League News Season  2022-23

Veterans' Divisions Roundups

The 2022-23 Season in the two Veterans’ divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League got underway this week with both last season’s two champions in action in the opening round of matches.

Mid Wiltshire Division

In the Mid Wiltshire Division reigning champions Melksham Town started their defence of the title at home against Chippenham Town . Melksham had won all four of the previous meetings between the two sides and that record continued on Monday night as they secured a 3-1 win to get their title defence up and running with a win. The top scorer in the two previous seasons, Charlie Griffin, was again the player inflicting the most damage on Chippenham as he bagged a brace. The third Melksham goal came from substitute Richard Siekiera deep in injury time on his Melksham Town debut, with Chippenham’s top scorer from last season Ryan Nicholls getting the goal for the visitors.

Last season’s runners-up in the Mid Wiltshire Division and County Cup winners Bradford Town were also in action with a game against Corsham Town , the side who had finished just below them in last season’s final table. Both games last season had been tight affairs, both of which were won by single goal margins, but it was a different story in the first meeting this season as Bradford Town secured a comfortable 5-1 win with the goals being shared around the team with Michael Little, Robert Mitchell, David Percival, Mark Robinson and Nicholas Ross all getting their name on the score sheet. Corsham Town’s goal came from Steve Tweddle who was playing against his former club having moved from Bradford Town in the summer.

The new side in the division this season are Westbury United who opened their campaign away at Trowbridge Town Tigers , the division’s longest serving member of the league having taken part in the inaugural season in 2019-20. It was the new side who came out on top with an impressive 5-0 away win on their league debut. Paul Beavers set them on their way with the opening goal before Philip Hampson smashed a hat-trick to make it 4-0. Kane Scott then added a fifth eight minutes from time to complete the night’s scoring for Westbury.

The final game of the week in the Mid Wiltshire Division took place the following evening and FC Calne carried on the form that had seen them win eight of their last ten games at the back end of last season with a 5-0 win over Amesbury Junior Badgers to be the division leaders along with Westbury United at the end of the first week of action. Last season’s leading scorer Adam O’Keeffe carried on where he left off last season hitting a hat-trick with further goals from Kyle Balloch and Dean Slade.

North Wiltshire Division

Monday night saw two new teams in the North Wiltshire Veteran’s Division playing their first games in the league with mixed fortunes. Stratton Juniors Black were playing their first competitive game at their Merton Fields Ground against Swindon Old Boys but there was to be no first win on home soil as they went down 4-0. Andrew King led the way for Swindon Old Boys firing in a hat-trick, Charlie Knowles with the other goal.

The other side making their debut were Blunsdon who were up against the other Stratton Juniors side, Stratton Juniors Orange . Blunsdon did get their first campaign in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division off to a winning start, goals from Chris Quinton and Jamie Saunders securing a 2-1 win, Kenny Hawkins with the Stratton goal.

On Tuesday night AFC Swindon and Swindon Rovers met at New College. AFC Swindon had shown much improvement during last season which had started with a 10-0 loss to Tuesday night’s opponents but by the time they met for the second time in what was AFC Swindon’s final game of the season, AFC Swindon ran Rovers close, eventually going down 3-1. In Tuesday nights game it was an even closer as Swindon Rovers edged it by the odd goal in a 2-1 win.

The final game of the week saw last season’s North Wiltshire Division champions Redhouse open their defence against one of the sides who had pushed them all the way in the title race, Royal Wootton Bassett Town . Redhouse’s 3-1 win over the same oponents in their penultimate league match effectively secured the league title last season. Royal Wootton Bassett Town got off to a fast start scoring within two minutes of the start when Chris Head outpaced the Redhouse defence and hit a shot across goal which ended up in the back of the net off a defender trying to clear the ball. They doubled their lead shortly after, Head getting on the end of an excellent pass from the left flank from Jeremy Newton for 2-0. Redhouse got themselves back into the game shortly after and it came courtesy of a gift from Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Nick Warren who was caught trying to dribble the ball out allowing Dave Rendle to intercept and poke the ball into the net. An embarrassing moment for the keeper and it gave Redhouse a foothold in the game just when it looked like it was getting away from them. However, Royal Wootton Bassett very quickly restored their two-goal advantage, Steve Yeardley firing powerfully into the bottom corner of the net past Stewart Thompson from just outside the 18-yard box for 3-1. With 20 minutes gone they extended the lead further Jeremy Newton turning a defender before firing into the net for 4-1. There was still time for one more goal before the break and it went the way of Redhouse and again Warren probably should have done better, allowing a shot from just inside the half-way line from Nolan Paul to slip past him into the net to make it 4-2 at the break. Whilst the first half had yielded six goals the second half was something of an anti-climax with neither side really creating any clear-cut chances until five minutes from time when Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s Nick Mason turned a defender and then curled a shot into the top corner of the net past Stewart Thompson for 5-2 for what turned out to be the final action of the night. For reigning champions Redhouse a defeat in their opening game of the season against what is expected to be one of their main rivals for the title this season.

Mid Wiltshire Division



It was a busy night on Monday in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division with all ten teams in action. The big game was at Oakfield Stadium Melksham where the two champions of the division so far to date, Corsham Town and Melksham Town , were up against each other in a match switched to being Melksham’s home game on the morning of the match due to issues with availability of Corsham’s pitch that night. A big thank you to Darren Perrin at Melksham Town for agreeing to the switch on the day of the game and also for then allowing Westbury United to use the pitch at Melksham as well for their Veterans’ fixture the same evening due to issues with Westbury’s own pitch. It was honours even in the first game played on the night, the battle of the two former champions seeing the two sides serve up a 1-1 draw, both goals coming in the second half, Simon Charity scoring for Melksham Town and Simon Gray with the Corsham goal. The point for Melksham saw them remain unbeaten from their opening two games and third spot in the early table.

There was another close game in the second match played on the Oakfield pitch. Former Melksham Town player Wayne Wheeler enjoyed his return to the Melksham ground putting his new side Westbury United one nil up at the break against Chippenham Town . Rob Pocock brought Chippenham back level midway through the second half. Wheeler once again put Westbury ahead seven minutes from time, but his side were to hold the lead for only a minute as Chippenham went straight down the other end and restored parity through a Matthew White goal as it finished 2-2 and the second draw of the night witnessed by the crowd at the Oakfield Stadium. Hopefully Melksham were rewarded for their kind gesture to get the two games on with bumper bar takings with four Veterans’ sides in the bar afterwards. The point for Westbury United saw them to move onto four points and second place in the table, above Melksham Town on goal difference. Chippenham Town’s first point of the season saw them go seventh in the table after their opening two games.

Whilst both Melksham Town and Westbury United lost their 100% winning record, one side was able to make it two wins from their opening two games, that team being FC Calne who are definitely carrying on the form they showed at the back end of last season. Once again it was Adam O’Keeffe who did the damage for his side, bagging a brace in a 2-0 win over Trowbridge Town Tigers to send his side two points clear at the top of the table and his tally for the season to five in just two games. 

The highest scoring game of the night was at Trowbridge Road, Bradford-on-Avon where former Bradford Town star Rhys Schell returned to his former club and carried on his goal-scoring exploits from last season which had seen him help Bradford Town to a County Cup win and runners-up spot in the league. Now with Devizes Town , Schell scored all four goals for his new club in a 4-3 win on his return to Trowbridge Road, Waleed Bakali, Michael Little and Mark Robinson with the Bradford Town goals.  After this result Devizes are the only other side, in addition to FC Calne, to hold a 100% winning record although this was their first game of the season.

The final game of the night was at Southfield Recreation Ground, Radstock where Radstock Town were playing their first game under their new name, with last seasons St Andrews side having become Radstock Town Veterans’. There was not to be an opening game win under their new name though, Amesbury Junior Badgers leaving with all three points thanks to a solitary goal from Gary Jardine-McEwen. The win for Amesbury saw them climb three places in the table to sixth spot.

North Wiltshire Division

Whilst Monday night saw all the action in the Mid Wiltshire Division, it was Tuesday night that saw the majority of the week’s action in the North Division. The big match was at New College where two sides who had won their opening fixtures last week, Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Swindon Old Boys were up against each other. In a tight game, goals from Josh Connolly and Steve Shaw were enough for Royal Wootton Bassett Town to take all three points and early leadership of the North Wiltshire Division on goal difference from Swindon Rovers.

It was another close affair at Chiseldon Rec where Chiseldon were taking advantage of there still being sufficient light to be able to play a Veterans’ game on a non-floodlit pitch. In their first ever Veterans’ League fixture they were up against last season's cup finalists Swindon Rovers . After a good pre-season, which had seen them win all their pre-season games, they were unable to maintain that momentum in their first league game, last season’s cup finalists edging it 2-1, Richie Miles, who had scored 24 goals for Priory Vale in Veterans’ football last season with the Chiseldon goal. For Rovers that was two wins from their opening two games, and they sit level on points with Royal Wootton Bassett Town with just goal difference separating the two sides.

The highest scoring game of the night was at Merton Fields in the first ever Stratton Juniors Veterans’ derby game. In the end it was a comfortable win for Stratton Juniors Orange as they ran out 7-1 winners over their stablemates Stratton Juniors Black . It was Vince McMackin, their leading scorer for the past three seasons, who led the way helping himself to a hat-trick, Dave Toomey bagged a brace and there was one goal apiece for Steve Bizley and Mathew Bugden, Lee Greenshields with the consolation goal for the Blacks.

The final game of the week was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground where last season’s champions Redhouse bounced back from their opening game defeat with a narrow 1-0 win over AFC Swindon who, based on their two games to date, look a much stronger outfit than in previous seasons. The all-important goal to secure the three points was scored by Tafari Anderson.

Mid Wiltshire Division

With all games in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division postponed on the day of the Queen’s funeral as a mark of respect, four teams agreed to play on different days in the week. Melksham Town and Westbury United agreed to bring their game forward from Monday to Sunday teatime and were rewarded with a crowd of 150 for a Veterans’ League game, a gate most Step 5 clubs would be very happy with. Both teams went into the game with identical records having won one and drawn one of their opening two fixtures, but Melksham ended that unbeaten record of Westbury United inflicting a 4-1 defeat on the White Horse Men. Melksham Town’s leading scorer the past two seasons, Charlie Griffin, led the way scoring twice to double his total for the season, Simon Charity also doubled his own total for the season with one of the other goals and the final goal being scored by Kris Beasley with his first of the season. Dale Rowland with the consolation goal for Westbury United.

With their scheduled games on Monday postponed and their original opponents being unable to agree to re-scheduling on the Tuesday night, Chippenham Town and Trowbridge Town Tigers arranged to play each other in conjunction with the League Fixture Secretary at short notice. Well done to the two teams in collaborating to get another game played. On the night it was the two defences that shone as the two teams fought out a 0-0 draw to share the points, the point for Trowbridge Town Tigers moving them off the bottom of the table.

There was also one of the original scheduled games played on Tuesday night at Bulford and it saw visitors Corsham Town return home with all three points courtesy of a 4-0 win with two goals in each half against Amesbury Junior Badgers . Steve Tweddle led the way scoring twice with further goals coming from Jonathan Scott and Stuart Skinner. The win saw Corsham move up into fourth spot in the table.

North Wiltshire Division

There were three games on Tuesday night in the North Wiltshire Division including Cricklade Town ’s first outing of the new season. They had ended last season with nine straight wins, and they extended that winning run into double figures with a 2-0 success over Stratton Juniors Black . Summer signing TJ Bohane opened his account at Veterans’ level and Matt Richards with the other Cricklade goal.

Whilst Stratton Juniors Black were losing their third straight game, their stablemates Stratton Juniors Orange were having a much better night. A hat-trick from leading scorer Vince McMackin plus a further goal from Matthew Tate secured an impressive 4-2 win over Swindon Rovers who had started the season with two straight wins. The win for Stratton Juniors not only saw them move above their opponents on goal difference but also sent them to the top of the division displacing Royal Wootton Bassett Town from top spot. The two goals for Swindon Rovers were scored by Tom Bailey and Leon Hills.

The third game on Tuesday night in the North Wiltshire Division involved Chiseldon and AFC Swindon with both sides looking to pick up their first points of the season. Last season Richie Miles had scored at a rate of 1.5 goals per game in helping Priory Vale to runners-up spot and he is already above that rate for his new club Chiseldon after firing a hat-trick in a 3-1 win to add to the one he scored in Chiseldon’s opening game. The win for Chiseldon lifted them a couple of places in the table. AFC Swindon continue to run opponents close this season and those first points can not be too far away, their goal coming from Jeremy Hope.

The final game of the week in the North Wiltshire Division was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Swindon Old Boys and last season’s champions Redhouse . After an opening day defeat, Redhouse had bounced back with a win last week and goals from the division’s top scorer last season, Dave Rendle, and one from Nolan Paul, in a 2-0 win made it two victories on the spin. The win saw Redhouse climb a couple of places to fourth spot in the table.

North Wiltshire Division

There were also five games in the North Division this week with four of them taking place on Tuesday night. By the end of the night last season’s champions Redhouse sat top of the table after two goals from last season’s top scorer David Rendle, doubling his total for the season in the process, saw them come away from Merton Fields with all three points following a 2-0 away win over Stratton Juniors Orange . Despite the defeat Stratton Juniors remained just below Redhouse in the table.

Cricklade Town suffered their first defeat of the season as they went down 3-1 away at Chisledon . Star of the show for Chiseldon was Richie Miles who scored all three Chiseldon goals, taking his total for the season to an impressive seven goals from three games, Ryan Keech with the consolation goal for Cricklade. The win saw Chiseldon become one of six teams on six points behind Redhouse in the table ahead of the final game on Wednesday night.

Joining Chiseldon on those six points were both Blunsdon and Swindon Old Boys who both secured narrow 2-1 wins on Tuesday night. Blunsdon were up against bottom of the table Stratton Juniors Black at Sutton Park. Stratton went close to securing their first point of the season with their closest game so far this season but were denied by two goals from Jamie Saunders for Blunsdon, Aidan Doyle with the Stratton goal.

Swindon Old Boys and AFC Swindon met on the 3G at New College and the game was decided by a second Swindon Old Boys goal with the very last kick of the game. The winning goal was scored by Andrew King with his second of the game, taking his total for the season to five, Andrew Hendry having netted the AFC Swindon goal. Once again AFC Swindon had pushed an opponent all the way and those first points of the season cannot be too far away.

The final game of the week in the North Wiltshire Division was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground between Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Swindon Rovers . Both teams had the chance to go top of the league with a win and it was a tight affair in the first half as the two sides turned round with the game still looking for its first goal. The goals eventually came in the second half, Jeremy Newton scoring twice and Chris Head one as Royal Wootton Bassett Town ran out 3-0 winners to go back top of the division ahead of Redhouse.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were four games on Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division. League leaders Melksham Town were scheduled to be away at Radstock Town but in the end the game was switched to Melksham’s Oakfield Stadium to enable the game to go ahead, and it saw another win for leaders who retained top spot courtesy of a 3-0 win. Charlie Griffin returned to the side and scored one of the three goals, the other two coming from Simon Charity and Andy Sandell. Radstock, who remain second from bottom, are still looking for that first win of the season and will look to get that next week when they travel to Bradford Town. Melksham Town take a break from league action next week when they meet Westbury United in the Second Round of the Wiltshire Veterans’ County Cup looking to repeat their recent league win over the same opponents.

Whilst Melksham remain top FC Calne are hot on their heels and remained just a point behind following a hard-fought win over Westbury United . Westbury led 1-0 at half time thanks to a Dale Rowland goal but two second half goals from Paul Maddox enabled FC Calne to take all three points and maintain their unbeaten start to the season. They climbed a place in the table into second and remain just that one point behind Melksham but with a game in hand. The defeat for Westbury saw them drop a couple of places in the table to fourth spot ahead of that County Cup tie at Melksham next week. FC Calne are also in County Cup action next week when they meet AFC Swindon from the North Wiltshire Division.

After an opening day defeat, Corsham Town have started to find their form and became the first side to take points off Devizes Town so far this season and are now unbeaten in their last four games. It was two goals from Steve Tweddle that did the damage as Corsham secured a 2-0 win and moved third in the table, three points behind the leaders Melksham. The two goals for Tweddle saw him become the joint leading scorer in the Mid Wiltshire Division on six goals. Next up for Corsham is a Second Round Veterans’ County Cup encounter with Trowbridge Town Tigers. Devizes meanwhile will look to bounce back with an away trip to Amesbury Junior Badgers in the league.

Trowbridge Town Tigers and Chippenham Town met for the second time in a fortnight on Monday night. The first encounter had seen the two sides draw 0-0 but this time there were to be goals. First half strikes from Gino de Antonis and Nicholas Still and a second for de Antonis after the break helped Chippenham to a 3-1 win, their first of the season. Trowbridge’s consolation goal on the night came courtesy of a deflected shot which came off a Chippenham defender. Chippenham Town are another side in County Cup action next week with a cross-divisional tie against Swindon based side Redhouse whilst Tigers have that game against Corsham in the same competition.

North Wiltshire Division

There were two league games in the North Wiltshire Division this week starting on Tuesday night at New College where AFC Swindon and Stratton Juniors Orange met. Last season AFC Swindon had defeated Stratton Juniors in one of the two meetings between the sides, the one and only win for AFC Swindon so far in what is now their fourth season in the league. Whilst AFC Swindon have been running teams close this season there was to be no repeat of last season’s victory as AFC Swindon were beaten 4-0 by a strong Stratton side. Stratton had gone into the game knowing that a win by three or more goals would take them top of the table and they achieved just that thanks to two goals from leading scorer Vince McMackin, who took his total for the campaign to eight, plus further strikes from Matthew Bugden and Steven Webb.

The final game of the week in the two Veterans’ Divisions was on Wednesday night when Cricklade Town met Royal Wootton Bassett Town at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. Royal Wootton Bassett Town went into the game knowing that they just needed to avoid defeat to move back top of the table. It was not to be a good night for them though as they were well beaten, Cricklade scoring four unanswered goals to climb four places in the table to fourth spot three points behind tonight’s defeated opponents and leaders Stratton Juniors Orange, but with one game in hand over Royal Wootton Bassett and two games in hand on Stratton. On target for Cricklade in their impressive win were TJ Bohane, Tom Dingle, Ryan Keech and Rob Walker. Both teams have a week off next week.

Veterans' County Cup

There were two games in the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup First Round this week. On Monday night Blunsdon and Swindon Rovers made the long journey to Green Lane Devizes for their tie. Blunsdon got off to a flying start going 1-0 up inside the first ten minutes through Lee Barrett after good work from Nick Frost. However, Swindon Rovers got themselves back on level terms before the break and the teams turned round all-square. Swindon Rovers went in front for the first time early in the second half but Blunsdon went in search of an equaliser and were finally rewarded when a cross from the right saw a flying header from Tyrone Spencer loop over the keeper and into the top corner for 2-2. Both teams’ created chances for a winner in normal time but both failed to capitalise, meaning penalties were needed to settle matters. Blunsdon keeper Nick Edwards saved two of the Swindon Rovers spot kicks as his side won the penalty shoot out 5-4 to make it through to the Second Round where they will meet Stratton Juniors Orange.

The second and final game in the First Round was on Tuesday night, again at Green Lane, and it resulted in a comfortable 4-0 win for Chiseldon over Swindon Old Boys . On target for Chisledon were Godfrey Chisanga, who bagged a brace, Dean Hughes and Richie Miles, the latter taking his goal tally for the season to eight and joint leadership of the scoring chart in the North Wiltshire Division. Chiseldon will now be away to Cricklade Town in the next round. Full details of the revised Second Round draw after the completion of the First Round is shown below:

The Wiltshire Veterans’ County Cup Second Round took priority this week in the Veterans’ divisions although there were still two league games played in each of the North Wiltshire and Mid Wiltshire Divisions.

In the Mid Wiltshire Division on Monday night Bradford Town and Radstock Town were able to play catch-up with their league fixtures with most of their nearest rivals otherwise engaged in that County Cup. Goals from Mark Gerrish and Nicholas Ross in a 2-0 win saw last season’s runners-up and County Cup winners Bradford Town record their second victory of the season, moving up a place in the table to sixth as a result of the win. Another narrow defeat for Radstock who are still yet to score in the league having played four games but have only conceded six in those four games and will be eying next week’s fixture against Trowbridge Town Tigers, the only team below them in the table, as the game when they finally get off the mark.

The other league game in the division was on Tuesday night and it saw Amesbury Junior Badgers entertain Devizes Town . After winning in their second game of the season Amesbury had suffered a couple of heavy defeats at the hands of Corsham Town and Westbury United and suffered another one on Tuesday when they were defeated 6-1 by an in-form Devizes side who moved up to third place in the table as a result of their win, just two points behind leaders Melksham Town and with a game in hand. Leading scorer Rhys Schell added two more to his tally to move onto seven for the season. Two goals also for Rob Mitchell, with Adam Bewley and Gary Campbell also finding the target for Devizes. The consolation goal for Amesbury was scored by Jon Miller.

 
The North Wiltshire Division is shaping up to be a tremendously competitive division this season. The week started with three teams at the top of the table on nine points with five teams behind them on six points and with just one, Blunsdon, unbeaten. The week ends with five teams tied on nine points at the top of the table and with every team having now lost at least one game. On Tuesday night at New College Chiseldon moved their points tally up to that nine mark with a comfortable 6-0 win over bottom of the table Stratton Juniors Black . Leading scorer Richie Miles led the way firing a hat-trick and further goals from Steven Wood, Ashraf Ali and Godfrey Chisanga rounded off a good night for Chiseldon who went second in the table on goal difference.

The one remaining unbeaten record in the North Wiltshire Division went on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground when two goals from Paul Stonehouse saw Swindon Old Boys defeat Blunsdon . The win for Old Boys saw them join the other four teams on that nine points total at the top of the table. Blunsdon can take the consolation that they still have a game in hand over those top five teams.

There were four ties in the Second Round of the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup. The big match was all Mid Wiltshire Division tie between Melksham Town and Westbury United . Melksham had beaten Westbury 4-1 in the league last month at the Oakfield Stadium and they completed a quickfire league and cup double over the White Horse Men, goals from Kris Beasley, Adam Young and Ian Dowell seeing them progress to the quarter final stage in a 3-1-win, Dale Rowland scoring for Westbury from the penalty spot.

 
There was a cross-divisional game at Green Lane where Chippenham Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division entertained Redhouse from the North Wiltshire Division. Two goals from James Weston and one from player manager Nicholas Still saw the Mid Wiltshire Division side progress to the next round courtesy of a 3-0 win.

 
The same night at Selwood Academy two teams from the Mid Wiltshire Division were up against each other with Corsham Town Trowbridge Town Tigers ’ visitors. Once again it was a 3-0 score line with Corsham Town making it through to the last eight thanks to goals from James Lye, Steve Tweddle and Liam Ralph.

The final game of the week on Tuesday night was another cross-divisional tie involving AFC Swindon from the North Wiltshire Division and FC Calne from the Mid Wiltshire Division. Both teams came into the tie on the back of contrasting starts to the season. AFC Swindon came into the game having lost all five of their opening league games, whilst FC Calne were unbeaten in their opening four, three of which had been won. However, in this cup encounter AFC Swindon gave them something of a fright, leading 2-0 at half time thanks to goals from Lewis Holden and Andy Hendry. It stayed that way until late on in the second half when two goals from FC Calne’s Paul Maddox rescued matters and meant penalties were required to settle things. After scoring those two late goals, FC Calne then prevailed in the penalty shootout meaning it was four teams from the Mid Wiltshire Division who were through to the quarter finals after the first batch of Second Round games. Heartbreak for AFC Swindon who had gone so close to causing an upset and will be hoping to take this week’s form into next week’s game against the other side still looking for their first points of the season, Stratton Juniors Black. Details of the other results to date in the competition and the remaining four ties is shown below:

Mid Wiltshire Division

The half term holidays impacted the Veterans’ competitions with the two scheduled games in the Wiltshire FA Veterans’ Cup having to be rescheduled. As a result, there were just three games in the Mid Wiltshire Division this week all impacting the top end of the table.

 
League leaders Melksham Town were one of the sides in action and they had a comfortable evening, strolling to a big 11-1 home win over Amesbury Junior Badgers . Both Tom Staddon and Simon Charity helped themselves to hat-tricks, Ian Dowell bagged a brace and Barry Holloway, Kai Miller and Richard Siekiera all scored one apiece, Amesbury’s consolation goal was scored by Ben Hammett-Brady. The win for Melksham maintained their unbeaten start to the season and with results elsewhere on the night they extended their lead at the top of the table to three points.

 
FC Calne had started the night as the only other unbeaten team in the division, but that record disappeared when they lost at home to an improving Chippenham Town side who extended their own unbeaten run to six games in all competitions. As well as being unbeaten in their last six, Chippenham have now won their last three games. Two first half goals from Ryan Nicholls and Gary Banks did the damage at Lyneham against FC Calne and the win lifted Chippenham up to fifth place in the table whilst FC Cane dropped a place to third as a result of their defeat.

The team moving above FC Calne in the table are Corsham Town who returned from Selwood Academy with all three points following a 5-2 win over Trowbridge Town Tigers . Leading scorer Steve Tweddle led the way for Corsham scoring twice with the other Corsham goals being scored by Jonathan Scott, Stuart Skinner and Liam Bunker. Lee Mattravis and Shane Morris replied for the Tigers. After losing their opening game of the season that is now six unbeaten for Corsham with Tweddle also now the top scorer in the division with nine goals in all competitions. With Melksham and Corsham the top two in the division it is the two champions from the past two divisions who are leading the way in the Mid Wiltshire Division. With half term again impacting fixtures next week, Melksham Town have the chance to open up an even bigger lead at the top of the table with them being involved in one of just two fixtures scheduled to take place next week.

North Wiltshire Division

With the two historic champions leading in the Mid Wiltshire Division, it is a similar story in the North Wiltshire Division where the new league leaders are last season’s champions Redhouse . Redhouse moved top of the table courtesy of a 5-1 win over Swindon Rovers on Tuesday night. A hat-trick from Fred Galrito plus further goals from Chris Hawkins and Tafari Anderson fired Redhouse into that top spot, but it is still very tight at the top with five teams just three points behind the new leaders.

 
Cricklade Town joined that group of five with a come from behind win against Swindon Old Boys at Cricklade's new home venue at Cirencester Town, also on Tuesday night. Swindon Old Boys led 1-0 at the break thanks to a Martyn Roberts goal but Cricklade replied with four unanswered goals after the break to run out 4-1 winners. TJ Bohane doubled his tally for the season with two of the Cricklade goals, the other two coming through Tom Dingle and Adam Smith. Cricklade, along with Chiseldon and Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the group on nine points, have a game in hand on the leaders, with Blunsdon back in seventh spot on six points having two games in hand on the leaders in this very tight Veterans’ division. Next up for Cricklade is a game next week against one of the other sides on that nine-point figure, Stratton Juniors Orange.

The final game of the week in the two Veterans’ divisions was on Wednesday night between the two sides who started the night still in search of their first points of the season, Stratton Juniors Black and AFC Swindon . It was Stratton Juniors Black who were celebrating come the end of the evening as goals from Joe Fitchett and James Lewis secured a narrow 2-0 win that saw them move above their opponents and off the bottom of the table.

A combination of waterlogged pitches and half-term school holidays meant just one game was played across the two Veterans’ divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. The one game that did get played involved the leaders of the North Wiltshire Division, Redhouse, and Swindon Old Boys. When they had met earlier in the season back in September Redhouse had won 2-0 and were looking to complete a league double and open up a six-point lead at the top of the table given the other teams’ inactivity. Redhouse took full advantage winning their fifth straight league game. On target for them in their 6-2 win were Fred Galrito with two, making it five in Redhouse’s last two games, Michael Lichota who also bagged a brace, and there were further goals for Marc Connolly and Tafari Anderson. Replying for Swindon Old Boys were Ben Keating and David Morse.

This week’s Veterans’ fixtures were dominated by the four outstanding games in the Wiltshire FA Veterans’ County Cup Second Round. In the one all Mid Wiltshire Division tie played on Tuesday night at Bulford, cup holders Bradford Town showed they are keen to retain the trophy they won last season, scoring eleven goals against an Amesbury Junior Badgers side who have been on the wrong end of some big scores in recent weeks.  On target for Bradford Town in their 11-0 win were Dave Percival and Mark Robinson who both scored four, Nicholas Ross helped himself to two goals, with Dean Ranger getting the other goal. The victory saw Bradford Town become the fifth side from the Mid Wiltshire Division into the last eight.

On the same night Devizes Town were unable to make it six from the Mid Wiltshire Division through to the next round, but their game against last season’s cup runners-up Royal Wootton Bassett Town from the North Wiltshire Division was a much tighter affair. In the end, a solitary goal from Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s Chris Head was all that separated the two sides. Having gone close to winning the cup last season, Royal Wootton Bassett Town will hope they can go one better this season.

 The other two Veterans’ County Cup games were both all North Wiltshire Division affairs. On a very wet Monday night Stratton Juniors Orange and Blunsdon were in action at Green Lane. When the two sides met at the start of the season in the league Blunsdon had edged it by the odd goal and on Monday night they again came out on top in their cup encounter after a strong second half performance. However, they had to come from behind to progress to the next round as Stratton Juniors led at the break thanks to a Dave Toomey goal on 15 minutes. Lee Barrett restored parity for Blunsdon shortly after half time with a shot into the bottom corner of the net after he was put in behind the Stratton defence. Blunsdon continued to take the game to Stratton and went in front for the first time with a goal from Nick Seymour who curled a short in from 25-yards past the Stratton keeper for 2-1. Blunsdon doubled their lead shortly after when Jamie Saunders pounced on an error in the Stratton defence to make it 3-1 to Blunsdon. That was not the end of the night’s action though as Stratton Juniors were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the game. They were unable to secure a late consolation goal though as a double save from Blunsdon keeper Andy Baker ensured it remained 3-1 with Blunsdon into the draw for the next round.

  
The final game in the Veterans’ County Cup was on Wednesday night at a new venue for the North Wiltshire Veterans’ sides, Cirencester Town’s Corinium Stadium where Cricklade Town have been able to secure some dates for their games. Their opponents on Wednesday night were Chisledon who are the only side to have beaten Cricklade so far this season in the league. There was to be no repeat as Cricklade were on top from the start and ran out 5-0 winners. Two more goals for TJ Bohane taking his total for the season to six, plus further goals from Matt Richards, Adam Smith and Marcus Hall, with Cricklade also missing a penalty. The 5-0 wins sees Cricklade safely through to the quarter final stage joining Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Blunsdon as the North Division representatives in the last eight.

The Wiltshire FA have already made the draw for those quarter finals which will take place on Monday 5th December. In that draw leaders of the Mid Wiltshire Division Melksham Town will meet Cricklade Town whilst cup holders Bradford Town have been drawn against Corsham Town in the one all Mid Wiltshire Division clash.  In the other two ties, last season’s runners-up Royal Wootton Bassett meet FC Calne, whilst Chippenham Town and Blunsdon, two sides going well in their respective divisions, have been drawn against each other in the other game.

Full details of the Veterans’ County Cup results and quarter final draw is shown below:

Mid Wiltshire Division

With all of the cup games there was just the one fixture played in the Mid Wiltshire Division and, whilst they are still looking for that first elusive win, Radstock Town did manage to score their first goal of the season and also picked up their second point of the campaign following a 1-1 draw with Chippenham Town . Chippenham Town are becoming the division’s draw specialists as that was their fourth draw in seven league games so far this season. They held a 1-0 half time lead thanks to a Martin Riddell goal on 13 minutes but Radstock finally registered that first goal on the season, in what was their fifth game, when Jay Hookins netted midway through the second half. The point was enough to lift Chippenham one place in the table to fourth spot.

North Wiltshire Division

There were the normal two league games in the North Wiltshire Division. At New College on Tuesday night divisional leaders and reigning champions Redhouse extended their lead at the top of the table to nine points with a 2-0 win over a much-improved AFC Swindon side, both goals were scored by substitute Sean O’Brien. On Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground Swindon Rovers had a comfortable 6-1 win over Stratton Juniors Black to join the cluster of what is now six sides on nine points behind Redhouse. 

This week’s fixtures in the Veterans’ Divisions were overshadowed by the sad passing of League Fixtures Secretary Phil Cook on Tuesday after a short illness. Games played that night and in the following days all held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to a league officer who had been in-post for over 45 years. All games in the Premier Division and Division 1 on Saturday will similarly also be holding a minute’s silence before the games. The thoughts of all involved in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League are with Phil’s wife Jose and family at this sad time.

Veterans' League Cup

On Monday night the first two games in the Veterans’ League Cup took place and resulted in two big wins for Westbury United and Royal Wootton Bassett against sides from another division. Mid Wiltshire Division side Westbury United were up against North Wiltshire Division opponents Stratton Juniors Black and in a one side affair ran out 14-0 winners against the Swindon based side. Philip Hampson led the way for Westbury hitting a double hat-trick, Peter Ayton also helped himself to a hat trick and there were further goals from leading scorer Dale Rowland, Steve Munday, Sam Tucker, Mark Pearce and Wayne Wheeler.

Whilst that first game saw a win for the Mid Wiltshire Division side it was the North Wiltshire Division side who came out on top in the clash between Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Radsto   ck Town in the other cup tie on the same night which was played at Green Lane, Devizes. Once again there was a hat-trick involved, Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s Steve Shaw putting the ball into the Radstock net on three occasions, the other two goals coming courtesy of Stephen Yeardley and Nick Lye-Owens. The other two games in the First Round of the cup are set to take place next week.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were also a couple of games in the Mid Wiltshire Division in the league on Monday night. The big game at the top end of the table was at MOD Lyneham where FC Calne , who started the night in second place in the table, were up against third placed Corsham Town . The original fixture for the night was scheduled to be a Corsham Town home game, however with their pitch waterlogged and, with the two sides having not played each other so far this season, they agreed to play the match as FC Calne’s home game. A thank you from the league to both clubs for their excellent collaboration in getting a game played. The game itself was a tight affair. FC Calne led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Chris Pitman and Ben Trafford but Corsham Town pulled one back after the interval through Liam Ralph but that was to be the end of the night’s scoring as FC Calne secured all three points courtesy of a 2-1 win. Results the following night meant that they dropped a place in the table on goal difference but closed the gap to league leaders Melksham.

The other game on Monday night was a high scoring affair at Selwood Academy where Bradford Town were Trowbridge Town Tiger's visitors. Bradford Town led 2-0 at the break but Tigers pulled one back early in the second half, Mariusz Hoszko firing in from the right after a good team move. Bradford struck straight back to restore their two-goal advantage, but a Matt Bailey goal saw Trowbridge reduce the deficit once again. Trowbridge went in search of an equaliser, and it eventually came through their usual source of goals, Clifford Sakyi finding the top corner of the net with a shot from outside the box. In an end-to-end game Bradford restored their one goal advantage but once again the Tigers pulled themselves back into the game, Sakyi scoring his second of the game from the penalty spot after Hoszko had been fouled in the box. With minutes to go Bradford scored their fifth of the game which in the end proved to be the winning goal, a free kick coming down off the crossbar and crossing the line for 5-4. Despite Trowbridge going close to getting yet another equaliser they were unable to find the net again as Bradford held out for a win in what sounded a very entertaining game. The Bradford Town goals were shared around the team with one goal apiece for Nick Ross, Samuel McKernan, Adam Pugsley, Mark Robinson and Waleed Bakali. The win for Bradford Town saw them climb a couple of places in the table to fifth spot, whilst Trowbridge still seek that first win of the season but will be encouraged by their performance against one of the strong sides in the division.

Tuesday night saw in-form Chippenham Town continue their great run of late with a comfortable win over Amesbury Junior Badgers . Chippenham came into the game on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run which they extended to eight games by scoring eight unanswered goals to return from Bulford Camp with all three points. By scoring those eight goals it meant they also moved above FC Calne into second spot on goal difference despite FC Calne having won their own game this week. On target for Chippenham in their latest win were Gino De Antonis (2), Jason Forde, Jonathan Grogan, Matthew Hooper, Rob Pocock, Martin Riddell and player-manager Nick Still.

Also in action on Tuesday night were divisional leaders Melksham Town who were up against Devizes Town at Green Lane. The sides had met three times last season and they had all been close games, including a 2-2 draw in the last league meeting between the two sides. Devizes had beaten Melksham back in Season 2020-21 and it looked like a second win since the formation of the Veterans’ league was on the cards as they led 2-1 in the closing moments of the game thanks to goals from Charlie Collier and Robert Mitchell. However, Melksham were given the chance to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they were awarded a last-minute penalty. Lee Morgan put the spot kick away with virtually the last kick of the game to level matters up at 2-2, Rob Cousins had scored the earlier Melksham goal. Whilst Melksham retained their unbeaten record, the dropped points meant both Chippenham Town and FC Calne are now just two points behind, with FC Calne having a game in hand over the leaders and two over Chippenham Town.

North Wiltshire Division

There were three games in the North Division this week with five of the teams who started the week on nine points, and also nine points behind the leaders Redhouse, all in action looking to close the gap to the leaders. On Tuesday night Swindon Old Boys and Swindon Rovers were up against each other at New College. As has often been the case in matches in the North Wiltshire Division this season, a close game ensued. Despite games being close this season the division had yet to produce a draw before this week but that record was finally ended as the two sides had to settle for a point each following a 2-2 draw, Martyn Roberts and Paul Stonehouse scoring for Swindon Old Boys, Andrew Mark and Tom Bailey replying for Swindon Rovers.

The same night saw Cricklade Town playing at their new home ground at the Corinium Stadium against near neighbours Blunsdon in the A419 derby. Again, it was a close affair settled in the end by two TJ Bohane goals for Cricklade Town, Bohane taking his total for the season to eight. The win saw Cricklade move up to second spot in the table six points behind Redhouse but with two games in hand.

The final game of the week in the Veterans’ Division was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground which produced yet another close game with the second North Wiltshire Division draw of the week, and also the season, as Stratton Juniors Orange and Chiseldon shared six goals and the points. The draw saw both move onto 10 points level with Swindon Rovers and Swindon. On target for Stratton Juniors were Vince McMackin, Dave Toomey and an own goal, Godrey Chisanga, Liam Hector and leading scorer Richie Miles with the Chiseldon goals.

It was another busy week of Veteran’s football with three league games played in both the Mid Wiltshire and North Wiltshire Veteran’s divisions plus the two fixtures to complete the First Round of the League Cup.

Veterans' League Cup

The two outstanding League Cup games both saw teams from different divisions up against each other. On Monday night at Green Lane Blunsdon from the North Wiltshire Division were up against Mid Wiltshire Division side Corsham Town . It was the Mid Wiltshire Division side who came out on top in a close encounter, goals from Liam Brunker and substitute Jonathan Scott securing a 2-1 win which saw Corsham progress to the Second Round, Jamie Saunders with the Blunsdon goal. Corsham will be at home to Trowbridge Town Tigers in the Second Round with the draw having been made by League General Secretary Jim Thorn and Registration Secretary Brian Busson.

The other outstanding First Round cup game again saw a cross-divisional clash between Amesbury Junior Badgers from the Mid Wiltshire Division and Chiseldon from the North Wiltshire Division. Whilst the previous nights cup game had been a close game this one witnessed a comfortable win with Chiseldon progressing to the last 16 of the competition courtesy of a 9-1 win. Star of the show was Chiseldon’s prolific Richie Miles who helped himself to seven goals on the night to take his total for the season to an impressive 19 goals, the other Chiseldon goals coming from Godfrey Chisanga and Dean Hughes, Lee Bates with the Amesbury consolation goal. Chiseldon will now meet Redhouse in the Second Round. The complete First Round results and the full draw for the Second Round is shown below:

Mid Wiltshire Division

The league games in the Mid Wiltshire Division this week saw Melksham Town have the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table after FC Calne’s game against Devizes Town had to be postponed due to floodlight maintenance at MOD Lyneham. Melksham took full advantage on Monday night, securing a 4-2 home win over Trowbridge Town Tigers thanks to goals from Lee Morgan, Rob Cousins, Simon Charity and Kris Beasley, Luke Mattravis and leading scorer Clifford Sakyi replying for Trowbridge Tigers.

 
The same night Westbury United travelled to Radstock Town looking to return to winning ways after suffering two league defeats on the bounce. Radstock have yet to win in the league and have found goals hard to come by with just one in their opening five league games. However, they have also been pretty solid in defence with just seven goals conceded in those five games. With Westbury having hit 14 the previous week against Stratton Juniors Black in the cup that defensive effectiveness looked like it might be subject to a severe test. Once again though Radstock made it very difficult for their opponents and a solitary goal from Westbury’s leading scorer Philip Hampson was all that separated the two sides. The win for Westbury saw them climb a place in the table to sixth spot.

The final game in the Mid Wiltshire Division was on Tuesday night at Green Lane where Chippenham Town , who started the night in second place in the table, were looking to extend an eight game unbeaten run. Their visitors were Bradford Town who were also on a good run, unbeaten in four and having won their last three. Last season’s runners-up and County Cup winners Bradford showed that they are once again going to be in the mix for honours this season with an impressive 3-0 win to bring Chippenham’s unbeaten run to an end. Nicholas Ross led the way scoring twice with Mark Robinson also getting on the score sheet. The win lifted Bradford Town up to second place in the table, moving above their defeated opponents, and they remain five points behind leaders Melksham but with two games in hand.

North Wiltshire Division

There were also three league games played in the North Wiltshire Division. On Tuesday night at New College two goals from Andrew King plus further strikes from Paul Stonehouse and Anderson saw Swindon Old Boys secure a 4-1 win over AFC Swindon , Jason Walsh with the consolation goal for AFC Swindon. Swindon Old Boys temporarily moved up to second place in the table but were to be displaced the next night by Cricklade Town.

It was a repeat of last season’s league cup final when Cricklade Town met Swindon Rovers at the Coronium Stadium. That cup final had required extra time to decide matters and it was once again a tight affair settled in the end by a solitary goal scored by Cricklade Town’s Mike Sloan. The win saw Cricklade go back second in the table but they remain six points behind the leaders Redhouse who were also in action on the same night and picked up a big win. That win for Redhouse saw them score seven unanswered goals against Stratton Juniors Black . Both Sean O’Brien and Fred Galrito bagged a brace with one apiece for Marc Connolly, Michael Lichota and James Turpie in the 7-0 win.

North Wiltshire Division

The wet weather this week meant just two games were played in each of the Veterans’ Divisions and in both divisions, with the divisional leaders inactive, it gave the chasing pack the chance to close the gap at the top.

In the North Wiltshire Division on Tuesday night, Cricklade Town completed a quickfire double over Swindon Rovers , the two sides having brought forward a fixture and secured the use of a ground the previous week. A solitary goal had decided the first fixture between the two sides, and it was another tight contest in the return at New College on Tuesday. In the end goals from Mike Solan and Phil Corcoran were enough to give Cricklade the points following a 2-1 win. The victory saw them move to within three points of leaders Redhouse and they still have a game in hand.

Whilst Tuesday night was a close contest this was not the case on Wednesday when Royal Wootton Bassett Town recorded their biggest win of the season, putting seven unanswered goals past AFC Swindon who were not at their best on the night. Two goals for both Chris Head and Steve Howse plus one each for Brady Lilley, Nick Mason and a fifth of the season for Jeremy Newton. The win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town saw them move up to fourth spot, six points behind Cricklade with two games in hand and nine points behind Redhouse with three games in hand on the leaders.

Mid Wiltshire Division

The action in the Mid Wiltshire Division started on Monday night with a game at the bottom end of the table between Trowbridge Town Tigers and Amesbury Junior Badgers . The Tigers went into the game still looking for their first win of the season, but they have brought that unwelcome record to an end with a 10-1 mauling of the Badgers. There were hat-tricks for both Clifford Sakyi and Phil Lewis plus further goals from Lee Ritson, Kieran Prince, Nick Rose and Stu Mclachlan, Andreas Francis with the consolation goal for Amesbury Junior Badgers ten minutes from time. The win saw Trowbridge climb two places in the table above both their beaten opponents and Radstock Town.

The following night Devizes Town went into their game against Radstock Town knowing that if they recorded a win and scored sufficient goals, they could climb five places in the table to takeover second spot. They indeed scored the requisite number of goals, two from both Rhys Schell and Jamie Mullings plus one from Stephen Campbell in a 5-0 win seeing them move into that second spot, five points behind leaders Melksham Town but with two games in hand..

North Wiltshire Division

A combination of the World Cup game between England and Wales on Tuesday night and then heavy fog on Wednesday night meant there was a complete blank in terms of fixtures played in the North Wiltshire Division this week.

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

Monday night saw the staging of three of the four quarter final ties in the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup. Holders Bradford Town were looking to retain interest in the cup competition they won last March when they travelled to Corsham Town in an all-Mid Wiltshire Division tie. When the sides had met in the league on the opening day of the season Bradford Town had been comfortable 5-1 winners, but it was a much closer affair in the cup encounter at the Southbank Ground on Monday night. The home side Corsham Town led 1-0 at the break thanks to a Daniel Beck goal but Bradford Town turned it around in the second half and goals from Adam Pugsley and substitute Carl Davies saw them through to the last four.

Joining Bradford Town in those semi-finals are fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Melksham Town . Their opponents on Monday night were Cricklade Town from the North Wiltshire Division and in another close contest a solitary goal from Melksham’s Adam Young was all that separated the two sides at the final whistle.

Whilst the North Wiltshire Division side lost at Melksham the Division will have at least one semi-final representative as Blunsdon secured that last four spot with a 3-2 win at Green Lane against Chippenham Town , the third cup game of the night to be settled by just a one goal margin. On target for Blunsdon were leading scorer Jamie Saunders, who took his tally for the season to six, Lee Barrett and Peter Byrne. Both Chippenham goals were scored by Gino De Antonis. Blunsdon have now played as many cup games this season as league games having been drawn to play in the First Round of both cup competitions and will now start to play catch-up with their league fixtures.

The fourth and final quarter final tie between Mid Wiltshire Division side FC Calne and North Wiltshire Division side Royal Wootton Bassett Town will now be played early in the New Year due to ongoing maintenance work on the floodlights at MOD Lyneham.

Mid Wiltshire Division

As well as the cup games there were also two league fixtures in both the Mid Wiltshire and North Wiltshire Divisions. On Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Division Westbury United moved up one place in the table with a 4-0 win against Radstock Town in a game switched to Radstock, with good collaboration between the two sides to enable the game to be played. Unfortunately for Radstock their efforts were not rewarded with a victory as two goals from Peter Ayton and one from the division’s leading scorer Philip Hampson plus a late strike from Wayne Wheeler saw the points go to the White Horse Men.

The final game in the Mid Wiltshire Division was on Tuesday night at Green Lane and it saw Devizes Town secure a comfortable 7-2 win over Amesbury Junior Badgers . Gary Campbell led the way hitting a hat-trick, Rhys Schell scored twice taking his total for the season into double figures, with further goals coming from Stephen Campbell and Robert Mitchell. The two consolation goals for the Badgers were scored by Jon Miller and Geoffrey Wells. The win for Devizes saw them climb three places to second spot, five points behind leaders Melksham Town but crucially with two games in hand.

North Wiltshire Division

The big game in the North Wiltshire Division was on Tuesday night at New College where league leaders Redhouse were looking to maintain what looks to be a solid defence of the league title they won last season. They were up against a Chiseldon side who, prior to Tuesday, had lost just one of their opening five league games. A close game was anticipated and so it proved with Redhouse edging it thanks to a solitary goal from Sean O’Brien, O’Brien scoring for the third straight game and taking his total for the season to five. The win saw Redhouse open up a six-point lead at the top of the table, although second placed Cricklade Town have two games in hand with the top two set to meet for the first-time next month.

The final game of the week was at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground on Wednesday night when Stratton Juniors Orange and Swindon Rovers fought out a 1-1 draw which saw a share of the points, Stephen Bizley with the Stratton Juniors goal. The point for Stratton saw them move up to fifth place in the table..

All games in the week commencing 12th December 2022 were postponed due to the cold weather and frozen pitches.

Mid Wiltshire Division

After 11 days of inactivity across the various divisions in the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, the week before Christmas finally saw a return to action with four Veterans’ games played. Three of those games were in the Mid Wiltshire Division with the action getting under way on Monday night with a big game at the top end of the table between Devizes Town and Bradford Town . Both teams went into the game with identical records of five wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening seven games and were looking to close the gap to the leaders Melksham Town whose game against Chippenham Town had been postponed by their opponents. Bradford Town’s only defeat so far this season had come at the hands of Devizes on the opening day of the season, when Devizes edged a seven-goal thriller by the odd goal. On Monday night Bradford Town avenged that earlier defeat with a 3-1 success thanks to goals from Waleed Bakali, Mark Robinson and Nicholas Ross, Robinson and Ross both taking their total for the season into double figures, Steve Bush with the consolation goal for Devizes Town. The win for Bradford Town saw them climb two places in the table to second spot, just two points behind leaders Melksham Town with a game in hand.

Tuesday evening saw two close games between sides who started the evening in similar positions in the table. Both Westbury United and FC Calne started the night on 13 points with just two defeats in their opening seven games and knowing a win for either side would see them move level on points with third placed Devizes Town. It was tight affair all evening and a solitary first half goal from Westbury’s Wayne Wheeler was all that separated the two sides at the final whistle. The win for Westbury saw them take over from Devizes in that third spot on goal difference in what is shaping up to be a fascinating title race in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division.

At the other end of the table, just two points and a place separated Amesbury Junior Badgers and Trowbridge Town Tigers ahead of their return match on Tuesday with the two sides having met for the first time a month ago. That first meeting of the season had seen the Badgers take a mauling from the Tigers, going down 10-1. It was a much closer contest in the return game with the sides turning round at the break with the game still looking for its first goal. The deadlock was finally broken ten minutes from time, Amesbury Junior Badgers’ Richard Taylor scoring what turned out to be the only goal of the game as the Badgers avenged that earlier heavy defeat. The win for the Badgers saw them climb above Trowbridge into eighth place. .

North Wiltshire Division

There was just one game in the North Wiltshire Division this week with the New College venue closed for Christmas. The one game that took place was at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground where the two teams with the least number of league games played met as Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Blunsdon played catch-up with their fixtures. Both have had to play in the first round of the two cup competitions and both have progressed into the later rounds of the County Cup, this along with a postponed game between the two at the start of the season due to maintenance work at Sutton Park has led to their falling behind with their league fixtures. Royal Wootton Bassett Town have lost just one game all season and they maintained that record with a 4-0 win that saw them move up to third place, three points behind the only side to beat them this season, Cricklade Town, and nine points behind leaders Redhouse. With a game in hand over Cricklade and three on Redhouse the current top three are looking like they are set to be involved in another tight title race. The latest win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town came courtesy of two goals from leading scorer Chris Head who took his total for the season to seven and one apiece for Nick Mason and Jonathan Davis. Blunsdon have still played the least number of games in the division and when they play their games in hand they could well move up into the top half of the table.

With Monday being a Bank Holiday for the New Year celebrations just the one game was scheduled in the Veterans’ this week with the Second Round of the Veterans’ League Cup kicking off 2023’s action. The game involved Royal Wootton Bassett Town and AFC Swindon at the Gerard Buxton Ground. When they had met in the league back in November Royal Wootton Bassett had hit seven unanswered goals and they had another comfortable evening on Wednesday as two goals from Mark Simpkins plus further goals from Jonathan Davis, Brady Lilley and a first of the season from Ben Gould secured a 5-0 win and a quarter final place for Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Next up for them is another quarter final this coming Monday, this time in the Wiltshire FA Veterans’ County Cup, when they take on Mid Wiltshire Division side FC Calne in the one outstanding tie to see who joins Melksham Town, holders Bradford Town and Blunsdon in the last four of the Wiltshire FA County competition.

The headline makers this week in the Veteran’s divisions are AFC Swindon in the North Wiltshire Division and Radstock Town in the Mid Wiltshire Division who both recorded their first wins of the season this week.

North Wiltshire Division

In the North Wiltshire Division AFC Swindon had gone close on a number of occasions this season, including a cup tie that they took to penalties and three games lost by a single goal margin in the league, which included a 2-1 defeat to this week’s opponents Swindon Rovers at the start of the season. They finally picked up that elusive win at the eleventh attempt on Wednesday night when they avenged that earlier defeat by securing a narrow 2-1 win of their own over Rovers. Victory for Swindon Rovers would have sent them fourth in the table but a goal in each half from Lewis Polden meant it was AFC Swindon who took the three points. Congratulations to manager Barry Clift and his side on securing that first win.  

With cup action dominating proceedings there was just the one other league game this week and it was in the North Wiltshire Division where Stratton Juniors Black met Blunsdon in a game between two sides currently at the bottom end of the table, although in Blunsdon’s case with several games in hand due to their cup run to the semi-final in the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup. On Wednesday the two sides had to settle for a point apiece as they fought out a 2-2 draw, Stephen Norriss and Jamie Saunders with the two Blunsdon goals.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Congratulations also to Ian Lanning and his Radstock Town side who also won for the first time this week in the Mid Wiltshire Division. That victory came on Tuesday night at Bulford Camp against Amesbury Junior Badgers . Goals have been a scarce commodity in league matches involving Radstock Town this season, whilst they have conceded on average less than two goals per game, they have found it difficult to register goals of their own at the other end with just the one league goal all season ahead of Tuesday night’s encounter against the Badgers. They doubled that goal tally thanks to a second half goal from Domonic Shepherd and by keeping a second clean sheet of the season secured all three points. The win saw Radstock climb off the bottom of the table moving above Trowbridge Town Tigers and to within a point of Badgers with two games in hand.

In addition to the three league fixtures there were four games played in cup competitions, three in the Veteran’s League Cup plus the one outstanding quarter final tie in the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup.

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

That County Cup game was at Green Lane where FC Calne from the Mid Wiltshire Division entertained Royal Wootton Bassett Town from the North Wiltshire Division for that final place in the semi-final. Leading 2-0 at the break Royal Wootton Bassett Town doubled their tally in the second half and, with FC Calne scoring just the one through player manager Stuart Ballinger it was Royal Wootton Bassett town who progress to the last four courtesy of a 4-1 win. On target for Royal Wootton Bassett Town were Brady Lilley, Jonathan Davis, Jeremy Newton and Chris Head. The Wiltshire FA have made the draw for the semi-final and it sees both games involve teams from the same division up against each other guaranteeing one from each division in the final with last season’s beaten finalists Royal Wootton Bassett Town drawn against Blunsdon and Melksham up against current cup holders Bradford Town.

Veterans' League Cup

In the League Cup the action got underway on Monday night when Corsham Town met Trowbridge Tigers for the fourth time this season having also met in the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans' County Cup in addition to the two league encounters between the sides. Corsham won all the three previous games, but it had been close in the last one before the clash on Monday night. On this occasion it was to be a comfortable passage into the next round for Corsham, two first half goals set them on their way and they added a third after the break to run out 3-0 winners. On target for Corsham were Daniel Beck, Steve Tweddle and Stuart Skinner. On Tuesday night there was an inter-divisional affair at the Corinium Stadium Cirencester where Cricklade Town , the holders of the Veterans’ League Cup, were up against Bradford Town , last season’s winners of the Veteran’s County Cup. For the second time this season Cricklade went down to Mid Wiltshire Division opponents in cup competitions as three unanswered goals from David Percival, Adam Pugsley and an own goal saw Bradford Town secure a 3-0 win which means there will be a new name on the Veteran’s League Cup come the end of the season. Also on Tuesday night, there was another Second Round League Cup tie involving Swindon Old Boys and Stratton Juniors Orange at Green Lane. Goals from Martyn Roberts and David Morse put Swindon Old Boys 2-0 up, but Stratton Juniors came back to level matters scoring two of their own, a very late equaliser meaning penalties were needed to decide matters, Ian Graves and Liam Butcher with the two Stratton goals. The penalty shoot out saw Swindon Old Boys progress to the quarter final as they put away four penalties to just two for Stratton, the four successful penalties for Swindon Old Boys being put away by Andrew King, Paul Stonehouse, Kris Walklett and Martyn Roberts.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Mid Wiltshire Division leaders Melksham Town opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table on a cold Tuesday night with a narrow 1-0 win over a much-improved Amesbury Junior Badgers side. Melksham left it very late to claim all three points, Simon Charity scorer the winner with the very last kick of the game, taking his total for the season to eight.  Melksham may have a five point lead over Bradford Town but Bradford have two games in hand and that late goal by Charity on Tuesday night could be very important come the end of the season. Whilst Melksham were securing that win three of the chasing pack all dropped points in the other two games played in the Mid Wiltshire Division.

On Monday night Devizes Town , who started the night in fourth place in the table, entertained third placed Westbury United at Green Lane in the first meeting of the season between the two sides. The resulting 1-1 draw saw both teams lose ground on Melksham, a 12th goal of the season from Rhys Schell for Devizes, and a goal six minutes from time for Westbury from leading scorer Wayne Wheeler, as it finished honours even. 

The following night, again at Green Lane, Chippenham Town were looking to go level on points with second placed Bradford Town with a win against Radstock Town . However, Radstock came into the game on the back of their first win of the season the previous week against Amesbury Junior and were looking to make it two games unbeaten for the first time this season. Come ten o’clock it was mission accomplished as they limited Chippenham to a solitary goal, scored by Matthew Hooper and scored one of their own through Carl Mackness. The point for Radstock was enough to lift them out of the bottom two, moving above Amesbury Junior Badgers on goal difference. With bottom of the table Trowbridge Tigers to come on Monday night they will be looking to extend that run to three games.

North Wiltshire Division

The two games in the North Wiltshire Division this week produced ten goals between them. On Tuesday night at New College, Royal Wootton Bassett Town looked to be coasting against Swindon Old Boys thanks to goals from Stephen Yeardley, Mark Simpkins and Ben Gould but Old Boys came back strongly and replies from Joe Anderson and Ben Keating meant there were a few nervous moments at the end for Royal Wootton Bassett Town before they made certain of the three points. The win saw them move above Cricklade Town on goal difference and into second spot in the table. All of the top three have lost just one league game all season in what is shaping up to be another exciting title race in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division.

The final game of the week was on Wednesday night, and it saw another five goals scored as Chiseldon secured a 4-1 win over Blunsdon . The leading scorer in the two Veterans’ Divisions, Richie Miles, was once again amongst the goals scoring twice for Chiseldon with James Lovell also bagging a brace Tyrone Spencer replying for Blunsdon. Next week sees two of the four outstanding games in the Second Round of the League Cup set to be played with FC Calne from the Mid Wiltshire Division up against North Wiltshire Division side Swindon Rovers and the all North Wiltshire Division tie between Chiseldon and Redhouse. .

Veterans' League Cup

Two of the four outstanding League Cup Second Round games were played this week. It was an all-North Wiltshire Division contest at the Gerard Buxton Ground on Wednesday night when last season’s North Wiltshire Division champions Redhouse were up against Chiseldon . When the two sides had met in the league at the beginning of December it had been a tight affair settled by a solitary Sean O’Brien strike. Another close game was anticipated as Chiseldon sought to avenge that league game, one of just two league defeats so far this season. It was once again a close contest settled by a one goal margin, goals from Marc Connelly and Michael Lichota securing a 2-1 win for Redhouse, Richie Miles, the leading scorer across both Veterans’ divisions with the Chiseldon goal as he moved onto 22 for the season. Redhouse will play Corsham Town in the quarter final and for them a league and cup double remains a possibility.

The other League Cup tie played this week was on Tuesday night at Green Lane where penalties were needed to settle the cross-divisional tie between FC Calne and Swindon Rovers after it finished 1-1 at the end of normal time, Paul Maddox with the FC Calne goal and Tim Hughes with the Swindon Rovers effort. In the penalty shoot out it was the Swindon Rovers side who held their nerve, winning 5-4 to make it through to the last eight where they will meet the reigning Wiltshire FA County Cup holders Bradford Town in another cross-divisional tie. In fact all four of the quarter final ties see North Wiltshire Division sides up against opposition from the Mid Wiltshire Division. The other two representatives from the Mid Wiltshire Division remain unknown, with Melksham Town and Devizes Town set to meet this coming Monday and then Westbury and Chippenham Town meet in the final Second Round game a fortnight later. The full details of the League Cup competition so far is shown below:

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were two league games played in the Mid Wiltshire Division this week on Monday night. At Green Lane, two sides still very much in the title race, Devizes Town and Corsham Town , met at Green Lane and served up five goals between them. It was Corsham who edged it by the odd goal, two more for their leading scorer Steve Tweddle who took his total for the season to 13, one behind the division’s leading scorer Phil Hampson of Westbury. The other Corsham goal came courtesy of an own goal, whilst Devizes Town’s two goals were scored by Craig Daykin and Robert Mitchell.

The other game on Monday night was at the other end of the table with Radstock Town who were on their best run of the season away to bottom of the table Trowbridge Town Tigers . Despite their lowly position it was the Tigers who started the better and were rewarded with a  goal on seven minutes, Phil Lewis with the early goal. However, despite Towbridge taking the game to Radstock they were hit by two goals before the break somewhat against the run of play, an own goal and one from Steve Jackson giving Radstock a 2-1 lead at half time. The second half saw the Tigers push for an equaliser and they went close on several occasions but couldn't find the back of the net as it finished 2-1 to Radstock who extended their unbeaten run to three games.

The game between Westbury United and Melksham Town was postponed.

North Wiltshire Division

There was just the one game in the North Wiltshire Division and it finished honours even between Stratton Juniors Orange and Blunsdon, Jamie Ashby with the Stratton goal in a 1-1 draw and Lee Barrett with his fourth goal of the season for Blunsdon as the two sides shared the points.

Mid Wiltshire Division

In the Mid Wiltshire Division, with the league leaders Melksham Town in cup action, the chasing pack had the chance to close the gap at the top of the table and Bradford Town, Westbury United and Corsham Town did just that as all three recorded victories. 

On Monday night Bradford Town moved to within two points of Melksham at the top with a hard fought 2-0 away win at Radstock Town thanks to goals from Nicholas Ross and David Percival. That is now 11 goals so far this season for Ross whilst Percival is just three behind on eight for the campaign. Bradford Town are now ten games unbeaten in all competitions having won their last nine games on the spin, their only dropped points in that ten-game unbeaten run coming in a 0-0 draw with the leaders Melksham who they meet in next week’s big Wiltshire FA County Cup semi-final. 

Monday night also saw Corsham Town close the gap to the league leaders, also winning 2-0 away from home against Chippenham Town . A Steve Tweddle penalty and one from Daniel Beck did the damage as Corsham made it three wins on the bounce. They moved to within four points of Melksham and are two behind Bradford Town. With the top two in that cup action next week, Corsham will be hoping to move above Bradford Town and to within a point of Melksham with a win over Radstock Town this coming Monday, in a game that has been switched to the outside pitch at Melksham Town. 

On the night that Trowbridge Town announced their new chairman their veteran’s side took inspiration from the appointment to climb off the bottom of the table with an impressive 1-0 win over FC Calne . No surprise that the goal came from Clifford Sayki, top scorer in all of the past three seasons for Trowbridge and once again leading the way for the Tigers in the goalscoring stakes. The win was enough to see the Tigers move above Amesbury Junior Badgers.

Amesbury Junior Badgers themselves were in action on Tuesday night and they were up against the other side looking to close the gap at the top, Westbury United . Whilst Westbury ran out comfortable 4-0 winners, Badgers can take consolation from the big improvement over the last meeting between the sides when Westbury had scored eleven unanswered goals. Westbury’s leading scorer Phil Hampson led the way helping himself to a hat-trick against Badgers for the second time this season, Peter Ayton with the other goal for Westbury.

North Wiltshire Division

Three games were played in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division with two of the three games impacting teams in with a good chance of claiming the league title this season. Before that Tuesday night’s encounter at New College saw Swindon Rovers and Blunsdon involved in a high scoring game which in the end saw Rovers edge it by the odd goal in five. For Swindon Rovers it was two goals for Sean Lewis plus one for Tim Hughes, with Stephen Norriss and Steve Andrews replying for Blunsdon. The win lifted Rovers up to fifth spot level on points with Chiseldon. However, Rovers have played four games more than three of the top four and three more than leaders Redhouse who they trail by ten points. With just six games to play Rovers chances of league honours are slim but they are still involved in the League Cup.

The following night saw Cricklade Town, Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Chisledon all in action looking to close the gap to Redhouse, with the latter two up against each other in their first meeting of the season. It was the two defences who came out on top as the two sides were involved in the first 0-0 draw in the North Wiltshire Division this season and having to settle for a point apiece. 

With two of their main rivals taking points off each other Cricklade Town took full advantage to move above Royal Wootton Bassett Town into second place in the table with a comfortable win over bottom of the table AFC Swindon . Both TJ Bohane and Adam Smith helped themselves to hat-tricks, Matt Richards bagged a brace and a goal from Paul Lawrence rounded off the scoring for Cricklade as they recorded their biggest win of the season so far with a 9-0 success.

One of the two outstanding Second Round League Cup ties was played on Monday night and it saw Mid Wiltshire Division league leaders Melksham Town record a 3-1 win over fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Devizes Town . Two goals from Kris Beasley and one from Simon Charity for Melksham, Rhys Schell with the solitary Devizes Town goal. Melksham will now meet Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the quarter final at the end of February. This leaves just the tie between Westbury United and Chippenham Town left to complete the Second Round. The updated status of the League Cup is shown below:

It was busy week of Veterans’ games this week with a nine games played in total across the two Veterans’ divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and in the semi-finals of the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup.

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

The semi-final match up drawn by the Wiltshire FA had guaranteed that the final would see a representative from each of the two Veterans’ divisions, with the two remaining Mid Wiltshire Division sides, Melksham Town and Bradford Town, up against each other and the two remaining North Wiltshire Division sides, Blunsdon and Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the other semi-final.

The Melksham Town versus the cup holders Bradford Town semi-final took place on Monday night at the Oakfield Stadium. When the sides had met in the league back in September it had been a tight affair with neither side able to find the back of the net and it was expected to be another close contest between two sides in the mix for the league title this season in the Mid Wiltshire Division. It proved to be just that. Mark Robinson put Bradford Town in front at the break with his fifth goal in the competition this season and his eleventh of the season in all competitions. The score remained that way until eight minutes from the end of normal time when Melksham Town were awarded a penalty. Lee Morgan put the spot kick away to level matters up for Melksham and with no further goals materialising penalty kicks were needed to decide matters. The penalty shootout saw Melksham come out on top by five penalties to four and it is they who progress to the final of the competition they last won back in Season 2020-21.

The other semi-final was a lot more decisive between the two North Wiltshire Division sides as Royal Wootton Bassett Town made it through to the final for the second year running with a comfortable 5-0 win over Blunsdon at Green Lane. Both Brady Lilley and Ben Gould bagged a brace, the other goal coming through Chris Head. Royal Wootton Bassett Town will be hoping to go one better than last season when they lost on penalties to Bradford Town at Green Lane. The final is set to take place again at Green Lane on Friday 24th March. Interestingly Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Melksham Town could well have met in the final of the competition back in 2019-20, Royal Wootton Bassett Town had made the final and Melksham Town were in a semi-final against Swindon Rovers that was not played due to Covid, and the competition never saw its final that season. Melksham then won the cup the season after, whilst Royal Wootton Bassett Town then knocked Melksham out following a penalty shoot-out on the way to last season’s final.

Mid Wiltshire Division

With both Melksham Town and Bradford Town in cup action, the sides just below them in the league had the opportunity to make up ground in the Mid Wiltshire Division and Corsham Town, Devizes Town and Westbury United all took full advantage of the opportunity. On Monday night Corsham Town met Radstock Town in a game switched to the outside pitch at Melksham Town’s Oakfield Stadium ground as Corsham Town made sure there would be no issues with their pitch for the weekend’s big FA Vase tie. A big thank you to Darren Perrin for once again helping out one of the other Vets sides with allowing the use of the pitch at Melksham. Two goals from James Lye and one from Gary Blackwood secured the points for Corsham in a 3-1 win that saw them move to within a point of Melksham Town at the top of the table.

The same night Devizes Town and Chippenham Town met at Green Lane with the two teams starting the night level on points. It was a close game as the league position of the two sides indicated it would be, but goals from Rob Mitchell and Nathan Vellenoweth were enough to see Devizes edge it by the odd goal, Martin Riddell with the reply for Chippenham Town. With results elsewhere Devizes Town remained in fifth spot but are now just four points behind the league leaders.

Action from the game between Devizes Town & Chippenham Town

 (pictures courtesy of David Giles).

More of David Giles excellent photos from the Devizes Town v Chippenham Town game can be found on the League Facebook Group Page.

Westbury United were involved in a rare Friday night Veterans’ game due to challenges with pitch availability. Their opponents on Friday were Trowbridge Town Tigers with Westbury knowing that, given their superior goal difference, a win would see them move second in the table. They took the lead early on through Kane Scott and then doubled their lead six minutes before the break, the division’s leading scorer Philip Hampson taking his total for the season to 18. Second half saw the Tigers pull one back, Steven Hill scoring for the first time this season to make it 2-1. However, there was to be no big comeback as two goals in the last ten minutes, a second of the game for Scott and a Dale Rowland goal seeing Westbury take the three points with a 4-1 win. The victory saw them takeover that second place just a point behind the leaders Melksham Town but having played one game more. The title race this season in the Mid Wiltshire Division is certainly looking like it is going to go down to the wire as just a single point now separates the top four sides.

The other game played this week in the Mid Wiltshire Division was on Monday night and it saw an entertaining affair between FC Calne and bottom of the table Amesbury Junior Badgers . The Badgers have been a much-improved side in recent games, having been involved in some close matches, and it was a similar story on Monday night as the two sides shared six goals and the points. Badgers led 2-0 at half time but FC Calne got themselves back into the game after the break to deny Badgers what would have been their third win of the season. On target for FC Calne were Paul Maddox, who bagged a brace, with Michael Few netting the other goal. In reply for the Badgers, Geoffrey Wells scored twice and there was one from Alex Protheroe. Amesbury Junior Badgers now have just three games to go but all three are tough looking fixtures against title chasing sides with Bradford Town to play twice plus a game against Corsham Town, but with their recent uptick in form they may cause an upset before the season end.

North Wiltshire Division

There were three games in the North Wiltshire Division this week starting with the game at New College on Tuesday evening between Swindon Old Boys and Stratton Juniors Black . It was to see a comfortable win for Swindon Old Boys with Paul Stonehouse the star of the show, scoring five times in a 7-2 win. The other two Old Boys goals were scored by Martyn Roberts and Nick Zenonos, Neil Lee scoring both the goals for Stratton Juniors Black. It was not a good week in terms of results for Stratton as Stratton Juniors Orange were beaten 5-1 the following night at the Corinium Stadium by Cricklade Town . The win for Cricklade saw them take over at the top of the table on goal difference. Leading scorer TJ Bohane bagged two more goals, taking his total for the season to 13, Marcus Hall, Matt Richards and Adam Smith with the other Cricklade goals, Vince McMackin with the consolation goal for Alun Rossiter’s Stratton side.

The final game of the week in the North Wiltshire Division was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground and it saw bottom of the table AFC Swindon push one of the leading sides Chisledon all the way. AFC Swindon led thanks to a goal from Andy Hendry, but first half goals from James Lovell and Ritchie Miles put Chiseldon 2-1 up at the break. That was to be the end of the nights scoring as Chiseldon moved up to fourth spot in the table following the 2-1 win.

It was a truncated programme of games this week in the two Veterans’ Divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with two of the scheduled games being postponed due to lack of player availability.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Three games were played in the Mid Wiltshire Division with three of the top five all in action. League leaders and reigning Mid Wiltshire Division champions Melksham Town maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 away win at Trowbridge Town Tigers . Both goals were scored by Simon Charity and, but for an outstanding display from the Tigers keeper Ali Jewers, it could have been a few more goals for the visitors.

The win meant Melksham maintained leadership of the division for now but the only other side to win the Mid Wiltshire Division since it was established, Corsham Town , are hot on their heels. Corsham were involved in a quickfire return game with Radstock Town who they had defeated 3-1 last week and they completed a league double in the space of a week with a narrow 2-1 success at the Southfields Recreational Ground thanks to goals from Luke Chapman and leading scorer Steve Tweddle. The win saw Corsham move above Westbury United into second place, one point behind Melksham having played one game more.

The final game on Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Division was at Green Lane where Devizes Town hosted FC Calne with the two sides serving up an entertaining eight goal match. There were hat-tricks from players from both sides as Devizes took all three points courtesy of a 5-3 score line, Rhys Schell scoring three of the Devizes five goals and Adam O’Keeffe also grabbing a hat-trick for FC Calne. The other two Devizes goals coming through Jamie Bayes and Jamie Mullings. The win saw Devizes Town move above Bradford Town into fourth spot and level on points with third placed Westbury United but Devizes have played three more games than Bradford Town who would go top of the table if they won all their games in hand over the top four sides.

Action from the game between Devizes Town & FC Calne

 (pictures courtesy of David Giles).

There was a full programme of games in the two Veterans’ Divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this week.

Mid Wiltshire Division

In the Mid Wiltshire Division Monday night saw three of the top four sides all in action and all three were to maintain their challenge for the title with victories. League leaders Melksham Town were at home to an FC Calne side who, after a good start to the season, were having a tough time with six defeats and just one draw from the seven games prior to their trip to the Oakfield Stadium. That torrid run continued on Monday night as the league leaders secured a comfortable 4-0 win. Leading 1-0 at the break thanks to a Simon Charity goal, Charity added two more to his total in the second half to register a hat-trick, Kris Beasley with the other Melksham goal. The win enabled Melksham to maintain their one point lead at the top of the table with the leaders having six games to go. However, those six games includes four games against fellow title rivals, with home games against Bradford Town and Devizes Town to come, along with difficult looking away games against Corsham Town and Westbury United. 

Corsham Town were one of the other title challengers in action on Monday night and they ensured they stayed on Melksham’s coat tails with a 2-0 home win over Amesbury Junior Badgers . After some heavy defeats in mid-season Badgers have shown much improved performances of late which, whilst not resulting in an accumulation of points, has seen them only lose narrowly to most of the leading sides in the division. Once again Corsham’s leading scorer Steve Tweddle found the net to take his total for the season to 16 and there was a second of the season from Stephen Casey. The win saw Corsham keep within a point of the leaders but having played one game more than Melksham. Corsham’s five remaining fixtures also sees four games against title rivals, in addition to that game against Melksham they have two games against Westbury United to play plus a home game against Bradford Town.

The third title challenger in action on Monday night were Devizes Town who were playing against Chippenham Town who, like Devizes, play out of the Wiltshire FA’s Green Lane site. When the two sides had met at the start of the month in the first fixture between them it had been a close game settled by a one goal margin, Devizes edging it that night 2-1. In the return fixture it was again a close affair which once again went Devizes’s way, a solitary goal from Jamie Bayes giving Devizes all three points. Devizes remain the outsiders for the title, they tail Melksham by four points having played one game more but arguably have the easier run in with just Melksham and Westbury to play of the title challengers in their final five fixtures.

Action from the game between Devizes Town & Chippenham Town

 (pictures courtesy of David Giles).

More of David Giles excellent photos from the Chippenham Town v Devizes Town game can be found on the League's Facebook Group using this LINK .

Monday night also saw action at the bottom end of the table with Radstock Town entertaining Trowbridge Town Tigers. Games involving Radstock this season have seen very few goals from either side and this game followed a similar pattern with the two sides turning round at half time with the game still looking for its first goal. The deadlock was finally broken eight minutes into the second half, Clifford Sakyi scoring from the penalty spot to give Trowbridge Tigers the lead. It remained that way until eight minutes from time when Sakyi scored his and Trowbridge’ second of the night to secure all three points and lift Tigers above their opponents in the league table with both sides having just two games to play. 

The final game of the week in the Mid Wiltshire Division was on Tuesday night at Green Lane and it was an important game in the title race involving Westbury United and Bradford Town . Visitors Bradford Town started the night having dropped the least number of points of any side in the division but were five points behind top spot having played two games less than leaders Melksham Town.  A close encounter was anticipated though with Westbury coming into the game unbeaten in their previous six league games, five of which had been won. However, that anticipated close affair did not happen as Westbury United enhanced their own title credentials and put a massive dent in Bradford Town’s own title ambitions with an impressive 5-1 win. The Division’s leading scorer Philip Hampson was once again amongst the goals scoring twice, two goals also for Dale Rowland with the final Westbury goal coming through Kane Scott, Mark Robinson with the consolation goal for Bradford Town in what was their heaviest defeat in their three-season membership of the league. The win for Westbury saw them stay four points behind Melksham having played the same number of games. They have a tough run in with five of their six remaining games against their title rivals, those two games against Corsham Town plus games against Melksham Town, Devizes Town and a return encounter with Bradford Town. It is certainly shaping up to be a fascinating title race in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division.

North Wiltshire Division



Two of the title challengers in the North Wiltshire Division were also in action this week with both Cricklade Town and Royal Wootton Bassett Town maintaining their quest for honours with comfortable wins on Tuesday night. At the Corinium Stadium Cricklade Town entertained Chiseldon , the only side to have beaten them so far this season in the league. When the sides had met at Chisedon at the end of September a Richie Miles hat-trick had seen Chisledon take all three points with a 3-1 win but Cricklade avenged that earlier defeat hitting five unanswered goals to move back above Redhouse on goal difference at the top of the table. Phil Corcoran led the way with a hat-trick, leading scorer TJ Bohane added one more to his total and Tom Dingle notched his third of the season for the new league leaders. Cricklade still have to play Redhouse twice and Royal Wootton Bassett Town once in their final eight fixtures as the title race in the North Wiltshire Division also looks like it is going to go down to the wire.

It was also a comfortable night for Royal Wootton Bassett Town whose only defeat so far this season in any competition came at the hands of Cricklade Town. On Tuesday they travelled into Swindon to take on Stratton Juniors Black who had won just once in their opening ten games. The game very much went to form as Royal Wootton Bassett Town scored nine times, but some complacency towards the end allowed Stratton Juniors to score more than two goals in a game for the first time this season. On target for Royal Wootton Bassett Town were Jonathan Davis (2), Steve Shaw (2), Ian Carr, Ben Gould, Brady Lilley, Chris Head and Mark Simpkins who had scored the opener for Royal Wootton Bassett. Aidan Doyle, Roman Ryzska and Michael Turaz with the three goals in reply for Stratton Juniors Black. The win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town left them four points behind Cricklade and Redhouse but with a game in hand.

Stratton Black’s stablemates, Stratton Juniors Orange were in action the following night at the Gerard Buxton Ground, with Swindon Old Boys their opponents in what was the first meeting of the season between the two sides. Apart from a heavy defeat against Cricklade in their last game, Stratton have been involved in some close games of late with all four of their games prior to the Cricklade defeat having finished all square at the end of normal time.  It was yet another close encounter on Tuesday night with Swindon Old Boys edging it 2-1 thanks to goals from Andrew King and Wayne Rickwood, Stephen Bizley with the Stratton Juniors goal. The win for Swindon Old Boys saw them move up above Chiseldon into fourth spot in the table although Old Boys have played at least two games more than all of the three teams above them are realistically not in the title race having dropped too many points already.

Next week's Veterans' fixtures sees the first two quarter final games in the League Cup set to take place including a County Cup final dress rehearsal between Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Melksham Town.

Veterans' League Cup

This week saw the first two quarter final ties played in the Veterans’ League Cup and it was a good week for the teams from the Mid Wiltshire Division. All four quarter final ties see Mid Wiltshire Division teams up against opponents from the North and at the half-way stage it is currently 2-0 to the Mid Wiltshire Division.

On Monday night Chippenham Town met Swindon Old Boys at Green Lane. It was a tight affair settled by a solitary goal from Chippenham Town’s Aaron Gilbert in the first half. Swindon Old Boys created several chances as they sought an equaliser, but the Chippenham defence held firm to see them progress to the last four where they will meet the winner of next week’s quarter final tie between Redhouse and Corsham Town.

Also through to the last four are Mid Wiltshire Division leaders Melksham Town who were involved in a dress rehearsal for the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup Final at Green Lane on Tuesday night against Royal Wootton Bassett Town . The two sides are set to meet at Green Lane again in that final on Friday 24th March and Melksham Town will go into that game knowing that they have already got the better of their final opponents once as goals from Kai Miller and Adam Young saw them safely through to the semi final of the League Cup competition. They will now be away to the winners of next week’s quarter final tie between Swindon Rovers and Bradford Town. The two semi-finals will be scheduled once all four teams are known, and venue requirements are clear.

In the league, two games were played in the North Wiltshire Division and one in the Mid Wiltshire Division, with the Mid Wiltshire Division game between Bradford Town and Westbury United postponed with Bradford Town unable to raise a side. 

Mid Wiltshire Division

On Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Division, two goals from Kevin Long finally brought an end to FC Calne’s winless run which had stretched to nine games ahead of their trip to Radstock Town . The 2-0 win for FC Calne saw them move level on points with sixth placed Chippenham Town. Radstock Town remain second from bottom in the table with one game to play but look set to have the honour  of being the first side to complete their fixtures in any of the five divisions across the league.

North Wiltshire Division

The first of the two games in the North Wiltshire Division this week took place on Tuesday night at New College and it saw Chiseldon secure all three points against Swindon Rovers thanks to a solitary goal from the division’s leading scorer Richie Miles who took his tally for the season to 24. The win saw Chiseldon climb into fourth spot but having played more games than the three teams above them. This coming week they are up against Royal Wootton Bassett Town, the side immediately above them in the table, with the chance to move above them with a win.

The final game of the week was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground involving two of the sides in the bottom three, Blunsdon and AFC Swindon . Two goals from Jamie Saunders plus one from Lee Barrett saw Blunsdon pick up their third league win of the season and move to within a point of seventh placed Stratton Juniors Orange.

Veterans' League Cup

This week saw the remaining two quarter final ties played in the Veterans’ League Cup and in terms of the results on the night it was another good week for the teams from the Mid Wiltshire Division, but one of the two games is now the subject of a discipline procedure.

On Monday night Corsham Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division were up against Redhouse from the North Wiltshire Division. Two goals from Jamie Lyons plus one from Steve Tweddle saw Corsham win 3-0 on the night but this game is now the subject of a discipline charge, and a further update will be provided in due course.

Safely through to the semi-finals are Bradford Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division who will now meet fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Melksham Town in the semi-finals. Two goals from Mark Robinson and one from Waleed Bakali securing a 3-1 win for Bradford Town over North Wiltshire Division side Swindon Rovers , Craig Johnson with the consolation goal for Swindon Rovers. 

Mid Wiltshire Division

In addition to the two cup games there were two games in the league in the Mid Wiltshire Division on Monday night. Both turned out to be close affairs settled by a solitary goal. League leaders Melksham Town were up against a FC Calne side that had finally ended their torrid run of win-less games last week, that run had stretched to eight games before last week’s victory over Radstock Town. The game on Monday night remained without a goal until six minutes from time when Simon Charity found the back of the net with his 15th goal of the season for Melksham Town. The win saw Melksham extend their lead at the top of the table to four points ahead of Monday night’s big encounter with one of their main rivals for the title Corsham Town.

The other game played on Monday night in the league was at Radstock Town where the home side were playing their final league game of the season against Devizes Town . Radstock, despite being a side who play on grass, have just got on with their fixtures during the winter months and, whilst some others still have lots of games to play, Radstock have the honour of being the first to complete their games in any of the five divisions across the league. Unfortunately for them it was not a winning end as a solitary goal from Devizes Town’s leading striker Rhys Schell was enough to secure all three points for Devizes who moved into second place on goal difference as a result of the win. Like leaders Melksham, Devizes also have a big game this coming week when they travel to Westbury United on Thursday night in a week that sees all the top four sides playing each other.

North Wiltshire Division

Just two of the three scheduled games in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division went ahead as the snow in midweek put paid to the fixture between Chiseldon and Royal Wootton Bassett Town . With games every week until the end of the season already scheduled, Royal Wootton Bassett Town will now have to play two games in one of those weeks to fit in the rescheduling of this week’s postponed game.

The two games that did go ahead both involved the two Stratton Juniors sides and it was not a good Tuesday night for them. At the Corinium Stadium Stratton Juniors Black were on the wrong end of a hiding from league leaders Cricklade Town , Richard Austen’s side hitting a dozen goals. Leading scorer TJ Bohane led the way smashing a double hat-trick, Adam Smith and Ryan Keech both bagged a brace and there were further goals from Matt Richards and a first from Godfrey Chisanga since his transfer from Chiseldon. The win for Cricklade saw them go three points clear at the top of the table, also dramatically improving their goal difference in the process which could be important come the end of the season. Next up for Cricklade is the big top of the table clash with Redhouse this coming Tuesday. 

The same night Stratton Juniors Orange were in action at New College with AFC Swindon their opponents. Prior to Tuesday night’s encounter AFC Swindon had won just the one league game this season but they doubled that tally as goals from Andy Hendry and Gareth Walton secured a 2-1 win, Stephen Bizley with the reply for Stratton. The win saw AFC Swindon open up a four point gap over bottom side Stratton Juniors Black who have now been deducted two points for postponed games where they were unable to raise a side earlier in the season.

Mid Wiltshire Division

It was something of a disappointing week of Veterans’ football this week with just three of the six scheduled games played, with just one taking place in the Mid Wiltshire Division. That was on Monday night at Green Lane where FC Calne entertained a Bradford Town side who still have eyes on the league title but have a number of games to make up. Those title aspirations remain intact after a narrow 2-1 win thanks to goals from David Percival and Nick Ross, player-manager Stuart Ballinger with the goal for FC Calne. The win saw Bradford Town move to within a point of Westbury United with a game in hand and they are eight points adrift of leaders Melksham Town with two games in hand. The games between Corsham Town and Melksham Town, and the game at Westbury where Westbury United’s visitors were set to be Devizes Town, were both postponed due to concerns over the pitches with first team games to play. Frustratingly the Westbury game had been moved from Green Lane to Meadow Lane and would have gone ahead if the fixture had not been switched.

North Wiltshire Division

For once there were more fixtures played in the North Wiltshire Division this week than in the Mid Wiltshire Division with two games completed. Even then there was one postponed game caused by the rescheduling of a Cirencester Development fixture at the Corinum Stadium by the Hellenic League, which meant that the big game at the top between Cricklade Town and Redhouse was postponed.  Attempts to switch to the following night thwarted by lack of player availability. It is a shame the game could not go ahead on Wednesday as unfortunately now Redhouse will become the second team in the division required to play two games in a week to finish the season by the Friday 12th May deadline. The first of the two games that did go ahead was on Tuesday at New College where a solitary goal from Chiseldon ’s Richie Miles was enough to give them all three points against Blunsdon . For Miles that is now 25 for the season for Miles, beating his total for last season when at Priory Vale. Chiseldon temporarily climbed up the third place in the table.

Chiseldon’s occupation of that third spot was only to last 24 hours as Royal Wootton Bassett Town moved back above them the following night with a 4-0 win over Stratton Juniors Orange . Mark Simpkins led the way scoring twice with the other two goals coming through Nick Mason and Jeremy Newton. The win saw Royal Wootton Bassett reduce the gap to second place Redhouse to just two points. Next week sees in-form Chiseldon take on second place Redhouse whilst Royal Wootton Bassett Town have a County Cup final to look forward to against Melksham Town at Green Lane on Friday 24th March.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division saw plenty of goals as the two games saw the net bulge 16 times. Both Amesbury Junior Badgers and Trowbridge Town Tigers were playing their penultimate games of the season but unfortunately for them they were up against sides in the title race and were on the wrong end of a couple of big scores. At Bradford Town the home side hit nine unanswered goals against bottom of the table Amesbury Junior Badgers . David Percival had scored four times against the Badgers when they had met in the Wiltshire Veterans’ County Cup and he went one better on Monday night scoring five of the Bradford Town goals in a 9-0 win. Both Mark Robinson and Nicholas Ross scored twice as the win saw Bradford Town climb a place in the table to fourth spot, five points behind the league leaders with a game in hand.

The other game on Monday night was at Green Lane where second placed Devizes Town entertained Trowbridge Town Tigers .  It was to be a comfortable night for Devizes as four goals from Rhys Schell saw him take over at the top of the mid Wiltshire Division goalscoring chart, and two further goals from Robert Mitchell secured a 6-1 win for Devizes over the Tigers, Clifford Sakyi getting the consolation goal for Trowbridge. The win consolidated Devizes in second spot a point behind leaders Melksham Town who they are set to meet in their final game. With just three games left Devizes know they need to win all three to have any realistic chance of honours this season, as a bad run of form at the back end of the last calendar year and the start of the current one really damaged their title chances.

The following night at Green Lane saw a much closer affair between Chippenham Town and FC Calne. In the end a solitary first half goal from FC Calne’s Craig Pike was all that separated the two sides. The win for FC Calne was enough to see them move above their defeated opponents in the table. FC Calne have just two games to go now, both against sides competing for the title and, whilst they will certainly finish in a creditable mid-table position, they could yet still have a big say in the title race.

North Wiltshire Division

There were also three games in the North Wiltshire Division this week starting on Tuesday night when once again there were plenty of goals with both Swindon Rovers and division leaders Cricklade Town both scoring seven. At the Corinium Stadium Cricklade Town were up against near neighbours Blunsdon from along the A419. It was to be another good night for Cricklade Town’s TJ Bohane has he scored four in their 7-0 win to move within one goal of the Division’s leading scorer Richie Miles of Chiseldon. The other three goals for Cricklade came through Tom Dingle, a ninth of the season from Adam Smith and one from Jamie Richards. The win saw Cricklade move six points clear at the top of the table ahead of nearest rivals Redhouse’s game on Wednesday night. 

Swindon Rovers were the second side to register seven goals on Tuesday night in their encounter with Stratton Juniors Black . Special mention to Referee Secretary Colin Nunn for stepping in at very short notice to take the game when the scheduled referee Gareth Powell was unfortunately involved in an accident on the way to the game. The good news is that he was not seriously injured and was able to take his place on the line in an Under 18 game on Thursday night. On the pitch Swindon Rovers dominated proceedings and a hat-trick from Andrew Mark plus further goals from Tom Bailey, Tim Hughes, Dan Paginton and Craig Johnson secured their biggest win of the season as they ran out 7-1 winners over Stratton.

The final game of the week in the Veterans’ divisions was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground where Redhouse had the opportunity to reduce Cricklade’s lead at the top back down to three points with a win over Chiseldon. This was the third meeting of the season between the sides and Redhouse were looking to complete a treble having won 1-0 in the league back in December and 2-1 in the League Cup in January. Both games had been tight affairs and Tuesday’s match turned out to be the third close encounter but on this occasion it was Chiseldon who got the better of Redhouse, inflicting damage to their title aspirations. For once Chiseldon did not have to rely on the division’s leading scorer Richie Miles as goals from Lee Hedges and James Lovell secured the three points in a 2-1 win, Nolan Paul replying for Redhouse. Following the defeat Redhouse remain six points behind leaders Cricklade with a game in hand with the two sides still set to meet each other in April. Next week Redhouse turn their attention to the League Cup with a semi-final game against Chippenham Town, this as a result of Redhouse being reinstated in the competition after Corsham Town played an ineligible player in their quarter final tie. The other semi-final sees fellow Mid Wiltshire Division sides Bradford Town and Melksham Town meeting at Trowbridge Road. Before that Melksham Town have an important game this evening when they play Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the final of the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup at Green Lane.

The first Veterans’ honours this season have gone the way of Melksham Town as they triumphed in the final of the Wiltshire FA’s Veterans’ County Cup on Friday night, defeating Royal Wootton Bassett Town 4-0 on a damp evening at Green Lane, Devizes.  

As to be expected in a cup final both sides started the game at a high tempo and right from the first minute the game had a bit of an edge to it. Royal Wootton Bassett Town, already missing a couple of key players, suffered an early set-back when they lost their record first team appearance maker Steve Yeardley to injury with just six minutes gone. Despite the loss of their influential centre-back it remained a tight and cagey affair until five minutes before half-time when the deadlock was finally broken by a goal from Melksham's  Ian Dowell. The goal came after patient build-up play down the left-hand side. The move broke down on a couple of occasions but Melksham kept probing and the ball was eventually laid back to Dowell just outside the 18-yard box and he hit a powerful right footed shot into the roof of the net giving Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Stuart Langer no chance. Having got in front Melksham were gifted a second goal just a minute later, a mix-up in the Royal Wootton Bassett defence between Josh Connolly and keeper Langer saw Connolly head the ball past his own keeper to the feet of Simon Charity, giving Melksham’s leading scorer an open goal, albeit from a tight angle,  which he duly put away for 2-0.

Second half saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town try to get back into the match but a well drilled Melksham defence dealt well with any attacks and restricted their opponents to half-chances that rarely troubled Melksham keeper Gareth Evans. The only real chance he had to deal with was a dangerous cross in from the right from Chris Head that he cleared with his feet. Melksham increased their lead with ten minutes to go. A ball into the box found Kris Beasley but he scuffed his attempted shot which rebounded off a defender to Ian Dowell, whose neat back flick set up Charity for his second of the game, Melksham’s leading marksman firing in for 3-0. Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s night went from bad to worse when Brady Lilley received a second yellow card for an attempted tackle and was dismissed. Melksham rounded off a good evening’s work when Rob Cousins fired in a free kick into the bottom corner of the net after a foul on the edge of the box by Josh Connolly to make the final score 4-0 to Melksham.

Melksham have now won the cup twice having lifted the trophy for the first time back in Season 2020-21. They now turn their minds to the League Cup with a semi-final against fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Bradford Town this coming Thursday. For Royal Wootton Bassett Town that is now defeat in consecutive County Cup finals and they are now left to concentrate on the league where they are still in the title race in the North Wiltshire Division but have a lot of games still to play as a result of their County Cup exploits.

Your Sport Swindon were at the game on Friday night and subscribers can watch highlights of the game by clicking on the link below or by clicking on the link form the Your Sport Swindon page of the website where a number of other games covered by Your Sport Swindon can also be viewed.

Simon Charity who scored 2 of the goals in Melksham Town's 4-0 win over Royal W. Bassett Town & the RWBT defensive wall prepare to defend a Melksham free kick

JamalJosh Connolly & Kris Beasley who paid close attention to each other all night and Melksham prepare to lift the trophy

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

Season 2022-23

Another week of postponed games in the Veterans’ divisions as, not only the wettest March in 40 years, but also the change of ground for the Wiltshire FA’s County Senior Cup and one side being unable to raise a side saw four games postponed, including one of the two semi-finals in the Veterans’ League Cup.

The cup semi-final that did go ahead was at Green Lane on Tuesday night where Redhouse from the North Wiltshire Division were up against Chippenham Town from the Mid-Wiltshire Division. Redhouse had been beaten in the quarter-final by Corsham Town but had been given a reprieve when it transpired that Corsham had played an ineligible player who had scored two of their goals in their 3-0 win. Having been given that second chance Redhouse were determined to make the most of it. The two sides produced an entertaining game that was just missing goals. Both sides had chances, but their neither side being able to finish them off it remained 0-0 at the end of 50 minutes meaning a penalty shoot out was needed to settle matters. The shoot out saw Redhouse come out on top winning 5-3 to book a place in the final where they will meet either Bradford Town or Melksham Town whose semi final was one of those postponed games with the sides set to try again on Monday night. The date and venue for the final has yet to be finalised with the other semi-final still to be played and with the two Mid Wiltshire Division sides still having five league games to play and Redhouse having seven, with all three still involved in their respective title race.

As well as the cup match there were two league games played this week, with one in each of the two divisions.

In the Mid Wiltshire Division Devizes Town had the chance to move top of the table with a win against FC Calne . Devizes had defeated FC Calne 5-3 back in February but FC Calne had been in decent form in recent weeks and that form continued on Monday night at Green Lane as they avenged that earlier defeat. A goal in each half saw FC Calne run out 2-0 winners with the goals coming through player-manager Stuart Ballinger and Paul Maddox.

The scheduled game in the Mid Wiltshire Division between Westbury United and Corsham Town was forced to be moved to another night at short notice with the Wiltshire FA's Senior County Cup being moved to Meadow Lane. Attempts were made to move the game to the Thursday night but at such short notice Corsham were unable to raise a side for that night and the continued wet weather would almost certainly have impacted the fixture if they had.

In the North Wiltshire Division league leaders Cricklade Town were up against an AFC Swindon side they had defeated 9-0 at the beginning of February. Whilst AFC Swindon once again fell to defeat against the leaders, it was a much improved performance with Cricklade this time being restricted to four goals. On target for Cricklade were Phil Corcoran with two, Jamie Richards and a 25th goal of the season from TJ Bohane that saw him move joint top of the goal scoring chart in the North Wiltshire Division and the top scorer in terms of just league games.

The scheduled game in the North Wiltshire Division between Blunsdon and Royal Wootton Bassett Town was postponed with Blunsdon unable to raise a side, with the Stratton derby between Stratton Juniors Black and Stratton Juniors Orange off due to a waterlogged pitch.

This week saw the outstanding League Cup semi-final take place. The game had been postponed the previous week due to the weather and with the pitch at Bradford Town once again waterlogged on the scheduled date of the rearranged game the fixture was switched to Melksham Town ’s ground. It produced an entertaining seven goal thriller with the two sides level at 3-3 going into the last minute where Kris Beasley, who had already scored all three of Melksham’s earlier goals, scored a winner in the dying seconds to see Melksham through to the final courtesy of a 4-3 win.  On target for Bradford Town were David Percival, who bagged a brace, and Mark Robinson. Melksham Town will now meet Redhouse in the final which will be staged at Melksham, the two sides having requested that the game be played at this prestigious venue rather than on one of the 3G venues. The game is scheduled for Friday 21st April with a 7.30pm kick off.

There was just the one game played in the Mid Wiltshire Division this week and it involved two of the sides in the title race, Corsham Town and Westbury United . With Corsham first team facing a backlog of league fixtures following their FA Vase exploits the game was switched to Green Lane to ensure it went ahead. It was a tight affair settled by a solitary goal for Corsham scored by their top scorer Steve Tweddle with his 18th of the campaign. The 1-0 win saw Corsham move into third spot in the table level on points with second placed Devizes Town and just a point behind leaders Melksham Town. The defeat for Westbury probably ends their title ambitions as they remain nine points adrift of the leaders with five games to play but, with four of those five games against the four sides above them in the table, they are still likely to have a big say in the ultimate destination of the title.

There were three games in the North Wiltshire Division with two of the top three sides in action. At Merton Fields, Royal Wootton Bassett Town were up against Stratton Juniors Orange looking to close the gap to the top two Cricklade Town and Redhouse. Whilst Royal Wootton Bassett Town have games in hand, they knew that they needed to record a victory with the top two in such good form and would have been disappointed that they only came away with a point following a 1-1 draw, Jon Reeves scoring for Stratton and Jeremy Newton with the Royal Wootton Bassett Town goal. The point for Royal Wootton Bassett left them ten points behind leaders Cricklade with now just the two games in hand.

The same night Swindon Old Boys and Blunsdon were in action at New College and a solitary goal from Old Boy’s Paul Stonehouse was all that separated the two sides. That is now ten for the season for Stonehouse whose side consolidated their fifth place position in the table with five games to go. 

The following night Redhouse were looking to close in on the leaders Cricklade when they met Swindon Rovers at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. It was a cagey affair in the rain again settled by a solitary goal, Redhouse’s David Rendle getting that all important goal to keep his sides title challenge on track. The win saw Redhouse move to within six points of the leaders with a game in hand with the two sides still to play each other twice before the season end. 

Mid Wiltshire Division

Whilst the rain that has had a massive negative impact on fixtures in recent weeks continued to fall, the three games postponed in the Veterans’ divisions last week were all due to teams being unable to field a side. In the end just four games went ahead, two in each division.

In the Mid Wiltshire Division on Monday night league leaders Melksham Town increased their lead at the top of the table with a narrow 1-0 win against Chippenham Town at Green Lane thanks to an early goal from Lee Morgan.

The following night that lead at the top of the table was reduced to just two points when Bradford Town picked up a big win away against Amesbury Junior Badgers . Badgers were playing their final game of the season and became the third side to complete their fixtures. It was not to be a happy ending for them though as they conceded a double figure score for the fifth time this season, Bradford Town hitting 11 unanswered goals. Both Mark Robinson and Michael Little scored four, David Percival bagged a brace, and the other goal was scored by Adam Pugsley. Both Bradford Town and Melksham Town have four league games to go, including a game between the two sides, and with Corsham Town still in the mix the title race could very well go down to the final week of the season.

North Wiltshire Division

The two games played in the North Wiltshire Division this week both ended in draws. On Tuesday night at New College Chiseldon and Swindon Old Boys shared the points following a 1-1 draw, Paul Stonehouse with the goal for Swindon Old Boys, Shaun Smith with the Chiseldon goal. The point for Chiseldon saw them temporarily move up to third spot in the table.

The following night, Swindon Rovers and Royal Wootton Bassett Town met at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. Royal Wootton Bassett Town really needed a win in their battle for the league title with Cricklade Town and Redhouse and will view the 2-2 draw with Rovers as two points dropped rather than one point gained. The goals for Royal Wootton Bassett Town were scored by Steve Howse and Ben Gould,  Andrew Mark and Tim Hughes with the Swindon Rovers goals.

It was a busy week of action in the two Veterans’ Divisions of the Wiltshire Senior League culminating in the final of the Veterans’ League Cup on Friday night at Melksham Town. Before that there were seven league games played, although it should have been ten, but once again three games were postponed, all of which will need to be discussed by the Management Committee’s Discipline Committee.

Mid Wiltshire Division

In the Mid Wiltshire Division two games were played on Monday night and both games impacted the top of the table. League leaders Melksham Town warmed up for Friday’s cup final with a 2-0 win over Devizes Town both Melksham goals coming through Simon Charity who took his total for the season to 19 and ensured Melksham remained top of the table.

Close on their heels are Bradford Town who maintained the two-point gap to the leaders with a comfortable 6-1 win over Chippenham Town . Nick Ross led the way helping himself to four goals, Mark Robinson and David Percival with the other two for Bradford Town, Adam O’Keeffe replying from the penalty spot for Chippenham Town.

The game between Corsham Town and FC Calne scheduled for Green Lane on Monday was postponed by the two teams when the referee advised he would not be able to make the game. Clubs are reminded that League Rule 23 B (ii) states that in cases where there are no officially appointed match officials in attendance the Clubs shall agree upon a referee between themselves who will have the full powers, status and authority of a registered referee. The game scheduled on Friday between Bradford Town and Westbury United was postponed by Bradford Town and is another postponed game that will need to be discussed by the Management Committee.

North Wiltshire Division

It was a particularly busy week in the North Wiltshire Division with four games played on Tuesday night, including two games played on grass pitches as the division makes use of the light evenings to complete the fixtures. At Meadowcroft a solitary goal from Andrew King saw Swindon Old Boys secure a narrow 1-0 win over home side Stratton Juniors Orange . It was a similar score line at Sutton Park, in the other game played on grass, where a goal from Blunsdon ’s Peter Byrne was the only difference between the home side and visitors Swindon Rovers .

The other two games involved the teams challenging for the title with the big game being the one between leaders Cricklade Town and second placed Redhouse who also had that cup final on Friday to come later in the week. Perhaps minds were elsewhere as the expected close encounter did not materialise with Cricklade running out comfortable 6-0 winners. There were two goals for Ryan Keech and one each for TJ Bohane, Tom Dingle, Matt Richards and Adam Smith. The win saw Cricklade open up a nine-point lead at the top of the table, although Royal Wootton Bassett Town and Redhouse do have a game in hand and with both still having Cricklade to play one more time.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town kept themselves in the title race with a 6-0 win of their own against AFC Swindon , their third win and clean sheet in games with AFC Swindon this season. The goals in their latest win came courtesy of Chris Head (2), Mark Simpkins, Dean Ramshaw, Nick Mason and Ben Gould.

There was another big win on Wednesday night in the game between Chiseldon and Stratton Juniors Black with Chiseldon scoring nine unanswered goals. The division’s leading scorer Richie Miles led the way for Chiseldon adding another four goals to his impressive total to move onto 29 for the season. There was also a hat-trick for James Lovell with Liam Hector getting the other two in the 9-0 win which saw Chiseldon move above Redhouse and into third spot in the table.

Veterans' League Cup Final

The final game of the week in the Veterans’ was the most important with the second staging of a Veterans’ League Cup Final after last season's inaugral competition won by Cricklade Town at New College. Originally looking like it would again need to be staged on one of the 3G grounds used by the league, the two clubs, Melksham Town and Redhouse ,  asked if it could be played at Melksham Town’s stadium, certainly a more fitting venue for a cup final.   Melksham Town agreed to host the final before their pitch is decommissioned for maintenance work hence the game took place the night after the same stadium had hosted the Under 18 League Cup Final.  A big thank you on behalf of tle league for this kind gesture.

It was fitting that the two finalists have been two of the most successful Veterans’ sides in the League since we established the Veterans’ category back in Season 2019-20.  Melksham Town have been Wiltshire FA Veterans’ County Cup winners twice, winning that cup for the first time in Season 2020-21 and again this season. Last season saw them secure the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division title, having finished as runners-up the season before in 2020-21. They are once again the current league leaders in the Mid Wiltshire Division and could well repeat last season’s title success.  Redhouse established a Veterans’ side in Season 2020-21 and they had an excellent inaugural season finishing as runners-up to KMLC in the North Wiltshire Division. They went one better the following season in 2021-22 finishing as North Wiltshire Division champions, finishing above Priory  Vale on goal difference only. This season, as well as making the cup final, they are also still involved in the North Wiltshire Division league title race as they look to defend the title they won last season although Cricklade Town are now very much in the driving seat.

In reaching the final Redhouse had defeated Chiseldon in the Second Round to set up a Quarter Final against Corsham Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division. Corsham were to win the game 3-0 but the tie was awarded to Redhouse after it transpired that Corsham had played an ineligible player. In the Semi-Final Redhouse met another Mid Wiltshire Division side in Chippenham Town and in a tight game at Green Lane neither side was able to find the net in normal time and penalties were needed to settle matters, with Redhouse winning the penalty shootout 5-3. Melksham’s passage to the final was much clearer. They defeated Devizes Town 3-1 in the Second Round setting up a Quarter Final against Royal Wootton Bassett Town which was won 2-0. In the Semi-Final they met fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Bradford Town and four goals from Kris Beasley in a 4-3 win, the winner coming right at the end saw them through to the final.

The final itself was another tight affair with very few chances created by either side and could have gone either way. Like the Semi-Final involving Redhouse it was to end 0-0 meaning penalties were required to settle matters once again. With Redhouse scoring all three of their opening penalties, whilst Melksham failed to register with their opening two, few would have predicted the final outcome. Melksham scored with their third with Redhouse then missing their fourth and fifth penalties meaning the shootout went to sudden death. With Redhouse  failing to score with their sixth penalty and with Melksham scoring theirs it was Melksham who triumphed in the end 4-3 in a remarkable penalty shootout turnaround. Of the five missed penalties, four of them were actual saves by the two keepers, Stewart Thompson of Redhouse and Melksham’s Gareth Evans as the two keepers were both the stars of the final. Congratulations to Melksham on their win which means they have now won both the League Cup and the County Cup this season and will now go in search of the treble. Commisserations to Redhouse on going so close, especially when they led 3-1 in the penalty shootout until that dramatic turnaround. They also will now look to register league honours, although it looks like runners-up may be more likely than retaining the title they won last season.

Teams come out for the final (picture Matthew Meaden)

Click on picture below to view PDF of the Cup Final Programme

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were just two games played this week in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. Corsham Town kept themselves in the title race with a 2-0 win over FC Calne at Green Lane on Monday night. A goal in each half from Steve Tweddle and Michael Clarke did the damage as Corsham moved to within four points of divisional leaders Melksham Town ahead of the key game between the two sides this coming Monday. FC Calne became the fourth team in the Mid Wiltshire Division to complete their fixtures for the season. Melksham Town’s game against Bradford Town was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and will now have to be played away from the Oakfield Stadium with pitch maintenance work having commenced at the Melksham ground.

The other game played in the Mid Wiltshire Division was again at Green Lane the following night and it saw Chippenham Town become the fifth side in the division to complete all their fixtures. Westbury United were their opponents and were no doubt pleased that the game went ahead having been the innocent victim on several postponed games recently against some of the other sides at the top end of the division and consequently behind with their fixtures. Leading 1-0 at the break due to a Wayne Wheeler goal, further goals from Kane Scott and Philip Hampson saw them lead 3-0, but a late consolation goal from Chippenham’s Darren Chitty completed the night’s scoring as it finished 3-1. The win for Westbury saw them move to within three points of fourth placed Devizes Town who they meet this coming Tuesday and over whom they have three games in hand.

North Wiltshire Division

The North Wiltshire Division saw four games played with Redhouse being particularly busy playing two games in a week for the second consecutive week as they played catch-up with their games. It was to be a mixed week for Darren Grace’s side. On Tuesday night goals from Dave Rendle (2), Mark Glover, Sean O’Brien and Nolan Paul gave them a 5-0 win over Stratton Juniors Orange . They were back in action again on Thursday and for the second time this season they were on the wrong end of a heavy defeat against their likely successors as North Wiltshire Division champions, Cricklade Town . Four goals from TJ Bohane plus further strikes from Adam Smith, Matt Richards and Phil Corcoran in a 7-0 win saw Cricklade move to within a point of the league title. As a result of his four goals Bohane is now the leading scorer across both Veterans' divisions. As long as they avoid defeat this coming Tuesday against second placed Royal Wootton Bassett Town, Cricklade will be champions given the 32 goal difference spread between the two sides is not going to be eroded in Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s final two games. After defeat against Cricklade Redhouse will now look to finish runners-up with their game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town likely to be the game that decides the runners-up medals.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town kept themselves in the race for honours with a hard fought 1-0 away win on grass against Chiseldon , the only goal of the game coming through Chris Head. As well as those games against Cricklade Town and Redhouse, Royal Wootton Bassett Town also have Blunsdon still to play as do Redhouse.

The other game played this week in the North Wiltshire Division was on Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Ground and it saw Blunsdon pick up their fifth league victory of the season as goals from Nick Frost (2), Peter Byrne and Jamie Saunders secured a 4-0 win over AFC Swindon . 

The final scheduled game of the week between Swindon Old Boys and Cricklade Town was postponed with Swindon Old Boys unable to raise a side.

Mid Wiltshire Division

After spending most of the season at the top of the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division, Melksham Town were dislodged from top spot this week, with Bradford Town the new leaders of the division after a 2-0 win on Friday night over Westbury United . Bradford’s two leading scorers Mark Robinson and David Percival did the damage, Robinson moving onto 25 for the season and Percival taking his own personal total onto 21.

It was a busy week for Westbury United as earlier in the week they had defeated Devizes Town 4-1 at Meadow Lane in what was Devizes Town’s final game of the season. Two goals for Wayne Wheeler, one for Pete Ayton and an own goal doing the damage, Robert Mitchell with the consolation goal for Devizes who became the sixth team in the division to complete their fixtures. Martin Pearce was there with his camera and more of his excellent pictures can be found by clicking on this LINK .

Melksham Town had missed out on the chance to retain top spot earlier in the week when they had lost to a solitary strike from Corsham Town ’s James Lye, a result which means everything will be decided by the final four games in the division, all of which involve the top four sides. Just two points separate the new leaders Bradford Town and third placed Corsham Town, with Melksham Town sandwiched between the two. Two of those four fixtures take place this coming Monday with Corsham Town hosting Bradford Town, whilst Melksham Town travel to Westbury United who, whilst out of the title race, could still have a big say who are the eventual champions. Then on Thursday Westbury host Corsham Town. Certainly, it is a big week ahead in the Mid Wiltshire Division.

North Wiltshire Division

The title race is now over in the North Wiltshire Division with Cricklade Town crowned as champions on Tuesday night as a result of a narrow 2-1 win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. It was the league leaders Cricklade who took the lead with a neat finish from the leading scorer across both Veterans’ divisions, TJ Bohane. Both Matt Richards and Godfrey Chisanga went close to extending Cricklade’s lead but both missed good efforts and it remained 1-0 at the break. Cricklade doubled their lead early in the second half, Godfrey Chisanga with the goal as the title got ever closer. However, a mistake by Mike Solan allowed Chris Head to reply almost immediately for Royal Wootton Bassett Town to make it 2-1. Royal Wootton Bassett Town pushed for an equaliser but twice Cricklade keeper Jason Knight made fine stops from Jeremy Newton and Chris Head to keep Cricklade in front. At the other end the Bassett keeper also denied TJ Bohane and Matt Richards with two great saves as it finished 2-1. Cricklade have secured the title with two games to spare, and it is congratulations to manager Richard Austen and his side on their title success. Royal Wootton Bassett Town will now have to battle it out with Redhouse for runners-up spot with the two sides set to meet this coming Wednesday.

Redhouse go into Wednesday’s game with a three-point advantage but having played one game more. That is after a 4-0 win on Tuesday night at New College against Blunsdon thanks to two goals for both Chris Hawkins and Nolan Paul. As well as the three points the four goals scored improved their goal difference that could end up being needed to separate the teams at the season end. After the encounter on Wednesday at the Gerard Buxton Ground, Royal Wootton Bassett Town will have one outstanding game to play against Blunsdon.

Whilst Cricklade were making the headlines at the top end of the table, at the other end it was AFC Swindon who were the big story as they picked up their third win of the season and also became the first team in the division to complete their fixtures. First half goals from Gareth Walton and then two from Jason Cobb did the damage for AFC against bottom of the table Stratton Juniors Black in a 3-1 win and meant AFC more than doubled their points tally from last season in what has turned out to be their best season of the four they have had in the league.

The final game of the week in the North Wiltshire Division saw Swindon Old Boys pick up a valuable 2-1 win over fourth placed Chiseldon to move to within a point of their beaten opponents. On target for Swindon Old Boys were Andrew King and Paul Stonehouse, King taking his tally for the season into double figures and Stonehouse registering his 12th of the campaign.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Four games were played this week across the two Veterans’ Divisions with two games in each division. On Monday night in the Mid Wiltshire Division, Melksham Town returned to the top of the table with an impressive 5-0 win away at Westbury United . The goals were shared around the team with one each for Kris Beasley, Ian Dowell, Lee Morgan, Thomas Staddon and a 20th goal of the season from leading scorer Simon Charity. The game between Corsham Town and Bradford Town was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and will now be played next week. As a result, Melksham moved above Bradford Town to head the table going into the final two games in the division.

On Thursday night Corsham Town travelled to Westbury United and kept their own title hopes very much alive with a 3-0 win, Steve Tweddle was another player registering his 20th goal of the campaign, the other two goals coming through Daniel Beck and an own goal. The win for Corsham also saw them move above Bradford Town.

The two fixtures next week will decide the title. A win for Melksham Town on Monday against Bradford Town will confirm them as champions. A win for Bradford Town would see Bradford Town just needing to avoid defeat in their final game against Corsham to be champions. A draw will mean that whoever wins the Corsham Town v Bradford Town would be champions, whilst another draw in this second game would confirm Melksham as champions. All will be a lot clearer come 10pm Monday night.

North Wiltshire Division

In the North Wiltshire Division, Swindon Rovers and Swindon Old Boys completed their respective fixtures by drawing 1-1 at New College, Joe Anderson with Swindon Old Boys goal.

The following night was the big one which would effectively decide runners up spot. Redhouse were three points ahead of rivals Royal Wootton Bassett Town at the start of the night and were playing their final game. With Royal Wootton Bassett Town having a much superior goal difference and their final game scheduled to be against Blunsdon, a team they had defeated twice already during the season without conceding a goal, they knew that a win over Redhouse would effectively give them second spot. A draw would mean Redhouse would then need to rely on Blunsdon getting something out of that final game. It looked to be heading that way until a late goal from Ben Gould for Royal Wootton Bassett Town saw them take the three points by the narrowest of margins. The win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town completed a league double over last season's champions. With Blunsdon already saying they could not raise a side before Wednesday night’s fixture, they advised the league they would not be fulfilling the fixture against Royal Wootton Bassett Town, the second time they had postponed this specific fixture.

  The final honours across the five divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League were decided this week with the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division champions and runners-up finalised. Getting the teams at the top of the Mid Wiltshire Vets' Division to play each other this season has been like herding cats at times, but the last two games were finally completed this week. A 0-0 draw on Monday night at Green Lane between Bradford Town and Melksham Town left Melksham top of the table but vulnerable to either Bradford Town or Corsham Town overtaking them with a win in the final game of the season between the two sides on Wednesday night.  With all the challenges this season in getting the teams at the top to play each other, as late as Monday night it was unclear whether the game would go ahead with Corsham Town struggling to raise a side.  Thankfully they were able to play the game allowing the title to be decided on the pitch. Two goals from the division’s leading scorer Bradford Town ’s Mark Robinson gave Bradford the win which meant they climbed above Melksham Town to win the title for the first time. Robinson ends the season top of the charts on 27 goals in all competitions.

Melksham Town in the end had to settle for runners-up and missed out on the treble having already won both the Wiltshire FA’s County Cup and the League Cup. The defeat on Wednesday meant Corsham just missed out on the medals this season, finishing two points behind Melksham Town. Congratulations to Bradford Town on their title success in what has been a fascinating title race in the Mid Wiltshire Division, wiith final honours not being decided until the final game of the season. Congratulations also to Melksham Town on achieving runners-up to add to their two cup wins, this is the third consecutive season they have finished in the top two in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division.

The outstanding games in the North Wiltshire Division, where teams were advising they would not be able to fulfill fixtures,  were all decided in the Discipline Committee and the final table now reflects the decisions made.

League Tables

Result Grids

Leading Scorers