The Under 18 Division kicked-off on Monday night and it saw away wins for both Calne Town and Devizes Town, Calne winning 3-2 at Green Lane against Bishops Cannings and Devizes securing an impressive 2-1 victory at last season's champions Kintbury Rangers.
Heavy rain on Thursday saw the postponement of the game between Melksham Town and Amesbury Town due to a waterlogged pitch. It was a similar story at Radstock Town where their FA Youth Cup was postponed meaning it will now be played this coming week and impacting this week's scheduled league fixtures in a repeat of last season. Melksham Town will now play Devizes Town in the league this coming week instead of Radstock. The one game that did get played on Thursday was on the 3G at Swindon Academy and it saw Swindon Supermarine record a comfortable 5-1 win over Westbury United on their debut in the division.
The final game of the week was on Friday night. Last season FC Chippenham and Wims 11 had fought out an entertaining 5-5 draw in the corresponding fixture and all games between the two sides last season were close encounters. It was a similar story in the first meeting between the two sides this season although there were fewer goals as FC Chippenham got off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory. 
It was a good week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with all five league games being played as well as Radstock Town’s FA Youth Cup game which had been postponed the previous week. On Thursday night Radstock were up against the Youth team of Hellenic League side Tuffley Rovers who play in the Cheltenham Floodlit Youth League. It was to prove to be a good evening for Ian Lanning’s side as they hit five unanswered goals to progress to the First Round Qualifying where they will meet Swindon Supermarine next week. As a result, next week’s scheduled league fixture between the two sides has been pushed back until December.
In the league it was a week of away victories with all five fixtures being won by the visiting side. Three teams made it two wins from their opening two games with FC Chippenham registering that second victory by scoring eight unanswered goals away at Amesbury Town who certainly had a tough introduction to the league in what was their first game of the season.
Devizes Town also maintained their winning start to the season with a hard fought 4-3 victory away at Melksham Town in a game brought forward as a result of that Radstock Town FA Youth Cup game. A big thank you for both teams for co-operating in bringing forward the game.
The third team to have maximum points from their opening two games are Swindon Supermarine who inflicted a second straight defeat on last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers, Supermarine scoring three without reply to follow-up last week’s opening day victory over Westbury Youth.
Wims 11 bounced back from their narrow defeat at FC Chippenham last week with an impressive 4-1 away win at Calne Town.
The biggest winners of the night were Bishops Cannings who secured their first win of the season after their opening week defeat at the hands of Calne Town with a 9-0 ‘away win’ against Westbury Youth. With both teams playing their home games at Green Lane, along with Devizes Town, the Bishops Cannings side were familiar with their surroundings.
Games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division spanned the whole of the working week again last week, commencing on Monday night at Green Lane when Bishops Cannings entertained Wims 11. It started well for Bishops Cannings who went 2-0 up only to concede on the stroke of half time to lead 2-1 at the break. However, a much improved second half from the Swindon based side saw them score four times without reply to take the three points. That is now two wins from their opening three games for a Wims side who are expected to be up amongst the challengers for the title this season.
After losing to Wims the previous week, Calne Town returned to winning ways on Thursday night with a 2-0 home win over Amesbury Town to join Wims, Devizes Town, FC Chippenham and Swindon Supermarine on six points, with Devizes Town and FC Chippenham set to meet the following night. Amesbury meanwhile are still looking for their first points after losing their opening two games.
The same night the champions for the past two seasons Kintbury Rangers picked up their first points of the season with a 5-3 away win at Melksham Town with all five Kintbury goals coming in the second half.
The final league game of the week was on Friday night at Stanley Park with two sides, FC Chippenham and Devizes Town, who had won both of their opening two games up against each other with one or both set to go top of the league by the end of the night. That honour goes to FC Chippenham who made it three wins from their opening three games thanks to a 3-1 score line. The win saw FC Chippenham move three points clear at the top of the table whilst Devizes remain joint second along with three other clubs on six points. FC Chippenham and Swindon Supermarine both have won all their games so far with the only other unbeaten side being Radstock Town who have yet to play a league game.
On the subject of Radstock Town, they were involved in the FA Youth Cup First Round Qualifying on Thursday night and were up against Swindon Supermarine’s South West Counties side, who are the current leaders of that league. It was a tight affair that Swindon Supermarine in the end edged by the odd goal as they ran out 2-1 winners, thus ending Radstock's interest in this season's competition.
Just three of the five scheduled Under 18 fixtures survived this week’s wet weather, two of which were on 3G surfaces. The one game to survive on grass was at Calne and credit to the Calne Town groundsman for ensuring the pitch survived this week’s heavy downpours. Calne Town were rewarded for their efforts in getting the game on by securing a narrow 3-2 win over Devizes Town and are now one of three clubs sat on nine points at the top of the table after the opening month of the season.
Calne though have played one more game than the other two sides FC Chippenham and Swindon Supermarine. FC Chippenham saw their scheduled game away at Kintbury Rangers on Monday night postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
No such problems at Swindon Academy for Swindon Supermarine on their 3G pitch on Thursday night where they entertained near neighbours Wims 11. For the second time this season Swindon Supermarine recorded a 5-1 home victory to make it three wins out of three from their opening set of fixtures, matching FC Chippenham's start to the season, and certainly look to be strong title contenders this season.
Radstock Town finally got their league season up and running after being otherwise engaged in the FA Youth Cup. On Monday night they were away to Westbury United at Green Lane and it was to be a winning start for Ian Lanning’s side as they returned with all three points following a 6-1 win.
The other scheduled game this week between Amesbury Town and Bishops Cannings was the second game to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, a heavy shower on Thursday lunch time after the pitch had been passed fit and successfully marked out in the morning, giving the club no choice but to postpone.
There were four league games played this week with Westbury United and Wims 11 playing their outstanding Wiltshire FA Youth Cup First Round tie rather than the league fixture between the two sides. The cup game saw Wims 11 progress to Round 2 courtesy of a 6-3 win.
There were two games in the league on Monday night with the big match being the game between Devizes Town and Swindon Supermarine at Green Lane. At the end of the nights action Swindon Supermarine went three points clear at the top thanks to a narrow 2-1 win to maintain their 100% winning start to the season.
In the other game played on Monday, last season's champions Kintbury Rangers make it two wins in a row with a 4-0 home victory over Bishops Cannings.
There were then two further games on Thursday, and both resulted in away wins for Radstock Town and Calne Town. Calne Town were 5-0 winners at Melksham Town to join Swindon Supermarine at the top on 12 points, although Calne have played one more game than Supermarine.
In the other game Radstock Town maintained their 100% winning start to the season with a 4-1 away win at Amesbury Town. Due to their FA Youth Cup run, they have two games in hand on the top two and sit six points behind in fourth place in the table, level with three other teams on the six point mark.
In the Wiltshire FA Youth Cup on Sunday, FC Chippenham, Amesbury Town and Calne Town all progressed to the Third Round on Sunday, although Swindon Supermarine exited the competition following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lydiard Millicent Juniors. That said Supermarine still have one of their teams in the competition. Both FC Chippenham and Calne Town had big wins, FC Chippenham were 9-1 winners away at Melksham Town U17 Harriers, whilst Calne Town were 8-1 winners away at Wroughton Youth U17 White. It was much closer for Amesbury Town in their game away against Royal Wootton Bassett Town, eventually edging it 2-1 to progress to Round 3.
In Round 3 FC Chippenham will be home to Lydiard Millicent Juniors, Calne Town will be home to Croft Junior Blue, whilst Amesbury Town will be home to near neighbours Laverstock & Ford.
In the end there were just three league games played this week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with the games between Wims 11 and Radstock Town and FC Chippenham versus Melksham Town both being postponed, the latter as a result of Melksham Town being unable to raise a side, becoming the first U18 fixture this season needing to be dealt with by the Discipline Committee.
In addition to the three league games, Kintbury Rangers were also involved in the Berks & Buck Youth Cup away at Binfield and put up a spirited performance, eventually going down 3-1 on a very wet evening against a very good Binfield side. Kintbury went in front early on, scoring moments after they had a good penalty shout turned away. This was to prove to be one of a number of decisions on the night that did not go their way. Binfield were back on level terms by the break though, the home side being awarded a penalty when a player went down in the box. Binfield made no mistake from the spot kick to go into half time with the game all square. Much of the second half was played in heavy rain and the pivotal moment in the match came in the 68th minute with the award of a penalty to Kintbury. Unfortunately for the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League side the Binfield keeper pulled off an excellent save and it remained all square. It didn't remain that way for long though as four minutes later Binfield went down the other end and went in front for the first time in the game thanks to a powerful shot from the edge of the box that went into the net off the crossbar for 2-1 to the home side. Kintbury then had a player dismissed and Binfield made sure of progress to the next round when they scored from a free kick from the edge of the box to make the final score 3-1 to the home side.
The same night there was one game played in the league at Green Lane, Devizes where Bishops Cannings and Devizes Town battled it out for local bragging rights in front of a large crowd in the Devizes derby. On Saturday when the two clubs men's sides had met in the Fountain Trophies Cup it was Devizes who had come out on top but on Monday night it was the youngsters of Bishops Cannings who were to get that winning feeling, 2-1 the final score as Bishops Cannings picked up their second league win of the season.
The two games on Thursday night saw the two joint leaders of the Division at the start of the night, Swindon Supermarine and Calne Town in action. Swindon Supermarine entertained an Amesbury Town side who were looking to build on their County Cup win on Sunday. On a cold evening two first half goals put Supermarine in the driving seat. A third goal early in the second half made sure of the points which, as a result of Calne dropping points, saw Swindon Supermarine go clear at the top of the table with their fifth win in five games.
Calne Town were also at home the same night with their visitors being Kintbury Rangers in what was a repeat of last season's U18 league cup final. Calne led 1-0 at the break thanks to a goal just after the half hour mark, but Kintbury got themselves back on level terms to ensure a share of the points in a 1-1 draw. This left Calne Town two points behind Swindon Supermarine having played one game more.
The wet weather returned to put paid to two of the scheduled games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. Monday night’s scheduled encounter between Kintbury Rangers and Radstock Town and Thursday night’s game between Calne Town and FC Chippenham being the two games lost.
This meant just two league games were played in the division, both games being on 3G pitches on Monday night. At Moredon there was a local derby game between Wims 11 and Swindon Supermarine. When the two sides had met at Swindon Supermarine’s ground last month, Supermarine had run out comfortable 5-1 winners but on Monday night Wims were to avenge that earlier defeat with a narrow 2-1 win, inflicting the first defeat of the season on Supermarine. Despite the defeat Swindon Supermarine remain top of the table, two points clear of Calne Town with both sides having played six games. Wims meanwhile sit in joint third spot, six points behind the leaders but with a game in hand.
The other league game played was at Green Lane, Devizes where Bishops Cannings entertained Melksham Town with another close encounter that saw the two teams share five goals. In the end Bishops Cannings edged it by the odd goal to record their third win in six games to move joint third in the table.
There was one more game played in the week involving teams from the division with Radstock Town exiting their County Cup, losing 3-0 at home to a strong Bath Arsenal side.

Due to half term starting in Wiltshire next Wednesday there is a limited fixture schedule next week with just two games scheduled to take place.
With Half Term starting on Thursday in Wiltshire there were just two games in the Under 18 Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. On Monday both Westbury United and Amesbury Town went in search of their first points of the season. It started well for visitors Amesbury who led at the break, but Westbury came back strongly in the second half to secure a point in a game which saw the two sides share six goals as well as the points.
As a result of their FA Youth Cup games at the start of the season Radstock Town are playing catch up with their fixtures and made it three wins in three league games with a 6-3 win over Melksham Town who now remain the only side in the division without a point. Radstock moved up to joint third place in the table as a result of the win and they, along with FC Chippenham, are the only two sides still possessing a 100% winning record.
With it being half term week there were just two games played in the league last week. On Monday night Radstock Town maintained their perfect start to the league season with a fourth straight victory, winning 6-1 away against Bishops Cannings. That is also the second successive game that they have registered a six goal score and they are already the division’s leading scorers even though they have games in hand over the two sides above them in the table.
The other game played was the rearranged game postponed at the beginning of September due to a waterlogged pitch and it involved two sides at the bottom of the table, Melksham Town and Amesbury Town, who were still looking for their first win of the season. It was to prove to be an enjoyable Thursday evening for Amesbury as it was they who registered that first win of the season scoring five unanswered goals to run out 5-0 winners to move out of the bottom two positions in the table.
On Sunday all three teams left in the Wiltshire Youth Cup won their Third Round games to progress to the Quarter Final of the competition. Amesbury Town overcame near neighbours Laverstock & Ford 3-2, whilst both Calne Town and FC Chippenham easily overcame opponents for the North Wilts Youth League. Calne Town were 8-2 winners at home against Croft Junior Blue, whilst FC Chippenham won 7-1 against Lydiard Millicent Juniors.
The Wiltshire FA have already made the draw for the Quarter Final ties and two of our three sides will meet each other with Amesbury Town set to entertain FC Chippenham, whilst Calne Town have been drawn away to Salisbury U18 with the ties set take place on Sunday 1st December. The other two Quarter Final ties see Highworth Town play Trowbridge Town and Ferndale Rodbourne are home to Salisbury U17.
It was a busy week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with four games played including a couple of surprise results as teams at the bottom end of the table defeated sides at the other end of the table.
On Monday night at Green Lane things went to form with Devizes Town securing a 4-0 victory over Westbury United who are still looking for the first win of the season. Two goals in each half did the damage for Devizes in securing their third victory of the season to sit joint fifth in the table.
There were two games on Thursday night, and both resulted in teams at the bottom picking up valuable points against sides at the top end of the table. Amesbury Town’s visitors were Wims 11 and a goal in each half for the home side ensured they picked up their second league win of the season continuing an unbeaten run in all competitions which now stretches to four games. This uptick in form could see them test Radstock Town’s 100% winning start to the season this coming Thursday.
The other game on Thursday night was at Oakfield Stadium where Melksham Town entertained Swindon Supermarine. The two sides served up a game in front of a sizeable crowd that will no doubt please the attacking coaches, but the defensive coaches will probably be having nightmares as it finished 6-5 to Melksham who in the process picked up their first points of the season, defeating the side who sit top of the table. An excellent result for Melksham who moved off the bottom of the table.
On Friday night FC Chippenham continued their excellent start to the season with a fourth straight win, defeating Bishops Cannings 4-1 at Stanley Park. Like Radstock Town, FC Chippenham’s perfect record could well be tested this coming week when on Friday league leaders Swindon Supermarine are the visitors.
Last week saw a full round of five league games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, only the second time that has happened this season.
The two sides with perfect records so far this season, FC Chippenham and Radstock Town, were both in action and both picked up their fifth straight win. On Thursday night Radstock Town won 2-0 at home against Amesbury Town to join Swindon Supermarine at the top of the table on 15 points ahead of Supermarine’s Friday night trip down the M4 to take on the other unbeaten side, FC Chippenham.
Having lost to both Wims 11 and Melksham Town in recent weeks, Swindon Supermarine were looking to avoid their third straight defeat but were up against a FC Chippenham side who had won their previous four games and were averaging just over four goals a game. It was to prove to be FC Chippenham’s night as they also won their fifth straight game, scoring another five goals as they ran out 5-1 winners to join their beaten opponents and Radstock on that 15-point mark. FC Chippenham certainly look like they are serious title contenders again this season, looking to reclaim the league title they had last won back in Season 2020-21.
Calne Town had the chance to possibly sit top of the table if the other results had gone their way and they could pick up three points from their home encounter with Bishops Cannings. However, things did not go to plan, trailing 2-1 at the break, things improved after the interval, Calne scoring twice but another goal for Bishops Cannings meant the two sides had to settle for a point apiece as it finished 3-3 which left Calne sitting one point behind the three joint leaders in fourth place.
Devizes Town are up to fifth place following a second consecutive win, their latest success a 3-1 away win against Wims 11 on Monday night at Moredon. Devizes sit two points behind Calne having played one game more whilst Wims sit in eighth place in the table, three points behind Devizes but with a game in hand.
The other game played on Monday night saw Kintbury Rangers pick up their third win of the season, a narrow 2-1 away success against Westbury United at Green Lane. The victory for Kintbury sees them in sixth place in the table, two points behind Devizes but with two games in hand, and games in hand also over both Swindon Supermarine and Calne Town also.
League Cup
With a number of games already postponed by wet weather, FA Youth Cup and County Cup games, with three teams sharing one pitch at Green Lane and with Easter school holidays taking up two weeks of April, the decision has been made to run the cup on a strict knockout basis as in all previous seasons. The draw was made by Chairman Brian Busson and League Secretary Jim Thorn and produced the following ties in the first two rounds of the competition:
Just three of the five scheduled games this week went ahead with a waterlogged pitch causing the postponement of Monday night’s game between Kintbury Rangers and Wims 11 and then a frozen pitch resulting in the top of the table clash between Radstock Town and FC Chippenham being off.
The three games that did go ahead saw Swindon Supermarine move three points clear at the top of the table with a 4-1 win over Calne Town on Thursday night. Supermarine have now won all four of their home games so far this season, their two defeats to date both coming on the road. Calne sit in fifth place in the table.
Devizes Town joined FC Chippenham and Radstock Town on 15 points in joint second spot in the table with a narrow 2-1 home win over Amesbury Town at Green Lane. Whilst Devizes have played four more games than the other two sides on 15 points, they have now won three games in a row and could yet feature heavily in the race for honours come the end of the season.
Another side showing an uptick in form are Melksham Town who picked up their second win in a row with a hard fought 2-1 home win over bottom of the table Westbury United to open up a five-point lead over their beaten opponents in the league table.
The league title race is hard to gauge at the moment. Whilst two teams, FC Chippenham and Radstock Town, have 100% winning records they have played a lot less games than the rest of the division. Radstock Town once again saw their game postponed this last week, although on this occasion they were the innocent party, with Calne Town’s pitch not recovering from the battering it took last Saturday during the first team game on the weekend that Storm Bert hit. So far Radstock have only played five games and are yet to play any of the other sides in the top six of the division making it difficult to assess their likely title credentials. FC Chippenham have played one game more but that has included top six sides Swindon Supermarine and Devizes Town who they beat 5-1 and 3-1 respectively. FC Chippenham this week were 4-0 winners over Westbury United at Green Lane on Monday night to make it six wins from their opening six games and temporarily move level with Swindon Supermarine at the top of the table.
The same night Bishops Cannings picked up their fourth victory of the season with a 4-1 away win in Swindon against Wims 11 who have now lost their last three games after having made a good start to the season. Bishops Cannings, along with two other sides who played this week, have reached the half way stage with their league season.
Swindon Supermarine moved clear at the top of the table on Thursday night with a 6-0 home victory over Melksham Town, maintaining their 100% home record and avenging the 6-5 defeat they had suffered at Melksham earlier in the month that had damaged their title aspirations. Three goals in each half did the damage for the league leaders who are another side who have now reached the half way stage with their league fixtures. Swindon Supermarine have played four games more than FC Chippenham and hold just that three-point lead.
Last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers picked up their fourth win of the season with a 3-1 success away at Amesbury Town and could yet have a big say in the title race after now going five games unbeaten in the league. Amesbury Town were the third side to reach the ten games played mark this week and well done to all three teams for achieving this before the end of November.
It was a disappointing week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with just the one game being played to completion this week. The wet weather during the week saw all three games set to be played on grass on Thursday night postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Two games were started on 3G on Monday night but only one would go the full duration. That game was at Green Lane where Devizes Town became the fourth side in the division to reach the halfway stage with their league fixtures with a 3-1 win over last season's champions Kintbury Rangers. The win for Devizes saw them complete a league double over Kintbury and move up to joint second place in the table, level on points with FC Chippenham, but Devizes have played four more games.
The other game on Monday night between Wims 11 and Westbury United was unfortunately abandoned by the referee due to misconduct and the League now await the disciplinary verdict from the Wiltshire FA regarding the matter before any decision can be taken regarding what happens with the game.
All but one of the scheduled games were played last week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. It was to prove to be a good week for the league leaders Swindon Supermarine and also the two sides with 100% winning records, FC Chippenham and Radstock Town, as all three won their games.
The action got underway on Monday night at Green Lane with Bishops Cannings picking up their fifth win of the season, a 3-1 win over the improving young Westbury United side. When the sides had met earlier in the season Bishops Cannings had won 9-0 and Monday’s result shows what improvements the Westbury side, many of whom will be eligible to play in the league again next season, have made as the season has progressed.
Thursday night saw Radstock Town maintain their 100% winning record in the league with a 3-0 home win over Devizes Town to make it six wins from six games. The win for Radstock saw them move level on points with Devizes although Devizes have played five more games.
The same night Swindon Supermarine ensured they would have sole ownership of top spot for at least another week with a narrow 1-0 win over Kintbury Rangers, the only goal of the game coming a minute into the second half. The win for Supermarine meant they had completed a league double over Kintbury having won 3-0 at Kintbury back in September and opened up a six-point lead at the top of the table, for 24 hours at least.
Supermarine’s lead at the top was reduced to just three points the following night when FC Chippenham made it seven wins in seven games with a 5-0 victory over Amesbury Town, avenging a penalty shoot out to the same opponents on Sunday in the Wiltshire County FA, this after the cup game had finished all square at 4-4. The league win on Friday night meant FC Chippenham completed a league double over their beaten opponents having won 8-0 in the first league meeting between the two teams back in September.
By now all teams should have played everybody at least once but with both Radstock Town and FC Chippenham now behind with their fixtures an additional fixture has been inserted between the two teams on Thursday, with both also playing on Monday night in what is going to be a busy week in the Under 18 Division.
The final round of matches in the Under 18 Floodlight Division carried on where the calendar year had started in the division, with two games being postponed due to waterlogged pitches. The good news though was that there were still four games played in the week with three of the four games seeing eight goals and the same 5-3 score line, with the home team in each case getting those winning five goals.
Two of these games were on Monday night. At Green Lane Devizes Town became the first team this season to take points off FC Chippenham, their five goals included a hat-trick as they recorded their seventh win of the season and join their beaten opponents on 21 points in joint second place in the table.
The same night at Moredon Wims 11 picked up their first three-point haul since September with their 5-3 win over second from bottom Melksham Town. The win for Wims saw them move to within a point of seventh placed Kintbury Rangers with a game in hand.
The one game not to finish 5-3 in the week was at Kintbury on Monday night when Radstock Town were looking to defend their 100% winning start to the season against last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers. It was to be mission accomplished for Ian Lanning’s side as they scored three unanswered goals to claim all three points and make it seven wins in seven games. With FC Chippenham’s defeat the same night, they are now the only unbeaten side left in the division.
The league’s attempt to get Radstock Town and FC Chippenham caught up with their fixtures failed when Thursday’s scheduled game at Radstock fell victim to the weather, as did the scheduled game the same night between Amesbury Town and Calne Town.
The one game that did get played that night was at Great Western Academy where the third 5-3 result of the week took place as Swindon Supermarine defeated Bishops Cannings to move six points clear at the top of the table, although Radstock and FC Chippenham have five and four games in hand respectively. Swindon Supermarine have now won all seven of their home fixtures this season to open up that lead at the top of the table going into the New Year.
Due to Christmas, there are no games next week, the action will recommence on Monday 6th January. Best wishes from all of the Management Committee at the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League to our U18 Division sides for a happy Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
There was a good start to both the week and the calendar year in the U18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with all three games scheduled for Monday 6th January being played. However, unfortunately the cold weather in the latter half of the week saw both the two games scheduled for Thursday evening, which involved both the two sides who have played the least number of games, Radstock Town and FC Chippenham, had to be postponed.
Radstock Town at least got to play one game in the week when they travelled into Swindon to take on Wims 11 on the 3G at Moredon on Monday night. It was to prove a tight affair with Radstock eventually edging it 2-1 to maintain their 100% winning start to the season. That is now eight straight wins for Ian Lanning’s side who moved to within three points of leaders Swindon Supermarine with four games in hand. Radstock and Wims are set to meet again this coming week in the return fixture.
Whilst Radstock have played just the eight games, Bishops Cannings, who are the current leaders of the fair play award based on mark's given by the match officials, were playing their 13th of the season when they played host to Amesbury Town on the 3G at Green Lane. It was to prove to be a good night for them as they recorded a comfortable 6-1 win to consolidate their fifth place position in the table.
The final game on Monday night was the only one to be played on grass in the week, as Kintbury Rangers hosted Calne Town in a repeat of last season’s league cup final. When the two sides had met back in October in the first league meeting of the season between the sides, as in last season’s cup final, they could not be separated at the end of 90 minutes, with it finishing 1-1. It was to prove to be yet another close encounter on Monday night at the Recreation Ground. Whilst Kintbury had lifted the cup last season with an extra time winner, on this occasion it would be Calne Town who came out on top, edging it 2-1 to move four points clear of their beaten opponents, with two games in hand.
The two games on Thursday night at Radstock Town and Melksham Town were both postponed due to frozen pitches. 
After the weather had adversely impacted the fixtures in the first two weeks of the calendar year it was a good week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League as all five scheduled fixtures were played.
The action got underway on Monday night on the 3G at Green Lane Devizes where Bishops Cannings entertained Kintbury Rangers. When the two sides had met at Kintbury back in September, Kintbury had secured a comfortable 4-0 win, but it was to be a much closer affair in the return game with the two sides sharing four goals and the points following a 2-2 draw. The point for each side meant they remained as they were in the league table, Bishops Cannings sit in fifth spot with Kintbury two places below in seventh place.
Thursday night saw the first games of the week on grass with Calne Town playing at home for the first time since November after a couple of postponements due to the weather. It was not to be a happy return to home turf though as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Melksham Town as Melksham avenged the 5-0 home defeat they suffered at the hands of Calne at the beginning of October.
The other two games on Thursday impacted the top end of the table. Radstock Town went into their game against Wims 11 boasting a 100% record in the league this season from their opening eight games. That perfect record now stretches to nine games as they ran out 7-2 winners over the Swindon based side. Leading 2-1 at the break they upped their game in the second half adding five more goals to run out comfortable winners in the end and complete a quickfire double over their beaten opponents. The win saw them move level on points with Swindon Supermarine at the top of the table, but Radstock have four games in hand over the Swindon based side.
Swindon Supermarine were also in action and went into their game against Devizes Town with a perfect home record with seven wins in their opening seven home games. That unbeaten record at home finally game to an end though as an improving Devizes Town returned home with all three points following a 3-2 win. That is now six wins in their last seven games for Devizes, whose only defeat in that run game at the hands of Radstock Town and they are now just three points behind the joint leaders, having played the same number of games as Swindon Supermarine but also four more than Radstock.
FC Chippenham now look to be Radstock Town’s main challenger for the league title and they went into their home game against Westbury United with just one defeat in their opening eight games and a perfect home record which had seen they win all five previous games at Stanley Park. That record is now six from six at home as they secured a 6-2 victory on Friday night over the side at the bottom of the table to move to within three points of the joint leaders, with FC Chippenham, like Radstock, having four games in hand over Swindon Supermarine. Radstock's perfect record will face its sternest test to date this coming Friday when they travel to Stanley Park to play FC Chippenham for what is the first meeting of the season between the two sides.
Despite the bad weather at the back end of the week it was another good week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division with three of the four scheduled games played and the division is by far the most advanced this season in terms of the percentage of games completed, with over 72% of the league games now played.
On Monday night Kintbury Rangers were able to play their home game against Westbury United on grass at the Recreation Ground and were rewarded for the groundsman’s efforts with their fifth win of the season, a 4-0 victory over Westbury Youth to complete a league double over their beaten opponents having won 2-1 at Green Lane back in November. The win for Kintbury saw them move to within three points of Bishops Cannings in sixth spot with a game in hand.
The same night Devizes Town were looking to make it three wins in a row when they entertained Calne Town at Green Lane on the 3G. When the sides had met earlier in the season Calne Town had edged a close goal by the odd goal in a 3-2 win and were hoping to complete a league double over Devizes. It was to be another night that went Calne Town’s way as they brought Devizes winning run to an end, defeating their opponents 4-2 on their own pitch to complete that league double. The win for Calne saw them move to within four points of their beaten opponents with three games in hand.
The big game of the week was on Friday night with the two sides who had dropped the least number of points, Radstock Town and FC Chippenham, meeting at Stanley Park. Indeed, Radstock went into the game with a perfect record with nine wins from their opening nine fixtures, whilst FC Chippenham had only dropped points in their opening nine games against Devizes Town, losing 5-3 at Green Lane just before Christmas. A tight game was anticipated, and it proved to be just that as the two sides went into injury time with the match without a goal. However, there was to be a winner as Radstock Town broke the deadlock in the first minute of injury time to maintain that perfect start to the season and ruin FC Chippenham’s night. The win for Radstock saw them move three points clear at the top of the table having played three games less than the second placed team Swindon Supermarine. Chippenham are now six points adrift of the league leaders having played the same number of games. Whilst Radstock are clearly in the driving seat in the title race they still have some tricky games to come with both Calne Town and Swindon Supermarine to play twice along with the return fixture against FC Chippenham.
This week's games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League got underway on Monday night with the one game played being on the 3G at Green Lane. It saw Calne Town pick up their seventh win of the season to finish the week in fifth spot just one point behind Devizes Town with two games in hand following a 5-1 defeat of bottom of the table Westbury United.
Just two of the four scheduled games went ahead on Thursday night with Wims 11 unable to raise a side for their trip to Melksham Town and the game between Amesbury Town and Devizes Town being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. The two games that did go ahead both impacted the top end of the table and this season's title race. Radstock Town were at home to last season's champions Kintbury Rangers and they completed a league double over Kintbury, defeating them 3-0 for the second time this season and making it eleven wins from eleven league games to move six points clear at the top of the table.
FC Chippenham moved level on points with Swindon Supermarine in second place in the table by defeating them 5-3 on their own ground to also record a league double over the Swindon based side. FC Chippenham have three games in hand and are starting to look like they will be the challenger to Radstock for this season's Under 18 Division league title.
Last week’s results in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League saw FC Chippenham close the gap at the top of the table to five points following a 0-0 draw against Calne Town on what proved to be a good night for the two side’s respective defences. Whilst FC Chippenham would have obviously been looking for the three points, Calne Town are a good side and will have a big say in the title race this season with Radstock Town still to play twice. Looking at the final run in for the top two, whilst Radstock have that five point lead, FC Chippenham look to have the easier run in so there is plenty still to play for in the title race.
Radstock Town’s game against Swindon Supermarine was postponed due to a pitch that was both waterlogged and frozen in different parts of the ground.
Devizes Town maintained their push for honours with a 5-3 win against near neighbours Bishops Cannings, avenging the 2-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of their local rivals back in October. The win for Devizes saw them move level on points with third placed Swindon Supermarine and a point behind FC Chippenham.
The other two games played in the division also saw the winning sides score five times in securing the three points. At Moredon on Monday night Wims 11 picked up their fifth win of the season with a 5-3 success against Kintbury Rangers in the first meeting of the two sides this season.
On Thursday night, the only game to be played on grass this week in the division saw Amesbury Town pick up their third league win of the season, defeating Melksham Town 5-1 to complete a league double having also won at Melksham at the end of October. The win for Amesbury saw them move three points clear of their beaten opponents.
The wet weather took its toll on this week’s fixtures in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with three of the four games set to be played on grass pitches being postponed due to waterlogged pitches. This left just two games, one on grass at Radstock Town and one played on a 3G pitch.
On Monday night on the 3G pitch at Green Lane, Devizes, Westbury United picked up their second point of the season with a 1-1 draw against Wims 11. The young Westbury side, many of whom will be available again next season, have improved as the season has progressed which certainly bodes well for next season.
The only other game played in the division was on Thursday night and it saw Radstock Town catch up with nearest title challengers FC Chippenham in terms of fixtures played with a 12th straight win, their latest victory in that perfect dozen coming against Bishops Cannings. Three unanswered goals did the damage for Radstock who are set to be in action again this coming week when they take on Devizes Town at Green Lane in a truncated fixture schedule due to Half Term. Radstock are now eight points clear at the top of the table and another win on Monday would increase that lead to eleven points, but Devizes are also in good form with three wins in their last four games so could well provide a stern test to Radstock’s perfect league record. The only other game this coming week sees Amesbury Town entertain Westbury United.
Due to it being half term week last week there were just two scheduled fixtures in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and with the pitch at Amesbury Town waterlogged, Thursday’s scheduled game against Westbury United ended up being postponed.
This just left Monday night’s fixture on the 3G at Green Lane, Devizes, with a big game at the top end of the table involving Devizes Town and league leaders Radstock Town. Devizes had been on a good run of late with three wins in their previous four games ahead of Monday night’s encounter, whilst Radstock had won all 12 of their opening league fixtures. Devizes were expected to severely test Radstock’s perfect record, and the anticipated close encounter did materialise with Devizes pushing the leaders all the way. However, in the end, a solitary goal for Radstock Town was enough to make it 13 wins in 13 games for the league leaders as they opened up an 11 point lead at the top of the table.
It was a very bad week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with just one of the five scheduled games being played. Three games fell victim to waterlogged pitches and Friday night’s game at FC Chippenham was postponed due to Kintbury Rangers being unable to raise a side. Kintbury's game on Monday night against Melksham Town had been one of the three games postponed due to waterlogged pitches, the games at Amesbury Town and Radstock Town on Thursday night suffering a similar fate.
The game that did get played was at Green Lane on Monday night and it saw Devizes Town pick up their tenth win of the season with a narrow 3-2 victory over Wims 11, completing a league double over their Swindon based opponents. The win for Devizes saw them move up to second place in the table. With just three games to play, Devizes being the star performer in the division in terms of getting games played, the maximum points total they can reach is 39 which leaders Radstock Town have already accumulated so realistically the best Devizes can achieve is going to be runners-up spot. Whilst the teams below them all have games in hand, Devizes remaining three fixtures are against the bottom three sides in the division so Devizes will be eying up maximum points from those three games, and then hope the other sides around them take points off each other in the final run in.
This coming week attention turns to the League Cup with three First Round ties and two Second Round ties.
It was League Cup action this week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with three games in the First Round of the competition and two Quarter Final ties. Thankfully this week all the scheduled games were played.
On Monday night cup holders Kintbury Rangers entertained FC Chippenham in the one of top ties of the First Round. In a close contest in the end penalties were needed to decide matters after it finished 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes. In the penalty shoot out it was FC Chippenham who held their nerve to triumph 6-5 and progress to the Quarter Final where they will be home to Devizes Town in what should be another close contest between two of the leading sides in the division.
On the same night at Green Lane, Devizes Town made it through to that Quarter Final tie against FC Chippenham by becoming the first side in the division to defeat Radstock Town this season in another top tie. Once again penalties were needed to settle matters after it again finished level at 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes. Devizes won the penalty contest 5-4 to book that date with FC Chippenham.
The final game on Monday night was a Quarter Final tie played at Moredon in Swindon where Wims 11 were host to Bishops Cannings. The two league games between the sides this season had both seen wins for the away side, but that sequence of results was ended on Monday night with Wims securing a safe passage to the last four courtesy of a 5-2 win.
Thursday night saw the final game played in the First Round with Swindon Supermarine at home to Westbury Youth. When the two sides had met in the league in the opening week of the season Swindon Supermarine had secured a 5-1 win. There was once again to be a four goal margin with Swindon Supermarine scoring four unanswered goals to progress to the Quarter Final where they will be away to Amesbury Town.
The other game on Thursday night was the second Quarter Final tie with Calne Town home to Melksham Town. Calne Town have made the last two cup finals, and they remained on track for a third consecutive final, but it was mightily close as Melksham Town took the tie to penalties, the third game of the week that had needed penalties to decide matters. It finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, both goals coming in the first half, but Calne won the shoot out 4-2 to make it through to the last four.
It was an excellent week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham with all five games being played. League leaders Radstock Town had what looked a tricky away game at Calne Town on Thursday night in what was a first meeting of the season for the two sides. League games between the two sides in recent seasons have been close affairs. In Season 2022-23 both teams won their respective home games 3-2, whilst last season it finished 1-1 at Bremhill View with Radstock winning their home game 3-1. The first meeting of the two sides this season was once again to prove to be a close encounter with Radstock edging it 2-1 to maintain their 100% winning record and domination of the division. One more win will see them guaranteed at least runners-up spot with FC Chippenham now the only side who have a realistic chance of catching them at the top of the table.
The week’s action had got underway on Monday night with FC Chippenham maintaining their own title challenge with a narrow 1-0 away win at Kintbury Rangers completing a quickfire league and cup double over their beaten opponents. The win sees FC Chippenham trailing Radstock by eleven points but with a game in hand and the two sides still to play each other one more time.
The same night third placed Swindon Supermarine kept the pressure on FC Chippenham with their own narrow win, a 3-2 away success against Bishops Cannings at Green Lane to complete a league double over their beaten opponents. Swindon Supermarine remain one point behind FC Chippenham but having played two more games.
Devizes Town’s hopes of possibly securing runners-up spot were dealt a severe blow on Thursday night when they were beaten 2-0 away at Amesbury Town, Amesbury picking up their fourth league win of the season, avenging the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Devizes in the first meeting between the two sides back in November. Devizes remain just one point below but have just two games left now against the bottom two but this defeat was a costly one in terms of terms of their quest for honours.
The same night two first half goals gave Wims 11 a 2-0 away win over Melksham Town, the win for Wims seeing them move level on points with Kintbury Rangers.
It was another good week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League as all five games were played in the Division.
League leaders Radstock Town moved a step closer to the league title with win number 15 of the season, a 2-0 home success over Swindon Supermarine in what was the first meeting of the season between the two sides. The win for Radstock means that only FC Chippenham can now catch them and Radstock are guaranteed honours but will be looking to maintain their perfect record until the end of the season and lift the title in style.
FC Chippenham maintained their interest in the title race with a 3-0 away win at Moredon in Swindon against Wims II that leaves them eleven points behind Radstock with a game in hand and a trip to Radstock still to come which provides an opportunity to erode the gap although Radstock now look clear favourites for the title.
There was something of a surprise result at Nursteed Road where Devizes Town were home to Melksham Town in what was Devizes’ final home game of the season, the game having been moved from Green Lane to give the side their final game on home turf. However, the switch to 3G did not suite Devizes as they fell to a 4-0 defeat as Melksham avenged the defeat they suffered in the opening week of the season at the Oakfield Stadium.
There was also a 4-0 away win at Amesbury Town where Bishops Cannings returned to winning ways after going five games without a victory, there last win also being against Amesbury as Bishops Cannings completed a league double over their beaten opponents.
It was a similar story at Bremhill View where Calne Town were 5-1 winners against Westbury United, their last league win having also been against the same opponents at the end of January. The win for Calne saw them move to within three points of both third placed Swindon Supermarine and Devizes Town, with four games in hand over Devizes and one in hand over Swindon Supermarine.

Next week sees a mix of league and cup fixtures with the two outstanding League Cup quarter final ties set to take place.
Last week saw the final two quarter final games played in the U18 Floodlight Division League Cup and both games resulted in comfortable wins. On Thursday night at Amesbury Town, Swindon Supermarine ran out 6-1 winners to book their place in the last four.
The following night it was FC Chippenham’s turn to book their place in the semi-final with a 7-1 home win over Devizes Town.
The draw for the semi finals was made by League Chairman Brian Busson and League Secretary Jim Thorn and it sees Swindon Supermarine at home to Wims 11 and Calne Town will be home to FC Chippenham, with both games scheduled for Thursday 10th April.
As well as the cup games there were three fixtures in the league. It was a busy week for FC Chippenham as they also had a league fixture on Monday night, and they secured a narrow 2-1 win over Bishops Cannings at Green Lane to temporarily close the gap to leaders Radstock Town to eight points ahead of Radstock’s game on Thursday night.
The same night Kintbury Rangers recorded their biggest win of the season, a 7-1 home victory over Wims 11 to move above their beaten opponents in the table.
There was one game on Thursday night and it saw Radstock Town restore their 11 point lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 home win over Calne Town, that is now 16 straight league wins for Radstock who will be crowned champions this coming Thursday if they defeat FC Chippenham, the only side who can pip them to the title.
Last Thursday saw Radstock Town secure the Under 18 Floodlight Division league title with win number 17 of the season, a 2-0 victory against the side who were the only one who could have caught them, FC Chippenham. Congratulations to Radstock Town on their title success. With three games to go they will now be aiming to achieve a perfect record, matching what Melksham Town achieved in Season 2018-19 albeit it would be playing twice as many games than that earlier season. Radstock’s three final games are against Westbury United, Swindon Supermarine and Melksham Town. FC Chippenham meanwhile are likely to have the consolation of finishing as runners-up. They are currently seven points ahead of both Swindon Supermarine and Calne Town with FC Chippenham having four league games to play against Melksham Town twice, Kintbury Rangers and Calne Town.
Calne Town kept their chances of finishing runners-up alive with a 2-0 away win in Swindon against Wims II. They would need to win all three of their remaining games and hope that FC Chippenham lose all their remaining games so realistically Swindon Supermarine are the main challengers to FC Chippenham and that runners-up spot. For Calne the best hopes for silverware are in the League Cup where they will take on FC Chippenham this coming Thursday in the semi-final, with Calne looking to make the final for a third straight season. The other semi final is on Wednesday when Swindon Supermarine host Wims II.
Devizes Town and Bishops Cannings became the first two sides to complete their fixtures this season. On Monday night Devizes Town were away to Westbury United, with the game staged at Westbury’s ground for the first time this season. It was to finished honours even at 2-2 with the points shared, with the Westbury lads clearly enjoying playing on home turf against a sdies they lost 4-0 to earlier in the season.
Bishops Cannings were also playing their final game of the season, and the season would not end on a winning note as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Melksham Town, Melksham avenging the narrow defeat they suffered at Green Lane back in October. The win for Melksham saw them move level on points with Amesbury Town. Bishops Cannings currently sit sixth in the table, but three sides could yet overhaul them in the table.
There were four games played last week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, two in the League and two in the League Cup.
The week’s action started on Monday night with two games in the league with both games resulting in wins for the away side. At Westbury United it proved to be a good evening for Melksham Town as they recorded their biggest win of the season, scoring six times in a 6-2 win that saw them close the gap to the two sides just above them in the table.
The same night Amesbury Town returned with all three points from their game away at Kintbury Rangers, avenging the 3-1 defeat they had suffered at the hands of Kintbury on home turf back in November. Three goals in the second half for Amesbury securing a 4-1 victory that saw Amesbury remain level on points with Melksham and also move to within two points of their beaten opponents and one point of Wims 11.
The second half of the week saw attention turn to the two League Cup semi-finals starting on Wednesday night in Swindon when Swindon Supermarine took on Wims 11 at the Webbswood Stadium in what proved to be a tight and entertaining local derby. The home side Swindon Supermarine got themselves in front early on, a headed clearance from defence saw them break quickly and one pass later their centre forward found himself in on goal and he produced an assured finish to make it 1-0. Swindon Supermarine went close to extending their lead but were denied by a great save by the Wims keeper from close range. Wims 11 got themselves back on level terms when a neat passing move ended with a well taken shot which the Swindon Supermarine keeper got his hands to it but could not keep it out and the two sides turned round all square at the break.
Swindon Supermarine thought they had got themselves back in front early in the second half only to see the goal disallowed for a handball in the build-up. They were to then find themselves behind in the game as a quick break out from defence saw a ball over the top find a Wims player who executed a neat finish to put Wims 2-1 in front. Wims then went close to extending their lead when their influential winger, who had been causing the Supermarine defence all kinds of problems with his powerful runs, saw his shot from the edge of the area turned onto the bar by the Supermarine keeper. However, it would be Supermarine who got the next goal, a neat headed pass putting their centre forward in the clear for an assured finish for his second of the game to level matters up at 2-2. It got even better for Supermarine when a header back across goal found their forward with an open goal and an easy chance to put his side back in front at 3-2. Wims put the Supermarine goal under pressure as they sought to get back in the game, going close on several occasions with their influential winger seeing an effort go just wide of the far post. At the other end Supermarine were denied a fourth by an excellent save by the Wims keeper but there was to be no further goals as it finished 3-2 to Swindon Supermarine.
The second semi-final was on Thursday night at Calne Town where the home side were up against FC Chippenham. It was another close encounter which in the end required penalties to settle matters after the two sides fought out a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes, both sides scoring in the first half. The penalty shootout saw FC Chippenham hold their nerve to run out 4-1 winners and book their place in the final.
Just three of the four scheduled games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League were played last week adding to the fixture difficulties to complete the season.
The action in the Under 18 Division got underway on Monday night and it saw Kintbury Rangers return to winning ways with a 2-1 home victory over Melksham Town to complete a league double over their beaten opponents and move to within two points of Bishops Cannings who have completed their fixtures. Kintbury Rangers final game of the season is now set to be this coming Friday against FC Chippenham with the cup final put back a week. This is due to logistical issues with the cup final venue and the need to schedule all remaining league fixtures, taking account of ground availability and the fact that whilst two teams have completed their fixtures, one side still has four to play and are also in the cup final.
That side are Swindon Supermarine who postponed their scheduled game against Radstock Town as they were unable to secure a pitch to play the game last week.
Thursday night saw Amesbury Town and Melksham Town both pick up home wins to move above Wims 11 in the league table. Amesbury Town’s 2-1 win over Calne Town means that Swindon Supermarine are now the only side who can pip FC Chippenham for runners-up spot.
FC Chippenham could have moved ten points clear of Swindon Supermarine had they won at Melksham Town on Thursday night but they fell to a surprise 3-1 defeat at Oakfields Stadium as Melksham bounced back from that defeat at Kintbury on Monday night. Despite the defeat they remain in the driving seat for runners-up, leading Swindon Supermarine by seven points having played one game more. Even if Swindon Supermarine win their game in hand they will trail FC Chippenham by four points.
Four of the scheduled five games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League were played last week. Unfortunately, for the second time, Kintbury Rangers were unable to raise a side for a Friday night fixture against FC Chippenham and the game will now need to be discussed by the Discipline Committee.
It was a busy week for both Amesbury Town and Swindon Supermarine who both played two games in the week as they played catch up with their fixtures. First of all the two sides met on Tuesday night at Amesbury. With Swindon Supermarine still challenging for second place in the table they needed a win to close the gap to FC Chippenham and it was to be the visitor's night as they secured a 3-1 victory to move up to third place in the table and reduce the gap to FC Chippenham to four points ahead of their second game of the week on Thursday night.
On Thursday night
Swindon Supermarine had a tricky looking away fixture at
Calne Town and it was to prove to be a close encounter between the two sides that Swindon Supermarine eventually edged by the odd goal in five to reduce that gap to FC Chippenham to just a single point. For Calne Town it was their second consecutive defeat and they will now need to avoid defeat in their final game against FC Chippenham next week if they are to achieve a top four finish this season.
Amesbury Town bounced back from that defeat on Tuesday with a narrow 2-1 home win over Westbury United. The win for Amesbury saw them climb above Melksham Town into seventh position in the table.
Melksham Town had also been in action the same night when they entertained runaway leaders Radstock Town and Melksham went close to becoming the first side to take league points off Radstock, eventually going down to a narrow 2-1 defeat at Oakfield Stadium. That is now 18 wins from 18 games for Radstock who are now just two wins away from having a perfect league season.
This coming week sees three more league fixtures before Friday night's League Cup Final at the Sustain Stadium at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC. Friday's final sees FC Chippenham and Swindon Supermarine take a break from their battle in the league for second spot as they both try and lift the League Cup for the first time. Kick-off is 7:45PM. Admission price is set at £3, which will include a programme. U16’s and OAP’s are not charged an entry fee unless they wish to purchase a programme.
Swindon Supermarine celebrate their cup final win over FC Chippenham
The last game in the Under 18 Floodlight Division was finally played, eleven days after the scheduled end date for the season, with the Under 18 Division the only one of the seven divisions in the league which did not finish its fixtures by the deadline date agreed at last years’ AGM. In the end four league games ended up being played after the deadline with the destination of the runners-up spot not decided until the very final game played on 13th May.
Since the last round-up there have been seven league games played plus the league cup final. In the league, on Monday 28th April Wims 11 ended their season on a positive note, playing for the first time at their new ground of Faringdon Town. The Wims players certainly took to their new surroundings winning 6-2 against Amesbury Town to avenge the 2-0 defeat they had suffered at the beginning of November. Leading 3-1 at the break, Wims repeated the score line in the second half to record their seventh win of the season in their 20 league games to finish two points below Amesbury Town.
The same night Swindon Supermarine moved above cup final opponents FC Chippenham into second spot in the table in the battle for runners-up spot with a 3-1 win away at Westbury United.
Westbury United were back in action again on the Thursday of the same week with an away trip to Radstock Town for their final game of the season. The first 20 minutes saw Westbury holding the champions who were looking to maintain their 100% league record, Radstock finally breaking the deadlock on 23 minutes. Once that first one went in, the floodgates opened and Radstock added another five before half-time. The scoring continued after the break with Radstock adding ten further unanswered goals to win 16-0. Not the happiest of endings to their season for Westbury United.
The following night at the Sustain Stadium at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, home of Royal Wootton Bassett Town FC, the fifth staging of a Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League U18 Floodlight Division League Cup Final took place, with the two teams battling out for runners-up behind Radstock Town, FC Chippenham and Swindon Supermarine, up against each other. With just eleven teams in the division this season it was interesting to note that both teams had to play three games to reach the final, neither side having the luxury of a bye in the first round. FC Chippenham’s path to the final had been far from easy with two of their games requiring penalties to settle matters. In the first round they drew 2-2 away at Kintbury Rangers at the end of 90 minutes, eventually progressing 6-5 on penalties. They had a somewhat more comfortable passage in the quarter final, winning 7-1 at home against Radstock Town’s conquerors Devizes Town to line up a semi final against Calne Town. As with the game against Kintbury, the two sides could not be separated at the end of 90 minutes, the 1-1 draw seeing penalties once again being needed to settle matters. Once again it was FC Chippenham who held their nerve to progress to the final, winning 4-1 on penalties. Swindon Supermarine had a much more comfortable pathway to the semi final stage, winning 4-0 at home against Westbury United in the first round before knocking out Amesbury Town on their own ground in the quarter final, 6-1 the score in that game to line up an all Swindon semi final against near neighbours Wims 11. The game between the two sides would prove to be a close affair and looked to be heading for penalties until Swindon Supermarine scored a late winner to run out 3-2 winners on the night to book their place in the final.
On a warm Friday evening, the game at Royal Wootton Bassett Town drew a sizeable crowd with 126 paying customers accompanied by a sizeable number of concessions, both young and old. The large crowd would witness an entertaining final that was a lot closer than the final score line would suggest. In a tight first half Swindon Supermarine had slightly the better of things. They went close to opening the scoring on 13 minutes with an effort that came back off the FC Chippenham crossbar but the game would remain without a goal until five minutes before the break. It was to be Swindon Supermarine who finally got themselves in front, a dangerous ball into the box seeing the Supermarine striker nip in before the FC Chippenham keeper could reach the ball to give his side the lead at the break with all still to play for in the second half.
Action from the U18 Cup Final between Swindon Supermarine and FC Chippenham
Whilst it had taken 40 minutes for that first goal of the game the second would come early in the second half and again it went the way of Swindon Supermarine as they doubled their lead within a minute of the restart. Despite falling two goals behind FC Chippenham continued to battle away and for long periods in the half they put the Swindon Supermarine defence under sustained pressure as they tried to get a foothold back in the game. They went close on several occasions but just couldn’t find a way through the resolute Swindon Supermarine defence. Any chance of getting back in the game was effectively ended when Swindon Supermarine added a third late on to make sure it would be they who ended the night victorious in what had been a good game between two very good sides played in the right spirit. Well done to both sides on a successful evening which eventually went the way of Swindon Supermarine, but FC Chippenham had certainly made them work hard for the victory in a cup final between two very good sides.
More action from the U18 League Cup Final between Swindon Supermarine and FC Chippenham that Swindon Supermarine won 3-0
More pictures from the U18 Floodlight Division League Cup Final can be found on the League Facebook Group Page.
Click on picture below to view PDF of the Cup Final Programme
Despite that defeat in the cup final FC Chippenham were still favourites to pip Swindon Supermarine to runners-up spot behind Radstock Town. Despite trailing Swindon Supermarine by two points, they had two games in hand the first of which was played on Tuesday 6th May when they travelled to Calne Town. When the two sides had met in Swindon at the beginning of February it had finished 0-0 and another close game between the two sides saw a repeat of that score line as FC Chippenham moved to within a point of Swindon Supermarine but now with just the one game in hand.
The two rivals for runners-up spot were both in action on the Thursday night with FC Chippenham home to Kintbury Rangers in a game hastily re-arranged by the two teams after Melksham Town called off their scheduled game on Friday night due to being unable to raise a side. The game was played on the grass pitch at Stanley Park with an early kick-off and FC Chippenham were rewarded for their pro-activity in scheduling the game at such short notice with a hard fought 3-2 win. The victory saw them move two points clear of Swindon Supermarine ahead of their rivals for second place playing their game later that evening against champions Radstock Town.
Champions Radstock Town were looking to get the win which would mean they had won all 20 of their league games for what would be a perfect league campaign and end Swindon Supermarine's hopes of second spot. However, in a game staged on the 3G pitch at Cirencester Town, cup winners Swindon Supermarine were to deny them that perfect record as they scored five unanswered goals to become the first and only team to defeat Radstock in the league this season and keep their runners-up hopes alive. The game was not played in the best spirit with both teams having a player sent off and three players booked, with the behaviour of Radstock supporters also seeing the match officials submit an extraordinary report to the Somerset FA. A disappointing end for Radstock after an excellent season for their U18 side. The win for Swindon Supermarine saw them move back a point ahead of FC Chippenham with the Swindon side having now completed their fixtures and with FC Chippenham having the one game to hopefully play against Melksham Town.
Despite exam season commencing, thankfully the game against Melksham Town was staged at the third attempt a week later on Tuesday 13th May, avoiding the need for the runners-up spot to be decided in the committee room rather than on the pitch. The game was again played on grass at Stanley Park and saw FC Chippenham win 4-1 to secure that runners-up spot as they finished the season two points clear of Swindon Supermarine but 13 points adrift of champions Radstock Town. Congratulations to Radstock Town on their title, FC Chippenham on claiming runners-up and Swindon Supermarine for going close to honours in the league and also winning that entertaining cup final.
Overall a much more satisfactory U18 season than the previous one, despite the late finish, with all games played, even though one abandoned game ended up being decided in the Discipline Committee. The only other disappointment over the season was not being able to report on goal scorers and to report properly on games. Having not reported any names all season and kept them out of our cup final programmes (including the U18 match officials), it was irritating in the extreme to receive an email from the Wilts FA after the Cup Final programme had gone to print stating that they may have incorrectly interpreted the FA guidance and that it was just FA Full-Time that cannot include the players names. Too late for our U18 programme unfortunately. The Wilts FA themselves had not produced programmes for their own cup finals because of their earlier interpretation and the North Wilts & District League had also followed the guidance in their cup finals. Very disappointing and hopefully next season normality can return and we will be seeking formal final confirmation that we can now report on games ahead of the new season.
