win at Downton. Lewis Wykes gave Laverstock & Ford the lead with the only goal of the first half. Ross Bentall then equalised for Downton nine minutes after the re-start before the game was settled by a goal by Chae Sykes.
The other tie played on Wednesday night saw a Western League Premier Division side Bradford Town, who are under new management with Wayne Thorne having recently taken over at the helm, win 3-1 away at Corsham Town from the Western League. Corsham took the league through Josh Bright but three unanswered goals from Will Hailston, Matt Jones and Dan Cottle saw Bradford Town safely into Round 2.
The final game of the First Round between Malmesbury Victoria, now the sole survivor from the Uhlsport Hellenic League, and Amesbury from the Sydenhams Wessex League was postponed and will now take place next week.
The 15 Second Round qualifies are from the following leagues and levels in the National League System:
- Vanarama National League South (Step 2) – 1 team (Chippenham Town)
- Evo-Stick Southern League (Step 3) – 2 teams (Salisbury & Swindon Supermarine)
- Evo-Stick Southern League (Step 4) – 2 teams (Highworth Town & Melksham Town)
- Toolstation Western League – Premier Division (Step 5) – 2 teams (Bradford Town & Westbury United)
- Western League – Division 1 (Step 6) – 2 teams (Calne Town & Devizes Town)
- Sydenhams Wessex League – Division 1 (Step 6) – 1 team (Laverstock & Ford)
- Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division (Step 7) – 5 teams (Cricklade Town, Marlborough Town, Purton, Shrewton United & Trowbridge Town)
The final side will come from either the Step 6 Division 1’s of the Hellenic League or Wessex League.
Full First Round Results in Wiltshire Senior Cup
Calne Town 1 Pewsey Vale 0
Chippenham Park 0 Highworth Town 2
Corsham Town 1 Bradford Town 3
Downton 1 Laverstock & Ford 2
Football ID v Marlborough Town - awarded to Marlborough Town
Ludgershall Sports 0 Cricklade Town 6
Malmesbury Victoria v Amesbury Town - Game still to be played
New College 0 Melksham Town 10
Purton 1 Bemerton Heath Harlequins 0
Royal W. Bassett Town 2 Westbury United 3
Warminster Town 0 Shrewton United 3
Wroughton 1 Devizes Town 4
Chippenham Town bye
Salisbury bye
Swindon Supermarine bye
Trowbridge Town bye
Thursday 18th October 2018
FC Chippenham New Leaders in U18 Div
Two games were played this week in the Under 18 Division and the top three were all in action. The evening commenced with New College Swindon sat at the top of the table but by the end of the evening they had been displaced by FC Chippenham, one of the new sides in the league this season. New College were involved in a close game with title favourites Melksham Town at the InfiLED Stadium. A hat-trick from Melksham’s Jordan Croad, making it five in the first three games for the Melksham striker, ensured that the home side maintained their 100% record. However, New College ran them close as the visitors scored twice through Jack Rockett, with his 6th of the season, and Rhys Evans, 3-2 the final score at the InfiLED. Melksham remained in third place in the table but have three games in hand over New College and two on FC Chippenham, who are the new leaders of the division, going three points clear at the top following an impressive 7-0 away win over Pewsey Vale.
It was a dominant display from FC Chippenham over a spirited Pewsey Vale team that never gave in right up to the final whistle in a game that was well officiated by a referee and his assistants who played their part in keeping the match flowing. Harry Fitzsimons and Kubilay De-Vanney both bagged a brace, Fitzsimons joining Jack Rockett as the Division’s top scorer, and there were further goals from Lewis Morrissey, Finn Lewkowicz and an own goal. Special mention goes to FC Chippenham's man of the match 15-year-old Josh Gale who put in an assured performance for the visitors.
Results – U18 Division
Melksham Town 3 New College 2
Pewsey Vale 0 FC Chippenham 7
Saturday 20th October 2018
Wroughton Miss Chance To Go Back Top
Action from Corsham Town Res v Wroughton (picture courtesy of Jacob Price)
Wroughton were looking to put the midweek loss at Devizes Town in the Wiltshire Senior Cup and the defeat against Malmesbury Victoria Development in their last league fixture behind them today, knowing that a win would enable them to climb back into top spot in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers, both being involved in First Round Fountain Trophies Cup action. Away at Corsham Town Reserves they found themselves 1-0 down on 20 minutes in a lack lustre first half showing. Despite not being at their best in the first half they did manage to get however back on level terms before the break, Tom Dingle the scorer on 32 minutes. It was a different story after the break as Wroughton came out and put the home side under immense pressure as they sought that second goal which would take them back top of the table. It looked like that they would be sat back on top when they were awarded a penalty, but top scorer spurned the chance, missing the spot kick to leave it honours even and a point apiece.
Shrewton United continued where they left off in midweek with their giant killing over Warminster Town from the Western League by putting ten goals without reply past Devizes Town Res to move back up into the top three. Shrewton dominated throughout and build up a 7-0 half time lead thanks to a Charlie Utterson hat-trick, two from Craig Lewis, taking him to thirteen for the season, and one apiece from Jesse Walters and Charlie Jackson in a clinical first half showing. Shrewton continued to dominate after the break and Jackson scored his second of the game, Utterson took his tally to four and Craig Appleby also got in on the act netting his first of the season.
Two in-form teams met at Cricklade Leisure Centre where Westbury United Reserves were the visitors. Cricklade Town went into the game on the back of six unbeaten games, while visitors Westbury United Reserves had lost just once in their previous eight games, that defeat coming last week against the league leaders at the start of the day, Melksham Town Reserves. Two goals from leading scorer Devan Bryan, taking him to 15 for the season plus one from Tom McCulloch and Billy Sly ensured that Cricklade’s unbeaten run continued making it now seven undefeated. They moved above Westbury in the table as a result of the win and with games in hand on the leading sides must fancy their chances of closing the gap at the top if they can continue their current form. The two goals for Westbury were both scored by Derek Wheeler.
At the other end of the table Pewsey Vale Development made the short journey to play Marlborough Town looking to make it two wins on the bounce whilst Marlborough were in search of their second win of the season after going seven games without one. In an archetypal game of two halves, two goals from Harrison Lowe put Pewsey 2-0 up at half time but it was a different story after the break as Marlborough hit three goals though Christopher Deane, Luke.Connolly and an Aaron Presley penalty to go 3-2 up. Pewsey however rallied, and Corey Cullen popped up with a last-minute equaliser to ensure a share of the points. Pewsey moved up a place in the table to 12th whilst Marlborough slipped a place to 14th.
Shrewton United continued where they left off in midweek with their giant killing over Warminster Town from the Western League by putting ten goals without reply past Devizes Town Res to move back up into the top three. Shrewton dominated throughout and build up a 7-0 half time lead thanks to a Charlie Utterson hat-trick, two from Craig Lewis, taking him to thirteen for the season, and one apiece from Jesse Walters and Charlie Jackson in a clinical first half showing. Shrewton continued to dominate after the break and Jackson scored his second of the game, Utterson took his tally to four and Craig Appleby also got in on the act netting his first of the season.
Two in-form teams met at Cricklade Leisure Centre where Westbury United Reserves were the visitors. Cricklade Town went into the game on the back of six unbeaten games, while visitors Westbury United Reserves had lost just once in their previous eight games, that defeat coming last week against the league leaders at the start of the day, Melksham Town Reserves. Two goals from leading scorer Devan Bryan, taking him to 15 for the season plus one from Tom McCulloch and Billy Sly ensured that Cricklade’s unbeaten run continued making it now seven undefeated. They moved above Westbury in the table as a result of the win and with games in hand on the leading sides must fancy their chances of closing the gap at the top if they can continue their current form. The two goals for Westbury were both scored by Derek Wheeler.
At the other end of the table Pewsey Vale Development made the short journey to play Marlborough Town looking to make it two wins on the bounce whilst Marlborough were in search of their second win of the season after going seven games without one. In an archetypal game of two halves, two goals from Harrison Lowe put Pewsey 2-0 up at half time but it was a different story after the break as Marlborough hit three goals though Christopher Deane, Luke.Connolly and an Aaron Presley penalty to go 3-2 up. Pewsey however rallied, and Corey Cullen popped up with a last-minute equaliser to ensure a share of the points. Pewsey moved up a place in the table to 12th whilst Marlborough slipped a place to 14th.
The First Round of the Fountain Trophies Cup got under way with some interesting looking ties. Melksham Town Reserves had lost just one game all season in the league and that was against their First Round opponents, Ludgershall Sports at their Astor Crescent Ground last month, the home side winning the league encounter 1-0. This time their visit to the same ground was a more enjoyable experience for Melksham as they gained revenge for that league defeat with a 2-0 win. A defensive error in the box allowed Shaun Bennison to put them to go 1-0 up and then an own goal from a Ludgershall defender ensured it was Melksham who progress through into the next round.
Purton and Royal Wootton Town Development had also met recently in a league game and in another close encounter, Purton had won that day 2-1. When the two sides met on Saturday in the Fountain Trophies Cup at the Red House it was again a close affair played in a great spirt between two evenly matched sides. The first chance of the game fell to Josh Bolton for the visitors on 20 minutes, but he blasted over from close range. it was the home side Purton who went in front when a shot from striker Chris Avery somehow found its way under the dive of the Bassett keeper to make it 1-0 to the home side. Minutes later Josh Bolton had the chance to equalise, but he spurned the chance firing over again with just Purton keeper Luke Kuczynski to beat. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development went close again moments later when a header from Ben Paul was superbly saved by Kuczynski to leave it 1-0 at the break. Kuczynski again denied the visitors ten minutes after the restart as he pulled off another great save to prevent a Josh Bolton effort from registering. Whilst the visitors were on top in the second half the home side were still creating chances at the other end and thought they had gone 2-0 up only to see the goal chalked off due to a flag from the referee’s assistant. The visitors continued to press for the equaliser, but that man Avery made certain that it was his side who would be in the next round when he fired in a superb solo goal. He made a great turn to give himself room to place a measured shot into bottom corner of the net to make it 2-0 on 85 minutes. There was still time for the visitors to have their best chance of the game when substitute Tyrhys Mifsud fired a shot from 25 yards which finally beat Kuczynski only to come back off the cross-bar leaving the final score 2-0 to Purton.
Last season’s league champions Kintbury Rangers kicked off their Fountain Trophies Cup campaign with a trip to Trowbridge Town. Again, the two sides had met in the league last month and once more the match had been decided by a one goal difference that day, Kintbury winning 3-2. In the cup match on Saturday two first half goals from Tom Mahoney and Shaun Thorp put Kintbury 2-0 up at the break and in command. However, a strong second half performance saw Jordan Gullis pull one back for Trowbridge who pushed hard for the equaliser but a goal from Chris Cox right at the death ensured it is Kintbury who join Purton and Melksham Town Reserves in the Second Round.
The game between Football ID and Malmesbury Victoria Development was postponed.
Results – Premier Division
Corsham Town Res 1 Wroughton 1
Cricklade Town 4 Westbury United Res 2
Marlborough Town 3 Pewsey Vale Dev 3
Shrewton United 10 Devizes Town Res 0
Fountain Trophies Senior Cup
Football ID v Malmesbury Victoria Dev - postponed
Ludgershall Sports 0 Melksham Town Res 2
Purton 2 Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev 0
Trowbridge Town 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Purton and Royal Wootton Town Development had also met recently in a league game and in another close encounter, Purton had won that day 2-1. When the two sides met on Saturday in the Fountain Trophies Cup at the Red House it was again a close affair played in a great spirt between two evenly matched sides. The first chance of the game fell to Josh Bolton for the visitors on 20 minutes, but he blasted over from close range. it was the home side Purton who went in front when a shot from striker Chris Avery somehow found its way under the dive of the Bassett keeper to make it 1-0 to the home side. Minutes later Josh Bolton had the chance to equalise, but he spurned the chance firing over again with just Purton keeper Luke Kuczynski to beat. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development went close again moments later when a header from Ben Paul was superbly saved by Kuczynski to leave it 1-0 at the break. Kuczynski again denied the visitors ten minutes after the restart as he pulled off another great save to prevent a Josh Bolton effort from registering. Whilst the visitors were on top in the second half the home side were still creating chances at the other end and thought they had gone 2-0 up only to see the goal chalked off due to a flag from the referee’s assistant. The visitors continued to press for the equaliser, but that man Avery made certain that it was his side who would be in the next round when he fired in a superb solo goal. He made a great turn to give himself room to place a measured shot into bottom corner of the net to make it 2-0 on 85 minutes. There was still time for the visitors to have their best chance of the game when substitute Tyrhys Mifsud fired a shot from 25 yards which finally beat Kuczynski only to come back off the cross-bar leaving the final score 2-0 to Purton.
Last season’s league champions Kintbury Rangers kicked off their Fountain Trophies Cup campaign with a trip to Trowbridge Town. Again, the two sides had met in the league last month and once more the match had been decided by a one goal difference that day, Kintbury winning 3-2. In the cup match on Saturday two first half goals from Tom Mahoney and Shaun Thorp put Kintbury 2-0 up at the break and in command. However, a strong second half performance saw Jordan Gullis pull one back for Trowbridge who pushed hard for the equaliser but a goal from Chris Cox right at the death ensured it is Kintbury who join Purton and Melksham Town Reserves in the Second Round.
The game between Football ID and Malmesbury Victoria Development was postponed.
Results – Premier Division
Corsham Town Res 1 Wroughton 1
Cricklade Town 4 Westbury United Res 2
Marlborough Town 3 Pewsey Vale Dev 3
Shrewton United 10 Devizes Town Res 0
Fountain Trophies Senior Cup
Football ID v Malmesbury Victoria Dev - postponed
Ludgershall Sports 0 Melksham Town Res 2
Purton 2 Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev 0
Trowbridge Town 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Tuesday 23rd October 2018
Early Banks Strike Cancelled Out By Cotter
Midweek action this week in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League was confined to a game in the lower half of the table between Pewsey Vale Development and Ludgershall Sports. Ahead of the game Ludgershall sat one place above Pewsey in the table but came into the match on the back of three consecutive defeats, three games in which they had also failed to score. Pewsey by way of contrast were enjoying their best run of form this season which had seen them go two games unbeaten. Pewsey got off to a great start with veteran Ryan Banks firing in a stunning goal in the opening minutes to give them the lead. However, local neighbours Ludgershall were back on level terms by half time, last season’s top scorer David Cotter scoring his third of the season. There were chances at both ends but neither side could find the net again in the second half and it finished 1-1, one point each and the two sides remained where they were in the league table.
Tuesday saw the draw for the Second Round of the Wiltshire Senior Cup, a competition that has been running since Season 1886-87 when a certain Swindon Town won the inaugural competition. Whilst Swindon do not enter these days all of the other big guns in the county are in the competition and five Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League sides joined the likes of Chippenham Town, Salisbury, Swindon Supermarine, Melksham Town and Highworth Town in Tuesday’s draw. The draw has certainly been kind to our sides as four of the five will be involved in fixtures just involving sides from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, guaranteeing that the league will have at least two sides in the last eight and possibly three.
Two sides from the league who have won the Senior Cup competition fifteen times between them will meet at Woodmarsh when eight times winners Trowbridge Town host seven times winners Purton. Trowbridge last won the cup in Season 2003-4 whilst for Purton you have to go back a little further to Season 1993-94. The two sides will battle it out for the right to meet one of the top sides in the county in the quarter finals and with Purton having already knocked out Sydenhams Wessex League side Bemerton Heath Harlequins in the last round they will be keen for the opportunity to get another big scalp. It will not be easy though as Trowbridge look an improved side this season. Ironically the two sides are scheduled to meet in the league this coming Saturday which will now be a dress rehearsal for the Wiltshire Senior Cup tie.
Neither Marlborough Town nor Cricklade Town have ever won this particular cup competition, although Marlborough Town did make the final back in Season 1996-97 when they were defeated by Corsham Town, and both will be keen to progress further and for the chance for a giant killing later on in the competition. The two sides will play each other twice in cup competitions in November as they have also been drawn against each other in the Fountain Trophies Cup First Round. When they met in the league recently it finished 3-1 to Cricklade Town.
The final representative from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League are Shrewton United who, having knocked out one Western League side in the shape of Warminster Town, will be hoping they can repeat the trick when they host Western League Premier Division side Westbury United. It will be a tough game as Westbury remain unbeaten in the league, having won eight of their opening nine fixtures but if Shrewton can again raise their game against higher league opposition they have every chance of staying in the competition and continuing the dream of reaching the second final in their history. That previous final was back in Season 2000-01 when they lost at the County Ground and their side that day included in the line-up Jesse Walters who is still a key player at the club this season.
The full Second Round draw is shown below:
Bradford Town v Salisbury
Calne Town v Chippenham Town
Devizes Town v Melksham Town
Highworth Town v Swindon Supermarine
Laverstock & Ford v Malmesbury Victoria
Purton v Marlborough Town
Shrewton United v Westbury United
Trowbridge Town v Cricklade Town
Calne Town v Chippenham Town
Devizes Town v Melksham Town
Highworth Town v Swindon Supermarine
Laverstock & Ford v Malmesbury Victoria
Purton v Marlborough Town
Shrewton United v Westbury United
Trowbridge Town v Cricklade Town
Saturday 27th October 2018
Leaders Lose and Wroughton Win Big Game
Action from Melksham Town Res defeat at Football ID (Picture courtesy of Estelle Bowden at Starsphinx)
On a freezing cold afternoon, which felt like mid-December rather than October, the big match of the day took place at the Weir Field where Wroughton in fourth place met Cricklade Town who sat just one place below them in the table and came into the game on the back of seven game unbeaten run. With both sides fully committed the opening exchanges were a bit scrappy but the first real piece of quality play of the afternoon brought the first goal after just eight minutes. Following a clever run and lay off from Aaron Maximen, Shane Hibbert curled the ball over the Cricklade keeper Eddie Salisbury from the edge of the box and into the top corner of the net to put Wroughton in front. Hibbert had another good chance on sixteen minutes when the ball was delivered into the box and he headed powerfully towards goal, but it was straight at keeper Salisbury who saved easily. Cricklade’s best chance of the half came on twenty minutes when Max Scholefield curled a free kick just over. Four minutes later Wroughton went close to extending their lead but the ball was cleared off the line to leave the score 1-0 at the break. Five minutes after the restart Wroughton were awarded a penalty and up stepped top scorer Hibbert looking to net his eighth of the season. However, his spot kick was well saved by Cricklade keeper Eddie Salisbury, but the ball rebounded to Hibbert whose second attempt was then fired over the bar and Cricklade escaped going further behind. At the other end Cricklade’s own top scorer Devan Bryan went close to equalising on fifty-seven minutes as he lobbed Wroughton keeper Kurtis Sharkey only to see the ball go just wide of the post. Wroughton went straight up the other end and Eddie Salisbury once again denied Shane Hibbert from extending Wroughton’s lead. However, Wroughton were not to be denied for long as Kyle Parker skilfully placed a shot from the edge of the box into the Cricklade net to make it 2-0 to the home side. Cricklade responded immediately to going further behind when they attacked straight from the restart and top scorer Devan Bryan netted for the sixteenth time this season. With time running out Cricklade pushed for that equaliser and ten minutes from time Max Scholefield fired another free kick just over the Wroughton bar. Moments later Reece Gilliver had a shot which was easily dealt with by Kurtis Sharkey. Then with just over a minute to go some sloppy defending by the Wroughton back line gave Elliott Corp a chance to share the points, but he shot just wide. This was to be the last chance of the game as the Wroughton defence ensured they saw out that final seconds to secure a 2-1 home win and send them up to second place in the table and end that Cricklade unbeaten run after a tight game between two good sides. Cricklade dropped one place in the table to sixth as a result of the defeat.
Elsewhere, the overnight leaders Melksham Town Reserves, who had won their previous five games, came unstuck away at Football ID. The young Football ID side had not won since the first week of September but ended their barren spell with goals from Kyle Pogue Elms and Ethan Gilson-Clarke to secure an excellent 2-0 win. The win lifted Football ID to eighth place in the table, whilst Melksham slipped to third.
Another of the top sides to slip up were defending champions Kintbury Rangers. Like Melksham, Kintbury went into their game at Corsham on the back of five straight wins, and whilst the home side were without a win in three they were defending an unbeaten record at Southbank this season. That record remains in tact as they ran out 2-1 winners thanks to two goals from Liam Ralph, Fabio Pinto with the Kintbury goal.
As a result of the defeats for both Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers the new leaders this evening are Shrewton United who ran out comfortable 9-0 winners at home against Malmesbury Victoria Development, this just a week after they smashed ten past Devizes Town Reserves. Two goals for both Charlie Utterson and Alistair Carvel and one apiece for Tyler Pavey, Jesse Walters, Craig Lewis and Dan Burton, the final goal coming courtesy of an own goal.
Trowbridge Town moved to ninth place and within a point of opponents Purton after a solitary goal from Joshua Hard, his eighth of the season, settled matters at the Red House in Trowbridge’s favour, ending Trowbridge’s five game run without a win and bringing to an end Purton’s six game winning run in the process.
Westbury United Reserves moved up into fifth place in the table after a 3-0 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development thanks to two goals from Rhys Talmarsh and one from top scorer George Bendle, taking his total to eight for the season. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development slipped into the bottom three as a result of the defeat and results elsewhere.
The final game of the day saw Marlborough Town climb out of the bottom three after a solitary goal by Chris Deane settled matters against Devizes Town Reserves, giving Marlborough their second win of the season.
Another of the top sides to slip up were defending champions Kintbury Rangers. Like Melksham, Kintbury went into their game at Corsham on the back of five straight wins, and whilst the home side were without a win in three they were defending an unbeaten record at Southbank this season. That record remains in tact as they ran out 2-1 winners thanks to two goals from Liam Ralph, Fabio Pinto with the Kintbury goal.
As a result of the defeats for both Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers the new leaders this evening are Shrewton United who ran out comfortable 9-0 winners at home against Malmesbury Victoria Development, this just a week after they smashed ten past Devizes Town Reserves. Two goals for both Charlie Utterson and Alistair Carvel and one apiece for Tyler Pavey, Jesse Walters, Craig Lewis and Dan Burton, the final goal coming courtesy of an own goal.
Trowbridge Town moved to ninth place and within a point of opponents Purton after a solitary goal from Joshua Hard, his eighth of the season, settled matters at the Red House in Trowbridge’s favour, ending Trowbridge’s five game run without a win and bringing to an end Purton’s six game winning run in the process.
Westbury United Reserves moved up into fifth place in the table after a 3-0 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development thanks to two goals from Rhys Talmarsh and one from top scorer George Bendle, taking his total to eight for the season. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development slipped into the bottom three as a result of the defeat and results elsewhere.
The final game of the day saw Marlborough Town climb out of the bottom three after a solitary goal by Chris Deane settled matters against Devizes Town Reserves, giving Marlborough their second win of the season.
Results – Premier Division
Corsham Town Res 2 Kintbury Rangers 1
Football ID 2 Melksham Town Res 0
Marlborough Town 1 Devizes Town Res 0
Purton 0 Trowbridge Town 1
Shrewton Utd 9 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 0
Westbury Utd Res 3 Royal W. B. Town D 0
Wroughton 2 Cricklade Town 1
Saturday 3rd November 2018
Leaders Lose and Wroughton Win Big Game
Hat-trick Hero and League Top Scorer Shaun Thorp (Picture courtesy of Jacob Price)
Defending champions Kintbury Rangers went into their game against Westbury United Reserves knowing that a win by four or more goals would take them to the top of the table. Visitors Westbury United were difficult looking opponents though and Kintbury knew they would need to be on their game to take anything from the match. Twice in the opening half Westbury gave the defending champions a scare as they hit the cross bar, but it was Kintbury who led at the break, leading scorer Shaun Thorp successfully converting a penalty to take him to 17 for the season. In the second half Westbury had a player sent off and Kintbury took full advantage, Thorp scoring two more to get a hat-trick which took his total to 19 for the season and clear leader in the division’s goalscoring stakes.
Elsewhere in the league, Football ID moved up into 7th place with a comfortable 4-1 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development on the 3G artificial turf pitch at Stanley Park. Tiger Harris bagged a brace and there were further goals courtesy of Joel Smedley and Kyle Pogue Elms, Harrison Gough with the consolation goal for Royal Wootton Bassett Town.
Leading 3-1 with the final whistle approaching visitors Purton must have thought they had the three points in the bag but two late goals for Ludgershall Sports meant the two sides shared the points. Goals from Chris Avery, William Backhouse, both getting their 5th of the season, and Jack Duckers had put Purton in the ascendency before those two late goals for Ludgershall. On target for Ludgershall were David Cotter, Connor Millar and Lewis Pickernell. Purton dropped a couple of places in the table to 10th as a result of the dropped points, whilst Ludgershall remained in 11th spot.
The final league action of the afternoon was at Pewsey where Trowbridge Town were the visitors. Pewsey went into the game in their best form of the season, but their three-game unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end as Trowbridge ran out 3-1 winners. Goals from Jordan Gullis, Alex Pippard and an own goal did the damage for Trowbridge, Harrison Lowe with the Pewsey goal.
Three First Round games were played in the Fountain Trophies Cup and three of the top six sides in the table made it through to join Melksham Town, Purton and Kintbury Rangers in Round 2. League leaders Shrewton United were given a real run for their money though by visitors Corsham Town Reserves. Tyler Pavey put Shrewton in front but Corsham replied with two goals of their own to lead 2-1 at the break. Veteran Jesse Walters put Shrewton back on level terms in the second half to send the game into extra time. Zac McNally put Shrewton in front in the first period of extra time, but Westbury equalised to send the game into penalties. The penalty shoot-out hero was Shrewton goalkeeper Ben Bissington who saved three penalties and scored one of his own to send his side through to the second round as they won 7-6 in the shoot-out. The goal scorers for Corsham Town res in open play were Zac Hillier with two and Sam Thomson.
Wroughton were comfortable winners away at Devizes Town Reserves. Tom Dingle set them on their way and Kyle Parker made it 2-0 before Devizes pulled one back through Ben Perrett. Aaron Maximen restored the two-goal advantage but again Devizes pulled one back, Perrett again with the Devizes goal, before top scorer Shane Hibbert got in on the act to make it 4-2 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals gave Wroughton a 7-2-win, Jordan Lea, Tom Price and Hibbert, with his second of the game 15 minutes from time which took his total for the season to 9, the scorers in the second half.
In the final tie of the day, Cricklade Town progressed to Round 2 after a 4-1 away win at Marlborough Town. Two goals in this one for Max Scholefield and one apiece for Dave Coleman and Devan Bryan, his 17th of the season, Aaron Presley replying for Marlborough.
The only midweek action was in the U18 division where the top two met at Chippenham. For the second time this season Melksham Town got the better of the previous leaders FC Chippenham, two goals for Luca Cosentino plus goals from Joe Lamb and Daniel Watts plus an own goal, as Melksham ran out 5-3 winners to maintain their 100% record and go top of the table.
Results – Premier Division
Football ID 4 Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 1
Kintbury Rangers 3 Westbury Utd Res 0
Ludgershall Sports 3 Purton 3
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Trowbridge Town 3
Results – Fountain Trophies Cup
Devizes Town Res 2 Wroughton 7
Marlborough Town 1 Cricklade Town 4
Shrewton United 3 Corsham Town Res 3 (7-6 on pens)
Result - U18 Division
FC Chippenham 3 Melksham Town 5
Elsewhere in the league, Football ID moved up into 7th place with a comfortable 4-1 home win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development on the 3G artificial turf pitch at Stanley Park. Tiger Harris bagged a brace and there were further goals courtesy of Joel Smedley and Kyle Pogue Elms, Harrison Gough with the consolation goal for Royal Wootton Bassett Town.
Leading 3-1 with the final whistle approaching visitors Purton must have thought they had the three points in the bag but two late goals for Ludgershall Sports meant the two sides shared the points. Goals from Chris Avery, William Backhouse, both getting their 5th of the season, and Jack Duckers had put Purton in the ascendency before those two late goals for Ludgershall. On target for Ludgershall were David Cotter, Connor Millar and Lewis Pickernell. Purton dropped a couple of places in the table to 10th as a result of the dropped points, whilst Ludgershall remained in 11th spot.
The final league action of the afternoon was at Pewsey where Trowbridge Town were the visitors. Pewsey went into the game in their best form of the season, but their three-game unbeaten run was brought to an abrupt end as Trowbridge ran out 3-1 winners. Goals from Jordan Gullis, Alex Pippard and an own goal did the damage for Trowbridge, Harrison Lowe with the Pewsey goal.
Three First Round games were played in the Fountain Trophies Cup and three of the top six sides in the table made it through to join Melksham Town, Purton and Kintbury Rangers in Round 2. League leaders Shrewton United were given a real run for their money though by visitors Corsham Town Reserves. Tyler Pavey put Shrewton in front but Corsham replied with two goals of their own to lead 2-1 at the break. Veteran Jesse Walters put Shrewton back on level terms in the second half to send the game into extra time. Zac McNally put Shrewton in front in the first period of extra time, but Westbury equalised to send the game into penalties. The penalty shoot-out hero was Shrewton goalkeeper Ben Bissington who saved three penalties and scored one of his own to send his side through to the second round as they won 7-6 in the shoot-out. The goal scorers for Corsham Town res in open play were Zac Hillier with two and Sam Thomson.
Wroughton were comfortable winners away at Devizes Town Reserves. Tom Dingle set them on their way and Kyle Parker made it 2-0 before Devizes pulled one back through Ben Perrett. Aaron Maximen restored the two-goal advantage but again Devizes pulled one back, Perrett again with the Devizes goal, before top scorer Shane Hibbert got in on the act to make it 4-2 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals gave Wroughton a 7-2-win, Jordan Lea, Tom Price and Hibbert, with his second of the game 15 minutes from time which took his total for the season to 9, the scorers in the second half.
In the final tie of the day, Cricklade Town progressed to Round 2 after a 4-1 away win at Marlborough Town. Two goals in this one for Max Scholefield and one apiece for Dave Coleman and Devan Bryan, his 17th of the season, Aaron Presley replying for Marlborough.
The only midweek action was in the U18 division where the top two met at Chippenham. For the second time this season Melksham Town got the better of the previous leaders FC Chippenham, two goals for Luca Cosentino plus goals from Joe Lamb and Daniel Watts plus an own goal, as Melksham ran out 5-3 winners to maintain their 100% record and go top of the table.
Results – Premier Division
Football ID 4 Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 1
Kintbury Rangers 3 Westbury Utd Res 0
Ludgershall Sports 3 Purton 3
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Trowbridge Town 3
Results – Fountain Trophies Cup
Devizes Town Res 2 Wroughton 7
Marlborough Town 1 Cricklade Town 4
Shrewton United 3 Corsham Town Res 3 (7-6 on pens)
Result - U18 Division
FC Chippenham 3 Melksham Town 5
Saturday 10th November 2018
Wroughton Regain Top Spot
With their nearest rivals either in cup action or not playing, Wroughton took full advantage to go back top of the league with a comprehensive 6-1 home win over Malmesbury Victoria Development. Going into the game the only league match Wroughton had lost this season had been against the young Malmesbury side at the Flying Monk last month and they certainly avenged that surprise defeat to win comfortably in the return match. The damage was done in the first half in an impressive first forty-five minutes which saw Wroughton lead 5-0 at the break. Tom Price got them on their way with the first goal, Aaron Maximen made it two before Kyle Parker then got in on the act scoring twice. The final goal of the first half was scored by Tom Dingle. Having done the hard work in those first forty-five minutes Wroughton took their foot off the gas in the second half and were only able to add one more goal, fittingly it was another for Kyle Parker to complete a fine hat-trick and take him to seven for the season.
The rest of the league action was at the bottom end of the table. Two sides in much need of a confidence boosting win met at Ludgershall. The home side Ludgershall had gone six games without tasting victory, while visitors Devizes Town Reserves own depressing run without a win stretched to eleven games. That game to an end at Ludgershall as two goals Ben Perrett gave them to a 2-1 win. Fielding a side that included three Under 18’s in the starting line up the Devizes team put in one of their best performances of the season to secure their second win of the campaign and close the gap on the two sides above them in the table, Pewsey Vale Development and Marlborough Town, to just two points.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Pewsey Vale Development met at the Gerard Buxton Ground. When the two sides had met at Pewsey earlier in the season it had finished 5-2 to Royal Wootton Bassett and they recorded another win by three goals this time hitting three without reply through Bailey Gallagher, Nick Mason and George Staten to take the points and lift themselves above both Pewsey and Marlborough Town in the table.
The league game between Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers was postponed due to the Melksham side having a number of call-ups to the County Representative squad, whilst the Football ID league game against Corsham Town Reserves was also postponed with Football ID being unable to raise a side.
Five clubs from the league were also involved in the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup action this weekend with the action getting under way on a very wet and windy Friday night under the lights at Westbury United. League leaders Shrewton United went into the game with Toolstation Western League (Step 5) side Westbury United looking to cause a second giant killing of the season, having already knocked out Warminster Town from the Western League in the last round. Westbury United are currently unbeaten in the Premier Division of their league having won promotion last season and are looking a good bet for back-to-back promotions. The Western League side went in front on 22 minutes when Ricky Hulbert was brought down in the box and Dan Kovacs coolly put away the resulting penalty. Just moments later it was 2-0 as Callum Demkiv fired in off the underside of the bar following good set up play from Jamie Jordan. Shrewton thought they had pulled one back before half time through Ben Jenks but the goal was disallowed for offside and it remained 2-0 at the break. A couple of substitutions seemed to do the trick for Shrewton as they came out in the second half and got themselves back into the game against their higher league opponents. Dom Jackson netted on 57 minutes with a great finish to reduce the arrears. It got even better for the Wiltshire Senior League side when Zac McNally’s free kick beat Westbury keeper Ed Baldy to level the scores and that second giant-killing looked back on. Unfortunately for Shrewton they couldn’t retain parity for long, but it took a superb strike from Demkiv, from all of 30 yards, to put the Western League side back in front. Jamie Jordan then added a fourth for Westbury twenty minutes from time and it eventually finished 4-2 to the Western league side. So there was to be no second giant killing but Shrewton had done their club and the league proud with their efforts in pushing one of the top sides in the county all the way.
The other four Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League sides in County Cup action were all playing each other guaranteeing the league two representatives in the last eight with the big guns of Wiltshire football. The two sides who progress to the quarter final stage are local neighbours Purton and Cricklade Town. Purton recorded their second win of the season over Marlborough Town at the Red House, having won 3-2 in the league back in September they went one better in this Wiltshire Senior Cup tie running out 4-2 winners. Jack Duckers was the star of the show smashing a hat-trick to take him to six goals for the season, William Backhouse who scored the fourth for Purton also moved onto six for the season to become joint top scorer for Purton with Duckers. The two Marlborough goals were scored by Aaron Presley, also with his sixth of the season, and Jordan Ball.
In the final Wiltshire Senior cup game Cricklade Town travelled to Trowbridge Town. In a tight contest at a wet Woodmarsh the match was decided early on by a solitary goal scored by Tom Hoskins, who scored with an excellent first-time arrowed shot into the net. The home side pressed for the equaliser creating a number of chances but the Cricklade defence held firm to prevent Trowbridge scoring to secure that place in the last eight, joining Westbury United and Purton in the quarter final. The second-round games involving the big guns of Chippenham Town, Salisbury, Melksham Town, Swindon Supermarine, Highworth Town and Melksham Town are scheduled for midweek this coming week, so both Cricklade and Purton will have to wait a few days to find out who their potential opponents could be in that quarter final.
The one Under 18 fixture in midweek saw Calne Town win 5-3 at home against Downton. On target for Calne Town were Declan McStavik with two, Tyler Jesson, Harry Blower and Jordan Anning, for Downton Lee Johnson scored twice with Brad Waters getting the other. The win left Calne in 4th place in the table and Downton in 5th.
Results – Premier Division
Ludgershall Sports 1 Devizes Town Res 2
Royal W. B. Town Dev 3 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Wroughton 6 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 1
Football ID v Corsham Town Res - Postponed
Melksham Town Res v Kintbury Rangers - Postponed
Results – Wiltshire Senior Cup
Westbury United 4 Shrewton United 2
Purton 4 Marlborough Town 2
Trowbridge Town 0 Cricklade Town 1
U18 Result
Calne Town 5 Downton 3
The rest of the league action was at the bottom end of the table. Two sides in much need of a confidence boosting win met at Ludgershall. The home side Ludgershall had gone six games without tasting victory, while visitors Devizes Town Reserves own depressing run without a win stretched to eleven games. That game to an end at Ludgershall as two goals Ben Perrett gave them to a 2-1 win. Fielding a side that included three Under 18’s in the starting line up the Devizes team put in one of their best performances of the season to secure their second win of the campaign and close the gap on the two sides above them in the table, Pewsey Vale Development and Marlborough Town, to just two points.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and Pewsey Vale Development met at the Gerard Buxton Ground. When the two sides had met at Pewsey earlier in the season it had finished 5-2 to Royal Wootton Bassett and they recorded another win by three goals this time hitting three without reply through Bailey Gallagher, Nick Mason and George Staten to take the points and lift themselves above both Pewsey and Marlborough Town in the table.
The league game between Melksham Town Reserves and Kintbury Rangers was postponed due to the Melksham side having a number of call-ups to the County Representative squad, whilst the Football ID league game against Corsham Town Reserves was also postponed with Football ID being unable to raise a side.
Five clubs from the league were also involved in the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup action this weekend with the action getting under way on a very wet and windy Friday night under the lights at Westbury United. League leaders Shrewton United went into the game with Toolstation Western League (Step 5) side Westbury United looking to cause a second giant killing of the season, having already knocked out Warminster Town from the Western League in the last round. Westbury United are currently unbeaten in the Premier Division of their league having won promotion last season and are looking a good bet for back-to-back promotions. The Western League side went in front on 22 minutes when Ricky Hulbert was brought down in the box and Dan Kovacs coolly put away the resulting penalty. Just moments later it was 2-0 as Callum Demkiv fired in off the underside of the bar following good set up play from Jamie Jordan. Shrewton thought they had pulled one back before half time through Ben Jenks but the goal was disallowed for offside and it remained 2-0 at the break. A couple of substitutions seemed to do the trick for Shrewton as they came out in the second half and got themselves back into the game against their higher league opponents. Dom Jackson netted on 57 minutes with a great finish to reduce the arrears. It got even better for the Wiltshire Senior League side when Zac McNally’s free kick beat Westbury keeper Ed Baldy to level the scores and that second giant-killing looked back on. Unfortunately for Shrewton they couldn’t retain parity for long, but it took a superb strike from Demkiv, from all of 30 yards, to put the Western League side back in front. Jamie Jordan then added a fourth for Westbury twenty minutes from time and it eventually finished 4-2 to the Western league side. So there was to be no second giant killing but Shrewton had done their club and the league proud with their efforts in pushing one of the top sides in the county all the way.
The other four Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League sides in County Cup action were all playing each other guaranteeing the league two representatives in the last eight with the big guns of Wiltshire football. The two sides who progress to the quarter final stage are local neighbours Purton and Cricklade Town. Purton recorded their second win of the season over Marlborough Town at the Red House, having won 3-2 in the league back in September they went one better in this Wiltshire Senior Cup tie running out 4-2 winners. Jack Duckers was the star of the show smashing a hat-trick to take him to six goals for the season, William Backhouse who scored the fourth for Purton also moved onto six for the season to become joint top scorer for Purton with Duckers. The two Marlborough goals were scored by Aaron Presley, also with his sixth of the season, and Jordan Ball.
In the final Wiltshire Senior cup game Cricklade Town travelled to Trowbridge Town. In a tight contest at a wet Woodmarsh the match was decided early on by a solitary goal scored by Tom Hoskins, who scored with an excellent first-time arrowed shot into the net. The home side pressed for the equaliser creating a number of chances but the Cricklade defence held firm to prevent Trowbridge scoring to secure that place in the last eight, joining Westbury United and Purton in the quarter final. The second-round games involving the big guns of Chippenham Town, Salisbury, Melksham Town, Swindon Supermarine, Highworth Town and Melksham Town are scheduled for midweek this coming week, so both Cricklade and Purton will have to wait a few days to find out who their potential opponents could be in that quarter final.
The one Under 18 fixture in midweek saw Calne Town win 5-3 at home against Downton. On target for Calne Town were Declan McStavik with two, Tyler Jesson, Harry Blower and Jordan Anning, for Downton Lee Johnson scored twice with Brad Waters getting the other. The win left Calne in 4th place in the table and Downton in 5th.
Results – Premier Division
Ludgershall Sports 1 Devizes Town Res 2
Royal W. B. Town Dev 3 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Wroughton 6 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 1
Football ID v Corsham Town Res - Postponed
Melksham Town Res v Kintbury Rangers - Postponed
Results – Wiltshire Senior Cup
Westbury United 4 Shrewton United 2
Purton 4 Marlborough Town 2
Trowbridge Town 0 Cricklade Town 1
U18 Result
Calne Town 5 Downton 3
Wednesday 14th November 2018
High Five for Malmesbury Victoria Dev
Action from Malmesbury Victoria Dev v Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev (picture courtesy of Steve Green)
Premier Division
There was just one midweek league fixture in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League again this week and it involved action at the bottom end of the table as the two development sides from Malmesbury Victoria and Royal Wootton Bassett Town met at the Flying Monk under lights. The home side made it two wins out of two from their last two home fixtures as they followed their 2-0 win over league leaders Wroughton with a comfortable 5-0 win over their visitors from Royal Wootton Bassett. Josh Hughes scored twice in the first half to set Malmesbury on their way and three unanswered second half goals from Harrison Archer, Daryl Herring and Lewis King ensured that Malmesbury picked up their second win of the season. Despite the win Malmesbury remain rooted to the bottom of the table but moved to within a point of second from bottom Devizes Town Reserves.
Wiltshire Senior Cup Draw
The draw for the Quarter Finals of the Wiltshire Senior Cup has been made and our two remaining sides have both managed to avoid the top sides who play at Steps 2-4 in the National League System. Cricklade Town have been given a home tie against the winner of the one remaining Second Round tie, either Malmesbury Victoria from the Uhlsport Hellenic League Division One West (Step 6) or Laverstock & Ford from the Sydenhams Wessex League Division 1 (Step 6). Purton meanwhile must travel to play Toolstation Western League Premier Division (Step 5) side Westbury United who knocked out Shrewton in the last round and are currently unbeaten in their league. The other two ties see Southern League (Step 3) side Salisbury host National League (Step 2) side Chippenham Town and Southern League Premier Division (Step 3) side Swindon Supermarine host another Southern League side Melksham Town Reserves who currently play at Step 4.
Under 18 Division
There was a full programme of games in the Under 18 Division. On Tuesday night leaders Melksham Town maintained their 100% record with a 6-1 away win at Downton. Joe Lamb and Luca Cosentino both scored twice to take their totals for the season to seven apiece, Dan Watts and an own goal completing the scoring. Tom Green scored the consolation goal for Downton from the penalty spot, his first goal for his club. Also, on Tuesday night Calne Town made it three wins from their opening four fixtures with a 2-0 home win over second placed FC Chippenham. Declan McStravik, with his fifth of the season and Jordan Anning getting the two goals for Calne. Despite the win Calne remained in fourth spot in the table but have three games in hand over the two sides above them and just three points behind.
New College Swindon moved up into second spot on Wednesday evening after a 7-1 win away at bottom of the table Pewsey Vale. Luke McIntyre led the way for the visitors firing a hat-trick, Jack Rockett hit his seventh of the season and there were further goals from Aaron Alexander, Josh Lewis and Ethan Ollier.
Saturday 17th November 2018
Wroughton Hold On To Top Spot
Action from game at Westbury which saw Marlborough Town win 2-0 (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
Following Malmesbury Victoria Development’s midweek win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, the other fourteen teams in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League were all in league action this afternoon. The practice of bringing one game forward to assist with the appointing of a full complement of officials on a Saturday has certainly proved a success so far this season. Saturday’s seven fixtures saw Wroughton maintain their hold on the top spot of the division with a comfortable 7-0 victory over Pewsey Vale Development. When the two sides met at Wroughton at the end of September it had finished 4-2 to Wroughton in a close contest but this time round the victory was empathic, with Wroughton completing the double over their opponents in style. Early goals from Jamie Mclaughlin and Aaron Maximen set them on their way. Jordan Lea added a third before veteran Tom Dingle made it 4-0 to the visitors. Wroughton continued to press forward and scored three more times, Riegan Cook bagging a brace and Liam Griffin scoring from the penalty spot.
Second placed Shrewton United travelled to Corsham Town Reserves for the third meeting between the sides this season, Shrewton had won 6-2 in the league at home and then just two weeks ago had progressed to the Second Round of the Fountain Trophies Cup with a penalty shoot-out win after the two sides had finished level at 3-3. Corsham went into the game with an unbeaten league record at Southbank and that record remains intact tonight. Twice they led through goals from Liam Ralph and Adam Mitchell only to be pegged back both times, Tyren Harrington and Zak McNally with the Shrewton goals. For Corsham that was their fifth home draw of the season, but importantly they still remain unbeaten at Southbank and sit in eighth place in table, Shrewton meanwhile dropped to third spot due to results elsewhere.
Two form sides met at Kintbury when defending champions Kintbury Rangers, who started the day in third place, took on Purton at the Recreation Ground. Kintbury went into the game having lost just one of the previous seven while Purton's record was even better with just one defeat in their last ten. With the same game having finished 0-0 last season another close encounter was expected but Kintbury scored two unanswered goals from the division’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp and Harry Way to lead 2-0 at the break and put them in the ascendancy. Purton pulled one back after the break through Will Backhouse but Kintbury were not to be denied and scored three more times through George Smith, Fabio Pinto and Thorp with his second of the game taking his total for the season to an impressive 21 and we haven’t got to December yet. The win lifted Kintbury above Shrewton into second place.
Fourth placed Melksham Town Reserves travelled to sixth placed Cricklade Town knowing their opponents were in good form having lost just once in their previous ten games and that they had lost the same fixture last season when they went down 3-2. Ryan Lovitt opened the scoring for Cricklade getting on the end of a free kick. Chris Gallavin then added a second for Cricklade to make it 2-0 at the break. However, the young Melksham Town fought back to make it 2-2 in the second half with goals from Jamal Chevolleau and Ethan Cox, the equaliser coming with just a couple of minutes to go but there was still time for Tom McCulloch to score a third for Cricklade at the death to repeat last season’s result and claim all three points for the home side. Cricklade climbed a place in the table to fifth as a result of the win, Melksham remain fourth.
Westbury United Res who started the day in fifth place went into their game with Marlborough Town looking to close the gap on the top four. When the sides met earlier in the season at Marlborough Westbury had won 4-0 but Marlborough put in an impressive away performance to avenge that defeat as a goal in each half from Christopher Deane was the difference between the two sides as Marlborough secured a 2-0 win. Marlborough climbed above Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development into twelfth place as a result of their win, whilst Westbury dropped two places to seventh.
The last game that Ludgershall Sports won before today was away at Football ID and after a run of seven games without a win, they were looking to get their first double of the season. They clearly like playing Football ID as two goals from David Cotter, taking his total for the season to six, plus a superb free kick into the top corner by Harrison Hale secured a 3-1 win and that double. Kyle Pogue-Elms scored the consolation goal for the young Football ID side,
The final game of the day saw Devizes Town Reserves play Trowbridge Town for the second time this season looking to repeat the 4-3 win at the start of the season. However, they found their visitors in top form and it was Trowbridge who took all three points courtesy of a 5-1 win. Joshua Hard scored twice taking him into double figures for the season, Alex Pippard scored his fifth of the season, an own goal plus one for Jordan Gullis completed the scoring for Trowbridge. Ben Perrett scored the consolation goal for Devizes, scoring for the third consecutive match, and taking his total to five for the season. The win lifted them three places in the table up into sixth place.
Second placed Shrewton United travelled to Corsham Town Reserves for the third meeting between the sides this season, Shrewton had won 6-2 in the league at home and then just two weeks ago had progressed to the Second Round of the Fountain Trophies Cup with a penalty shoot-out win after the two sides had finished level at 3-3. Corsham went into the game with an unbeaten league record at Southbank and that record remains intact tonight. Twice they led through goals from Liam Ralph and Adam Mitchell only to be pegged back both times, Tyren Harrington and Zak McNally with the Shrewton goals. For Corsham that was their fifth home draw of the season, but importantly they still remain unbeaten at Southbank and sit in eighth place in table, Shrewton meanwhile dropped to third spot due to results elsewhere.
Two form sides met at Kintbury when defending champions Kintbury Rangers, who started the day in third place, took on Purton at the Recreation Ground. Kintbury went into the game having lost just one of the previous seven while Purton's record was even better with just one defeat in their last ten. With the same game having finished 0-0 last season another close encounter was expected but Kintbury scored two unanswered goals from the division’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp and Harry Way to lead 2-0 at the break and put them in the ascendancy. Purton pulled one back after the break through Will Backhouse but Kintbury were not to be denied and scored three more times through George Smith, Fabio Pinto and Thorp with his second of the game taking his total for the season to an impressive 21 and we haven’t got to December yet. The win lifted Kintbury above Shrewton into second place.
Fourth placed Melksham Town Reserves travelled to sixth placed Cricklade Town knowing their opponents were in good form having lost just once in their previous ten games and that they had lost the same fixture last season when they went down 3-2. Ryan Lovitt opened the scoring for Cricklade getting on the end of a free kick. Chris Gallavin then added a second for Cricklade to make it 2-0 at the break. However, the young Melksham Town fought back to make it 2-2 in the second half with goals from Jamal Chevolleau and Ethan Cox, the equaliser coming with just a couple of minutes to go but there was still time for Tom McCulloch to score a third for Cricklade at the death to repeat last season’s result and claim all three points for the home side. Cricklade climbed a place in the table to fifth as a result of the win, Melksham remain fourth.
Westbury United Res who started the day in fifth place went into their game with Marlborough Town looking to close the gap on the top four. When the sides met earlier in the season at Marlborough Westbury had won 4-0 but Marlborough put in an impressive away performance to avenge that defeat as a goal in each half from Christopher Deane was the difference between the two sides as Marlborough secured a 2-0 win. Marlborough climbed above Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development into twelfth place as a result of their win, whilst Westbury dropped two places to seventh.
The last game that Ludgershall Sports won before today was away at Football ID and after a run of seven games without a win, they were looking to get their first double of the season. They clearly like playing Football ID as two goals from David Cotter, taking his total for the season to six, plus a superb free kick into the top corner by Harrison Hale secured a 3-1 win and that double. Kyle Pogue-Elms scored the consolation goal for the young Football ID side,
The final game of the day saw Devizes Town Reserves play Trowbridge Town for the second time this season looking to repeat the 4-3 win at the start of the season. However, they found their visitors in top form and it was Trowbridge who took all three points courtesy of a 5-1 win. Joshua Hard scored twice taking him into double figures for the season, Alex Pippard scored his fifth of the season, an own goal plus one for Jordan Gullis completed the scoring for Trowbridge. Ben Perrett scored the consolation goal for Devizes, scoring for the third consecutive match, and taking his total to five for the season. The win lifted them three places in the table up into sixth place.
Results – Premier Division
Corsham Town Res 2 Shrewton United 2
Cricklade Town 3 Melksham Town Res 2
Devizes Town Res 1 Trowbridge Town 5
Kintbury Rangers 5 Purton 1
Ludgershall Sports 3 Football ID 1
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Wroughton 7
Westbury Utd Res 0 Marlborough Town 2
Saturday 24th November 2018
Two more for Thorp as Kintbury win at Cricklade
Midweek action in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division saw Melksham Town Res consolidate in fourth place with a comfortable 6-1 home win over Devizes Town Res to open up a six-point gap on fifth place Cricklade Town. With last season’s twin strike force of Callum Demkiv and Rhys Talmarsh both making moves to Western League clubs this season, Melksham Town Reserves have replaced them with another talented striker in Jamal Chevolleau. In Wednesday night’s encounter with Devizes Town he fired a hat-trick to take his season’s tally to eleven goals and was ably supported up front by the experienced Gary Higdon, a player who has scored over 250 goals for Melksham’s First Team and helped himself to a brace against Devizes. A Dylan Hatt goal completed the scoring for Melksham.
Ludgershall Sports were also in midweek action playing in the Andover Open Cup against Sydenhams Wessex League Division One side Whitchurch United. Ludgershall put in a spirited performance against their higher league opponents. Whitchurch led 3-2 at the break and two further second half goals eventually saw Ludgershall go down 5-2.
Saturday’s action saw the big game of the day taking place at Cricklade Leisure Centre where second placed Kintbury Rangers were the visitors. Prior to Saturday Cricklade were one of the two sides Kintbury had not defeated in their time in the Wiltshire Senior League, the other being Wroughton. Both sides went into the game in good form, Cricklade having lost just once in their previous eleven outings and Kintbury just once in eight games. The list of sides who Kintbury have not defeated in the division now just contains one name as they ran out 4-3 winners on a difficult heavy pitch due to recent rain. Goals from Shaun Thorp, Jake Rowe and Charlie Allsop gave Kintbury a 3-1 half time lead. Shaun Thorp added his second of the game to make it four and take his total for the season to 23, but with Kintbury having two players sent off Cricklade were allowed back in the game and scored two further goals to give the score line a much closer look to it that the balance of play on the day would have indicated. The three Cricklade goals were scored by Tom McCulloch with two and Billy Sly. The win ensured that Kintbury kept within three points of the leaders Wroughton with two games in hand.
League leaders Wroughton made the short journey to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development in confident mood having scored twenty goals in their previous three games, whilst Bassett had lost five of their last six but did win their last home game and had secured a memorable double over Wroughton in the league last season. Missing top strikers Shane Hibbert and Aaron Maximen Wroughton struggled to get their noses in front in the first half as Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development defended well to keep out the leaders in the first forty-five minutes. It was a different story after the break however as once Wroughton got themselves in front the floodgates opened, and they hit five unanswered goals to remain top of the league, three points clear of Kintbury. The goals were shared around the team with one each for Riegan Cook, Tyler Wilkinson, Liam Griffin, Jordan Lea and Kyle Parker.
After hitting 26 goals in October, going into their game with Marlborough Town, third placed Shrewton United had yet to win a game in normal time this month but they put that right with a comfortable 5-1 home win over visitors Marlborough Town to keep in touch with the top two. Tyren Harrington led the way with a hat-trick, taking his total for the season into double figures, Jesse Walters and Ben Jenks with the other Shrewton goals. The consolation goal for a Marlborough side, who had one of their off days after last week’s excellent win at Westbury, was Aaron Presley with his seventh of the season.
As we approach the half way mark of the season, two sides who have been going well in the first half and sit in the upper half of the table, Trowbridge Town and Corsham Town Reserves, met at Woodmarsh. Going into the game Trowbridge had won three of their previous four games, whilst Corsham had lost just three of their opening 13 league games, all the defeats having come on the road. Corsham were unable to repeat their good home form on their travels as Trowbridge ran out comfortable 4-1 winners to make it nine points from three league games in November and lift them into fifth place in the table. Two goals for Joshua Hard, taking him to 12 for the season, plus one each for Jake Sainsbury and Alex Pippard did the damage for Trowbridge, substitute Adrian Webb with the Corsham goal.
The last two meetings between Westbury United Reserves and Ludgershall had seen Westbury score fifteen times without reply but it was a different story in the latest meeting between the two sides as Ludgershall avenged those two heavy defeats with a 3-1 win. Top scorer David Cotter scored twice, Keifer Roper with the other Ludgershall goal. George Bendle, with his ninth of the season, scoring for Westbury.
In the two league fixtures between Football ID and Purton last season it was the away side that won both times. That sequence of results continued as Purton left Chippenham with all three points following a 2-1 win. In a tight contest two goals from Jack Duckers won the game for Purton, Alex Hallett with the Football ID goal.
Finally in the Premier Division, the big battle at the wrong end of the table, saw the two Development sides of Pewsey Vale and Malmesbury Victoria meet at Pewsey. Malmesbury came into the game in good form with two wins in last four matches whilst Pewsey were without a win in five and it was the in-form Malmesbury side who were smiling Saturday night as they secured their third win of the season to move off the bottom of the table for the first time this campaign. Two goals for Elliott Drage and one apiece for Harrison Archer and Daryl Herring in Malmesbury’s 4-0 win.
In the Under 18 Division New College Swindon went back top of the table on Thursday on goal difference with a hard fought 2-1 home win over Calne Town. Two goals from top scorer Jack Rockett, taking him to nine for the season, secured the three points for New College. With Melksham Town level on points but having played three games less it is unlikely that New College will hold on to top spot with just two games left to play. They need to win the game between the two sides and then hope that Calne Town and perhaps one of the two sides at the bottom, who have yet to gain a point this season, can take points off Melksham.
Results
Premier Division
Melksham Town Res 6 Devizes Town Res 1
Cricklade Town 3 Kintbury Rangers 4
Football ID 1 Purton 2
Ludgershall Sports 3 Westbury Utd Res 1
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Malmesbury Vics Dev 4
Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 0 Wroughton 5
Shrewton 5 Marlborough Town 1
Trowbridge Town 4 Corsham Town Res 1
Andover Open Cup
Whitchurch United 5 Ludgershall Sports 2
U18 Division
New College 2 Calne Town 1
Ludgershall Sports were also in midweek action playing in the Andover Open Cup against Sydenhams Wessex League Division One side Whitchurch United. Ludgershall put in a spirited performance against their higher league opponents. Whitchurch led 3-2 at the break and two further second half goals eventually saw Ludgershall go down 5-2.
Saturday’s action saw the big game of the day taking place at Cricklade Leisure Centre where second placed Kintbury Rangers were the visitors. Prior to Saturday Cricklade were one of the two sides Kintbury had not defeated in their time in the Wiltshire Senior League, the other being Wroughton. Both sides went into the game in good form, Cricklade having lost just once in their previous eleven outings and Kintbury just once in eight games. The list of sides who Kintbury have not defeated in the division now just contains one name as they ran out 4-3 winners on a difficult heavy pitch due to recent rain. Goals from Shaun Thorp, Jake Rowe and Charlie Allsop gave Kintbury a 3-1 half time lead. Shaun Thorp added his second of the game to make it four and take his total for the season to 23, but with Kintbury having two players sent off Cricklade were allowed back in the game and scored two further goals to give the score line a much closer look to it that the balance of play on the day would have indicated. The three Cricklade goals were scored by Tom McCulloch with two and Billy Sly. The win ensured that Kintbury kept within three points of the leaders Wroughton with two games in hand.
League leaders Wroughton made the short journey to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development in confident mood having scored twenty goals in their previous three games, whilst Bassett had lost five of their last six but did win their last home game and had secured a memorable double over Wroughton in the league last season. Missing top strikers Shane Hibbert and Aaron Maximen Wroughton struggled to get their noses in front in the first half as Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development defended well to keep out the leaders in the first forty-five minutes. It was a different story after the break however as once Wroughton got themselves in front the floodgates opened, and they hit five unanswered goals to remain top of the league, three points clear of Kintbury. The goals were shared around the team with one each for Riegan Cook, Tyler Wilkinson, Liam Griffin, Jordan Lea and Kyle Parker.
After hitting 26 goals in October, going into their game with Marlborough Town, third placed Shrewton United had yet to win a game in normal time this month but they put that right with a comfortable 5-1 home win over visitors Marlborough Town to keep in touch with the top two. Tyren Harrington led the way with a hat-trick, taking his total for the season into double figures, Jesse Walters and Ben Jenks with the other Shrewton goals. The consolation goal for a Marlborough side, who had one of their off days after last week’s excellent win at Westbury, was Aaron Presley with his seventh of the season.
As we approach the half way mark of the season, two sides who have been going well in the first half and sit in the upper half of the table, Trowbridge Town and Corsham Town Reserves, met at Woodmarsh. Going into the game Trowbridge had won three of their previous four games, whilst Corsham had lost just three of their opening 13 league games, all the defeats having come on the road. Corsham were unable to repeat their good home form on their travels as Trowbridge ran out comfortable 4-1 winners to make it nine points from three league games in November and lift them into fifth place in the table. Two goals for Joshua Hard, taking him to 12 for the season, plus one each for Jake Sainsbury and Alex Pippard did the damage for Trowbridge, substitute Adrian Webb with the Corsham goal.
The last two meetings between Westbury United Reserves and Ludgershall had seen Westbury score fifteen times without reply but it was a different story in the latest meeting between the two sides as Ludgershall avenged those two heavy defeats with a 3-1 win. Top scorer David Cotter scored twice, Keifer Roper with the other Ludgershall goal. George Bendle, with his ninth of the season, scoring for Westbury.
In the two league fixtures between Football ID and Purton last season it was the away side that won both times. That sequence of results continued as Purton left Chippenham with all three points following a 2-1 win. In a tight contest two goals from Jack Duckers won the game for Purton, Alex Hallett with the Football ID goal.
Finally in the Premier Division, the big battle at the wrong end of the table, saw the two Development sides of Pewsey Vale and Malmesbury Victoria meet at Pewsey. Malmesbury came into the game in good form with two wins in last four matches whilst Pewsey were without a win in five and it was the in-form Malmesbury side who were smiling Saturday night as they secured their third win of the season to move off the bottom of the table for the first time this campaign. Two goals for Elliott Drage and one apiece for Harrison Archer and Daryl Herring in Malmesbury’s 4-0 win.
In the Under 18 Division New College Swindon went back top of the table on Thursday on goal difference with a hard fought 2-1 home win over Calne Town. Two goals from top scorer Jack Rockett, taking him to nine for the season, secured the three points for New College. With Melksham Town level on points but having played three games less it is unlikely that New College will hold on to top spot with just two games left to play. They need to win the game between the two sides and then hope that Calne Town and perhaps one of the two sides at the bottom, who have yet to gain a point this season, can take points off Melksham.
Results
Premier Division
Melksham Town Res 6 Devizes Town Res 1
Cricklade Town 3 Kintbury Rangers 4
Football ID 1 Purton 2
Ludgershall Sports 3 Westbury Utd Res 1
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Malmesbury Vics Dev 4
Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 0 Wroughton 5
Shrewton 5 Marlborough Town 1
Trowbridge Town 4 Corsham Town Res 1
Andover Open Cup
Whitchurch United 5 Ludgershall Sports 2
U18 Division
New College 2 Calne Town 1
Saturday 1st December 2018
Wet Weather Strikes
Action from game at Trowbridge where Westbury Utd Res were the visitors (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
A week that has seen heavy rain in the West Country caused the first weekend of postponements in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. In total four of the scheduled eight games were lost to waterlogged pitches.
The games that did go ahead saw defending champions Kintbury Rangers go back top of the league for the first time since the opening week of the season. Twice they led away at Marlborough Town through first half goals from Fabio Pinto and Tom Mahoney only to be pegged back both times by goals from Christopher Deane and Aaron Presley. A second half winner from Chris Cox, with his sixth goal of the season, secured the three points to send Kintbury back to the top of the table with previous leaders Wroughton’s scheduled game with Football ID being one of the four games lost to the weather. While Kintbury went top, Marlborough slipped a place in the table to 13th.
Melksham Town Reserves in fourth place had the chance to close the gap on Shrewton United in third spot but were away at Corsham Town Reserves, a side who have yet to taste defeat at Southbank this season. It remains that way tonight as they lodged their sixth home draw of the season courtesy of a goal from Ross Lye, his first of the season in a 1-1 draw. Melksham Town Reserves' Jamal Chevolleau took his total for the season to twelve in netting the goal for the visitors.The draw left Melksham in fourth place, two points adrift of Shrewton but with a game in hand. The point for Corsham lifted them one place in the table to seventh spot.
Shock of the day took place at Cricklade Leisure Centre as the young Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development side inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Cricklade Town. Two early goals from Ben Paul and George Staten put visitors Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the ascendancy but Cricklade pulled one back before the break and then got back on level terms within a minute of the restart, Elliott Corp and Billy Sly with the Cricklade goals. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development were not to be denied though as Paul popped up to lodge his second of the game ten minutes from time to complete their best result of the season and secure the three points.
The final game of the day saw Trowbridge Town continue their recent impressive form in the league, registering their fifth straight league win with a 4-0 home success over Westbury United Reserves. In recent seasons, given the wet weather, this game would not have taken place but thanks to the hard work of the Trowbridge ground staff in the summer and since the start of the season the game got the go ahead and the home side were rewarded with another three points. On target for Trowbridge were Ben Howlett, Josh Howlett with his first of the season, Jake Sainsbury and Alex Pippard, the latter taking his total for the season to seven. Trowbridge remain in fifth place in the table but have now opened up a five-point gap over Cricklade Town and moved to within two points of Melksham Town Reserves.
The matches between Devizes Town Reserves and Shrewton United, Ludgershall Sports and Pewsey Vale Development and Purton and Malmesbury Victoria Development were the other three games to be postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Both scheduled games in the Under 18 Division on Thursday night were also postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Premier Division - Results
Corsham Town Res 1 Melksham T Res 1
Cricklade T 2 Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 3
Devizes T Res v Shrewton Utd- postponed
Ludgershall Sp v Pewsey Vale D – postp'd
Marlborough Town 2 Kintbury Rangers 3
Purton v Malmesbury Vics Dev – postponed
Trowbridge Town 4 Westbury United Res 0
Wroughton v Football ID - postponed
The games that did go ahead saw defending champions Kintbury Rangers go back top of the league for the first time since the opening week of the season. Twice they led away at Marlborough Town through first half goals from Fabio Pinto and Tom Mahoney only to be pegged back both times by goals from Christopher Deane and Aaron Presley. A second half winner from Chris Cox, with his sixth goal of the season, secured the three points to send Kintbury back to the top of the table with previous leaders Wroughton’s scheduled game with Football ID being one of the four games lost to the weather. While Kintbury went top, Marlborough slipped a place in the table to 13th.
Melksham Town Reserves in fourth place had the chance to close the gap on Shrewton United in third spot but were away at Corsham Town Reserves, a side who have yet to taste defeat at Southbank this season. It remains that way tonight as they lodged their sixth home draw of the season courtesy of a goal from Ross Lye, his first of the season in a 1-1 draw. Melksham Town Reserves' Jamal Chevolleau took his total for the season to twelve in netting the goal for the visitors.The draw left Melksham in fourth place, two points adrift of Shrewton but with a game in hand. The point for Corsham lifted them one place in the table to seventh spot.
Shock of the day took place at Cricklade Leisure Centre as the young Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development side inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Cricklade Town. Two early goals from Ben Paul and George Staten put visitors Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the ascendancy but Cricklade pulled one back before the break and then got back on level terms within a minute of the restart, Elliott Corp and Billy Sly with the Cricklade goals. Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development were not to be denied though as Paul popped up to lodge his second of the game ten minutes from time to complete their best result of the season and secure the three points.
The final game of the day saw Trowbridge Town continue their recent impressive form in the league, registering their fifth straight league win with a 4-0 home success over Westbury United Reserves. In recent seasons, given the wet weather, this game would not have taken place but thanks to the hard work of the Trowbridge ground staff in the summer and since the start of the season the game got the go ahead and the home side were rewarded with another three points. On target for Trowbridge were Ben Howlett, Josh Howlett with his first of the season, Jake Sainsbury and Alex Pippard, the latter taking his total for the season to seven. Trowbridge remain in fifth place in the table but have now opened up a five-point gap over Cricklade Town and moved to within two points of Melksham Town Reserves.
The matches between Devizes Town Reserves and Shrewton United, Ludgershall Sports and Pewsey Vale Development and Purton and Malmesbury Victoria Development were the other three games to be postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Both scheduled games in the Under 18 Division on Thursday night were also postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Premier Division - Results
Corsham Town Res 1 Melksham T Res 1
Cricklade T 2 Royal W. Bassett Town Dev 3
Devizes T Res v Shrewton Utd- postponed
Ludgershall Sp v Pewsey Vale D – postp'd
Marlborough Town 2 Kintbury Rangers 3
Purton v Malmesbury Vics Dev – postponed
Trowbridge Town 4 Westbury United Res 0
Wroughton v Football ID - postponed
Saturday 8th December 2018
Lardner Smashes Four Past Football ID
Dan Lardner who hit 4 goals for Corsham Town Res (picture courtesy of John Cuthbertson)
Once again the heavy rain caused a number of postponements in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. In total four of the scheduled league games were lost to waterlogged pitches for the second consecutive week.
Kintbury Rangers held onto top spot and opened up a three-point gap due to the inactivity of nearest rivals Wroughton. Credit to visitors Pewsey Vale Development though who made the league leaders work hard for the three points, preventing a side who had already scored 60 league goals this season from scoring in the opening forty-five minutes. It was a different story after the break though as the league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp helped himself to a hat-trick as Kintbury hit five unanswered goals. Thorp took his total to 26 for the season, Harry Way added one to make it double figures for the season for him and Jamie Gannon notched his first of the season in the 5-0 win.
Third placed Shrewton United closed the gap to second place Wroughton to just two points with a narrow 3-2 win over Melksham Town Reserves, avenging the 4-3 midweek defeat back in September. Shrewton started strongly and went in front on 15 minutes with a Ben Jenks goal. However, a couple of defensive errors allowed visitors Melksham Town Reserves to go into half time in front as Jack Baker and Shaun Benison took advantage to score for the visitors. Shrewton pushed for the equaliser and were finally rewarded seven minutes from time. Having made three substitutions and pushing Charlie Utterson up into the centre forward position the tactical switch paid off when Utterson scored, taking him into double figures for the season, to level things up. Shrewton continued to push for the winner and were rewarded two minutes from time when Dan Burton slotted in his fourth of the season to seal the points. Shrewton’s win opened up a five-point gap on their opponents having played one game more.
Whilst Corsham Town Reserves remain unbeaten at home they had actually won more games away from home ahead of Saturday’s trip to Football ID. They improved that record even further and matched their points haul at Southbank with a clinical performance against their young opponents. Veteran Dan Lardner led the way scoring four goals in a 6-2 win, Emilio Mudrak with his second of the season and a first of the season from Ben Selman completed the scoring for Corsham. The win lifted Corsham into sixth place in the table three points behind Trowbridge in firth spot. The league games at Devizes Town Reserves, Purton, Trowbridge Town and Wroughton were all postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
The weekend saw the first of our two remaining sides fly the flag for the league in the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup. Cricklade Town put up a spirited performance against higher league opponents in the shape of Sydenhams Wessex League Division 1 side, Laverstock & Ford. On a heavy pitch at the Leisure Centre Cricklade ran their higher league opponents close creating a number of good chances which went begging before eventually bowing out of the competition at the quarter final stage. Archie Lovegrove and Chae Sykes scored for Laverstock & Ford in a 2-1-win, Tom McCulloch with the Cricklade Town goal taking him to eight for the season. The final Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side left in the competition are now Purton in make the daunting trip to Toolstation Premier League side Westbury United on Wednesday looking to win against a side two steps above them in the national League System and who have yet to lose in their league this season.
One game was played in the Under 18 Division in midweek as title favourites Melksham Town opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 7-0 home win over Downton. Downton in their first season in the league put up a spirited performance and the final score line probably does not do their performance justice. Whilst the home side in the end improved their goal difference the Downton side, who went into the game with just eleven players, created a number of chances of their own in the game, including a penalty which was saved. Injuries sustained during the game also meant part of it was played with just ten men. In the end a hat-trick from substitute Louis Wilkins, doubling his total for the season, a brace from Jordan Croad which took him to seven for the season plus one each for Jack Baker and Kieron Pearce did the damage for Melksham. That made it six wins from six for Melksham to maintain their 100% record and they now need just four points from their remaining four games to take the title. Downton will be hoping they can register their first points of the season this week when they travel to bottom of the table Pewsey Vale.
Results
Premier Division
Kintbury Rangers held onto top spot and opened up a three-point gap due to the inactivity of nearest rivals Wroughton. Credit to visitors Pewsey Vale Development though who made the league leaders work hard for the three points, preventing a side who had already scored 60 league goals this season from scoring in the opening forty-five minutes. It was a different story after the break though as the league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp helped himself to a hat-trick as Kintbury hit five unanswered goals. Thorp took his total to 26 for the season, Harry Way added one to make it double figures for the season for him and Jamie Gannon notched his first of the season in the 5-0 win.
Third placed Shrewton United closed the gap to second place Wroughton to just two points with a narrow 3-2 win over Melksham Town Reserves, avenging the 4-3 midweek defeat back in September. Shrewton started strongly and went in front on 15 minutes with a Ben Jenks goal. However, a couple of defensive errors allowed visitors Melksham Town Reserves to go into half time in front as Jack Baker and Shaun Benison took advantage to score for the visitors. Shrewton pushed for the equaliser and were finally rewarded seven minutes from time. Having made three substitutions and pushing Charlie Utterson up into the centre forward position the tactical switch paid off when Utterson scored, taking him into double figures for the season, to level things up. Shrewton continued to push for the winner and were rewarded two minutes from time when Dan Burton slotted in his fourth of the season to seal the points. Shrewton’s win opened up a five-point gap on their opponents having played one game more.
Whilst Corsham Town Reserves remain unbeaten at home they had actually won more games away from home ahead of Saturday’s trip to Football ID. They improved that record even further and matched their points haul at Southbank with a clinical performance against their young opponents. Veteran Dan Lardner led the way scoring four goals in a 6-2 win, Emilio Mudrak with his second of the season and a first of the season from Ben Selman completed the scoring for Corsham. The win lifted Corsham into sixth place in the table three points behind Trowbridge in firth spot. The league games at Devizes Town Reserves, Purton, Trowbridge Town and Wroughton were all postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
The weekend saw the first of our two remaining sides fly the flag for the league in the prestigious Wiltshire Senior Cup. Cricklade Town put up a spirited performance against higher league opponents in the shape of Sydenhams Wessex League Division 1 side, Laverstock & Ford. On a heavy pitch at the Leisure Centre Cricklade ran their higher league opponents close creating a number of good chances which went begging before eventually bowing out of the competition at the quarter final stage. Archie Lovegrove and Chae Sykes scored for Laverstock & Ford in a 2-1-win, Tom McCulloch with the Cricklade Town goal taking him to eight for the season. The final Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side left in the competition are now Purton in make the daunting trip to Toolstation Premier League side Westbury United on Wednesday looking to win against a side two steps above them in the national League System and who have yet to lose in their league this season.
One game was played in the Under 18 Division in midweek as title favourites Melksham Town opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 7-0 home win over Downton. Downton in their first season in the league put up a spirited performance and the final score line probably does not do their performance justice. Whilst the home side in the end improved their goal difference the Downton side, who went into the game with just eleven players, created a number of chances of their own in the game, including a penalty which was saved. Injuries sustained during the game also meant part of it was played with just ten men. In the end a hat-trick from substitute Louis Wilkins, doubling his total for the season, a brace from Jordan Croad which took him to seven for the season plus one each for Jack Baker and Kieron Pearce did the damage for Melksham. That made it six wins from six for Melksham to maintain their 100% record and they now need just four points from their remaining four games to take the title. Downton will be hoping they can register their first points of the season this week when they travel to bottom of the table Pewsey Vale.
Results
Premier Division
Football ID 2 Corsham Town Res 6
Kintbury Rangers 5 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Shrewton United 3 Melksham Town 2
Devizes Town Res v Westbury Utd Res – postponed
Purton v Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev – postponed
Trowbridge Town v Malmesbury Vics Dev – postponed
Wroughton v Marlborough Town - postponed
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Cricklade Town 1 Laverstock & Ford 2
Under 18 Division
Melksham Town 7 Downton 0
Kintbury Rangers 5 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Shrewton United 3 Melksham Town 2
Devizes Town Res v Westbury Utd Res – postponed
Purton v Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev – postponed
Trowbridge Town v Malmesbury Vics Dev – postponed
Wroughton v Marlborough Town - postponed
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Cricklade Town 1 Laverstock & Ford 2
Under 18 Division
Melksham Town 7 Downton 0
Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th December 2018
League Interest in Wiltshire Senior Cup Ends
Action from Wiltshire Senior Cup tie between Westbury Utd and Purton (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
Two midweek games involving clubs in the league took place this week. On Wednesday evening Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League interest in the Wiltshire Senior Cup finally ended when Purton lost their quarter-final tie at Westbury United. Playing a side that are yet to taste defeat in the Premier Division of the Western League (Step 5 of the National League System) it was always going to be a tough ask for Purton to progress to the semi-final and in the end they were convincingly beaten 7-0 by their opponents who play two levels higher than Purton. Dan Kovacs put Westbury in the lead on 11 minutes from the penalty spot after a foul on Callum Demkiv but in a good first half showing Purton restricted their high-flying opponents to that solitary goal until six minutes from the break when Kovacs netted his second of the game to make it 2-0 at the break.
Westbury again started the second half on top, but Purton still created chances of their own, Joe Dorey forcing a fine save from Westbury keeper Ed Baldry with a long-range effort on the hour mark. Shortly after that effort a header from Westbury’s Ricky Hulbert made it 3-0 to finally put the game beyond Purton. Joe Stradling made it 4-0 on 74 minutes before Dan Kovacs completed his hat-trick following a well worked set-piece. Two more goals in the final ten minutes through Stradling and Hulbert completed an emphatic win for Westbury who made it through to the last four where they will be joined by Swindon Supermarine, Salisbury and Laverstock & Ford. The final score was somewhat harsh on Purton who had remained in the game for a good hour of the match, but they exited at the quarter final stage, as had Cricklade Town on Saturday. Both clubs have done the league proud this season making it through to the last eight of this prestigious competition which includes sides in some cases who play 4 or 5 levels higher up in the National League System.
Action in the Under 18 Division on Thursday night was focused on the bottom end of the table involving two sides, Pewsey Vale and Downton, who were looking for their first points of the season. Two goals from Tom Green, taking him to three for the season, plus an own goal secured all three points for visitors Downton in a fine 3-0 win. The previous evening Melksham Town as good as wrapped up the league title with a 3-1 away win at Calne Town. Louis Wilkins took his total goal tally to seven for the season and there were further goals for Melksham from Daniel Broom and Kieron Pearce.
Fixtures for both the Premier Division and Under 18 Division for January 2019 are now shown on FA Full-Time.
Results
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Westbury United 7 Purton 0
Under 18 Division
Calne Town 1 Melksham Town 3
Westbury again started the second half on top, but Purton still created chances of their own, Joe Dorey forcing a fine save from Westbury keeper Ed Baldry with a long-range effort on the hour mark. Shortly after that effort a header from Westbury’s Ricky Hulbert made it 3-0 to finally put the game beyond Purton. Joe Stradling made it 4-0 on 74 minutes before Dan Kovacs completed his hat-trick following a well worked set-piece. Two more goals in the final ten minutes through Stradling and Hulbert completed an emphatic win for Westbury who made it through to the last four where they will be joined by Swindon Supermarine, Salisbury and Laverstock & Ford. The final score was somewhat harsh on Purton who had remained in the game for a good hour of the match, but they exited at the quarter final stage, as had Cricklade Town on Saturday. Both clubs have done the league proud this season making it through to the last eight of this prestigious competition which includes sides in some cases who play 4 or 5 levels higher up in the National League System.
Action in the Under 18 Division on Thursday night was focused on the bottom end of the table involving two sides, Pewsey Vale and Downton, who were looking for their first points of the season. Two goals from Tom Green, taking him to three for the season, plus an own goal secured all three points for visitors Downton in a fine 3-0 win. The previous evening Melksham Town as good as wrapped up the league title with a 3-1 away win at Calne Town. Louis Wilkins took his total goal tally to seven for the season and there were further goals for Melksham from Daniel Broom and Kieron Pearce.
Fixtures for both the Premier Division and Under 18 Division for January 2019 are now shown on FA Full-Time.
Results
Wiltshire Senior Cup
Westbury United 7 Purton 0
Under 18 Division
Calne Town 1 Melksham Town 3
Pewsey Vale 0 Downton 3
Fountain Trophies Cup
With one outstanding First Round game involving Pewsey Vale Development and Westbury United Reserves to be played, which has been scheduled for January 26th, the draw for the quarter finals of the Fountain Trophies Cup sees the following set of matches to decide the semi-finalists:
Melksham Town Reserves v Kintbury Rangers
Pewsey Vale Dev or Westbury Utd Res v Cricklade Town
Shrewton United v Malmesbury Victoria Dev
Wroughton v Purton
Fountain Trophies Cup
With one outstanding First Round game involving Pewsey Vale Development and Westbury United Reserves to be played, which has been scheduled for January 26th, the draw for the quarter finals of the Fountain Trophies Cup sees the following set of matches to decide the semi-finalists:
Melksham Town Reserves v Kintbury Rangers
Pewsey Vale Dev or Westbury Utd Res v Cricklade Town
Shrewton United v Malmesbury Victoria Dev
Wroughton v Purton
Saturday 15th December 2018
Gough Heads Winner To End Trowbridge Run
Harrison Gough who scored the winner for Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev in their 3-2 win over Trowbridge
The final week of action before the Christmas break saw the fixture programme decimated by the weather with seven games postponed due to waterlogged pitches. The only game to get the go ahead was the match at Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, where Trowbridge Town were the visitors.
An in-form Trowbridge Town arrived at Royal Wootton Bassett on the back of an impressive run of results that had seen them win their previous five league games. Bassett meanwhile had defeated Cricklade last time out but did not have a good record against their visitors, that poor record including a 2-1 defeat when the two sides met back in September. However, historic form went out the window on a cold and wet afternoon as the Royal Wootton Bassett side recorded their fifth win of the season courtesy of a 3-2 score line. Royal Wootton Bassett Town led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Carl Shepherd and Finley Sly. The first from Shepherd was a delightful chip from the edge of the box. The second from Sly came towards the end of the half, following a goalmouth scramble Nick Mason put in a header which was saved by the Trowbridge keeper but Sly was on hand to smash the ball into the net.
However, within ten minutes of the restart Trowbridge were back on level terms as leading scorer Joshua Hard put two past stand-in keeper Euan Burke to make it 2-2, taking his total to 14 for the season. Burke was having an outstanding game in the Bassett goal and could do nothing about the two goals. Despite being pegged back the home side rallied and got their just rewards twelve minutes from time when Harrison Gough (pictured) headed in the winner at the far post.
Having beaten two of the top sides in consecutive weeks manager Steve Chadwick was delighted with the way his side have improved in recent weeks and how they are playing.
“The lads are really buzzing at the moment, confidence is high. We have beaten two good sides in the last two games and like Cricklade we deserved the win over Trowbridge. Just a shame we don’t have another game next week now. We have a little break and then four tough games in January but hopefully we can keep this winning run going.”
The games at Corsham Town Res, Cricklade Town, Malmesbury Victoria Development, Melksham Town Reserves, Pewsey Vale Development, Shrewton United and Westbury United all fell victim to the weather.
With the festive season about to commence the League would like to thank all the clubs for their tremendous help and cooperation in the season so far and take the opportunity of wishing all involved in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2019.
Premier Division Results
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 3 Trowbridge T 2
Corsham T Res v Devizes T Res - postponed
Cricklade Town v Wroughton - postponed
Malmesbury Vics Dev v Purton - postponed
Melksham Town Res v Football ID - postponed
Pewsey Vale Dev v Marlborough Town
Shrewton United v Ludgershall Sports – postponed
Westbury United Res v Kintbury Rangers - postponed
An in-form Trowbridge Town arrived at Royal Wootton Bassett on the back of an impressive run of results that had seen them win their previous five league games. Bassett meanwhile had defeated Cricklade last time out but did not have a good record against their visitors, that poor record including a 2-1 defeat when the two sides met back in September. However, historic form went out the window on a cold and wet afternoon as the Royal Wootton Bassett side recorded their fifth win of the season courtesy of a 3-2 score line. Royal Wootton Bassett Town led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Carl Shepherd and Finley Sly. The first from Shepherd was a delightful chip from the edge of the box. The second from Sly came towards the end of the half, following a goalmouth scramble Nick Mason put in a header which was saved by the Trowbridge keeper but Sly was on hand to smash the ball into the net.
However, within ten minutes of the restart Trowbridge were back on level terms as leading scorer Joshua Hard put two past stand-in keeper Euan Burke to make it 2-2, taking his total to 14 for the season. Burke was having an outstanding game in the Bassett goal and could do nothing about the two goals. Despite being pegged back the home side rallied and got their just rewards twelve minutes from time when Harrison Gough (pictured) headed in the winner at the far post.
Having beaten two of the top sides in consecutive weeks manager Steve Chadwick was delighted with the way his side have improved in recent weeks and how they are playing.
“The lads are really buzzing at the moment, confidence is high. We have beaten two good sides in the last two games and like Cricklade we deserved the win over Trowbridge. Just a shame we don’t have another game next week now. We have a little break and then four tough games in January but hopefully we can keep this winning run going.”
The games at Corsham Town Res, Cricklade Town, Malmesbury Victoria Development, Melksham Town Reserves, Pewsey Vale Development, Shrewton United and Westbury United all fell victim to the weather.
With the festive season about to commence the League would like to thank all the clubs for their tremendous help and cooperation in the season so far and take the opportunity of wishing all involved in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful 2019.
Premier Division Results
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 3 Trowbridge T 2
Corsham T Res v Devizes T Res - postponed
Cricklade Town v Wroughton - postponed
Malmesbury Vics Dev v Purton - postponed
Melksham Town Res v Football ID - postponed
Pewsey Vale Dev v Marlborough Town
Shrewton United v Ludgershall Sports – postponed
Westbury United Res v Kintbury Rangers - postponed
Saturday 5th January 2019
Kintbury March On At Top of the Table
Action from game between Melksham Town Res and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev (picture courtesy of Starsphinx).
The first week of action of the New Year in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League saw six of the scheduled eight fixtures survive the overnight freeze and get the go ahead.
One of the top matches of the day saw league leaders and defending champions Kintbury Rangers kick off the New Year with a tough looking home game against Corsham Town Reserves who sat in sixth place in the table at the start of the day. Kintbury went into the game in good form with five straight wins but their last defeat was at the hands of Corsham who had won 2-1 at Southbank back in October. After the long break the reigning champions were a little rusty but did manage two first half goals from George Smith to lead 2-0 at the break. They were unable to add to that total in the second half and with Corsham pulling one back through Edward McCormack it led to a bit of a tense finish but Kintbury held on to make it six wins on the bounce and maintain their three-point lead at the top of the table.
Second placed Wroughton are another side who had won their previous five games, scoring 27 goals in the process. They continued their good run of form away at Football ID at the start of the New Year. Goals from Chris Flanagan and Tom Dingle put them 2-0 up before Football ID pulled one back. Jordan Lea restored the two-goal advantage with his 9th of the season following good work from Ollie White before White himself then got on the score sheet to make the final score 4-1 to Wroughton.
Third placed Shrewton saw their game away at bottom of the table Devizes Town Reserves postponed due to a frozen pitch and lost out on the opportunity to maintain the gap to the top two sides.
Fourth placed Melksham Town Reserves went into their game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development on the back of their worst run of the season which had seen them win just one of their previous five games. Opponents Bassett in contrast were on their best run of the season having defeated both Cricklade Town and Trowbridge Town in their previous two games. In a tight affair it was Melksham who were celebrating come Saturday night as they took the three points following a narrow 2-1 win. Two goals for Adam Mitchell on his debut for Melksham following his transfer from Corsham Town. The first a header in the first half the second a penalty after the break to ensure Melksham took the points. Finley Sly with the solitary goal for the visitors. Melksham stay fourth but closed the gap to third placed Shrewton United to just two points.
Whilst Trowbridge Town had lost their last game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, this was only their second defeat in seven and they looked to get back to winning ways with a trip to Marlborough Town. With just one win in their previous five games Marlborough were keen for an improvement in form at the start of the New Year. It is Trowbridge Town who were celebrating at the final whistle as they ran out comfortable 6-2 winners. A hat-trick from Joshua Hard, taking him to 17 for the season, did the damage and there were further goals for Alex Pippard, Ben Howlett and Daniel Sandford. Goal scorers for Marlborough Town were Aaron Presley with his 9th of the season and Jordan Ball. Trowbridge remain 5th but opened up a six-point gap over Corsham Town Reserves.
Cricklade Town, in 7th place at the start of play, had suffered a blow over the Christmas break when their two leading scorers, Devan Bryan and Tom McCulloch left to join Western League side Chippenham Park. They opened the New Year without their two key men with a short trip to play local rivals Purton. Purton were looking to complete the league double over near neighbours having won 1-0 away. It was a typical derby game with little between the sides. The first half remained goalless but only after Purton goalkeeper Luke Kuczynski had saved a penalty from Billy Sly. Both sides had a player sent off on 55 minutes. Almost immediately Cricklade went in front with a goal from Elliott Corp. Leading scorer Jack Duckers then came off the substitute bench for Purton and rescued a point for the home side with an equaliser with his 9th goal of the season, after good link up play with Will Backhouse. The point lifted Purton a place in the table up into 8th spot.
Two sides in good form but who had not played since 24 November were Malmesbury Victoria Development and Ludgershall Sports who met at Malmesbury. Both sides came into the game having won their previous two matches. After such a long break both were delighted to see some action and a heavy pitch at Malmesbury led to something of a goal fest and entertaining match as the two sides shared six goals. Lewis Pickernell fired in two for the visitors, Sam Walsh with the other Ludgershall goal. On target for Malmesbury were Breton Gardiner, Harrison Archer and Elliott Drage. The point lifted Ludgershall one place in the table to 10th whilst Malmesbury remain 14th.
Westbury United Reserves against Pewsey Vale Development was the second fixture to fall victim to the cold weather.
Premier Division Results
Football ID 1 Wroughton 4
Kintbury Rangers 2 Corsham Town Res 1
Malmesbury Vics Dev 3 Ludgershall Spts 3
Marlborough Town 2 Trowbridge Town 6
Melksham T Res 2 Royal W. B. Town Dev 1
Purton 1 Cricklade Town 1
Devizes Town Res v Shrewton Utd – postponed
Westbury Utd Res v Pewsey Vale Dev - postponed
One of the top matches of the day saw league leaders and defending champions Kintbury Rangers kick off the New Year with a tough looking home game against Corsham Town Reserves who sat in sixth place in the table at the start of the day. Kintbury went into the game in good form with five straight wins but their last defeat was at the hands of Corsham who had won 2-1 at Southbank back in October. After the long break the reigning champions were a little rusty but did manage two first half goals from George Smith to lead 2-0 at the break. They were unable to add to that total in the second half and with Corsham pulling one back through Edward McCormack it led to a bit of a tense finish but Kintbury held on to make it six wins on the bounce and maintain their three-point lead at the top of the table.
Second placed Wroughton are another side who had won their previous five games, scoring 27 goals in the process. They continued their good run of form away at Football ID at the start of the New Year. Goals from Chris Flanagan and Tom Dingle put them 2-0 up before Football ID pulled one back. Jordan Lea restored the two-goal advantage with his 9th of the season following good work from Ollie White before White himself then got on the score sheet to make the final score 4-1 to Wroughton.
Third placed Shrewton saw their game away at bottom of the table Devizes Town Reserves postponed due to a frozen pitch and lost out on the opportunity to maintain the gap to the top two sides.
Fourth placed Melksham Town Reserves went into their game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development on the back of their worst run of the season which had seen them win just one of their previous five games. Opponents Bassett in contrast were on their best run of the season having defeated both Cricklade Town and Trowbridge Town in their previous two games. In a tight affair it was Melksham who were celebrating come Saturday night as they took the three points following a narrow 2-1 win. Two goals for Adam Mitchell on his debut for Melksham following his transfer from Corsham Town. The first a header in the first half the second a penalty after the break to ensure Melksham took the points. Finley Sly with the solitary goal for the visitors. Melksham stay fourth but closed the gap to third placed Shrewton United to just two points.
Whilst Trowbridge Town had lost their last game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development, this was only their second defeat in seven and they looked to get back to winning ways with a trip to Marlborough Town. With just one win in their previous five games Marlborough were keen for an improvement in form at the start of the New Year. It is Trowbridge Town who were celebrating at the final whistle as they ran out comfortable 6-2 winners. A hat-trick from Joshua Hard, taking him to 17 for the season, did the damage and there were further goals for Alex Pippard, Ben Howlett and Daniel Sandford. Goal scorers for Marlborough Town were Aaron Presley with his 9th of the season and Jordan Ball. Trowbridge remain 5th but opened up a six-point gap over Corsham Town Reserves.
Cricklade Town, in 7th place at the start of play, had suffered a blow over the Christmas break when their two leading scorers, Devan Bryan and Tom McCulloch left to join Western League side Chippenham Park. They opened the New Year without their two key men with a short trip to play local rivals Purton. Purton were looking to complete the league double over near neighbours having won 1-0 away. It was a typical derby game with little between the sides. The first half remained goalless but only after Purton goalkeeper Luke Kuczynski had saved a penalty from Billy Sly. Both sides had a player sent off on 55 minutes. Almost immediately Cricklade went in front with a goal from Elliott Corp. Leading scorer Jack Duckers then came off the substitute bench for Purton and rescued a point for the home side with an equaliser with his 9th goal of the season, after good link up play with Will Backhouse. The point lifted Purton a place in the table up into 8th spot.
Two sides in good form but who had not played since 24 November were Malmesbury Victoria Development and Ludgershall Sports who met at Malmesbury. Both sides came into the game having won their previous two matches. After such a long break both were delighted to see some action and a heavy pitch at Malmesbury led to something of a goal fest and entertaining match as the two sides shared six goals. Lewis Pickernell fired in two for the visitors, Sam Walsh with the other Ludgershall goal. On target for Malmesbury were Breton Gardiner, Harrison Archer and Elliott Drage. The point lifted Ludgershall one place in the table to 10th whilst Malmesbury remain 14th.
Westbury United Reserves against Pewsey Vale Development was the second fixture to fall victim to the cold weather.
Premier Division Results
Football ID 1 Wroughton 4
Kintbury Rangers 2 Corsham Town Res 1
Malmesbury Vics Dev 3 Ludgershall Spts 3
Marlborough Town 2 Trowbridge Town 6
Melksham T Res 2 Royal W. B. Town Dev 1
Purton 1 Cricklade Town 1
Devizes Town Res v Shrewton Utd – postponed
Westbury Utd Res v Pewsey Vale Dev - postponed
Premier Division Transfers
December saw an increase in transfer activity in the Premier Division with 6 players moving during the month, with one more move already having taken place in the New Year.
December saw an increase in transfer activity in the Premier Division with 6 players moving during the month, with one more move already having taken place in the New Year.
The biggest moves saw the two top scorers from Melksham Town Reserves, Jamal Chevolleau and Leigh Rogers both depart for Corsham Town Reserves, with Adam Mitchell, moving in the opposite direction. With Cricklade Town also recently losing their top two strikers to Chippenham Park, although they remain registered with Cricklade Town in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, two of the top five have now lost their top strikers in a short space of time. Elsewhere Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development also saw their top scorer Josh Bolton depart to Purton.
The full list of transfers so far this season is as follows:
18-08-18 Benjamin Jenks (Devizes Town Res to Shrewton Utd)
23-18-18 Ryan Jenkins (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Corsham Town Res)
11-09-18 Elliot Drage (Cricklade Town to Malmesbury Vics Dev)
21-09-18 Zac Hillier (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
18-10-18 Fraser Little (Kintbury Rangers to Purton)
22-10-18 Connor McCarron (Corsham Town Res to Trowbridge Town)
06-11-18 Lee Himsworth (Devizes Town Res to Shrewton Utd)
08-11-18 Craig Simmons (Pewsey Vale Dev to Marlborough Town)
09-11-18 Mel King (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
16-11-18 Jack Gregory (Royal W.Bassett Town Dev to Cricklade Town)
21-11-18 James Vincent (Westbury Utd Res to Melksham Town Res)
30-11-18 Brandon Sawyer (Trowbridge Town to Westbury Utd Res)
12-12-18 Adam Mitchell (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
13-12-18 Josh Bolton (Royal W.Basett Town Dev to Purton)
14-12-18 Lee Fernandez (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Devizes Town Res)
14-12-18 Jamal Chevolleau (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
18-12-18 Leigh Rogers (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
29-12-18 Jack O’Reilly (Purton to Malmesbury Vics Dev)
04-01-19 Douglas Dickson (Devizes Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
23-18-18 Ryan Jenkins (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Corsham Town Res)
11-09-18 Elliot Drage (Cricklade Town to Malmesbury Vics Dev)
21-09-18 Zac Hillier (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
18-10-18 Fraser Little (Kintbury Rangers to Purton)
22-10-18 Connor McCarron (Corsham Town Res to Trowbridge Town)
06-11-18 Lee Himsworth (Devizes Town Res to Shrewton Utd)
08-11-18 Craig Simmons (Pewsey Vale Dev to Marlborough Town)
09-11-18 Mel King (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
16-11-18 Jack Gregory (Royal W.Bassett Town Dev to Cricklade Town)
21-11-18 James Vincent (Westbury Utd Res to Melksham Town Res)
30-11-18 Brandon Sawyer (Trowbridge Town to Westbury Utd Res)
12-12-18 Adam Mitchell (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
13-12-18 Josh Bolton (Royal W.Basett Town Dev to Purton)
14-12-18 Lee Fernandez (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Devizes Town Res)
14-12-18 Jamal Chevolleau (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
18-12-18 Leigh Rogers (Melksham Town Res to Corsham Town Res)
29-12-18 Jack O’Reilly (Purton to Malmesbury Vics Dev)
04-01-19 Douglas Dickson (Devizes Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
The total number of registrations for the Premier Division now stands at 861.
Thursday 10th January 2019
New College Maintain Push For Honours
The Under 18 Division returned to action this year with the first round of fixtures of the New Year.
Wednesday night saw Calne Town move above FC Chippenham into 3rd place on goal difference following a comprehensive 8-0 win over bottom side Pewsey Vale. Jordan Anning led the way with a hat-trick taking him to 7 for the season and is now Calne’s leading scorer this season in the U18 Division. There were further goals for Ewan East, with his first of the season, Tyler Jesson and Oscar Webster with substitutes Harry Blower and Jordan Newton also getting one a piece to complete the scoring. Pewsey have yet to pick up a point but will be eying up next week’s trip to Downton as the best opportunity to get off the mark.
On Thursday night Downton themselves were on the wrong end of a big score going down 6-0 away to New College Swindon. This was New College’s penultimate league match of the season and the win closed the gap to leaders Melksham to three points meaning they still have a mathematical chance of the title, although in reality it looks like they will have to settle for runners-up spot, battling it out with Calne Town and FC Chippenham for that honour. To deny Melksham Town, who currently have a 100% record, New College would need both Calne Town and Pewsey Vale to win away at Melksham and then defeat Melksham themselves in their final game. Goal scorers for New College in their win over Downton were Jack Rockett, the Division's top scorer, Edrin Asante and Elijah Ogunwale who all bagged a brace.
Saturday 12th January 2019
Leaders Kintbury & Shrewton Both Drop Points
Saul Johnson, who scored twice in Westbury's 4-2 win at Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev, on the attack
After having to make a late re-shuffling of fixtures in the week to enable all teams to have a game this weekend following the late scheduling of a Hellenic League Supplementary Cup game, there was a full complement of games in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this weekend. A big thank you to all the league officers and club secretaries of impacted clubs who had to deal with this matter which arose without any consultation with the Wiltshire League and to impacted match officials for their understanding. Ironically the Supplementary Cup game imposed on Malmesbury Victoria in the end did not take place as the intended opponents were unable to field a side and called off late on Friday.
When the action got underway it was something of a day of minor shocks as three of the top four sides all dropped points. The biggest shock of the day came at league leaders and defending champions Kintbury Rangers where Malmesbury Victoria Development carried on their recent good form to come away from Kintbury with a point. In a first half that saw Malmesbury much the better side, they belied their lowly league position to lead 1-0 at the break courtesy of a Lewis King goal. To make matters worse for the leaders the division’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp was sent off in the first half leaving Kintbury up against it. A much improved second half performance saw them draw level and then go in front courtesy of two goals from George Smith, the second coming five minutes from time from the penalty spot taking him to twelve for the season. Just as it looked they had won the game up popped Gareth Jones for Malmesbury Victoria Development to restore parity when he followed up an initial shot that was saved to tuck the ball away. Despite the dropped points Kintbury remain top and Malmesbury, who stretched their unbeaten run to four games, remain third from bottom but closed the gap to Marlborough Town to a single point with two games in hand.
There were no shocks at second in the table Wroughton who were 3-0 winners at the Weir Field over visitors Marlborough Town. Against a well organised Marlborough Town side Wroughton went in front on 20 minutes through a long-range effort from Tom Dingle taking him to six for the season. It remained a tight affair and it took until the 70th minute for Wroughton to extend their lead, Riegan Cook getting the important second goal. Wroughton made sure of all three points when Aaron Maximen headed in from a Craig Bowden cross to make it 3-0. The win lifted Wroughton to within a point of the leaders with both sides having now played 17 games.
Third placed Shrewton United, who had announced a series of signings to strengthen their squad ahead of the game today, put in a sub-standard performance by their own high standards and went down 3-1 at home to an impressive Cricklade Town side on the day. Shrewton were undone by three set-pieces with Elliott Corp bagging a brace for visitors Cricklade and Sam Broadbank with the other goal. The consolation for an out of sorts Shrewton came from Dominic Jackson, with his seventh of the season.
Another of the top sides to drop points were Melksham Town Reserves, but there was little surprise element here as they were playing in-form Trowbridge Town who sat just below them in the table having won five of their previous six games. In a game that was played in a good spirit with Melksham’s squad including a number of players from their successful Under 18 side, the game saw the two defences prevail as it finished honours even with no goals and the points shared. As a result, both sides remain in the positions in the table that they occupied at the start of the day.
There was an entertaining game at the Gerard Buxton Ground where Westbury United Reserves, under the management of David Jenkins for the first time, were the visitors. In a frantic opening five minutes both sides found the net. Saul Johnson fired Westbury in front within a couple of minutes of the start. Almost immediately after the restart Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development got back on level terms when George Staten netted. Westbury United went back in front when Bassett keeper Ross Milloy allowed a powerful 25-yard free kick from Derek Wheeler to slip through his hands and into the net to restore Westbury’s lead. On 28 minutes Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development had shouts for a penalty denied when the impressive Staten appeared to be up-ended in the box. The home side’s Bailey Gallagher was then twice denied by excellent saves from the Westbury keeper. Milloy in the Bassett goal was also called into action preventing the visitors going further in front on 40 minutes. The home side then went straight down the other end and Staten scored his second of the game with a neat header following good set up play to leave it 2-2 at the break. The second half continued with the end to end action and it was a case of the side that took their chances that settled matters in Westbury’s favour. A stunning strike from the edge of the box from Matty Mead on 70 minutes put Westbury back in front and the strong and fast Saul Johnson then finally secured the three points with his second of the game to make it 4-2 to Westbury and give David Jenkins a winning start to his Westbury managerial career.
A hat-trick from leading scorer David Cotter, taking him to 11 for the season, plus a Lewis Pickernell goal was enough to secure Ludgershall Sports the three points in an entertaining local derby against Pewsey Vale Development. Ludgershall led 2-0 at the break and were 3-1 up shortly after half-time but visitors Pewsey fired in two goals of their own to level matters up at 3-3. Both sides then pushed for the winner and it was the home side who were rewarded late on when Cotter completed his hat-trick to make the final score 4-3 to Ludgershall. Jacob Garrett, Corey Cullen and Joe Gentleman with the Pewsey goals who had pushed their neighbours all the way.
Devizes Town Reserves have been going through a tough run of late with just one win in fourteen games, but they were rewarded for a good performance to start their New Year fixtures with a 2-0 away win over a good Football ID side. A goal from Mostafa Abdelraham and a Ben Perrett penalty settled matters in Devizes favour in another close game that saw youngster Isaac Wain make his debut for Devizes.
A solitary strike from Corsham Town Reserves Ben Selman was all that separated Purton and Corsham at the Red House. The win ensured that Corsham remained in sixth spot in the table a point ahead of Cricklade Town but having played three games more.
Premier Division Results
Football ID 0 Devizes Town Res 2
Kintbury Rangers 2 Malmesbury Vics Dev 2
Ludgershall Sports 4 Pewsey Vale Dev 3
Purton 0 Corsham Town Res 1
Royal W. B. T Dev 2 Westbury Utd Res 4
Shrewton Utd 1 Cricklade Town 3
Trowbridge Town 0 Melksham Town Res 0
Wroughton 3 Marlborough Town 0
When the action got underway it was something of a day of minor shocks as three of the top four sides all dropped points. The biggest shock of the day came at league leaders and defending champions Kintbury Rangers where Malmesbury Victoria Development carried on their recent good form to come away from Kintbury with a point. In a first half that saw Malmesbury much the better side, they belied their lowly league position to lead 1-0 at the break courtesy of a Lewis King goal. To make matters worse for the leaders the division’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp was sent off in the first half leaving Kintbury up against it. A much improved second half performance saw them draw level and then go in front courtesy of two goals from George Smith, the second coming five minutes from time from the penalty spot taking him to twelve for the season. Just as it looked they had won the game up popped Gareth Jones for Malmesbury Victoria Development to restore parity when he followed up an initial shot that was saved to tuck the ball away. Despite the dropped points Kintbury remain top and Malmesbury, who stretched their unbeaten run to four games, remain third from bottom but closed the gap to Marlborough Town to a single point with two games in hand.
There were no shocks at second in the table Wroughton who were 3-0 winners at the Weir Field over visitors Marlborough Town. Against a well organised Marlborough Town side Wroughton went in front on 20 minutes through a long-range effort from Tom Dingle taking him to six for the season. It remained a tight affair and it took until the 70th minute for Wroughton to extend their lead, Riegan Cook getting the important second goal. Wroughton made sure of all three points when Aaron Maximen headed in from a Craig Bowden cross to make it 3-0. The win lifted Wroughton to within a point of the leaders with both sides having now played 17 games.
Third placed Shrewton United, who had announced a series of signings to strengthen their squad ahead of the game today, put in a sub-standard performance by their own high standards and went down 3-1 at home to an impressive Cricklade Town side on the day. Shrewton were undone by three set-pieces with Elliott Corp bagging a brace for visitors Cricklade and Sam Broadbank with the other goal. The consolation for an out of sorts Shrewton came from Dominic Jackson, with his seventh of the season.
Another of the top sides to drop points were Melksham Town Reserves, but there was little surprise element here as they were playing in-form Trowbridge Town who sat just below them in the table having won five of their previous six games. In a game that was played in a good spirit with Melksham’s squad including a number of players from their successful Under 18 side, the game saw the two defences prevail as it finished honours even with no goals and the points shared. As a result, both sides remain in the positions in the table that they occupied at the start of the day.
There was an entertaining game at the Gerard Buxton Ground where Westbury United Reserves, under the management of David Jenkins for the first time, were the visitors. In a frantic opening five minutes both sides found the net. Saul Johnson fired Westbury in front within a couple of minutes of the start. Almost immediately after the restart Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development got back on level terms when George Staten netted. Westbury United went back in front when Bassett keeper Ross Milloy allowed a powerful 25-yard free kick from Derek Wheeler to slip through his hands and into the net to restore Westbury’s lead. On 28 minutes Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development had shouts for a penalty denied when the impressive Staten appeared to be up-ended in the box. The home side’s Bailey Gallagher was then twice denied by excellent saves from the Westbury keeper. Milloy in the Bassett goal was also called into action preventing the visitors going further in front on 40 minutes. The home side then went straight down the other end and Staten scored his second of the game with a neat header following good set up play to leave it 2-2 at the break. The second half continued with the end to end action and it was a case of the side that took their chances that settled matters in Westbury’s favour. A stunning strike from the edge of the box from Matty Mead on 70 minutes put Westbury back in front and the strong and fast Saul Johnson then finally secured the three points with his second of the game to make it 4-2 to Westbury and give David Jenkins a winning start to his Westbury managerial career.
A hat-trick from leading scorer David Cotter, taking him to 11 for the season, plus a Lewis Pickernell goal was enough to secure Ludgershall Sports the three points in an entertaining local derby against Pewsey Vale Development. Ludgershall led 2-0 at the break and were 3-1 up shortly after half-time but visitors Pewsey fired in two goals of their own to level matters up at 3-3. Both sides then pushed for the winner and it was the home side who were rewarded late on when Cotter completed his hat-trick to make the final score 4-3 to Ludgershall. Jacob Garrett, Corey Cullen and Joe Gentleman with the Pewsey goals who had pushed their neighbours all the way.
Devizes Town Reserves have been going through a tough run of late with just one win in fourteen games, but they were rewarded for a good performance to start their New Year fixtures with a 2-0 away win over a good Football ID side. A goal from Mostafa Abdelraham and a Ben Perrett penalty settled matters in Devizes favour in another close game that saw youngster Isaac Wain make his debut for Devizes.
A solitary strike from Corsham Town Reserves Ben Selman was all that separated Purton and Corsham at the Red House. The win ensured that Corsham remained in sixth spot in the table a point ahead of Cricklade Town but having played three games more.
Premier Division Results
Football ID 0 Devizes Town Res 2
Kintbury Rangers 2 Malmesbury Vics Dev 2
Ludgershall Sports 4 Pewsey Vale Dev 3
Purton 0 Corsham Town Res 1
Royal W. B. T Dev 2 Westbury Utd Res 4
Shrewton Utd 1 Cricklade Town 3
Trowbridge Town 0 Melksham Town Res 0
Wroughton 3 Marlborough Town 0
Saturday 19th January 2019
Purton Inflict Wroughton's 2nd Defeat
Another weekend in January that almost saw a full programme of fixtures, as just one of the games in the Corsham Print Wiltshire fell victim to the weather.
Once again there were a number of shocks at the top of the table as the two leading sides both dropped points. After drawing at home last week against Malmesbury Victoria Development Kintbury were keen to get back to winning ways. However, they faced tricky opponents in Cricklade Town in what was the top match of the day. When the two sides had met in November the game had produced seven goals with Kintbury edging it 4-3. Despite that draw the previous week, Kintbury came into the game on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run but another tight game was anticipated and so it proved. Kintbury had the better of things in the first half and Chris Cox put them in front with his seventh goal of the season. They had the chance to extend that lead further with the award of a penalty but George Smith spurned the chance when he missed the spot kick. Cricklade Town got back on level terms after the break before Smith made amends for that penalty miss by putting Kintbury back in front. However, Cricklade were not to be denied and Max Scholefield ensured a share of the points with a second equaliser for the visitors.
Biggest shock of the day was at the Weir Field where Purton inflicted only the second defeat of the season on second in the table Wroughton. Wroughton had come into the game on the back of seven straight wins whilst Purton had not won in their previous three games. Josh Bolton, who transferred from Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development just before Christmas took his total to the season to eight with his first goal for his new club, William Backhouse also moved onto eight for the season with George Drewitt completing the scoring for the visitors in an excellent 3-0 win against a side who had only lost once in the league previously this season. The win lifted Purton a couple of places in the table up to 8th spot, whilst Wroughton are now two points behind leaders Kintbury.
Third placed Shrewton United closed the gap on the top two with a narrow 1-0 home win over Westbury United Reserves. In difficult conditions, a first half volleyed goal from Daniel Burton settled matters in Shrewton’s favour as they reduced the gap to second placed Wroughton to five points. Westbury United Reserves dropped a couple of places as a result of the defeat and results elsewhere.
Melksham Town Reserves were another side to close the gap on the top two with a comprehensive win over bottom of the table Pewsey Vale Development. Leading the way for the home side was Melksham Town’s legendary goal machine Gary Higden who fired in four taking him to seven for the season in the league. Sixteen-year-old Louis Wilkins also scored twice for Melksham with their other goals coming from Shaun Benison, who also moved onto seven for the season, Adam Mitchell and Owen Pearce. The two consolation goals were scored by Pewsey’s top scorer from last season Taylor Edwards and Adam Field, both players making their first appearances of the season for Pewsey.
Corsham Town Reserves are having a good season, especially at home where they started the day unbeaten at their Southbank ground. That record remains intact tonight as they put five goals past a Malmesbury Victoria Development side who have been in good form of late to complete a league double over the visitors. Zac Hillier scored twice to register for the first time this season in the league, adding to the two he scored in the Fountain Trophies Cup defeat to Shrewton United. The other goals came from top scorer Dan Lardner, who took his total to five for the season, Emilio Mudrak and Chay Forrester. Sam Brown scored a consolation goal for the young Malmesbury Victoria side.
It was a tight affair between Ludgershall Sports, who started the day in 10th place, and visitors Trowbridge Town who started the day five places above them. It was goalless at half-time but Harrison Hale put the home side Ludgershall in front after the break with his second of the season. Ludgershall were to be denied the win though as Alex Pippard scored his ninth of the season to share the points. Both sides ended the day in the same positions in the table as they were before the game.
Both Marlborough Town and Football ID had been having a bad time of it of late as both came into their game this weekend on the back of a losing run of games. Marlborough had lost their previous four, whilst for Football ID it was five straight defeats. Make that now six as Marlborough Town ended their own barren run with a 2-0 home win courtesy of goals from Craig Simmons and Luke Little, both scoring their first goals of the season.
The only game to not get played was the scheduled match at the bottom of the table between Devizes Town Reserves and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
The only game to not get played was the scheduled match at the bottom of the table between Devizes Town Reserves and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
On Thursday night the Under 18 Division was decided when Melksham Town were crowned champions with two games still to play. They maintained their 100% record with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Calne Town, Dan Broom with the all-important goal which meant his side, who missed out narrowly on the title last season on goal difference, were crowned the U18 Division champions. Well done to the Melksham side on another successful season.
Premier Division Results
Corsham T Res 5 Malmesbury Vics Dev 2
Devizes Town Res v Royal W.Bassett Town Dev – postponed
Kintbury Rangers 2 Cricklade Town 2
Ludgershall Sports 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Marlborough Town 2 Football ID 0
Melksham Town Res 9 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Shrewton United 1 Westbury Utd Res 0
Wroughton 0 Purton 3
U18 Result
Melksham Town 1 Calne Town 0
Premier Division Results
Corsham T Res 5 Malmesbury Vics Dev 2
Devizes Town Res v Royal W.Bassett Town Dev – postponed
Kintbury Rangers 2 Cricklade Town 2
Ludgershall Sports 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Marlborough Town 2 Football ID 0
Melksham Town Res 9 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Shrewton United 1 Westbury Utd Res 0
Wroughton 0 Purton 3
U18 Result
Melksham Town 1 Calne Town 0
Saturday 26th January 2019
Shrewton Edge Past Westbury to Close Gap
Action from Shrewton's 1-0 away win over Westbury (Picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
A frustrating afternoon for the top two as they both saw their games postponed. The key match between Football ID and Kintbury Rangers, which was set to be the featured game in today’s round-up, was postponed due to the pitch and the match between Wroughton and Devizes Town Res was postponed with Devizes losing their manager in the week and a number of players also departing.
In the games that did go ahead, two sides who met last week met again in the reverse fixture. The previous Saturday Shrewton United had won 1-0 against Westbury United Res, a Dan Burton goal being the difference between the sides in a tight affair. Shrewton went into the game looking to close the gap on the top two but were without a number of their normal starting eleven. Once again it was a close affair with visitors Shrewton generally on top in the opening stages of the game, creating three or four good chances in the opening 20 minutes. The best chance fell to last week's goal scorer Burton but he blasted wide from inside the area. Neither side was able to find the net in the opening half and it remained goalless at the break. The deadlock was finally broken early in the second half. Following some great work from Ronan Clancy, who ended a powerful run into the box, with a neat cut back to Jaden Hier, who calmly slotted into the net from the edge of the area. Shrewton then had Jake Watson sent off and despite the one man disadvantage they dug deep to hold out and deny the home side Westbury an equaliser to repeat last week’s 1-0 win and close the gap to second placed Wroughton to just two points.
Fourth placed Melksham Town Res were another side looking to keep in touch with the top two. They travelled to play a Purton side who were looking to build on last week’s great win over Wroughton. When they met back in September Melksham won 2-0 but they were well and truly beaten on a wet afternoon at the Red House going down 5-0 to a Purton side who have now beaten two of the top four sides in a fortnight. William Backhouse led the way for Purton with two goals, taking him into double figures for the season, another playing moving onto the ten-goal mark was Jack Duckers and goals from Mark Chatwin and Callum Hall completed the scoring for Purton.
Fifth placed Trowbridge Town, with just one defeat in their previous seven, went into their game with Malmesbury Victoria Development in good form but faced a tough test against a side who themselves had lost just once in their previous five matches. Leading scorer Joshua Hard put Trowbridge in front early on with his 18th of the season and it remained 1-0 at the break. Malmesbury Victoria Development stepped it up after the break and were rewarded when Sam Jenner scored the equaliser with his first of the season to give them a share of the points. Despite the dropped points Trowbridge remain in fifth spot on goal difference and Malmesbury remain in 14th place.
Having arrived at the Football ID ground to discover their game against Kintbury game had been postponed a short diversion was made to the Southbank ground in Corsham. Corsham Town Res had defeated Royal Wootton Bassett Town at their place on the opening day of the season. When the two sides met again on Saturday Corsham were looking to defend an unbeaten home record which had seen them go nine games unbeaten at the Southbank. They suffered an early setback when Nick Mason put Royal Wootton Bassett Town in front on two minutes when a corner somehow eluded the Corsham defence and found Mason at the far post who slotted it home. Zac Hillier went close on 20 minutes when he slid in to meet a cross only to see it go agonisingly over the bar. He was not to be denied a minute later however when he met a superb cross from Ross Lye to slide in to net the equaliser. Steve Yeardley restored Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s lead just after the half hour mark when he scored following a neat passing interchange with Mani Roper. Corsham restored parity again eight minutes from the break when the Bassett keeper Ross Milloy brought down a Corsham player in the box. The keeper nearly made amends when he guessed which way Ross Lye’s penalty was going but the penalty was hit without enough power that he was unable to keep it out. It was Corsham who came out of the blocks quicker after the break and within two minutes of the restart they were ahead for the first time in the match when Lye headed in unmarked from a corner for his second of the game. Moments later Royal Wootton Bassett came close to levelling matters when a cross-come-shot from Steve Yeardley came back off the bar. However, it was Corsham who looked the more likely to score again with Dan Lardner causing the visitors defence problems all afternoon. Lardner went close on 70 minutes when he hit the bar with a powerful shot and went close again when he was denied by the Royal Wootton Bassett keeper Milloy. Next it was Corsham keeper Joe King who was called into action as he saved superbly from Yeardley to deny the visitors an equaliser. Despite the visitors pushing hard for that equaliser in the closing stages Corsham hung on to take all three points and extend that unbeaten home record to ten games.
Ludgershall Sports must dread their trips to Cricklade Leisure Centre. Last season Cricklade Town had smashed eleven goals without reply past Saturday’s visitors and the season before it had been nine. It was expected to be a much tighter affair this season as Ludgershall came into the game in their best form of the season having gone unbeaten in their previous five matches. However, once again Cricklade found their shooting boots to score freely against their visitors. Elliot Corp and Bradley Farrell put Cricklade 2-0 at the break and by the time the second half was just 15 minutes old they had increased their tally to six to just one for the visitors in reply. They then took their foot off the gas a bit in the closing stages and allowed the visitors to get another two whilst adding one more of their own to finally run out 7-3 winners. Second half scorers for Cricklade were Elliott Corp with his second of the game and ninth of the season, and both Jonathan Peachey-Score and Jason Tatum bagged a brace.
After seven straight defeats bottom of the table Pewsey Vale Dev looked to end that run and move off the bottom when they took on near neighbours Marlborough Town. With Marlborough only ending their own four game losing streak last week it was expected to be a tight affair but in the end Marlborough Town ran out comfortable 4-0 winners. Aaron Presley scored twice to take his total for the season to 11 and there were first goals of the season for both Nathan Good and Simon Neale to give Marlborough Town the bragging rights over their near neighbours.
Both of the scheduled U18 Division fixtures in midweek fell victim to the cold snap and were postponed.
Premier Division Results
Corsham T Res 3 Royal W.Bassett T Dev 2
Cricklade Town 7 Ludgershall Sports 3
Football ID v Kintbury Rangers - postponed
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Marlborough Town 4
Purton 5 Melksham Town Res 0
Trowbridge Town 1 Malmesbury Vics Dev 1
Westbury United Res 0 Shrewton United 1
Wroughton v Devizes Town Res - postponed
Action from Corsham Town Res 3-2 win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development
Saturday 2nd February 2019
All Games Postponed
Saturday 9th February 2019
Cricklade Inflict More Misery on Pewsey Vale
After last week’s snow this week it was the turn of the rain to play havoc with the fixtures as the pitches still recovering from the thaw were then hit with rain. Just two of the scheduled eight fixtures survived and in both cases the home sides were rewarded for their efforts in getting their pitches playable.
At Cricklade it was the proverbial game of two halves. Pewsey Vale Development have been having a torrid time of it of late, having lost their previous eight games going into their tough looking visit to Cricklade Town, who were on a four game unbeaten run going into today’s encounter. Pewsey’s losing streak has now stretched to nine games as Cricklade put in a stunning first half show to lead 5-0 at the break. Two goals for Elliott Corp, taking his total for the season to eleven, plus one a piece for Billy Sly, Jonathan Peachey-Score and Ryan Lovitt did the damage for Cricklade in the first period. Credit to the young Pewsey side though, as they responded well in the second half scoring twice from set plays, one a free kick and the second a penalty to make the score a more respectable 5-2 and give encouragement for upcoming fixtures, Tom Taylor and Ben Holcombe with the Pewsey goals, both scoring their first goals of the season. The win lifted Cricklade up into 5th place in the table whilst Pewsey remain bottom of the table, but no doubt encouraged by that second half fight-back ahead of next week’s cup encounter with Westbury United Res.
The only other game to survive was at Marlborough where an in-form Corsham Town Reserves were the visitors. Corsham came into the game on the back of a fine run which had seen them lose just once in their previous six outings, but Marlborough were themselves in good form having won both their previous two outings. When the sides met back in October the defences had been on top in a 0-0 draw but this time round both sides found the net as Marlborough ran out 3-1 winners. Leading scorer Aaron Presley led the way for Marlborough with a brace, taking him to 13 for the season, Luke Connolly with the other Marlborough goal, the consolation goal for Corsham Town Reserves came courtesy of Lewis McCarron.
As noted above the other six fixtures were all postponed, including the scheduled Fountain Trophies Cup Quarter-Final tie between Wroughton and Purton.
Once again, both of the scheduled U18 Division fixtures in midweek were postponed. Hopefully the weather will be kinder this coming week for both the Premier and U18 Divisions.
Premier Division Results
Cricklade Town 5 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Marlborough Town 3 Corsham Town Res 1
Ludgershall Sports v Kintbury Rangers – postponed
Melksham Town Res v Football ID – postponed
Royal W. Bassett Town Dev v Malmesbury Vics Dev – postponed
Trowbridge Town v Shrewton United – postponed
Westbury Utd Res v Devizes Town Res – postponed
Fountain Trophies Cup
Wroughton v Purton - postponed
Thursday 14th February 2019
Vets League Consultation Meeting
Next season the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League will be expanding with the establishment of a Veteran Division or Divisions. The League will be taking over the running of organised veterans football leagues in the county from the Wiltshire FA who have successfully established the Veteran Flexi-Leagues in the Swindon area but are now looking to expand veterans’ football across the county.
The Wiltshire FA Flexi-League was originally established by Chloe Buller, the then Football Development Officer at the Wiltshire FA, who had worked on developing the veterans’ category in the county. The Flexi-Leagues have been taken on and further promoted by her successor at the FA, Lyndon Taylor, and the Wiltshire FA currently operate a division of 7 teams (up from 5 the previous quarter) playing matches on the artificial surface at New College, Swindon.
Existing Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League clubs Marlborough Town and Royal Wootton Bassett Town both have teams in the current league. The league aims to provide men aged 35+ the opportunity to continue their playing careers with their peers and a pace that is suitable and realistic for them to continue enjoying their football participation.
The veteran’s game is now thriving across the whole of the UK and there has been great interest in an expanded veterans league for Wiltshire with, at the time of writing, some 18 clubs expressing an interest in putting a side in the league or leagues starting in September next season. There are understood to be a number of other clubs still considering the possibility of running a veteran’s side.
The Guardian Newspaper reported back in 2010 that research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science had concluded that middle-aged men and women who participated in regular football for an hour two or three times a week, and elderly men exposed to lifelong football had marked physiological, mental and social health benefits. They saw improved cardiovascular health and better bone density and postural strength, which can protect against broken bones in older age. The study participants also reported a rewarding psychological state, feeling a sense of social belonging, which has benefits on mental health. The benefits seen were greater than those evidenced in endurance running for increases in muscle mass, some cardiovascular benefits and reduced worry. Most importantly it reported that the footballers all had fun.
At Royal Wootton Bassett Town the Veterans Section has been the fastest growing section within that club with their “Friday Footy” initiative growing to such an extent that they now have two sides playing in the Flexi-League as well as playing friendlies against the likes of the RAF FA Veterans and for some players the enjoyment comes from just playing in the “Friday Footy” organised training matches. For a game at the end of last season against the RAF as part of the RAF centenary celebrations some quotes from Vets players were obtained for the match day programme which give a good flavour of what veteran’s football is about:
- “I haven't played any sort of organised football for over ten years and have just started coming along to these sessions. I have really enjoyed getting involved and playing with a group of guys who all just seem to want to enjoy their sport, have a blast and play the game as it was intended. It's also a great social occasion that gets our backsides off the sofa, keeping the middle-age spread at bay, while also introducing each of us to others of a similar age and interests within the community where we live.”
- “The “Vets Friday Footy” keeps me motivated and fit. It gives me an existence that I thought died long ago. The whole camaraderie aspect and the humour that it emits is so satisfying. I recommend it to everyone.”
- “Vets football is not only a game of football, it's a gathering of what are normally grumpy old men getting exercise at the end of the working week, playing a game that we would normally watch on TV, trying to re-live our 20s and 30s, and then, for an hour afterwards, a mickey taking social event.”
- “Having not played much football since my early 20s, and with work and family commitments, I thought my football playing days were over. Then I discovered the Vets football team. It’s a fantastic way to keep fit, to make friends and, importantly, have fun!”
With the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League taking over the running of the veteran leagues in the county a meeting has been arranged for all interested teams to be held on Tuesday 5th March at the Beversbrook Sports Centre, Beversbrook Lane, Calne SN11 9SL, commencing at 7:30pm. Present at the meeting will be representatives from both the Wiltshire FA and the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League.
The meeting will be discussing / agreeing how the Veterans’ Divisions will be run, how fixtures will be scheduled, registration process, fees, etc. Interested clubs are requested to send at least one representative as we really want the club’s input as we are keen to run these Veteran Divisions as the teams want.
The Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League is looking forward to seeing some of the names that can be found in the History Section of our Website rekindling their football careers and perhaps reliving some of those glorious goals and seasons from the past but hopefully having a lot of fun along the way with all those associated health benefits.
Saturday 16th February 2019
Top Two Win on Day of Penalty Misses
On a day when all eight games were played in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, six in the league and two in the Fountain Trophies Cup, a key feature of the afternoon’s action was the number of penalty misses.
League leaders Kintbury Rangers were involved in the big match at the top of the table when their visitors were fourth placed Melksham Town Reserves. A well worked goal from Chris Cox gave Kintbury an early lead but they had keeper Kyle Clough to thank for their 1-0 lead at half time as he pulled off a couple of saves to deny the visitors Melksham an equaliser. The league leaders then extended their lead just after half time when Tom Mahoney scored his sixth of the season to make it 2-0 and that’s how it ended.
Second placed Wroughton kept on the heals of the leaders with a professional performance away at Devizes Town Reserves. Wroughton got off to a good start with Aaron Maximen (pictured above) scoring twice to put them in the ascendancy and become Wroughton’s joint top scorer for the season with nine goals. Jamie Mclaughlin extended the lead with an overhead kick before Riegan Cook made it 4-0 with a cool left foot finish. Veteran Tom Dingle then got in on the goal scoring act bagging a brace to take him to eight for the season and to make the final score 6-0 in Wroughton’s favour and keep them just two points behind the leaders, Devizes remain second from bottom.
The expectation ahead of today’s game at the Southbank Ground was that Corsham Town Reserves unbeaten home record was likely to be severely tested today by in-form visitors Cricklade Town who came into the game on a five-game unbeaten run, which had seen them move above their opponents on goal difference in the table. The record however remains intact as the home side hit five goals without reply past their visitors. On target for Corsham in this impressive home win were leading scorer Dan Lardner who bagged a brace, taking his total for the season to seven, Nathan Phillimore, Jake Dodge and Tom Harvey with the other Corsham goals. Corsham moved above Cricklade into 5th spot as a result of the win, whilst Cricklade dropped a couple of places in the table to 7th spot.
Trowbridge Town moved up into 6th spot with a 2-0 away win at Football ID. Both goals came in the second half. Dan Sandford and Matt Dixon, with his first for his club, doing the damage for Trowbridge.
Purton and Royal Wootton Bassett Town met for the third time this season and it was the home side Purton who made it a hat-trick of wins with a narrow 2- 1 win. Goals from Sam English and Nathan Marland put Purton in the ascendancy. Nick Mason then wasted an opportunity to get the visitors back in the game when he missed a penalty. In a bad day all-round for the midfielder he was later sent off. George Staten did manage to pull one back for Royal Wootton Bassett Town, but Purton held on to take all three points and to move within three points of neighbours Cricklade Town and Trowbridge Town but stay in 8th spot in the table.
One penalty that did get scored was at Ludgershall in the final league game of the day where Marlborough Town’s leading scorer Aaron Presley netted his 14th of the season from the spot in the closing stages of their game at Ludgershall. It was, however, not enough as goals from Harrison Hale and Liam Cotter secured all three points for Ludgershall Sports in a 2-1 win. Ludgershall could also afford to miss from the penalty spot, the second missed spot kick of the day.
The third spot kick miss of the day came in the Fountain Trophies Cup at Shrewton where Malmesbury Victoria Development were the visitors. Shrewton took an early lead when Daniel Burton netted his 7th of the season. With Elliott Smith pulling strings in the centre of midfield for Shrewton the home side looked the more likely to score and had the chance to extend their lead when Tyler Pavey burst into the box and was brought down by the Malmesbury keeper leading to a Shrewton penalty. However, Charlie Utterson spurned the opportunity from the spot, and it remained 1-0 at the break. The second goal eventually came after the break from a corner. Twice Malmesbury’s keeper saved the visitors but when the ball fell to the feet of Tyler Pavey he was unable to do anything about Pavey’s powerful shot into the top corner of the net. Substitute Ronan Clancy then made sure of Shrewton’s progress into the semi-final, starting and then finishing the move to make it 3-0. Malmesbury Victoria Development pulled one back through Gareth Jones but Tyren Harrington restored the three-goal advantage when he broke into the box and cool slotted the ball past the Malmesbury keeper to make the final score 4-1 to Shrewton.
The final First Round game in the Fountain Trophies Cup was also completed today and it threw up a cup shock when bottom of the table Pewsey Vale Development knocked out 10th placed Westbury United Reserves. The Pewsey win ended a nine-game losing streak, with Pewsey clearly enjoying the break from league action to secure a Quarter Final tie at home to Cricklade Town. It remained goalless at the break, but Corey Cullen broke the deadlock when he headed into the bottom corner of the net from a Connor Marsden cross. Cullen then made certain of progress to the next round when he scored a second for Pewsey and his fifth of the season in a good all-round performance from the home side.
The U18 Division edged ever closer to completion this week with one game being played. That match involved the two sides at the bottom end of the table and saw Downton complete the double over Pewsey Vale. This opened up a six-point gap which, given the current goal difference of the two sides, means Downton will finish above Pewsey in the final reckoning. Downton led 4-0 at the break in the latest meeting between the two sides and scored five more in the second half. Pewsey did find the back of the net though scoring twice in the second half to give encouragement for the final two league fixtures and the proposed cup competition starting in March. Adam Castle led the way for Downton netting a hat-trick to take him to five for the season, both Tom Green, who also moved onto five for the season, and Marc Bryant scored twice and there was one a piece for substitute Dylan Davies and Jacob Berry in the 9-2 win.
The U18 Division edged ever closer to completion this week with one game being played. That match involved the two sides at the bottom end of the table and saw Downton complete the double over Pewsey Vale. This opened up a six-point gap which, given the current goal difference of the two sides, means Downton will finish above Pewsey in the final reckoning. Downton led 4-0 at the break in the latest meeting between the two sides and scored five more in the second half. Pewsey did find the back of the net though scoring twice in the second half to give encouragement for the final two league fixtures and the proposed cup competition starting in March. Adam Castle led the way for Downton netting a hat-trick to take him to five for the season, both Tom Green, who also moved onto five for the season, and Marc Bryant scored twice and there was one a piece for substitute Dylan Davies and Jacob Berry in the 9-2 win.
Premier Division Results
Corsham Town Res 5 Cricklade Town 0
Devizes Town Res 0 Wroughton 6
Football ID 0 Trowbridge Town 2
Kintbury Rangers 2 Melksham Town Res 0
Ludgershall Sports 2 Marlborough Town 1
Purton 2 Royal Wootton Bassett Town Dev 1
Fountain Trophies Cup
First Round
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Westbury United Res 0
Quarter Final
Shrewton United 4 Malmesbury Vics Dev 1
U18 Division
Downton 9 Pewsey Vale 2
Saturday 23rd February 2019
Melksham & 10-Man Kintbury Shine Under the Lights
Action from Melksham Town Res & Westbury Utd Res on Wednesday night (picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
Action in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League commenced in midweek when Westbury United Reserves made the trip to Melksham to meet Melksham Town Reserves under lights. Both sides had lost 2-0 at the weekend and for Westbury that meant they had lost seven of their last eight games and were keen to bring that run to an end against a side that had lost their last two games. Unfortunately for them they found a Melksham side in determined mood. Two goals from Recce Rusher, including one from the penalty spot, plus further goals from Jacob Hutchings and Adam Mitchell secured a comfortable 4-0 win for the home side in a good all-round team performance.
There was further action under lights on Friday night when the big match of the weekend saw league leaders Kintbury Rangers take on Shrewton United. When the two sides had met back in September Kintbury had edged it 2-1 and another close contest was anticipated in a game between two in-form teams at the top of the table. It didn’t look like it was going to be Kintburys night when they were reduced to ten men with just thirteen minutes on the clock, Sabeur Trabelsi seeing red. However, despite the one-man deficit Kintbury had the better of things and took the lead when George Smith curled a free kick from the edge of the box into the top right-hand corner of the net, for his 14th of the season, to make it 1-0 at the break. The league leaders extended their lead three minutes after the break when, following a corner, the ball fell to Chris Cox on the edge of the box and he fired an unstoppable shot into the top left-hand corner of the net. That was the end of the scoring on the night and the win lifted Kintbury onto 50 points for the season as they look to defend the title they won last season.
Wednesday 20th February
Melksham Town Res 4 Westbury Utd Res 0
Friday 22nd February
Kintbury Rangers 2 Shrewton United 0
Saturday 23rd February
Corsham Town Res 7 Devizes Town Res 0
Cricklade Town 2 Trowbridge Town 3
Football ID 0 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2
Marlborough Town 0 Purton 0
Melksham Town Res 8 Ludgershall Sports 3
Westbury United Res v Pewsey Vale Dev - postponed
Wroughton 5 Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 1
Second placed Wroughton kept on their heels at the top of the table with an excellent 5-1 home success over a strong Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development side. They scored the first within 5 minutes of the start and made it 2-0 on 18 minutes to put themselves in command. They then scored a third before half time to lead 3-0 at the break. Two further second half goals to just one for the visitors rounded-off an impressive performance from the title challengers. Two goals for Jordan Lea, taking him to 11 for the season, plus one apiece for Kyle Parker, Shane Hibbert and Jamie McLaughlin secured the points for Wroughton as they remained two points behind Kintbury. The Royal Wootton Bassett goal came courtesy of an own goal.
Melksham Town Reserves followed up their midweek win over Westbury with another impressive performance to maintain their 100% record at the InfiLED Stadium. They hit eight past visitors Ludgershall Sports to make it ten straight wins at home as they ran out 8-3 winners. Reece Rusher carried on from where he left off on Wednesday night scoring four of the Melksham goals, Adam Mitchell was also amongst the goals for the second game running, hitting a hat-trick to take him to seven for the season, and Garry Lock completed the scoring for Melksham with his first of the season. The three consolation goals for Ludgershall Sports were scored by David King, Liam Cotter and Danny Hulme.
Cricklade Town and Trowbridge Town met for the third time this season. The two previous meeetings had seen Trowbridge win in the league and Cricklade in the Wiltshire Senior Cup. Both teams went into the match in good form, Trowbridge had lost just once in nine, whilst Cricklade had lost for the first time in six games last weekend. A close encounter was anticipated and so it proved. Cricklade led 2-0 at the break through goals from Jason Tatum and Dan Bond and it remained that way on the hour mark. However, three unanswered goals in the last half hour playing up the slope turned it round for the visitors Trowbridge. Two goals from top scorer Joshua Hard, taking him to 20 for the season, and one for Aaron Masson did the damage for the visitors.
Corsham Town Reserves, like Melksham, were another side looking to defend their unbeaten home record at the Southbank Ground against visitors Devizes Town Reserves and that record remains intact with Corsham in control from start to finish in this afternoon’s encounter. They led 3-0 at the break thanks to first half goals from Tom Harvey, Dan Lardner from the penalty spot and Adrian Webb. Further goals in the second half from Webb, with his second of the game, Ben Wickins, Darrin Moss and an own goal completing the scoring in a comprehensive 7-0 win.
The meeting between Marlborough Town and Purton saw two sides who had gone into the game in good form match each other for ninety minutes in a hard-fought contest. The closest either side went to scoring was when they both hit the post but in the end the two defences prevailed to leave the game without a goal at the end of ninety minutes. Both sides remained where they had started the day in the league table with Purton in 8th spot and Marlborough three places below in 11th spot.
Two sides in need of win to get their season back on track met at Stanley Park. Football ID had suffered seven straight defeats going into their game with Malmesbury Victoria Development who themselves were without a win in five after a good run. It is Malmesbury who will be smiling tonight as two goals from Joe Tranter gave the visitors a 2-0 away win. They remain in 14th place in the table but moved to within a point of Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development and more importantly have five games in hand over one of their rivals to avoid the relegation positions come the end of the season. The two sides meet this coming Wednesday in an important looking fixture for both clubs.
The game between Westbury United Reserves and Pewsey Vale Development was postponed with Pewsey unable to raise a side.
Premier Division Results
Wednesday 20th February
Melksham Town Res 4 Westbury Utd Res 0
Friday 22nd February
Kintbury Rangers 2 Shrewton United 0
Saturday 23rd February
Corsham Town Res 7 Devizes Town Res 0
Cricklade Town 2 Trowbridge Town 3
Football ID 0 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2
Marlborough Town 0 Purton 0
Melksham Town Res 8 Ludgershall Sports 3
Westbury United Res v Pewsey Vale Dev - postponed
Wroughton 5 Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 1
Friday 1st March 2019
Westbury United Res Withdraw From League
The League were very disappointed to hear that Westbury United would be pulling their Reserve Team out of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with immediate effect, also confirming that they would not be seeking to enter a team in the league next season. We understand there were several factors taken into consideration by the Club’s Committee in reaching this decision. More information can be found on the Westbury United website.
The league record of Westbury United Reserves will be expunged and the league table adjusted accordingly in due course. It is unfortunate to lose a side that has already played 20 of its scheduled 30 league games and the knock-on effect this has to the league records of the other clubs in the League, but we have reluctantly had to accept this withdrawal and appropriate charges will be issued in accordance with League rules.
Saturday 2nd March 2019
Devizes Hold Kintbury Allowing Wroughton to Go Back Top
Midweek action in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League focussed on the battle at the bottom when Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Malmesbury Victoria Development met at the Gerard Buxton Ground. It was the visitors who had the first clear cut chance of the game when Josh Hughes had a powerful shot from the edge of the box brilliantly saved by Adam House in the Royal Wootton Bassett Town goal but the deadlock was finally broken on 20 minutes and it was Royal Wootton Bassett Town who edged in front when Rob Lincoln got on the end of a cross from George Staten. It remained a tight close contest with both sides playing some good football, but it remained 1-0 at the break. The home side extended their lead five minutes after the restart when Elias Youssef fired in from the edge of the box. Malmesbury got themselves back into the match just after the hour mark when George Stone netted after the Royal Wootton Bassett Town back four failed to deal with a free kick into the box. However, almost immediately the home side went down the other end and a fine ball in from the right wing from Ben Paul was met by Glenn Armstrong who fired the ball into the Malmesbury net to make it 3-1. That shortly became 4-1 when keeper Brown failed to hold onto a ball into his area and Steve Yeardley was on hand to take advantage. Malmesbury continued to play some good football and were duly rewarded on 75 minutes when Gareth Jones outpaced the defence to score a fine solo goal and put his side back in the match at 4-2. However, the home team then scored three times in the final 10 minutes to give the score line a rather flattering look, Steve Yeardley, Rob Lincoln and Glenn Armstrong all scoring their second goals of the match.
On Saturday performance of the day came from Devizes Town Reserves as they held overnight league leaders Kintbury Rangers to a 2-2 draw. Devizes went in front through Declan Blandford with his first of the season but the league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp, on his return from suspension, brought Kintbury level from the penalty spot to make it 1-1 at the break. Thorp moved on to 27 goals for the season with his penalty. Fabio Pinto then put Kintbury in front for the first time in the game but this time it was Devizes Town’s turn to equalise, Declan Blandford once again the scorer with his second of the game. That was the end of the scoring as the two sides shared the points. A tremendous performance from the second from bottom side to hold the previous leaders.
As a result of Kintbury dropping points the new leaders on goal difference are Wroughton. They were involved in the big match of the day when they made the trip to Shrewton United. Shrewton had the better of things early on but went behind to a set-piece, Tyler Wilkinson getting on the end of a Riegan Cook free-kick with his head. The home side then had the chance to get back on level terms when they were awarded a penalty. Unfortunately, the chance to get back on level terms was spurned, Dominic Jackson the culprit and it remained 1-0 to Wroughton at the break. Shrewton continued to have a lot of the play but once again conceded a couple of more free-kicks which Wroughton took full advantage of to move into a 3-0 lead, Wilkinson getting on the end of another Riegan Cook free kick and then Cook himself scoring direct from a free kick. Steven Holvey, who has recently returned to Shrewton pulled one back, but Shrewton were unable to add further to their tally and Wroughton ran out 3-1 winners for an excellent away win that lifted them ahead of Kintbury in the table and into pole position on goal difference, both teams having played 21 games.
An Adam Mitchell hat-trick, his second in consecutive games, ensured Melksham Town Reserves remained in third spot in the table after a 3-0 away win at Marlborough Town, Melksham’s first away win since back in October. Mitchell moved into double figures for the season with his hat-trick as Melksham moved to within six points of the joint leaders.
The expectation ahead of the game at the Southbank Ground was that Trowbridge Town would provide a stern test to Corsham Town Reserves unbeaten home record. Trowbridge had lost just once in their previous ten games and were unbeaten in their last six. That record has now been extended by another game as the two sides fought out a tight 0-0 draw leaving Corsham’s home record intact with just the one home game remaining now following the withdrawal of Westbury United Reserves. The last visitors to the Southbank Ground will be Ludgershall Sports who visit towards the end of the month. Corsham remained in 5th spot in the table and Trowbridge Town in 6th as a result of the draw.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development made it two wins in a week as they ground out a hard earned 2-1 win over visitors Ludgershall Sports. Carl Shepherd put the home side in front in the first half. After some neat set-up play the ball was played into Shepherd’s feet on the edge of the box and he dropped his shoulder and turned to fire a left foot shot into the corner of the net to make it 1-0 at the break. Ludgershall equalised 20 minutes into the second half when Nathan Strong netted with a back-post header. However, Bailey Gallagher restored the home sides’ lead not soon after when he shimmied past two defenders and then hit a soft shot which eluded the Ludgershall keeper to make it 2-1. Gallagher then had a couple of chances to extend the lead but was unable to find the net with either effort. He was then brought down on the edge of the Ludgershall box and picked himself up to fire the resulting free-kick against the Ludgershall cross-bar leaving the final score 2-1 to the home side.
Malmesbury Victoria lost their second game of the week by a 7-2 score line going down to visitors Purton in the local derby at the Flying Monk Ground. With a number of players called up to the First Team due to suspensions and injuries it was always going to be tough for the young Development side and they came up against a Purton side who were in good form and unbeaten in their previous four games. On target for Purton were William Backhouse with a hat-trick, taking him to 13 for the season, George Drewitt, Andrew Bilko, Jack Duckers and an own goal. The consolation goals for Malmesbury were scored by George Stone, with his second goal of the week, and Tom Wasilli.
Pewsey Vale Development, who are having a tough time of it at the bottom end of the table, do have a Fountain Trophies Cup semi-final to look forward to after they progressed to the last four following a penalty shoot-out win over Cricklade Town. At the end of 90 minutes the game remained goal-less. Both sides then scored in extra-time, Wesley Lima scoring for the home side Pewsey with his first of the season, Elliott Corp for the visitors Cricklade. Pewsey were successful in the penalty shoot-out by five penalties to four, Jacob Garrett with the winning penalty.
Wednesday 27th February
Royal WB Town D 7 Malmesbury Vics Dev 2
Saturday 2nd March
Corsham Town Res 0 Trowbridge Town 0
Devizes Town Res 2 Kintbury Rangers 2
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2 Purton 7
Marlborough Town 0 Melksham Town Res 3
Royal W. B. Town Dev 2 Ludgershall Spts 1
Shrewton United 1 Wroughton 3
Fountain Trophies Cup Q-Final
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Cricklade Town 1 (Pewsey won 5-4 on penalties)
Thursday 7th March 2019
Outcome of Vets Consultation Meeting
A very productive meeting was held on Tuesday night at Beversbrook Sports Ground between representatives of the Wiltshire FA, the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and clubs interested in participating in a veteran’s division or divisions run by the Senior League next season. Lyndon Taylor from the Wiltshire FA gave a brief presentation regarding the development of veteran’s football in the county and the current Flexi-League concept. He then went on to set out which clubs in the county had expressed an interest in joining a veteran’s league next season (see list below) before moving on to some ideas that had been developed with input from Jim Thorn from the League. He then opened up the meeting to thoughts and ideas from the representative clubs and it is pleasing to report that all of the clubs present actively participated in this discussion and have helped formulate the shape of the veteran’s football in the county for next season. The final proposals for the divisions or a single division can only be formulated when firm applications are made by clubs but in the meantime it was agreed to collect age demographics from each of the interested clubs to help further inform decisions around divisions.
- Initial league to commence in September 2019 with, depending on size of the divisions, potential for a second competition starting after Christmas if the initial division sizes are small;
- Geography to be taken into account in formulating the initial divisions to avoid unnecessary long travel distances, again subject to the number of actual applicants to play in the league;
- Games to be played with a duration of 25 minutes each way;
- Games to be scheduled on a fortnightly basis but this would again be reviewed depending on the number of entrants and division sizes;
- In order to reduce the number of nights facilities are required to be hired/used the proposal is for clubs to host a double-header (i.e. two fixtures involving 3 other clubs as well as the host club) at their venue on a game night. This should help generate bar revenue for hosting clubs. In a 5-team division this would involve 2 hosting fixture nights;
- Clubs to specify their “game night” on their application form so that all preferred nights are known ahead of scheduling fixtures;
- Fixtures to be scheduled for the whole season in June/July to enable the booking of facilities well in advance to help secure slots;
- Age limit will initially be set at over 35 but this will be reviewed once the age demographic data is obtained. This was the most debated issue on the night with a number of clubs having an average age over 40. The age demographic data will be used, alongside geography, in formulating the divisions once the number of firm applications is known but the initial season is expected to stick with an over 35 age limit initially;
- League to be run using FA Whole Game System (WGS) with player registrations and other administration run along the same lines as the current Premier and Under 18 Divisions. FA Full-Time will be used for fixture scheduling and referee appointments;
- Rule to be included specific to this league that players can not participate in the Veteran’s Division if they have played 3 or more games in the current season in a Step 7 League or higher within the National League System; and
- Teams in the league would also have the opportunity to participate in the Veteran’s County Cup competition.
The League and Wiltshire FA would like to express our sincere thanks to the clubs who participated in the consultation meeting in coming up with these proposals and all involved in the League are excited about the prospect of running a veteran’s division or divisions next season. Application forms will shortly be submitted to all interested clubs and we would ask that these are returned as soon as possible as we are keen to collect the data on the average age demographic data. Any clubs who have not as yet expressed an interest in joining the veteran’s division next season but are interested should contact League Secretary Jim Thorn by email at jim.thorn@wiltshireseniorleague.co.uk
Appendix
The list of teams who have so far expressed an interest in possibly joining the Vet's League is as follows:
North Wiltshire
1. Kennet Legends
2. Stratton Juniors
3. FC Abbeymeads
4. Castrol Vets
5. Marlborough Youth
6. Cricklade Town
7. RWBTFC Blue
8. RWBTFC Yellow
9. KMLC
10. Marlborough Town
11. AFC Swindon Vets
12. Swindon Rovers
2. Stratton Juniors
3. FC Abbeymeads
4. Castrol Vets
5. Marlborough Youth
6. Cricklade Town
7. RWBTFC Blue
8. RWBTFC Yellow
9. KMLC
10. Marlborough Town
11. AFC Swindon Vets
12. Swindon Rovers
Mid/South Wiltshire
1. Westbury United
2. Melksham Town
3. FC Calne
4. Trowbridge Tigers
5. Chippenham Yard Dogs
6. Holt FC
7. FC United of Bath
8. FC Chippenham Youth
9. Shrewton United
1. Westbury United
2. Melksham Town
3. FC Calne
4. Trowbridge Tigers
5. Chippenham Yard Dogs
6. Holt FC
7. FC United of Bath
8. FC Chippenham Youth
9. Shrewton United
Saturday 9th March 2019
Wroughton Open Up Gap as Kintbury Progress in Cup
The top match of the day was in the Fountain Trophies Cup where cup holders Melksham Town took on reigning league champions Kintbury Rangers for a place in the semi-finals. On a windy day that made football difficult, Kintbury Rangers adapted better to the conditions and it is they who progress through to the last four where they are joined by Pewsey Vale Development, Shrewton and either Wroughton or Purton who meet in the final quarter final tie to be played. The league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp set them on their way midway through the first half when he curled shot in with his left foot from 25 yards for what turned out to be the only goal of the first half. Within ten minutes of the restart Melksham were back on level terms, Billy Gleed with his fourth of the season. Kintbury went back in front when Tom Mahoney fired in a great shot which hit the post but flew into the top of the net off the post for another good goal. Mahoney was then involved in the move that finally sealed matters for Kintbury when he broke down the right, cut inside a Melksham defender and fired in a shot which was deflected, the ball falling to Fabio Pinto who fired in the rebound to ensure that it is Kintbury who progress to the next round, 3-1 the final score to Kintbury.
The top league match of the day saw leaders Wroughton travel to take on Cricklade Town at Cricklade Leisure Centre. When the two sides met at the Weir Field back in October Wroughton had narrowly edged it in a very tight affair on a freezing cold day, eventually winning 2-1. Another close game was expected in the return fixture and so it proved. In this game not only did the players have to contend with the wind but also a heavy pitch which made it tricky for the players. It was Aaron Maximen who struck first for the leaders Wroughton with a cool finish from a Regan Cook free kick to make it 1-0 to Wroughton. Jonathan Peachey-Score then put Cricklade back on level terms before Wroughton went back in front with another set piece goal. This time the scorer was veteran Craig Bowden who fired powerfully into the net from a free kick. Tom Dingle then gave Wroughton a two-goal cushion when he netted Wroughton’s third for his ninth goal of the season and that turned out to be the final goal action as Wroughton ran out 3-1 winners to open up a three-point lead over Kintbury at the top of the table.
Pewsey Vale were looking to take their cup form which had seen them make it through to the semi-finals into the league matches when they hosted Corsham Town Reserves this afternoon. When the sides met at Corsham at the start of the season it had finished 2-0 to Corsham and with Corsham riding high in 5th spot in the table and in good form it was a tough ask for Pewsey, but they again rose to the occasion this time holding an in-form Corsham side to a goalless draw. Despite the excellent result Pewsey remain at the bottom of the table but moved to within a point of Devizes Town Reserves in the battle to avoid relegation.
Shrewton United were looking to return to winning ways after consecutive defeats at the hands of the top two sides when they took on Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development who themselves were looking to make it three wins on the bounce. The vast expanse of the Gerard Buxton Ground has traditionally not been a happy hunting ground for Shrewton, and they played the first half playing against the wind. Despite the home side having the advantage provided by the wind they failed to register a shot on the Shrewton goal and it was actually the visitors who created a couple of chances, Ronan Clancy shooting narrowly wide and Dominic Jackson going on a long run before eventually being tackled by the Bassett defence. With the wind behind them in the second half Shrewton took full advantage. Charlie Utterson went close to breaking the deadlock when he was put through one-on-one against the Bassett keeper Adam House but his subtle dink over the keeper also went just over the bar. House then pulled off a great save to prevent his side going behind after good link up play between Utterson and Dan Burton had set up Burton for the shot which House saved with his foot. A couple of substitutions by were made by Shrewton and they quickly paid off for the visitors. Moments after coming on Ben Jenks scored his fourth of the season firing in off the post. Shrewton continued to press for a second and were duly rewarded when Utterson set up the other substitute Craig Appleby who beat keeper House with a powerful near post shot. In the dying moments Utterson also thought he had got on the score sheet as well but his which went into the net after his initial shot had been blocked didn’t count as the referee had blown for full-time leaving the final score at 2-0 to Shrewton. Shrewton stay fourth but moved to within two points of Melksham with a game in hand but are set to be the biggest losers when the table is adjusted for the withdrawal of Westbury having beaten them twice this season.
After a great start to the season Football ID have slipped down the table of late and going into their meeting with Purton had lost eight games in a row. They faced another tough test against a Purton side who were unbeaten in five, four of which had been won. However, with five minutes remaining Purton looked like that unbeaten run was coming to an end as they trailed 2-0 to the young Football ID side thanks to goals from Fred Porter and Will Fowler, with Purton’s top scorer Will Backhouse having missed a penalty ten minutes from time. However, Sam English pulled one back before Chris Avery scored from a second penalty to equalise in the final minute of the match, ensuring the points were shared and that unbeaten run was now six.
The big battle at the bottom end of the table was at Devizes where Malmesbury Victoria Development were the visitors for the first meeting of the season between the two sides this season. Both matches last season had been tight affairs with Devizes winning 1-0 at home and the sides drawing 1-1 at Malmesbury but on this occasion Malmesbury recorded a comfortable win to ease the pressure on them at the bottom end of the table. Joe Tranter and Gareth Jones both bagging a brace in Malmesbury’s 4-1 win, James Dunford with the consolation goal for Devizes.
The game between Trowbridge Town and Marlborough Town was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Both Under 18 fixtures scheduled in midweek were also postponed, FC Chippenham’s game Downton was also postponed due to a waterlogged pitch whilst the Melksham Town against Pewsey Vale fixture was called off due to visitors Pewsey being unable to raise a side.
Saturday 9th March - Results
Premier Division
Cricklade Town 1 Wroughton 3
Devizes T Res 1 Malmesbury Vics Dev 4
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Corsham Town Res 0
Purton 2 Football ID 2
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 0 Shrewton Utd 2
Trowbridge Town v Marlborough Town - postponed
Fountain Trophies Cup Q-Final
Melksham Town Res 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Devizes T Res 1 Malmesbury Vics Dev 4
Pewsey Vale Dev 0 Corsham Town Res 0
Purton 2 Football ID 2
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 0 Shrewton Utd 2
Trowbridge Town v Marlborough Town - postponed
Fountain Trophies Cup Q-Final
Melksham Town Res 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Premier Division Transfers
Since December there have been a further 11 transfers involving teams in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League taken the total for the season to 30.
The list of transfers since the last Transfer News report is as follows:
11-01-19 Lewis Tidy (Royal W.Bassett Town Dev to Purton)
11-01-19 Aaron Masson (Corsham Town Res to Trowbridge Town)
15-01-19 Bruno Soeiro (Royal W.Bassett Town Dev to Cricklade Town)
18-01-19 Garry Lock (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
28-01-19 Antony Brown (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Purton)
08-02-19 Luke Turvey (Devizes Town Res to Westbury Utd Res)
12-02-19 Ryan Baggs (Westbury Utd Res to Trowbridge Town)
13-02-19 Adam House (Football ID to Royal W.Bassett Town Dev)
18-02-19 Daniel King (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
22-02-19 Craig Lewis (Shrewton Utd to Melksham Town Res)
06-03-19 Zak Robinson (Wroughton to Cricklade Town)
11-01-19 Aaron Masson (Corsham Town Res to Trowbridge Town)
15-01-19 Bruno Soeiro (Royal W.Bassett Town Dev to Cricklade Town)
18-01-19 Garry Lock (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
28-01-19 Antony Brown (Malmesbury Vics Dev to Purton)
08-02-19 Luke Turvey (Devizes Town Res to Westbury Utd Res)
12-02-19 Ryan Baggs (Westbury Utd Res to Trowbridge Town)
13-02-19 Adam House (Football ID to Royal W.Bassett Town Dev)
18-02-19 Daniel King (Corsham Town Res to Melksham Town Res)
22-02-19 Craig Lewis (Shrewton Utd to Melksham Town Res)
06-03-19 Zak Robinson (Wroughton to Cricklade Town)
The total number of registrations for the Premier Division now stands at 978.
Saturday 16th March 2019
Maximen Magic Seals It For Wroughton
Wroughton's Aaron Maximen fires in a shot this afternoon against Football ID
Four games survived the wet weather this week including the game involving the league leaders Wroughton. Ten wins in their last eleven league games had put Wroughton in the driving seat at the top of the table and today they took on a Football ID side who had ended their tough run of defeats last week with an excellent draw at Purton, the last side to defeat Wroughton. On a really windy day which made football very difficult Wroughton started the first half playing against the wind against the young Football ID side. They almost went in front in the very first minute when Tyler Wilkinson fired in a shot which came back off the post. The first chance that came Football ID’s way fell to Kyle Pogue-Elms on seven minutes but the tall striker fired straight at Wroughton keeper Callum Wilkinson. A couple of minutes after this chance a powerful run down the left flank from Aaron Maximen set up Reigan Cook for Wroughton but Cook fired over. The next half chance came Football ID’s way and once again it was Kyle Pogue-Elms who was causing the trouble to the leaders. His powerful run down the right looked like it might lead to a shot on goal, but he was eventually outnumbered and dispossessed by the Wroughton defence and the chance was lost. Despite playing against the wind though it was the league leaders who were creating the better chances. Reigan Cook fired straight at the keeper Ben Drewett when the ball fell to him on 28 minutes and Tom Dingle then headed over from a corner a minute later. Wroughton were forced into an early substitution and pacey substitute Jordan Lea almost made an immediate impact when an overhead kick went close to breaking the deadlock. Just when it looked like the well organised Football ID side would make it to the break on level terms their defence was finally unlocked three minutes before the interval. A subtle chip over the back four from Jamie McLaughlin put Reigan Cook clear and he fired into the net to make it 1-0 to Wroughton. Whilst physically a lot stronger Wroughton had struggled to break down the well organised Football ID side and led by that solitary goal at the break.
With the wind behind them the expectation was that Wroughton would step up a gear after the break but the early exchanges in the second period saw Football ID going in search of an equaliser without creating any real clear-cut chances. Once again Pogue-Elms was involved in a lot of the good Football ID work. The first real chance of the second half came on 55 minutes. Last week Craig Bowden had fired in a free kick from range at Cricklade and when Wroughton were awarded a kick in a similar position to the strike last week expectation was that Bowden would repeat his goal from last week. However, whilst his shot was on target it was well saved by Ben Drewett in the Football ID goal. Wroughton went close again on 62 minutes when Jordan Lea went close from a corner, but it remained 1-0. Not for long though. From another Wroughton attack, Football ID keeper Drewett pulled off another good save but failed to hold onto the ball and was disposed by Tom Dingle who put the ball across, a clever dummy from Jamie McLaughlin allowed the ball to make its way to Wroughton’s star man on the day Aaron Maximen who controlled the ball with a deft touch before coolly placing the ball into the corner of the net to make it 2-0 to Wroughton. Wroughton were now in the ascendancy and went close to extending their lead further when a cross from Reigan Cook nearly found Tom Dingle. Football ID keeper Drewett was again called into action ten minutes from time when Maximen fired in a powerful shot from 25 yards out which was well saved at full stretch by the keeper diving to his left. From the resulting corner Wroughton again nearly found the net but the ball was this time cleared off the line by a defender. Tom Dingle who, like Maximen had been lively all afternoon, once again went close for Wroughton but his effort was deflected wide for a corner. Whilst it was Wroughton creating the better chances Football ID always looked dangerous on the break and Ashley Alchin had a shot which went just wide but Wroughton keeper Wilkinson would have had it covered had it been on target. Wroughton immediately went down the other end of the pitch and Dingle set up Tyler Wilkinson, but he fired straight at keeper Drewett. Wroughton were not to be denied though as the best goal of the game was reserved for the last one of the day. Wroughton’ man of the match Maximen went on a mazy solo run from 35 yards out which saw him beat five Football ID defenders and the keeper before deftly putting the ball into the net to make it 3-0 to the league leaders and seal the points. In the closing stages Football ID keeper Drewett was forced into another great save tipping over a powerful strike and in the end it was a comfortable win for the leaders although Football ID had made them work really hard for ninety minutes for those three points.
Fourth placed Shrewton United visited Marlborough Town looking to close the gap on the top three. When the sides met back in November a Tyren Harrington hat-trick helped Shrewton to a 5-1 win but Marlborough had improved of late with just two defeats in their previous six games. Once again the wind and a heavy pitch made it difficult for both sides. The first half saw Shrewton playing with the wind behind their backs and went close to breaking the deadlock when a Craig Appleby overhead kick from a corner went narrowly wide. They did manage to edge in front when Ronan Clancy broke into the area and neatly slotted home into the Marlborough net for his second of the season. Not long after it became three for the season when he scored his second of the game, this time getting onto a loose ball and smashing it into the roof of the net to make it 2-0 at the break. With the wind behind them Marlborough quickly got themselves back into the game when Josh Connolly scored from a set piece to make it 2-1. Despite having the wind behind them Marlborough failed to capitalise on the conditions and it was Shrewton who went closest to score again when Charlie Jackson broke through the middle but saw his shot deflected wide for a corner. Shrewton then thought they had scored a third when Craig Appleby slotted the ball into the net after a shot from William Harries had fallen to him, but the goal was disallowed for offside and the game finished 201 to the visitors to keep them in touch with the top three.
After a couple of wins Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development had lost at home to Shrewton last week and were looking to return to winning ways at home to Melksham Town Reserves today. Melksham went into the game on the back of three wins in their last four and having won 2-1 in the first meeting of the two sides back in January. The wind once again played havoc at the very open Gerard Buxton Ground but despite playing against the wind it was Melksham who led 1-0 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals secured a comfortable 4-0 win for the visitors who completed the double over their opponents in the process. On target for Melksham were Kieron Pearce, Adam Mitchell, Kurt Hammonds and a spectacular strike from the half-way line from Owen Bartley with a little help from that wind.
Purton have put a little run together that had seen them go six games unbeaten. Today they hosted bottom of the table Pewsey Vale Development, a side who have saved their best form for the cup. When the sides met at Pewsey back in October it finished 2-0 to Purton and Purton completed the double over their opponents with a 6-0 win. Leading scorer William Backhouse led the way bagging a brace taking him to 15 for the season, the other goals coming from Daren Regis, Jack Duckers, Joe Dorey and Nathan Marland. The win lifted Purton a place in the table up into sixth spot, just three points behind Corsham Town Reserves in fifth spot and with two games in hand.
The games between Trowbridge Town and Kintbury Rangers, Cricklade Town and Corsham Town Res and Ludgershall Sports and Malmesbury Victoria Development were all postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
All games scheduled in the league and cup for the U18 Division were also postponed again this week due to waterlogged pitches.
Saturday 16th March - Results
Cricklade Town v Corsham Town Res - postponed
Ludgershall Sports v Malmesbury Vics Dev - postponed
Marlborough Town 1 Shrewton United 2
Purton 6 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Royal W.Bassett T Dev 0 Melksham T Res 4
Trowbridge Town v Kintbury Rangers - postponed
Wroughton 3 Football ID 0
Football ID who made league leaders Wroughton work hard for the three points
Wednesday 20th March 2019
Fountain Trophies Cup Semi Final Draw
The final of the Fountain Trophies Cup will be held at Corsham Town’s Southbank Ground on Saturday 4th May 2019, with a 3pm kick-off.
With the final quarter final time between Wroughton and Purton scheduled to take place at the end of the month the two semi-final ties have also been scheduled in April.
In the first semi-final Shrewton United will be home to reigning league champions Kintbury Rangers with the game scheduled to take place on Saturday 6th April at the Shrewton Recreation Ground with a 3.00pm kick-off.
The second semi-final will see Pewsey Vale at home to winners of the Wroughton and Purton quarter final tie. This second semi-final is scheduled Saturday 20th April with a 3:00pm kick-off.
Of the five teams left in the competition Shrewton United have the best record having lifted the cup on four occasions. Their first success was in 1997-98 and they retained the cup in the following season. They won the cup for the third time in Season 2001-02 and then for the last time the following season, Season 2002-03. Wroughton have the second-best record with two wins to their name. They won for the first time in Season 2015-16 and retained the trophy the following year. Pewsey Vale Development have won the competition on the one occasion back in Season 2009-10. Both Purton and Kintbury Rangers have yet to lift the Fountain Trophies Cup, although Purton’s Reserve side did make the final in Season 2012-13. All of the sides will fancy their chances in this season’s competition and there are some big cup matches to look forward to before the end of the season.
The appointed match officials for the Cup Final on 4th May are:
Referee – S. Hunt (Swindon)
Assistant Referee – N. Meadows (Bromham)
Assistant Referee – K. Dean (Andover)
4th Official – G. Colwill (Salisbury)
Referee – S. Hunt (Swindon)
Assistant Referee – N. Meadows (Bromham)
Assistant Referee – K. Dean (Andover)
4th Official – G. Colwill (Salisbury)
The full details of this season’s cup competition are shown below:
First Round
Devizes Town Res 2 Wroughton 7Football ID v Malmesbury Victoria Dev – awarded to Malmesbury
Ludgershall Sports 0 Melksham Town Res 2
Marlborough Town 1 Cricklade Town 4
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Westbury Utd Res 0
Purton 2 Royal W.Bassett Town Dev 0
Shrewton Utd 3 Corsham Town Res 3 (Shrewton won 7-6 on pens)
Trowbridge Town 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Second Round
Melksham Town Res 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Cricklade Town 1 (Pewsey won 5-4 on pens)
Shrewton Utd 4 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 1
Wroughton v Purton (Saturday 30th March 2019)
Semi-Final
Pewsey Vale Dev v Wroughton or Purton (Saturday 20th April 2019)
Shrewton United v Kintbury Rangers (Saturday 6th April 2019)
Final
At Corsham Town (Saturday 4th May 2019)
Saturday 23rd March 2019
Shrewton Hit Football ID for Six
Dean Smith puts Shrewton ahead from the penalty spot against Football ID (Picture courtesy of Starsphinx).
There was midweek action under lights this week in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League when Malmesbury Victoria Development and Devizes Town Res met at the Flying Monk Ground in a battle at the lower end of the table. Malmesbury Victoria took a huge step towards safety with an impressive 6-0 win over their visitors. Gareth Jones set the Vics on their way when he beat the Devizes keeper having been put clean through for a one-on-one. The visitors Devizes then had a player sent-off and the home side took advantage right on the stroke of half-time. A shot from distance from Jones went close to extending the lead but the ball fell to Josh Hughes who was following up to make it 2-0 at the break. That lead was extended further shortly after the break, Jones scoring his second of the game to make it 3-0 and then Sam Jenner almost immediately made it four for the home side. However, this was Gareth Jones’ starring night and the speedy youngster netted twice more to give him four in the game, doubling his goal tally for the season in the process.
League leaders Wroughton were involved in the top match of the day with Trowbridge Town, who had gone seven games unbeaten ahead of their encounter today and the game lived up to expectations as the two sides put on an entertaining show for the crowd. Visitors Trowbridge Town went in front thanks to a goal from Matt Dixon but Craig Bowden then equalised for the league leaders from the penalty spot. Both sides pushed for a winner but in the end had to settle for a share of the points.
Corsham Town have the honour of going all season unbeaten at the Southbank Ground. Their final home game of the season saw them take on Ludgershall Sports and goals from Ed McCormarck, Corey Harbour-Burgess and Dan Lardner, with his ninth of the season, secured a comfortable 3-0 win. Corsham remain in fourth place in the table whilst Ludgershall drop a place down to 10th with the two sides set to meet again next week.
Another side with an impressive home record were Melksham Town Reserves. Before today’s encounter with reigning league champions Kintbury Rangers they had won all ten of their home league fixtures this season. The visit of Kintbury Rangers was expected to be a stern test of that impressive record but that 100% record remains intact tonight after Melksham secured an impressive 2-1 win. Melksham led 1-0 at the break through an Adam Mitchell goal from 35 yards out but the league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp equalised from the penalty spot after the break. However, another goal from Mitchell, who headed in from a Jordan Croad cross, put the home side Melksham back in front and whilst Kintbury created a couple of good chances to get back on level terms they were missed, and Melksham held on for the three points. The loss means that Wroughton now open up a seven-point lead at the top of the table, although Kintbury have two games in hand with the two sides scheduled to meet in the final league game of the season.
Malmesbury Victoria Development were looking to build on that impressive win in midweek when they made the short trip to the Red House to take on Purton. Purton were another side who were on an impressive unbeaten run, having gone seven games unbeaten before today’s match and, like Malmesbury, had also won their last match 6-0. It will be Malmesbury who will be celebrating tonight after they brought Purton’s fine unbeaten run to an end in this local derby. Gareth Jones carried on from where he left off in midweek, hitting his ninth of the season, Elliott Drage with the other Malmesbury goal. Purton’s leading scorer William Backhouse scored for the home side from the penalty spot for his 16th of the season. Malmesbury climbed a place to 11th in the table as a result of their third win on the bounce, Purton stay 6th.
Cricklade Town travelled to Pewsey looking to avenge their recent cup defeat when they had lost to Pewsey Vale Development in the penalty shoot-out. Having won 5-2 in the league at Cricklade last month they were also hoping to complete a league double over their opponents. However, Cricklade’s cause was not helped by having a player sent off in the first half and goals from Harvey Flippance, Ethan Fishlock gave Pewsey a 3-0 win to move within a point of Devizes Town Reserves.
Football ID had given league leaders Wroughton a good game last week and were expected to provide another stern opponent for Shrewton United this afternoon. When the two sides met back in August it had finished 4-0 to Shrewton who come into today's game in good form on the back of two wins and that good run of form continued with a convincing 6-1 win. Dean Smith set them on the way from the penalty spot before Craig Appleby made it 2-0. Charlie Jackson then added a third before Craig Appleby scored his second to make it 4-0 at the break. Football ID pulled one back after the interval before Steven Holvey restored the four goal advantage for the home side. Craig Appleby then scored again to complete his hat-trick and secure that 6-1 win for Shrewton who remain a point behind Corsham in 5th spot.
The final game of the day was at the bottom end of the table today between Marlborough Town and Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development in what was the first meeting between the two sides this season. Both had lost their previous two games and were keen to return to winning form. In a really close contest the points were settled from the penalty spot eight minutes from time after Ryan Withers had been pulled back in the box. Tyrhys Mifsud stepped up to hold his nerve and fire in the resulting penalty to give Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development the three points. The win lifted them up to ninth place in the table, whilst Marlborough dropped a place to 12th.
Both games scheduled in the U18 Cup were postponed again this week.
Premier Division
Tuesday 19th March
Malmesbury Vics Dev 6 Devizes T Res 0
Saturday 23rd March
Corsham Town Res 3 Ludgershall Sports 0
Marlborough T 0 Royal W. Bassett T Dev 1
Melksham Town Res 2 Kintbury Rangers 1
Pewsey Vale Dev 3 Cricklade Town 0
Purton 1 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2
Shrewton United 6 Football ID 1
Wroughton 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Premier Division
Tuesday 19th March
Malmesbury Vics Dev 6 Devizes T Res 0
Saturday 23rd March
Corsham Town Res 3 Ludgershall Sports 0
Marlborough T 0 Royal W. Bassett T Dev 1
Melksham Town Res 2 Kintbury Rangers 1
Pewsey Vale Dev 3 Cricklade Town 0
Purton 1 Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2
Shrewton United 6 Football ID 1
Wroughton 1 Trowbridge Town 1
Thursday 28th March 2019
All Square In Midweek Premier Division Action
There was once again midweek action under lights this week in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with three games kicking-off on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, just two matches were completed as the game at Pewsey Vale between Pewsey Vale Development and Kintbury Rangers was abandoned on 50 minutes due to floodlight failure. Kintbury had started well scoring in the opening minute through George Smith but Harvey Flippance had got the bottom side back into the game with an equaliser before half time. Five minutes into the second half the lights failed and what had been an entertaining game up to that point will now need to be replayed.
There was another entertaining game at the Flying Monk where Malmesbury Victoria development came back from a 3-1 deficit against visitors Melksham Town Reserves to secure a well-earned point and also had chances to win it in the closing stages. Adam Mitchell scored twice for Melksham taking him to fourteen for the season with Jordan Croad also on target for the visitors. Melksham had led 2-0 before the in-form Gareth Jones scored his 8th goal in just four games to get Malmesbury back into the game. Melksham regained their two-goal advantage form the penalty spot but second half goals from Harrison Archer and a Danny Cook header for Malmesbury ensured the points were shared.
There was another tight game impacting the bottom end of the table when Devizes Town Reserves, who were looking for their first home win of the season, entertained Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Twice Devizes Town led only to be pulled back on both times occasions thanks to goals from Bailey Gallagher and Ryan Withers for Royal Wootton Bassett. So again, the points were shared. Unfortunately the game was marred by a broken leg suffered by Bassett’s Harry Etheridge who was playing his first game for the Development Team having made his club debut as a substitute against Ascot United on Saturday. All at the league wish Harry a speedy recovery from his injury.
In the U18 Cup there was a shock result on Wednesday night in Group A when the young Downton side became the first side to defeat Melksham Town this season. Melksham had won all ten of their league fixtures, but cam unstuck in their opening group game of the cup competition. A first half goal from Alex Wilkins settled matters in what was a major shock result given the league form of the two sides. Group B also saw action on Thursday night when New College got off to a winning start in the competition with a 5-1 win over the side who are likely to be their main rivals for a place in the final, FC Chippenham. Two goals for Edrin Asante, plus one a piece for Luke McIntyre, Jack Rockett and Matty Connor from the penalty spot did the damage for New College.
Premier Division - Tuesday 26th March
Devizes Town Res 2 Royal W. Bassett T D 2
Malmesbury Vics Dev 3 Melksham T Res 0
Pewsey Vale Dev v Kintbury Rangers – Abandoned due to floodlight failure
U18 Cup – Group Games
Group A - Wednesday 27th March
Downton 1 Melksham Town 0
Group B - Thursday 28th March
New College 5 FC Chippenham 1
Saturday 30th March 2019
Thriller in Fountain Trophies Cup
The big match of the weekend was the final quarter final tie in the Fountain Trophies Cup which saw in-form league leaders Wroughton take on Purton for a place in the semi-finals. Whilst Wroughton started as favourites they would have been mindful that Purton had done a league double over them last season and had also beaten them once in the league in January, Wroughton’s only defeat since the 10th of October. William Backhouse with his 17th of the season put visitors Purton in front, but Shane Hibbert equalised for Wroughton. Aaron Maximen then scored his 13th of the season to put Wroughton in the lead but a George Drewitt equaliser sent the game into extra time. There was little to choose between the sides in an excellent game which was a great advert for the league. In the first period of extra time Shane Hibbert scored his second of the game to put Wroughton back in front but Chris Avery made it 3-3 in before the end of the first period of extra time. With both sides giving it all it certainly looked like penalties would be needed to settle matters. However, veteran Tom Dingle put Wroughton back in front early in the second period of extra time. Purton pushed hard for another equaliser but were the caught twice on the break by the league leaders, Shane Hibbert scoring two more to make it four for the afternoon to give a flattering looking final score to what had been a very tight game between two good sides. Wroughton will now meet Pewsey Vale Development in the semi-final.
The top game in the league was at Woodmarsh where two in-form teams in Trowbridge Town and Shrewton United met up. Trowbridge went into the game on an eight-game unbeaten run whilst Shrewton United had won their last three games and there was to be a dramatic finish to the game. Trowbridge had twice led through goals from Jake Sainsbury and Joshua Hard, the latter hitting his 21st of the season, but twice they were pulled back by the visitors Shrewton, Shrewton then went in front for the first time but then in the very last minute of the game Jordan Gullis scored an equaliser for the home side to ensure the points were shared and both teams extended their unbeaten runs by one more game. The Shrewton goals came from Charlie Jackson, Ronan Clancy and Charlie Utterson. Trowbridge remain in seventh spot but Shrewton climbed a place above Corsham Town Reserves as a result of the point this afternoon.
Ludgershall Sports achieved quick revenge for last week’s defeat away at Corsham Town Reserves with a 3-1 home win in the reverse fixture. They did it the hard way though having had a man sent off in the first half and playing a large proportion of the game with just 10 men. It was 1-1 at the break but two unanswered second half, despite being that one man down, ensured Ludgershall took all three points. On target for Ludgershall were Sam Walsh, Lewis Pickernell with his fifth goal of the season and Liam Courtney. The Corsham Town Reserves goal came courtesy of Darrin Moss. Ludgershall remain in 10th spot whilst Corsham drop a place to 5th as a result of the defeat.
A side who are in great form of late are Malmesbury Victoria Development who went into their home game with Marlborough Town on a four-game unbeaten run. In contrast visitors Marlborough Town were without a win in five games. Back in August Marlborough had won the home game 5-0 but were unable to do the double as they went down 3-0 to a resurgent Malmesbury side who went 9th in the table as a result of the win, their highest position of the season. Leading 1-0 at the break through a Joe Tranter effort, Gareth Jones then added a second, scoring for the fifth consecutive game and taking him to eleven for the season, before Sam Jenner headed in a third to complete another fine win for the young Malmesbury side.
Two sides who were much in need of a win met for the first time this season when Football ID hosted Cricklade Town. Football ID went into the game without a win in eleven games while Cricklade had gone five games since they last tasted victory. In a high scoring encounter Football ID edged it by the odd goal in five to end their winless sequence and extend Cricklade Town’s to six games. Fred Porter bagged a brace and leading scorer Kyle Pogue-Elms hit his seventh of the season for Football ID, with Jonathan Peachey-Score and Sam Broadbank on target for Cricklade. The win lifted Football ID to within a point of Marlborough Town and with bottom side Pewsey Vale Development to play twice will be confident of putting a good run together to end the season.
Premier Division
Football ID 3 Cricklade Town 2
Ludgershall Sports 3 Corsham Town Res 1
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 3 Marlborough T 0
Trowbridge Town 3 Shrewton United 3
Fountain Trophies Cup – Quarter Final
Wroughton 6 Purton 3 (After extra time)
Saturday 6th April 2019
Wroughton win again to open up a 10 pts gap
Tom Dingle who was again on the score sheet in Wroughton's 4-0 win over Corsham Town Res
There was one midweek game in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Senior League which saw Shrewton United and Ludgershall Sports meet in a local derby. Bragging rights went to Ludgershall who left the Recreation Ground with all three points courtesy of a first of the season from Reece Allison. Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures the win lifted Ludgershall up to 9th place in the table. Shrewton remained in 4th spot.
The big match of the weekend also involved Shrewton United who took on Kintbury Rangers in the first semi final in the Fountain Trophies Cup. As expected the game turned out to be a tight affair between two good sides. The home side had much the better of things in the first half and created a couple of really good chances which unfortunately for the home supporters were spurned and the sides turned around with the score 0-0 at the break. Shrewton were made to pay for those missed chances as second half goals from Tom Mahoney and Fabio Pinter gave Kintbury a 2-1 win and see them through to their first cup final for five years. Dominc Jackson, with his 8th of the season, was on target for Shrewton. Kintbury will now meet either Wroughton or Pewsey Vale Development in that final at Corsham Town FC on Saturday 4th May 2019 which means their scheduled final league game against Wroughton, in what could be the title decider, will need to be rescheduled.
Back in the league leaders Wroughton extended their lead at the top of the table when they defeated Corsham Town Reserves by four goals to nil. Aaron Maximen got them on their way as early as the fourth minute from the penalty spot. Tom Dingle added a second and then top scorer Shane Hibbert made it 3-0 before half time to put Wroughton comfortably in command. A second from Hibbert after the break made it six in the last two games for the prolific marksmen, also taking him to 16 for the season as Wroughton continue their quest for their third Premiership league title. With Kintbury involved in cup action, the win gave Wroughton a 10-point lead over their nearest rivals but Kintbury have three games in hand and, as noted earlier, the two sides still have to meet at Kintbury at the end of the season.
Melksham Town Reserves went into their home game against Marlborough Town with a perfect 10 from 10 at the InfiLED Stadium and with four home games to finish the season were looking to consolidate their top 3 position. When the sides had met at Marlborough earlier in the season a hat-trick from Adam Mitchell had given Melksham the three points in a 3-0 win but Marlborough tonight have the honour of being the first side to deny Melksham a win on their home ground as the two sides fought out a 2-2 draw. It could have been all three points after goals from Chris Deane and leading scorer Aaron Presley had given Marlborough a 2-0 lead but they then had three players sent-off and Melksham were able to score two of their own through Brad Butcher and Owen Pearce to level matters and ensure the points were shared. Credit for Melksham for fielding a full side after a difficult couple of weeks with the first team manager leaving along with a number of players which resulted in seven new players starting for their Reserve side today.
Two sides looking to break into the top five before the end of the season met at Trowbridge. Trowbridge started the day in 7th place whilst visitors Purton sat one place above them in the table. When the two sides met at Purton earlier in the season a solitary goal from Trowbridge's top scorer Josh Hard was all that separated the two sides and another close game was expected and so it proved. Trowbridge led 1-0 early on through a goal from Jake Sainsbury but with just ten minutes remaining Purton’s top scorer Will Backhouse scored the equaliser. Purton then had claims for a last-minute penalty when Nathan Marland went down in the box, but the claims were ignored by the officials and the game finished 1-1 to leave it as you were at the start of day in terms of relative league positions.
After their excellent 1-0 win at Shrewton in midweek Ludgershall Sports met another in-form side, Malmesbury Victoria Development who came into the game on the back of a five-game unbeaten run, four of which had been won. However, that run came to an end as Ludgershall extended their own winning run to three with a 3-0 home win. Leading scorer David Cotter returned after a lengthy absence with a hamstring injury to bag a brace taking him to 13 for the season and Kiefer Roper scored the third for Ludgershall who moved above Cricklade Town into 8th place in the table.
Two sides in need of a win met at Devizes as both Devizes Town Reserves and Cricklade Town went into their game on the back of six games without a win. When they had met back in September at Cricklade the home side ran out 6-0 winners, Devan Bryan helping himself to 5 goals that day. With their main striker having departed to Chippenham Park Cricklade have certainly found the going tough of late and their run without a win now stretches to seven as they went down 2-1 on what was a good day for the two sides at the bottom of the table. Goals from Sam Dodds and a Ben Perrott penalty did the damage for Devizes, Jason Tatum with the consolation goal for Cricklade.
The other big game at the bottom end of the table saw Pewsey Vale Development and Football ID meet for the first time this season. Goals from Liam Edmondson and Harrison Lowe maintained Pewsey’s good recent form and secured three vital points for the bottom side as they ensured they kept in touch with Devizes Town Reserves and also closed the gap to today’s opponents Football ID to five points with four games to play.
In the Under 18 Cup another Group match was completed in Group A. Having won all of their U18 league matches champions Melksham Town are not doing so well in the cup competition as they failed to win for the second consecutive game. They did, however, pick up their first point in the group courtesy of a 2-2 with Calne Town. Gage Jones and Sam Townsend scored the goals for Melksham.
Premier Division
Tuesday 2nd April 2019
Shrewton United 0 Ludgershall Sports 1
Saturday 6th April 2019
Devizes Town 2 Cricklade Town 1
Ludgershall Spts 3 Malmesbury Vics Dev 0
Melksham Town Res 2 Marlborough Town 2
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Football ID 0
Trowbridge Town 1 Purton 1
Wroughton 4 Corsham Town Res 0
Fountain Trophies Cup – Semi Final
Shrewton United 1 Kintbury Rangers 2
Under 18 Cup – Group A
Melksham Town 2 Calne Town 2
Saturday 13th April 2019
Wroughton Slip Up as Kintbury Close In
Action from game between Kintbury Rangers and Football ID (Pictures courtesy of Starsphinx)
There was an interesting twist in the race for the league title as leaders Wroughton dropped two points at home against Ludgershall Sports and rivals Kintbury Rangers took full advantage to close the gap at the top. Leading scorer Shane Hibbert put Wroughton 1-0 up after 25 minutes but Ludgershall were back on level terms ten minutes later when Luke Pagett scored, and it remained 1-1 at the break. In the second half Wroughton pushed hard for the winner but a well organised Ludgershall back line ensured a frustrating afternoon for the league leaders as they failed to make that breakthrough. When they did manage to get past the resolute defence they found the Ludgershall keeper Ryan Proud in fine form as he pulled off a number of great saves to deny the normally prolific Wroughton strike force.
The side who are looking to chase Wroughton down and retain the title they won last season are Kintbury Rangers who made no mistake away at Football ID to close the gap to eight points with three games in hand. First half goals from Alex Smith (2), Shaun Thorp and Fabio Pinto put them in a commanding 4-1 half time lead, and they added further goals from Tom Mahoney, Chris Cox and a second from Pinto in the second half to run out 7-1 winners. As well as those three games in hand the two leading sides have to still play each other.
Two teams with contrasting form met at Melksham this afternoon. Melksham Town Reserves who started the day in 3rd place in the table were unbeaten in their last four outings whilst visitors Cricklade Town had lost four in a row. With Melksham having an unbeaten home record it was going to be tough for Cricklade to repeat their victory earlier in the season at Cricklade, but they put in a much-improved performance to take a share of the points. It was 2-2 at the break. Cricklade then went 3-2 in front but Melksham were awarded a last-minute penalty which was duly despatched to maintain that unbeaten home record. On target for Cricklade were Max Scholefield, Dan Bond and Kris Redford, the Melksham goals were scored by Doug Dickson, Will Thomson and Will Jacomb. Melksham remain in 3rd place in the table, whilst Cricklade stay 9th.
Pewsey Vale Development are fighting to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table and today they visited a Shrewton United side battling for a top three finish. It was the visitors who opened the scoring with Taylor Edwards netting in the opening five minutes. The lead did not last long as Jaden Hier fired the division’s leading scorers back on level terms shortly afterwards. Charlie Utterson then put Shrewton in front for the first time as he met a cross to head into the bottom corner of the net for his 12th of the season and it ended 2-1 at the break. Charlie Jackson extended Shrewton’s lead following a fine solo run and finish. Captain Steven Holvey then made sure of all three points when he got on the end of a Conor Cutler cross to head powerfully in to make the final score 4-1 to Shrewton who moved to within a point of 3rd placed Melksham and with a game in hand.
Trowbridge Town are the league's draw specialists this season. They went into their trip to Malmesbury Victoria Development having drawn nine league games, including the last four, and the nine draws included the last meeting between the two sides earlier in the season. Malmesbury went into the game having lost just once in their last six games to climb away from the bottom of the table and an impressive first half performance saw them lead 2-0 at the break through goals from leading scorer Gareth Jones and Harrison Archer. Trowbridge pulled one back through a Jordan Gullis header and ensured that the points were once again shared to make it ten draws for the season when Josh Howlett scored a last-minute equaliser.
Purton’s Will Backhouse is in a rich vein of form of late. He went into the game at the Red House this afternoon having scored in the last four games for Purton and that record has now extended to five games as he bagged a brace in Purton’s 6-1 win over Devizes Town Reserves. Daren Regis also scored twice for Purton whose other goal scorers were Chris Avery and Steve Keir. Purton remain in 6th place but are now just two points behind Corsham Town Reserves with two games in hand as they chase down a top five finish.
It has been a frustrating season for Royal Wootton Bassett Town Developments top scorer from last season Ryan Withers. Injured at the back end of last season he has spent most of this season on the side lines but his return to the side has seen an improvement in recent results. Two first half goals from Withers plus two also from Players’ Player of the Year Nick Mason, taking him to five for the season, helped Royal Wootton Bassett Town to a 5-1 half-time lead over visitors Marlborough Town, Rob Lincoln with the other goal for the home side in the first period. Withers duly completed his hat-trick after the break and two further goals from Lincoln gave him his hat-trick as well as he also moved onto the five-goal mark for the season. Carl Shepherd completed the scoring for a rampant Royal Wootton Bassett side as they ran out 9-2 winners. The consolation goals for Marlborough came from Cian Cabell and Aaron Presley. The win lifted Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development a place in the table.
In the Under 18 Cup, Calne Town put themselves in pole position in Group A to qualify for the final with a comprehensive 8-0 away win at the previous Group leaders Downton. Leading scorer Jordan Anning led the way firing in four goals for the visitors taking his total for the season to 14, Oscar Webster also smashed a hat-trick and Harrison Jordan completed the scoring with his first of the season.
Premier Division
Saturday 13th April 2019
Football ID 1 Kintbury Rangers 7
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 2 Trowbridge T 2
Melksham Town Res 3 Cricklade Town 3
Purton 6 Devizes Town Res 1
Royal W. Bassett T Dev 9 Marlborough T 2
Shrewton United 4 Pewsey Vale Dev 1
Wroughton 1 Ludgershall Sports 1
Under 18 Cup – Group A
Downton 0 Calne Town 8
Saturday 20th April 2019
Wroughton's Week
Action from game between Cricklade Town and Football ID (Picture courtesy of Starsphinx)
It has been a good week for Wroughton as they make it through to the final of the Fountain Trophies Cup and see their rivals for the league title drop points in both of the two fixtures they have played this week. Action in the Premier Division this week started on Tuesday evening when title chasing Kintbury Rangers made the trip to an in-form Pewsey Vale Development. The two sides had met in midweek a few weeks back, but the game had been abandoned due to a floodlight problem with the sides level at 1-1. No such lighting problems this time round but Kintbury again found problems getting past a spirited Pewsey Vale side. Lee Smith put Pewsey Vale in front cutting in from the left before hitting a fierce strike past Kyle Clough in the Kintbury goal. Title chasing Kintbury were back on level terms before half time, Fabio Pinto scoring for the third consecutive game taking him to 12 for the season. Despite an improved second half performance from Kintbury they were unable to find the breakthrough and had to settle for a point, leaving them seven points adrift of leaders Wroughton ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, with just two games in hand. The other game to be played in midweek saw Shrewton United move up to 3rd place in the table with a 3-1 away win at Devizes Town Reserves. When the two sides had met earlier in the season Shrewton had put ten past Devizes, but they were given a much tougher game on Wednesday night, eventually edging it 3-2 thanks to goals from Lee Himsworth, Charlie Jackson and Sam Knight, Ben Tylee replying for Devizes.
Saturday saw the second semi-final of the Fountain Trophies Cup with Pewsey Vale Development and Wroughton battling it out for a place in the final against Kintbury Rangers. Wroughton took an early lead when leading scorer Shane Hibbert got on the end of a Riegan Cook corner to make it 1-0 to the visitors, this was Hibbert’s seventh goal in their cup run and his 18th of the season. Wroughton extended their lead from another Riegan Cook corner, this time it was Jamie McLaughlin who got on the end of it to make it 2-0. Cook went from provider to scorer for Wroughton’s third. Some skilful play from Aaron Maximen which ended with an excellent pass to Cook saw Cook round the keeper and slide the ball into the net to put Wroughton in what looked to be an unassailable position. However, Pewsey have been playing well of late and did not give up pulling one back through Taylor Edwards on 65 minutes following a defensive mix-up. Ten minutes later Pewsey then scored a second through a Connor Marsden header to cause some nervous closing moments for the league leaders. In fact, there was late drama as Pewsey put the ball in the net in injury time and whilst the assistant flagged for offside, the ref went over to consult him before disallowing the goal for offside. Wroughton then saw out the closing seconds to secure that final place at Corsham on Saturday 4th May against Kintbury.
With Wroughton in cup action the big match in the league saw Trowbridge Town host second in the table Kintbury Rangers as Kintbury once again sought to close the gap at the top to the leaders. Kintbury went into the game knowing that they had already defeated Trowbridge twice this season, once in the league and once in the Fountain Trophies Cup, but it looked a difficult game as Trowbridge themselves were on an eleven game unbeaten run, which had seen them draw eight of their last ten games. Trowbridge marked the recent sad passing of former player Ben Millard with a minutes silence ahead of the game which was impeccably observed by all present, with Ben also appearing on the front cover of the match day programme. On a hot afternoon the weather made it difficult for the two sides with the two defences on top throughout the game. Neither side was able to find the net but Kintbury had keeper Kyle Clough to thank for preventing the home side taking all three points, the visiting keeper pulling off a number of key saves to deny Trowbridge. So, Trowbridge’s record of drawn games is now nine in the last eleven games with eleven draws all season but more importantly as far as the title race is concerned it was another two points dropped by Kintbury which means the gap is now six points with just that one game in hand.
A minutes silence in memory of Ben Millard impeccably observed at Trowbridge (Picture courtesy of Martin Pearce)
There is no stopping Purton striker Will Backhouse who is in a rich vein of form of late. Going into Purton’s visit to Shrewton Backhouse had scored ten goals in the last seven matches, including one in each of the last five Purton games. In another impressive performance he fired a hat-trick to put Purton 3-0 up against the side third in the table, and take his goal tally to 23 for the season, but two late Shrewton goals from Lee Himsworth caused a few anxious moments for the visitors but they held on to take all three points in an impressive win that saw them move up into 5th place in the table. Shrewton stay 3rd.
Cricklade Town finally ended their barren run which had seen them go eight games without a win ahead of their game with Football ID, with a 3-2 home win. Goals from Elliott Corp, with his 13th of the season, Joey Broadbank and Ryan Lovitt ensured Cricklade took all three points. Caine Bradbury scored one of the Football ID goals from the penalty spot, Dan Warre with the other. The win lifted Cricklade a place in the table up into 8th spot.
The big battle at the bottom end of the table today saw Devizes Town Reserves at home to a Marlborough Town side who were another team who came into this weekend’s game without a win in their previous eight outings. That barren run was also ended as goals from Nathan Good, Aaron Presley and Chris Deane gave them a comfortable 3-0 away derby day win to open up a five-point gap over Football ID.
In the Under 18 Cup in midweek New College Swindon fired themselves into the final with a 5-1 away win at FC Chippenham to finish top of Group B. Two goals for Jack Rockett and one a piece for Tyler Hammick, Edrin Asante and Aaron Alexander. Their opponents in the final have yet to be decided with Calne Town currently leading the way in Group A.
Premier Division
League Results
Tuesday 16th April 2019
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Kintbury Rangers 1
Wednesday 17th April
Devizes Town Res 1 Shrewton United 3
Saturday 20th April 2019
Cricklade Town 3 Football ID 2
Devizes Town Res 0 Marlborough Town 3
Shrewton 2 Purton 3
Trowbridge Town 0 Kintbury Rangers 0
Fountain Trophies Cup Semi Final
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Wroughton 3
Under 18 Cup – Group B
FC Chippenham 1 New College Swindon 5
Premier Division
League Results
Tuesday 16th April 2019
Pewsey Vale Dev 1 Kintbury Rangers 1
Wednesday 17th April
Devizes Town Res 1 Shrewton United 3
Saturday 20th April 2019
Cricklade Town 3 Football ID 2
Devizes Town Res 0 Marlborough Town 3
Shrewton 2 Purton 3
Trowbridge Town 0 Kintbury Rangers 0
Fountain Trophies Cup Semi Final
Pewsey Vale Dev 2 Wroughton 3
Under 18 Cup – Group B
FC Chippenham 1 New College Swindon 5
Saturday 20th April 2019
Hibbert Double Fires Wroughton Comeback
Three midweek games were played in the Premier Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. The top match impacting the race for the title was at Melksham on Tuesday night where the home side were looking to defend their unbeaten home record against the side who were favourites for the league title, Wroughton. It was looking like that unbeaten record would survive its sternest test when Melksham went 2-0 shortly after half time. However, two quickfire goals from leading scorer Shane Hibbert brought Wroughton back into the game. with two goals in as many minutes taking his total for the season to 20. Jamie McLaughlin then put Wroughton in front for the first time and Jordan Lea then scored a fourth to put the league leaders in command. In an excellent game Melksham were determined to defend that proud home record and pulled one back to make it 4-3 but Wroughton soon restored their two-goal advantage and ran out 5-3 winners in an excellent advert for the league. Scorers for Melksham Town Reserves were Tom Mack with a brace and Adam Mitchell, the latter moving onto 16 for the season. The win opened up a 9-point gap at the top of the table and Wroughton are now within touching distance of their third league title.
The other game played on Tuesday saw Ludgershall Sports continue their excellent finish to the season with a 3-1 away win at Devizes Town Reserves. On target for the Sports were Sam Walsh, Harrison Hale and Ollie Wells, the win extending their unbeaten run to five games, four of which have been won. Alex Surman with the Devizes town Reserves goal. The win lifted Ludgershall back above Cricklade Town ahead of Wednesday night’s game. The game between Purton and Kintbury Rangers was postponed with Kintbury unable to raise a side on Tuesday night.
The third completed midweek game took place on Wednesday night at the Flying Monk Ground in Malmesbury where near neighbours Cricklade Town were the visitors for a local derby under the lights. The two sides came into the game on very contrasting runs, Malmesbury had lost just one in their previous seven, whilst Cricklade had won just once in nine, although that was last time out on Saturday. At half-time it looked like the game would go to form as the home side Malmesbury led through a George Stone goal but three unanswered second half goals for Cricklade in an impressive performance on the night ensured it was the visitors who took all three points to move back above Ludgershall Sports on goal difference. Two more goals for Elliott Corp taking him to 15 for the season plus one for Jason Tatum did the damage for Cricklade.
Premier Division
League Results
Tuesday 23rd April 2019
Devizes Town Res 1 Ludgershall Sports 3
Melksham Town Res 3 Wroughton 5
The third completed midweek game took place on Wednesday night at the Flying Monk Ground in Malmesbury where near neighbours Cricklade Town were the visitors for a local derby under the lights. The two sides came into the game on very contrasting runs, Malmesbury had lost just one in their previous seven, whilst Cricklade had won just once in nine, although that was last time out on Saturday. At half-time it looked like the game would go to form as the home side Malmesbury led through a George Stone goal but three unanswered second half goals for Cricklade in an impressive performance on the night ensured it was the visitors who took all three points to move back above Ludgershall Sports on goal difference. Two more goals for Elliott Corp taking him to 15 for the season plus one for Jason Tatum did the damage for Cricklade.
Premier Division
League Results
Tuesday 23rd April 2019
Devizes Town Res 1 Ludgershall Sports 3
Melksham Town Res 3 Wroughton 5
Wednesday 24th April 2019
Malmesbury Vics Dev 1 Cricklade Town 3
Malmesbury Vics Dev 1 Cricklade Town 3
Saturday 27th April 2019
Wilkinson Hits Four as Wroughton Win Again
Wroughton went into their game with Devizes Town Reserves on the back of a run that had seen just one defeat in twenty and on the brink of their third title success. Wroughton had already defeated Devizes twice this season notching thirteen goals in the process and once again dominated their opponents. Star of the show was Tyler Wilkinson who smashed in four goals, taking his total for the season to nine, Tom Price adding a fifth in a comfortable 5-0 win for league leaders and title favourites. Wroughton will finish their season with two games against Kintbury Rangers in the space of a few days, starting with next week’s cup final in what has been a very successful season that could see them do the double.
Second placed Kintbury Rangers had been hoping that Wroughton slip up else their defence of their title was likely to fall short despite losing just once in seventeen when they visited Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development. Having defeated their opponents 8-1 back in October a tougher game was expected as Royal Wootton Bassett were unbeaten in their previous three games and so it proved. George Smith scored twice to put Kintbury in the driving seat, but Bailey Gallagher then pulled one back for Royal Wootton Bassett Town to make it 2-1. However, Smith made sure the visitors left with all three points when he fired in an unstoppable free kick into the Bassett net to complete his hat-trick with his 17th of the season. Kintbury go again in midweek when they travel to Ludgershall Sports.
There was an attractive looking game at the Red House where Purton took on an in-form Ludgershall Sports, who were unbeaten in five ahead of todays encounter, four of which were won. However, with ten goals and a goal in each of the last six Purton games Will Backhouse was looking to close in on Shaun Thorp as the league’s top scorer. Ludgershall’s good run of late came to an abrupt end but for once it was not Backhouse who did all the damage, instead it was a hat-trick from former defender turned striker George Drewitt who secured the points for Purton. Backhouse did manage one and Jack Duckers completing the scoring for the home side in a 5-1 win. Sam Walsh with his fourth of the season getting Ludgershall’s goal.
Corsham Town Reserves completed their fixtures with a trip to Cricklade Town, a side who had won their last two games. When the sides had met back in February Corsham had won 5-0 and Cricklade avenged that result with a 5-0 win of their own, making it three wins on the bounce The goals were spread around the team with one goal a piece for Max Scholefield, Jason Tatum, Jonathan Peachey-Score, Kris Redford and Daniel Bond as Cricklade continued their excellent finish to the season.
Marlborough Town ended a barren run last week with a 3-0 win at Devizes. Today they travelled to play a Trowbridge Town side who had drawn their last six games and nine of their previous eleven. Trowbridge won 6-2 at Marlborough at the turn of the year and were looking to do the double over their opponents but it was a lot closer this time round. A solitary goal from Aaron Masson settled matters in Trowbridge’s favour, with Marlborough not helping their cause by having a couple of players sent-off, Trowbridge also having a player dismissed in a fiesty contest. The goal came on the half-hour mark and was enough to give Trowbridge all three points and extended their unbeaten run to thirteen games, but they remain in eighth place.
The big game at the bottom end of the table saw Pewsey Vale Development travel to Football ID looking to move off the bottom. A win for Pewsey would also have meant they would have done the double over Football ID having won 2-0 three weeks ago. However, in the end there was to be no winner this time round as the two sides shared four goals and the points. On target for Pewsey were Jake Force-Jones and Ethan Fishlock, Josh Morse and Dan Boswell with the goals for Football ID. The point was enough, however, to lift Pewsey away from the bottom of the table, as they moved above Devizes Town Reserves on goal difference.
The Under 18 Division was completed in midweek with FC Chippenham securing runners-up spot behind Melksham Town with a 4-1 home win over Downton. Zac Howell scored the opening goal with a lob over the goalkeeper that scraped the underside of the crossbar and went in. Pete Ashcroft added a second with a superb first time shot from the edge of the box that curled around the keeper and found the top corner. Ash Alchin scored the third goal when he ran through the Downton defence and took the ball around the keeper and buried the ball in the back of the net. Pete Ashcroft added a fourth goal for the home side with a low driven shot that squeezed in just inside the post. Freddie Smith scored for Downton when he fired the ball into the net direct from a corner. The win meant FC Chippenham finished a point above New College Swindon and three points clear of Calne Town in fourth spot in what had been a close race for second spot behind runaway champions Melksham.
Premier Division League Results
Saturday 27th April 2019
Cricklade Town 5 Corsham Town Res 0
Football ID 2 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Purton 5 Ludgershall Sports 1
Royal W.Bassett T D 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Trowbridge Town 1 Marlborough Town 0
Wroughton 5 Devizes Town Res 0
U18 Division Results
Thursday 25th April 2019
FC Chippenham 4 Downton 1
Premier Division League Results
Saturday 27th April 2019
Cricklade Town 5 Corsham Town Res 0
Football ID 2 Pewsey Vale Dev 2
Purton 5 Ludgershall Sports 1
Royal W.Bassett T D 1 Kintbury Rangers 3
Trowbridge Town 1 Marlborough Town 0
Wroughton 5 Devizes Town Res 0
U18 Division Results
Thursday 25th April 2019
FC Chippenham 4 Downton 1
Tuesday 30th April 2019
Kintbury Close The Gap At The Top
Kintbury moved to within six points of leaders Wroughton and warmed up for Saturday’s cup final with a 4-1 away win at Ludgershall Sports. George Smith set them on their way, carrying on where he left off on Saturday when he had fired a hat-trick, when he tapped in after a Ludgershall clearance had come back off the post. Alex Smith then put the visitors 2-0 up when he headed in a Harry Way corner and it remained 2-0 at the break. Sam Walsh then pulled one back for Ludgershall just after the half time interval, scoring for the third consecutive game, to put Ludgershall back in the match. Kintbury regained their two-goal advantage 15 minutes from time when Harry Way scored his first since December to make it 3-1. The points were then wrapped up in the closing stages when Fabio Pinto added a fourth, netting his 13th of the season.
Melksham Town Reserves ended their season on a winning note with an impressive performance at home to Football ID. Billy Gleed bagged a brace to take his total to six for the season and Kieron Pearce and Jack Baker both netted their second goals of the season in a 4-0 home win. The win lifted Melksham Town Reserves into third spot above Shrewton United, although the positions would change again if Shrewton pick up a point in their final game of the season at Malmesbury Victoria Development on Friday night.
Malmesbury warmed up for that Friday night encounter with a 2-0 home win over Pewsey Vale Development, who ended their season in 14th position, above bottom side Devizes Town Reserves on goal difference only. Both goals came in the first half, Sam Jenner opening the scoring before Jack O’Reilly added a second with his first of the season. The win lifted Malmesbury above Royal Wootton Bassett Town Development into 10th spot where they will finish irrespective of the result on Friday night.
Premier Division League Results
Tuesday 30th April 2019
Ludgershall Sports 1 Kintbury Rangers 4
Malmesbury Vics Dev 2 Pewsey Vale Dev 0
Melksham Town Res 4 Football ID 0
Thursday 2nd May 2019
Fountain Trophies Cup Final Preview
This Saturday (4th May 2019) sees the final of the Fountain Trophies Senior KO Cup. We are most grateful to Corsham Town FC
for hosting the final at Southbank, for the 26th successive season. The excellent facilities at Corsham make it an ideal venue for our Finals.
The League Officers, Management Committee and Member Clubs also express their thanks to Paul Sebastianelli of Fountain Trophies who are sponsoring of the Senior Cup for the fourth successive season after 24 seasons as sponsors of the Junior KO Cup. A truly remarkable, long-standing partnership for which we are extremely grateful.
It is fitting that the league’s two top sides, Wroughton FC
and Kintbury Rangers
will contest this weekend’s final, which kicks off at 3.00pm. Referee for the final is Sam Hunt from Swindon, with Neil Meadows from Bromham and Kevan Dean from Andover as his assistants. Graham Colwill from Salisbury will be the fourth official.
Fountain Trophies Cup Final Records
of Two Teams
Looking at the historical record of the two finalists, Wroughton have made the final and won the cup on two previous occasions, whilst Kintbury Rangers are in their first ever Fountains Trophies Cup Final.
Wroughton won the cup for the first time back in Season 2015-16 when they defeated Chippenham Park Development 2-1 in the final, Dan Cole and Steve Nisbitt with the Wroughton goals. They then retained the trophy the following year courtesy of a 3-1 win over Shrewton United, Shane Hibbert, James Turner and Richie Saunders finding the net that afternoon.
For Kintbury this will be their first final in any cup competition since they won the North Berks Charity Shield five years ago. Back in Season 2013-14 they defeated Ardington & Lockinge 5-3 after extra-time in the final of that North Berks Charity Cup thanks to four goals from Charlie Allsop, Shaun Thorp, this season’s top scorer in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, also amongst the goals that day.
How They Made It to The Final
Last season’s league champions Kintbury Rangers kicked off their Fountain Trophies Cup campaign with a trip to Trowbridge Town. The two sides had met in the league the previous month when Kintbury had won by the odd goal in five and once again the cup match was a tight affair. Two first half goals from Tom Mahoney and Shaun Thorp put Kintbury 2-0 up at the break. However, a strong second half performance from Trowbridge saw Jordan Gullis pull one back and Trowbridge pushed hard for the equaliser but a goal from Chris Cox right at the death ensured it is Kintbury who made it through to the Second Round.
Wroughton had a comfortable passage through to the Second Round winning 7-2 away at Devizes Town Reserves. Tom Dingle set them on their way and Kyle Parker made it 2-0 before Devizes pulled one back through Ben Perrett. Aaron Maximen restored the two-goal advantage but again Devizes pulled one back, Perrett again the scorer, before Wroughton’s top scorer Shane Hibbert got in on the act to make it 4-2 at the break. Three unanswered second half goals gave Wroughton a 7-2-win, Jordan Lea, Tom Price and Hibbert, with his second of the game 15 minutes from time, the scorers in the second half.
In the Second Round, which was also the quaretr final stage, Kintbury Rangers had a really tough looking fixture having been drawn against the previous season’s winners Melksham Town Reserves. On a windy day that made football difficult, Kintbury adapted better to the conditions. The league’s leading scorer Shaun Thorp set them on their way midway through the first half when he curled shot in with his left foot from 25 yards for what turned out to be the only goal of the first half. Within ten minutes of the restart Melksham were back on level terms, Billy Gleed with his fourth of the season. Kintbury went back in front when Tom Mahoney fired in a great shot which hit the post but flew into the top of the net off the post for another good goal. Mahoney was then involved in the move that finally sealed matters for Kintbury when he broke down the right, cut inside a Melksham defender and fired in a shot which was deflected, the ball falling to Fabio Pinto who fired in the rebound to ensure that it is Kintbury who progress to the next round, 3-1 the final score to Kintbury.
Wroughton also had a tricky looking quarter final tie at home to Purton. Whilst Wroughton started as favourites they would have been mindful that Purton had done a league double over them last season and had also beaten them once in the league this season in January, Wroughton’s only defeat since the 10th of October. William Backhouse with his 17th of the season put visitors Purton in front, but Shane Hibbert equalised for Wroughton. Aaron Maximen then scored his 13th of the season to put Wroughton in the lead but a George Drewitt equaliser sent the game into extra time. There was little to choose between the sides in an excellent game which was a great advert for the league. In the first period of extra time Shane Hibbert scored his second of the game to put Wroughton back in front but Chris Avery made it 3-3 in before the end of the first period of extra time. With both sides giving it all it certainly looked like penalties would be needed to settle matters. However, veteran Tom Dingle put Wroughton back in front early in the second period of extra time. Purton pushed hard for another equaliser but were the caught twice on the break by the league leaders, Shane Hibbert scoring two more to make it four for the afternoon to give a flattering looking final score to what had been a very tight game between two good sides.
The semi-finals saw Kintbury Rangers facing another tough looking fixture away at Shrewton United. The home side had much the better of things in the first half and created a couple of really good chances which unfortunately for the home supporters were spurned and the sides turned around with the score 0-0 at the break. Shrewton were made to pay for those missed chances as second half goals from Tom Mahoney and Fabio Pinter gave Kintbury a 2-1 win and see them through to their first cup final for five years.
The second semi-final saw Wroughton travel to take on a rejuvenated Pewsey Vale Development side who had saved their best form for the Fountain Trophies Cup. Wroughton took an early lead when leading scorer Shane Hibbert got on the end of a Riegan Cook corner to make it 1-0 to the visitors, this was Hibbert’s seventh goal in their cup run and his 18th of the season. Wroughton extended their lead from another Riegan Cook corner, this time it was Jamie McLaughlin who got on the end of it to make it 2-0. Cook went from provider to scorer for Wroughton’s third. Some skilful play from Aaron Maximen which ended with an excellent pass to Cook saw Cook round the keeper and slide the ball into the net to put Wroughton in what looked to be an unassailable position. However, Pewsey had been playing well in recent games and did not give up pulling one back through Taylor Edwards on 65 minutes following a defensive mix-up. Ten minutes later Pewsey then scored a second through a Connor Marsden header to cause some nervous closing moments for the league leaders. In fact, there was late drama as Pewsey put the ball in the net in injury time and whilst the assistant flagged for offside, the ref went over to consult him before disallowing the goal for offside. Wroughton then saw out the closing seconds to secure that final place at Corsham on Saturday against Kintbury.
League Status of Sides
The two sides have met just once in the league, with the second meeting scheduled for next Tuesday night. Wroughton currently lead the Premier Division by six points over Kintbury in second place in the race for league honours. Wroughton have just the one game to play against Kintbury, whilst Kintbury also have to travel to play Purton. Despite efforts on the field, honours could yet be decided in the committee room as there are pending disciplinary cases to be heard, which could involve points deductions.
When the sides met back in September, Kintbury went into the game boasting the last 100% record this season but that record was well and truly ended as the reigning league champions were brought back down to earth by a rampant Wroughton side who ran out 5-1 winners maintaining their record of being, at the time, one of two clubs in the league never to lose to Kintbury Rangers. Wroughton are now the only team in this season’s constitution never to have lost to Kintbury after the other side Cricklade Town were beaten by Kintbury this season. Top scorer Shane Hibbert set Wroughton on their way scoring from the penalty spot as early as the 3rd minute after a controversial penalty award. Tyler Wilkinson extended Wroughton’s lead from another set piece before Shaun Thorp pulled one back for Kintbury. Tyler Wilkinson regained Wroughton’s two goal advantage with his second of the game to make it 3-1 at the break. Further second half goals from Tom Price and Kyle Parker ensured Wroughton remained the only unbeaten side in the league at that time.
It should be a cracking game on Saturday as Wroughton look to maintain that unbeaten record, whilst Kintbury look to avenge that heavy defeat back in September.
Dangermen
The game sees many of the leading strikers in the league competing against each other.
Wroughton's experienced trio of Shane Hibbert (left), Aaron Maximen (centre)and Tom Dingle (right) have scored 45 goals between them for Wroughton this season.
Whilst Kintbury's strike partnership of George Smith (left) and Shaun Thorp (right) have scored over 50 goals this season in league and cup competitions.
It should be a cracking game on Saturday at Corsham as Wroughton look to maintain that unbeaten record against Kintbury, whilst Kintbury look to avenge that heavy defeat back in September.
Saturday 4th May 2019
Shrewton Finish in 3rd Spot
Shrewton Utd pictured ahead of their 4-3 win at Malmesbury that secured 3rd spot in the table
League action in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this weekend kicked off on Friday night with a game under lights at Malmesbury which saw both Malmesbury Victoria Development and Shrewton United complete their respective seasons. In an entertaining game both sides played some good football and the match was to end with a flurry of goals and an altercation which saw a Malmesbury player dismissed in the closing stages.
The first chance of the game fell to Malmesbury’s George Stone, one of two pacey wingers in the Malmesbury side. A ball over the top on 5 minutes saw him clear of the Shrewton defence but his shot, although powerfully hit, was straight at Shrewton keeper Ben Bissington who held onto the shot easily. Shrewton immediately broke down the other end and this time it was Malmesbury keeper Travis Wood called into action as he forced into a save from a Craig Appleby shot and Shrewton’s Tyler Pavey following up was unable to take advantage and the ball was cleared for a corner. The deadlock was broken shortly afterwards when Shrewton’s influential play maker Dan Burton found himself with the ball on the left-hand side of the area, beating the last defender he then side footed a shot under the keeper Wood and into the Malmesbury net to make it 1-0.
With just over quarter of an hour gone Shrewton created a chance to extend their lead when Charlie Jackson put Tyren Harrington clear of the Malmesbury defence, but his effort was well saved by Wood. Two minutes later the other Malmesbury striker with plenty of pace, Gareth Jones, sped past the Shrewton back line, rounded keeper Ben Bissington, only for a defender to get back and dispossess him before he could get his shot away. Malmesbury were now starting to get into the game and went close to equalising again on 25 minutes. Full back Robbie Pitman broke down the right and got behind the Shrewton defence, although there was a suspicion of handball which allowed him to get beyond the final defender which was not given. He put in a dangerous low cross into the Shrewton box and found Harrison Archer but the chance was spurned as Archer shot wide of the right hand post. Malmesbury continued to press for the equaliser and it was Gareth Jones who was next to go close to finding the net. Cutting in from the left his first shot on goal rebounded back to him off a Shrewton defender and he hit a second powerful shot from the edge of the box but unfortunately for Malmesbury it was straight at keeper Bissington who held onto it well. If it had been a yard either side of him it would probably have been a goal. Shrewton themselves continued to create chances of their own and went close on 36 minutes. A cross from Tyler Pavey caused problems for Malmesbury keeper Travis Wood who collided with his far post as the ball went just wide. Thankfully the young keeper was not injured in the process. Right on the stroke of half time Shrewton extended their lead. A well-placed ball over the top of the Malmesbury defence from Charlie Utterson was neatly finished by Charlie Jackson as he fired into the bottom right hand corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Malmesbury started the second half keen to get back into the match and George Stone found himself clear of the Shrewton defence two minutes after the restart but was tackled just as he was about to shoot, Malmesbury shouts for a penalty fell on deaf ears and the ball was cleared. Shrewton went straight down the other end and nearly scored themselves as Craig Appleby fired in a shot which sailed just over the Malmesbury bar. On the hour mark the best chance of the half so far fell to Gareth Jones. Once again he outpaced the Shrewton defence after another long ball over the top, but the normally assured striker shot quickly and wide when a little bit more composure would have probably seen him find the net. Malmesbury were certainly still in the game despite the 2-0 score line, although Shrewton continued to cause problems when they attacked. Charlie Jackson went close to making the game safe moments later when he fired in a great shot from the edge of the box, but he was denied by an equally good save from Travis Wood diving to his left. It was real end-to-end stuff now and Elliott Drage went close for Malmesbury after good set-up play from Gareth Jones. Malmesbury were not to be denied though and pulled one back on 65 minutes. The goal, however, did not come from one of their lively strikers but from a defender as Sam Brown headed into the Shrewton net for his second goal of the season following good build up play. Straight from the kick-off Shrewton went down the other end and thought they had almost immediately restored the two-goal advantage when the ball was fired into the Malmesbury net only for the goal to be disallowed by an offside flag.
Malmesbury continued to push for an equaliser and substitute Dan Scull shot powerfully from distance on 69 minutes but luckily for Shrewton keeper Bissington it was straight at him. Next it was the turn of Gareth Jones to go close, a neat inter-play between George Stone allowed Jones to fire in a shot which went just over the bar. Whilst it was Malmesbury who were in the ascendancy Shrewton continued to create chances of their own and substitute Alistair Carvell forced Malmesbury keeper Travis Wood into making an excellent double save, firstly saving Carvell’s initial shot and then reacting quickly to prevent Charlie Jackson on the follow-up.
It had been a good game up to now, but the real excitement and controversy was saved for the final 15 minutes. Firstly, Gareth Jones continued his end of season scoring streak as he cut in from the left and fired in a powerful and accurate shot into the right hand corner of the net to make it 2-2 with Shrewton keeper Ben Bissington seemingly unsighted and rooted to his spot on the line. It was not to remain level for long, however, as Shrewton went straight down the other end and immediately restored their lead and it was Charlie Jackson who got the goal through sheer determination in the tackle. On a couple of occasions, he went into for strong tackles in the Malmesbury box winning the challenges and on the last occasion the ball ricocheted back off him and into the Malmesbury net for his second of the game. Not the prettiest of goals but just reward for effort and determination.
With ten minutes to go the game took an ugly turn. After being played in a good spirit up to that point, a bad tackle by a Malmesbury player saw tempers flare and the end result of it all after an altercation between a number of players was that Malmesbury had a player dismissed. Five minutes later Shrewton looked as though they had made sure of the three points when they were awarded a free kick dead centre on the edge of the box. As substitute Alistair Carvell looked to line up to shoot his disguised approach saw him slide the ball to his left to Charlie Utterson who fired into the roof of the net. A neat free kick routine that looked like it had been well worked on in training and certainly caught out the Malmesbury defence. That was not to be the end of it though as, despite being down to 10 men, Malmesbury pulled it back to 4-3 when Harrison Archer fired a shot straight at keeper Ben Bissington who somehow allowed the ball to squirm under his legs and cause a few nervous moments before the final whistle. In the end Shrewton held out to secure all three points courtesy of the 4-3 win which means they went above Melksham Town Reserves to finish in third spot in the table. A good season for the side under new management who are expected to again be among the leading sides next season. For Malmesbury (pictured below) after a tough start to the season which saw them lose their first seven games they have improved tremendously losing just three times in their final ten games to finish in 10th spot.
Malmesbury Victoria Dev pictured ahead of their 4-3 defeat against Shrewton Utd
There were two games played on Saturday with another four sides completing their seasons. Trowbridge Town have had a great end to the season and made it fourteen games without defeat to end the season thanks to goals from leading scorers Josh Hard and Alex Pippard in a 2-0 home win over Ludgershall Sports. Hard finished on 22 for the season whilst Pippard moved into double figures with his goal. Trowbridge finished in 6th place and their form at the end of the season bodes well for next season. Ludgershall finished in 9th spot in the table.
Another side ending their season on an unbeaten run are Cricklade Town. They made it five games unbeaten to finish the season when they left Marlborough Town with a point following a 2-2 draw. On target for Cricklade were Reece Gilliver and Michael Lees, Aaron Presley with his 18th of the season and Kieran Maidment with the Marlborough goals. Cricklade finished the season in 8th place with Marlborough occupying 12th spot.
There are now just two league matches to complete the season, both involving Kintbury Rangers who play Wroughton again on Tuesday and then Purton on Thursday night.
Premier Division League ResultsFriday 3rd May 2019
Malmesbury Victoria Dev 3 Shrewton Utd 4
Saturday 4th May 2019
Marlborough Town 2 Cricklade Town 2
Trowbridge Town 2 Ludgershall Sports 0
Saturday 4th May 2019
Kintbury Lift Cup Following Excellent Final
Fountain Trophies Cup Winners 2018-19 Kintbury Rangers (picture courtesy of John Cuthbertson)
The final of the Fountain Trophies Senior Cup involved the top two teams in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and the final lived up to its star billing with plenty of goals and key moments of drama. On a warm afternoon in front of a large crowd at the Southbank Ground in Corsham, the traditional venue for the cup final, there was almost a goal in the first few minutes when Wroughton’s leading scorer Shane Hibbert smashed an overhead kick against the Kintbury bar with Kintbury then clearing the rebound to safety. They again went close a couple of minutes later when a short free kick routine taken by Riegan Cook found Jamie McLaughlin whose shot was saved by Kintbury keeper Kyle Clough, but the linesman’s flag was up in any event. At the other end Kintbury looked at their most dangerous from set pieces, either from long throw-ins into the box or corners. Just before the ten-minute mark they had a spell where they had four corners in succession, but they were unable to make it count, captain Shaun Thorp just failing to get on the end of the last of the four corners.
The next attack went Wroughton’s way and Aaron Maximen fed in Kyle Parker, but his cross come shot went wide of the left-hand post. Once again at the other end it was corners that were causing the Wroughton defence problems and Shaun Thorp headed just wide from one such corner. The veteran striker was again involved in the next Kintbury chance picking up a poor goal kick and feeding his fellow strike partner George Smith whose dangerous cross from the right into the box looked to have come off a Wroughton defender but unfortunately for Kintbury a goal kick was given. It was all Kintbury now as they dominated possession and put the Wroughton defence under sustained pressure for a ten minute spell, as Wroughton struggled to get out of their own half, but the defence held firm and Kintbury were unable to break the deadlock despite seeing so much of the possession. Wroughton did manage to create an attack on 22 minutes and earned a free kick in a dangerous position. Riegan Cook found the head of Tom Dingle from the free kick but his effort went wide of the right-hand post. A couple of minutes later the deadlock was finally broken and it was not surprising that it came from a Kintbury corner, although it should have been cleared by the Wroughton defence. Instead Kintbury’s Fabio Pinto got his head on the loose ball and headed into the Wroughton net for his third in the cup competition this season and his 14th of the season.
Soon after the goal and incident involving Kintbury’s Stephen Blunt and Wroughton’s Riegan Cook saw Cook become the first player to go into the referee’s book. Moments later Kintbury’s Liam Thorne also found his name in referee Sam Hunt’s book following a strong tackle on Wroughton’s Chris Flannagan. Alex Smith quickly followed his team mate into the referee’s notebook moments later when a free kick was given against him as the game threatened to boil over. When matters settled down again it was Wroughton who went to close to scoring an equaliser. Tyler Wilkinson saw a shot rebound to him and his volley back at goal went just wide of the left-hand post. Wroughton continued to press for an equaliser and Tom Dingle played in Riegan Cook but the youngster saw his quickly taken shot sail way over the bar. Kintbury continued to look dangerous from their long throw-ins into the box and at corners and it was again no surprise when they extended their lead from another such corner. This time it was Jamie Gannon who got on the end of a George Smith corner to make it 2-0 to Kintbury and it remained that way at the break. Kintbury had been much the better side in the opening 45 minutes, looking particularly dangerous from any set play. For Wroughton, apart from those set pieces, they had defended well but at the other end had been unable to create any decent clear-cut chances for their normally prolific front three.
Having found themselves two down at the break it got quickly worse for Wroughton a minute after the restart. George Smith broke down the right for Kintbury and as he crossed the ball into the box he was caught by the Wroughton defender. The cross sailed over all those in the box, but the referee had pointed to the spot for a foul on Smith. Wroughton’s Gareth Davies joined the list of players in the referee’s notebook as a result of the challenge. Shaun Thorp stepped up to take the penalty and fired it powerfully into the roof of the net giving Wroughton keeper Callum Wilkinson no chance, as the league’s leading scorer moved his total onto 31. Despite the set back Wroughton responded well and took the game to Kintbury as they started to play their normal flowing football that had been missing in that opening period. They got themselves back into the game when Tom Price fired in a shot from the edge of the penalty area to make it 3-1. Shortly afterwards it got even better as Wroughton were awarded their own penalty for a foul in the box. Aaron Maximen stepped up and coolly chipped the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net, sending keeper Kyle Clough the wrong way to make it 3-2. Wroughton immediately continued to press and were awarded another free kick right on the edge of the box which saw Kintbury’s Thorne pick up a second booking for disputing the decision and receiving his marching orders. Another Kintbury player also picked up a yellow card in the incident. Unfortunately for Wroughton, Riegan Cook’s powerful and low free kick was fired straight into the Kintbury wall and the ball was cleared.
Despite the one-man disadvantage Kintbury continued to be adventurous on the break and nearly extended their lead ten minutes from time when Alex Smith fired in a shot from 25 yards that went just wide of the post. Substitute Alistair Thorp then went on a mazy run into the Wroughton box, went down but the hopeful calls for a penalty from the Kintbury fans behind the goal line fell on deaf ears. Instead it was to be a penalty incident at the other end which was ultimately decide the game. A Wroughton shot into the box was adjudged to have hit a Kintbury hand and again the referee pointed to the penalty spot. It looked harsh on the defender as the ball was struck at him from close in but penalty was the decision. Having successfully scored the first penalty Aaron Maximen again stepped up to take the spot kick. However, this time he went for power and the other side of the goal but fired it at a height which enabled keeper Kyle Clough to pull off a great save to maintain his side’s lead. Wroughton continued to press for the equaliser and five minutes from time Shane Hibbert got on the end of a cross from the right but his header went agonisingly wide for the league leaders. Despite the obvious Wroughton pressure Kintbury remained dangerous on the break with captain Thorp doing particularly well to hold up the ball and take pressure off his defence. The wily striker earned his side a free kick about 30 yards out. Fellow strike partner George Smith took the resulting free kick and fired in a powerful strike that went over. Within minutes there was another free-kick from a similar position and distance and once again Smith made an audacious and powerful strike on goal from distance which this time went just wide of the post. There was still time for a couple of further chances for Wroughton. Riegan Cook engineered a shot for himself on the edge of the box but his shot struck a Kintbury defender and out to safety. The final chance of the game fell to Tom Dingle who got on the end of a cross into the box but again for Wroughton his header went agonisingly just wide of the post. The final whistle saw wild celebrations from the Kintbury players and supporters.
An excellent cup final between the two best sides in the league had been narrowly won by last season’s league champions. The consolation for the losing finalists Wroughton is that they can be crowned the new champions this coming week as the two sides meet again in the league on Tuesday night.
Team captains with match officals before todays Fountain Trohies Cup Final (picture courtesy of John Cuthbertson)
More pictures can be found on John Cuthbertson's website at
Click on Your Sport Swindon logo to see the goals from the 2018-19 Fountain Trophies Cup Final
Tuesday 7th May 2019
Wroughton Crowned Champions for the 3rd Time
Just a couple of days after a superb cup final between Kintbury Rangers and Wroughton the two sides met again in the league on a night when Wroughton were crowned champions and Kintbury finished as runners-up to add to their cup win on Saturday. With the cup final being such an enthralling contest, the league game would have to go some to match the entertainment but those in attendance at Kintbury on Tuesday night were not disappointed as the two sides once again staged an entertaining encounter. On Saturday Wroughton had not kicked into gear until after the break having found themselves 3-0 down but it was a different story in the rematch on Tuesday. After surviving a couple of scares early on when Kintbury hit the woodwork, Wroughton went in front when Aaron Maximen rose high above the Kintbury defence to powerfully head Wroughton into the lead from a corner. They went further in front when Shane Hibbert found himself beyond the Kintbury defence with the ball at his feet and coolly slotted the ball past Kyle Clough in the Kintbury goal to make it 2-0. Both sides were going for it and there were chances at both ends but it remained 2-0 to Wroughton at the break, the reverse of the story in Saturday’s cup final.
On Saturday Kintbury had scored almost immediately after the break but last night Wroughton were unable to match that feat and it was the home side who pulled themselves back into the game when George Smith was upended in the box and a penalty awarded. Smith picked himself up, dusted himself down and, in the absence of normal penalty taker Shaun Thorp, stepped up to take the spot kick. Although the penalty was powerfully struck it was brilliantly saved by Wroughton keeper Callum Wilkinson. However, Wroughton’s joy was short lived when the referee’s assistant flagged that the keeper had moved off his line and the spot kick was ordered to be retaken, a very harsh call on the young keeper. Second time around Smith made no mistake firing into the net to make it 2-1. Moments later Kintbury were back on level terms, a corner was hit into the box and the presence of Ali Thorp seemed to cause havoc in the Wroughton six yard box and the ball found its way into the net, it was not clear if it was an own goal or Thorp got the last touch. There were claims for a foul on the keeper, but these fell on deaf ears and the goal stood to make it 2-2. Kintbury were in the ascendancy now and continued to push forward. Having been on the wrong end of a couple of decisions in the matter of a couple of minutes Wroughton found themselves on the wrong end of another as Craig Bowden was adjudged to have fouled a Kintbury player in the box and another penalty was awarded with Bowden also booked. Once again it was George Smith who stepped up to the spot and fired his side in front for the first time in the match with his 6th goal in the last 3 league games and his 23rd of the season. Wroughton pushed for an equaliser and went close with a Shane Hibbert effort but they were unable to find the net again. At the other end Kintbury went close but Craig Bowden superbly cleared off the line after it looked like Kintbury would score. It ended 3-2 to Kintbury in what had been another enthralling game between the league’s top two sides in what must have been a great spectacle for any neutrals attending.
Wroughton have been the best and most consistent side this season, leading from the front and fully deserve their third league title, having also won the league in Seasons 2007-8 and 2016-17. They kicked-off the season by going unbeaten in their opening 9 games, 7 of which were won. That sequence included a 5-1 home win over reigning champions Kintbury who up until then had registered a 100% record in their opening 5 league games. Wroughton’s first defeat came in midweek under lights at Malmesbury. After then drawing away at Corsham Town Reserves, a ground where no visiting team won this season, they then won 6 league games on the bounce to take pole position in the title race. A 3-0 home defeat to Purton, Purton are often difficult opponents for Wroughton having done the double over them the previous season, could have knocked the confidence but Wroughton responded with an impressive 10 game unbeaten run, which saw 8 of those games won ahead of Tuesday’s match-up with Kintbury. The title had been decided ahead of the Kintbury game with Kintbury having been deducted the point they gained away at Trowbridge on Easter Saturday as a result of the playing of ineligible players. Despite the game in the end having nothing at stake credit to both sides for putting on another superb game in the circumstances, this was certainly no end of season, players on the beach encounter.
Special mention also to the other sides in the division who have all played their part in what has been an entertaining season. Shrewton United have finished third and along with Melksham Town Reserves stayed in the race for the title until the closing couple of months of the season. Corsham Town Reserves went unbeaten at home all season and Melksham Town Reserves nearly matched that, losing their only home game in their penultimate game when title chasing Wroughton inflicted their only defeat at the InfiLED Stadium. A number of sides have had also had strong finishes to the season and will be hoping to continue that form at the start of next season. Included in that bracket are Purton, who have finished in 5th spot who, ahead of Thursday’s final game against Kintbury, have only lost twice in the league since the turn of the year. Meanwhile Trowbridge Town have finished the season with a 14-game unbeaten run, and will no doubt also be looking forward to looking to extend that at the start of next season. The season concludes on Thursday night when Kintbury make the trip to Purton in the final game of the 2018-19 Season.
Premier Division League Results
Kintbury Rangers 3 Wroughton 2
Kintbury Rangers 3 Wroughton 2
George Smith who scored two penalties on the night takes on the Wroughton defence
League Champions 2018-19 Wroughton (picture courtesy of John Cuthbertson)
Thursday 9th May 2019
Purton End Season in Style
Purton and Kintbury Rangers brought the 2018-19 Season in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division to a close on Thursday night at the Red House. Having played Wroughton on Tuesday night, and with this final game having no consequences for the final league table, Kintbury gave the opportunity to a number of their reserve team players to make the step up to the County League. Purton meanwhile went into the game as one of the form sides in the second half of the season having lost just once in their last twelve games. The home side took an early lead when defender turned striker George Drewitt got on the end of a cross from the right to fire Purton in front with just three minutes on the clock. The lead was doubled shortly afterwards when Daren Regis got behind the Kintbury defence, rounded keeper Kyle Clough and rolled the ball into the net to make it 2-0 to Purton. They increased the leader further on 20 minutes when Nathan Marland beat keeper Clough with a low drive to make it 3-0 and it remained that way at the break.
Kintbury Rangers came out for the second half in more determined fashion. Last seasons top scorer Charlie Allsop, who had only played in ten games this season ahead of the Purton game, went close for Kintbury, but he fired the chance that came his way over the Purton bar. His strike partner on the night, George Smith, has been in good form of late with six goals in the previous four games and it was he who got Kintbury back into the game on the hour mark when the pacey striker beat the offside trap to round the keeper Clough to make it 3-1. Purton responded by creating a couple of chances of their own to restore the three-goal advantage but twice Kyle Clough saved to deny them. Kintbury then went close again themselves when a shot from just outside the box hit the woodwork and bounced to safety. However, Purton made sure of all three points with ten minutes to go when substitute Manuel Mesas fired into the corner of the net to make it 4-1. This was not the end of the scoring on the night as substitute Chris Avery scored his 9th goal of the campaign to make it 5-1 to Purton on the night, as the home side finished the season with four straight wins. If they can keep the same squad of players for next season they are certainly likely to be up their challenging for honours based on their form in the latter half of the season. The goal from George Smith for Kintbury meant that he finished as the second highest scorer in league games on 23, one less than teammate Shaun Thorp who scored 24, although his total would have been three higher had Westbury not withdrawn from the league. The full list of the top scorers this season is shown below.
Premier Division League Results
Purton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1
Purton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1
Thursday 16th May 2019
New College Lift U18 Cup
The last action of the 2018-19 Season in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League saw New College Swindon and Calne Town contest the U18 Division Cup Final at Corsham Town on Wednesday night.
Calne Town had reached the final having headed Group A which had included the league champions Melksham Town. An excellent 2-2 draw with Melksham was followed by a big 8-0 win over the other side in their group, Downton. The two scheduled return matches did not then take place as both Melksham Town and Downton conceded the second games due to player availability issues. New College meanwhile made it through to the final with two 5-1 wins both home and away against league runners-up FC Chippenham.
The action on Wednesday night followed the pattern of the recent Fountain Trophies Senior Cup Final with the winning side racing into a 3-0 lead only to see their opponents get themselves back into the game. New College went in front courtesy of an own goal. Midway through the second half, two well placed shots into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the box from Edrin Asante and Jack Rockett then put New College into a comfortable 3-0 lead. With the game moving into its closing stages Calne Town’s leading scorer Jordan Anning pulled one back firing into the top corner of the net. Not long after a cross into the New College box was met by Jack Coward to make it 3-2 and all of a sudden the potential for extra-time loomed. Calne continued to press for an equaliser winning a number of corners but all of these were well dealt with by the New College defence who held out to take the cup 3-2. Over the ninety minutes New College were deserved winners but credit to Calne Town for the comeback and creating the excitement in the closing stages in another excellent cup final.
New College 3 Calne Town 2
Official Website of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League
© The Wiltshire Senior Football League Limited. All rights reserved.