THE BULLETIN

1st February 2020
Number 27

Midweek Action

It was a memorable night at Bremhill View on Monday night, where First Division leaders Calne Town stretched their winning run to five matches after beating Welton Rovers 3-1. With the home side leading by a goal to nil thanks to Jamie Norman’s early strike, Stuart Windsor marked the occasion of his 200th appearance for the club by reaching the century mark for goals to double the lead. Welton got back into the game when Chris Pile pulled a goal back from the spot, but it was Calne who ran out winners thanks to a further goal midway through the second half from Garry Lock. 24 hours later, Shepton Mallet made it nine wins from ten in the Premier Division following a hard-fought 2-0 victory away at Keynsham. The visitors made a fast start to the game, going ahead after just ten minutes when Aaron Seviour made a strong break before laying the ball off for strike partner Jack Fillingham to grab his 20th league goal of the campaign. The game was then settled in the closing stages, when Asa White scored his second headed goal of the week to hand Shepton another three points. Elsewhere that evening, two early goals from Kye Simpson kick-started Roman Glass St George’s 6-0 win away at Shortwood United in the Gloucestershire FA Challenge Trophy. The third round tie was a one-sided affair, with Ash McGrane, Troy Simpson, Ryan Radford and George Lloyd all finding the back of the net for Roman Glass.

Knockout football took precedent on Wednesday, with Western League outfits enjoying mixed success in three different competitions. Tavistock were the big winners of the night, knocking out National League side Torquay United in the third round of the Devon FA St Lukes Bowl. Many of the usual suspects were in action for the Lambs, with regular scorers Jack Crago, Josh Grant and Jordan Annear all getting on the scoresheet during the 3-0 win. Radstock were knocked out of the Somerset Premier Cup by Yeovil Town, holding their higher-ranked opponents to a goalless draw during normal time before falling to a nail-biting 8-7 defeat on penalties (pictured, right, courtesy of John Newport). In Wiltshire, Bradford Town became the seventh team to book their place in the quarterfinals of the Les Phillips Cup after coming from behind to defeat Bitton 2-1. The away side went ahead ten minutes before the break when Karim Rendall teed up Mitchell Tippins to fire the ball home. The Bobcats won the previous league fixture between these sides by two goals to one, and that was how it played out once again, with substitute Ross Lye levelling from the spot, before Sean Keet headed home the winner 15 minutes from time.

Premier Division

One of the largest crowds of the season so far descended on Fairfax Park on Friday evening, where Bridgwater and Clevedon battled out an entertaining 3-3 draw. The visitors made a strong start, and went ahead after just 13 minutes through Jack Sell, with Bridgwater getting on level terms 20 minutes later thanks to a neat finish from Jack Taylor. In the opening stages of the second half, Taylor lobbed the ball home to give Bridgwater their first lead of the night, only for Syd Camper to draw the visitors level less than ten minutes later from the penalty spot. Bridgy rebounded well, forging ahead once more through Tom Ellis, but then less than a minute later, Clevedon drew level once again through Ethan Feltham to ensure they grabbed a share of the spoils.

Bradford Town eased to another three points on Saturday afternoon, scoring three times before the break to help secure a 4-0 victory over Chipping Sodbury. There was 24 goalless minutes at Trowbridge Road before the Bobcats caught fire, with Lewis Powell’s quick-fire brace followed soon after by a Dean Griffiths goal to put the game to bed by half-time. Charlie Maddison continued his excellent run of goalscoring form, scoring Bradford’s fourth and final goal of the game 20 minutes from time, before earning a well-deserved rest. Things weren’t quite as straight-forward for Plymouth Parkway who required a late, late goal to sneak past 20th placed Wellington at Bolitho Park. In a fixture which looked one-sided on paper, Wellington fought tremendously well to keep their hosts at bay, with the back five producing excellent performances across the board. The visitors were to suffer late heartbreak however, with Parkway stealing all three points six minutes from time when the division’s leading marksman Adam Carter poked the ball home. Hallen are now up into the top four, after a pair of goals in the final ten minutes saw them beat Odd Down 2-0 in Bath. It took something special for Hallen to forge ahead in the 81st minute, with substitute Martin Stowell unleashing an unstoppable half-volley from all of 25 yards to finally break the deadlock. A couple of minutes later, Stowell had another attempt on goal which was thwarted by the home keeper, but Sacha Tong was on hand to tuck home the rebound. Roman Glass St George produced an excellent comeback to beat Exmouth 3-2, handing the away side their first league defeat since late October. Town looked to set to continue their strong run of form at Oaklands Park, going ahead after just 45 seconds through Aaron Denny, before Jordan Harris doubled their tally less than ten minutes later. Roman Glass had been on the road for the entire month of January, and their return to home comforts seemed to serve them well on Saturday, with goals from Ash McGrane and Sam Wentland handing them a share of the spoils at half-time. Steve Fitzpatrick then completed the turnaround early in the second half, with Exmouth missing out on a point after failing with a penalty attempt 20 minutes from time.

It was an afternoon where away sides enjoyed plenty of success in the Premier Division, and that was most definitely the case at Homers Heath, where Bitton powered to a 6-1 defeat of Buckland Athletic. The first half-hour showed little indication of what was to follow, but soon after, Bitton came to life once Joe McLennan had put them ahead with a fine curling finish. Karim Rendall then doubled their advantage in the 43rd minute, before skipper Scott Brice struck in first half stoppage time to suddenly put his side ahead by three at the interval. Matt Groves continued the visitors dominance in the early stages of the second half, with a little bit of respite afforded to Buckland when Ryan Bush opened their tally. Bitton allowed their hosts no chance of a comeback however, with Brice, and then second-half sub Josh Brace adding goals five and six during the final 20 minutes. Westbury United also won by a fair margin on their travels, with Callum Demkiv’s brace spearheading their 4-1 win over Cadbury Heath. Demkiv struck twice in the final 15 minutes of the first half, either side of a goal from Joe Stradling to give Westbury a comfortable three-goal half-time lead. Ryan Bole then added a fourth from close range to put the result beyond doubt, with the Heath pulling a goal back in the closing stages through substitute Lewis Saunders. The spoils also went to the away side at the Lawns, where Keynsham gained revenge on a Cribbs side who beat them 5-2 earlier this season by handing them a 1-0 defeat.

First Division

Calne Town became the first side to break the 50-point barrier in the First Division this season after beating Lebeq United 4-1. After reaching his century of goals for the club during the week, Stuart Windsor led the line excellently once more for the Lilywhites, opening the scoring after 26 minutes. The league leaders left the remainder of their scoring for the closing stages, with Jamal Chevolleau scoring nine minutes from time to make it 2-0, before further late goals from Windsor and Sol Pryce rounded out the victory. Longwell Green Sports returned to winning ways against Wincanton Town, scoring twice in either half to end their hosts unbeaten start to the calendar year. Kyle Box was the star man for Longwell Green, scoring a brace, with Ali Bamford and Luke Bryan also finding the back of the net for the visitors who led for almost the entirety of the match after going ahead inside the opening minute. in Somerset after less than a minute. Bishops Lydeard’s excellent start to 2020 continued on the first day of February, with goals either side of the break leading them to a 2-0 win over Corsham. Mark Clunie set the ball rolling for the home side after 29 minutes, slotting home to put them on track for their tenth league win of the campaign. Midway through the second half, Charlie Wilson applied pressure on the visiting keeper, with his attempted clearance then rebounding off Wilson into the back of the net to double Lydeard’s advantage. The hosts had an opportunity to make it 3-0 15 minutes from time, yet Luke Bryant saw his spot kick saved and Corsham managed to keep the losing deficit to just two. The biggest crowd of the day in the First Division will have enjoyed a six-goal thriller, where Warminster drew 3-3 with Wells. Harry Foster is having an excellent season in front of goal for Wells, and that continued at Weymouth Street where he swept his side into an early lead. Warminster have hit a tough spell recently, but they turned the game on its head during the first half, with Francois Allen scoring twice to give his side a 2-1 lead at the interval. That soon became 3-1 when the hosts struck again early in the second half, only for Foster to score again to trim the deficit. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Wells grabbed a draw when Dale Hunt hammered the ball home following excellent build-up play from Harvey Hadrill. Sherborne leapfrogged Wells up into third spot after a one-sided first half helped them claim a 3-0 win away at Bristol Telephones. The Zebras have won three games on the spin, without conceding, and their latest three points came on the back of goals from Sam Farthing, Haydn Hodges and Alex Murphy. Ashton & Backwell United continued their terrific run of form, making it six wins from their last seven thanks to a tight 1-0 victory away at Almondsbury. The only goal of the game came just after half-time, with Harry Walker barrelling the ball home to keep Backwell in touch with the top four. There was also victory for sixth-placed Radstock who bounced back from their defeat last weekend by winning 1-0 away at Cheddar.

James Clarke’s goal nine minutes from time saw Portishead claim a 2-1 win away at Bishop Sutton to put a substantial gap between themselves and the bottom three. The visitors made most of the early running at Lakeview, and they took a deserved lead 15 minutes into the contest when Callum Eastwood made it 1-0 from just inside the box. Bishop Sutton came out refreshed for the second half, drawing level instantly through Callum Baker, but it was to be Portishead who took home the points with Clarke heading home an excellent cross from the influential Mitch Osmond.  Oldland Abbotonians made it back-to-back wins for just the second time this season, holding off a late challenge to beat Hengrove 3-2 at Paprika Park. Following on from their 1-0 win at Portishead last weekend, Oldland went ahead against Hengrove through Tom Summerhill, only to see their hosts respond less than two minutes thanks to a long ranger from Luke Crewe. The game wasn’t level for long however, with Summerhill restoring Oldland’s lead straight from the resulting kickoff as the game shot into life. The goalscoring dried up after that however, and it was 20 minutes from time until the Abbots struck for the third time, with Jack Mills meeting a corner at the back post to make it 3-1. Hengrove also won a rare away game last Saturday, but they were unable to back that up, falling to defeat despite Mickey Parsons scoring nine minutes from time as they threatened a comeback.

 

 

Download

PDF Copy

Download

WORD Copy