THE BULLETIN

18th January 2020
Number 25

Midweek Action

On Wednesday, Plymouth Parkway moved through to the next round of the Devon FA St Lukes Bowl, easing past Ilfracombe Town by four goals to two at Bolitho Park. The home side flew out of the blocks, storming into a three-goal lead inside 21 minutes following goals from Mikey Williams, Craig Duff and Jack Calver. Half-time sub Francis Rowlands volleyed home a fourth on the hour mark, before the visitors struck twice in the final 20 minutes to trim the deficit. In the only other midweek fixture to beat the weather, Lebeq are now in the last eight of the Gloucestershire Challenge Trophy thanks to a 5-2 win against Ruardean Hill Rovers at Oaklands Park. First half goals from Fabian McCarthy and Nathan Hill gave Lebeq a strong foothold, before Christian DaCosta took over the game, scoring a hat-trick after the break to lead his side to a convincing victory.

Premier Division

Bradford Town retook ownership of top spot in the Premier Division following a thumping 5-0 victory at home to Cadbury Heath. The first half was all one way traffic in the home team’s favour from the moment Tyson Pollard curled them into a 15th minute lead. Ross Lye’s penalty doubled the Bobcats advantage, with Lewis Powell and Charlie Maddison adding further goals before the interval. Pollard added his second at the beginning of the second half, but that was how it stayed, with Bradford having now won eight consecutive matches on their home patch. There was also another big win for Exmouth, who claimed their 15th league win of the campaign away at Chipping Sodbury. A moment of magic from leading marksman Jordan Harris was the difference between the sides at half-time, with the in-form frontman lobbing the home keeper from long range 15 minutes into the contest. Exmouth then shot out of the blocks after the break, with goals in the opening five minutes of the second half from Aaron Denny and Jimmy Hinds wrapping up the 3-0 win. Shepton Mallet’s excellent league form continued away at Street, where a second half surge saw them secure a 5-0 victory. With half-time on the horizon, the away side moved into the lead, with Jack Fillingham winning, and then converting a 35th minute penalty to put Shepton one goal to the good. Nathan Legge then scored twice in the space of three minutes to extend the visitor’s tally, with Aaron Seviour, and Fillingham completing the scoring in the closing stages. In a top-six battle in Gloucestershire, Hallen defeated Clevedon 2-1 to extend their winning run to four matches. The fixture was preceded by a minutes silence in memory of Darren Butt and Dave Caines, and Hallen made a perfect start once the whistle was blown, with Aaron Anglin firing them into a 2nd minute lead. Clevedon fought their way back into the game, and grabbed a leveller from the spot through Zach Drew, but less than two minutes later, they fell behind once more, with Aron Robbins scoring what turned out to be the game-winner just before the break. Josh Grant’s 20th minute header was the difference between the sides in Wiltshire, where Tavistock secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over mid-table Westbury. In another tight contest, goals either side of the break from Ryan Bath and Joe McLennan helped lead Bitton to a 2-0 win away at Wellington. 

Keynsham secured their first win of 2020, beating Bridport 4-2 at the Crown Fields. The game looked to be in the bag for the K’s at half-time, after goals from Matt Brown and Matt Long had helped them build a two-goal lead, which was only kept intact following a penalty save by ash Clark on the half hour. The visitors fought back however, and after pulling a goal back at the beginning of the second half, they then levelled the scores in the 66th minute. That equaliser seemed to kick Keynsham back into life, and after Brown had headed them back in-front, Long then also completed his double with a lob ten minutes from time to complete the victory. Roman Glass St George scored three times in either half to grab an impressive 6-1 win away at Odd Down, helping the visitors climb up to 15th in the league table.

First Division

In a complete reversal of last week when only one top half side secured three points, all five of Saturday’s First Division fixtures went in favour of teams who began the day in the top seven. Longwell Green Sports beat Warminster Town 3-0 away from home to maintain their single point lead atop the league. Goals from Liam Oswin, Connor Britton and Danny Carter fired ten-man Longwell Green to their latest triumph at Weymouth Street as they began the second half of their campaign in perfect fashion. Maintaining a grasp on Longwell Green are second-placed Calne Town whose fast start helped them held off a late charge by Portishead Town to prevail by two goals to one at Bremhill View. After 15 goalless minutes, the home side went ahead through Joe Broadbank, after his effort from just outside the area found the back of the net. Eight minutes later, Calne doubled their advantage, when an Aaron Witchell cross was headed home at the back post by Stuart Windsor. Portishead are now without a win in five following this latest defeat, but they came close to claiming a point after captain Mitch Osmond pulled a goal back midway through the second half with an acrobatic finish. In another game decided by just one goal, Corsham Town defeated Devizes in the day’s early kickoff. Both team’s created a number of chances throughout the 90 minutes, but it was Corsham who took home the points, after Ash Alchin slid the ball home ten minutes into the second half. The most one-sided game of the day saw third-placed Wells City capitalise on hosts Lebeq suffering three red cards to grab a 7-1 win. It was a tight affair during much of the first half, but the game then shot to life from the moment Tom Hill stroked home a 32nd minute penalty to put Wells in front. United were reduced to ten men soon after Hill’s opener, and Wells took advantage almost instantly, with Alex Camm flicking home to double the lead. The Lebeq keeper was then dismissed after handling the ball outside of the area, but incredibly, then nine-men went straight down the other end and brought a close to the first half by reducing the deficit. With only one goal separating the sides, Wells’ task became easier once more when Lebeq’s third red card was handed out. The final 20 minutes was nothing more than a procession, with Camm making it 3-1, before providing assists for Charlie Crook and Craig Herrod to stretch the lead to four. Harvey Hadrill continued the rout nine minutes from time, before the eventful game was given a perfect ending with Camm completing his hat-trick thanks to a screaming effort from all of 30 yards. Sherborne remain in touching distance of the top three, after goals either side of the interval from Sam Farthing and Joe Smith saw them beat Hengrove by two goals to nil at Raleigh Grove.

Bulletins

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