Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
 Title Race Hots Up in
Both Veterans' Divisions

Action from Devizes Town's narrow 1-0 win over Chippenham Town

(picture 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.

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.

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.

 Swindon Old Boys Veterans' who moved up to 4th with a narrow 2-1 win over Stratton Juniors Orange

League Tables

Result Grids

Leading Scorers

Results and Next Week's Fixtures

24 February 2023
Share by: