Premier Division

Wednesday night was a special occasion for Trowbridge Town as they played their first game under floodlights for 28 years, the culmination of a lot of hard work at the club led by Chairman Andy Meaden to bring their ground up to standard to enable the club to return to the National League System. The efforts to promote the league game against Shrewton United, which was Trowbridge Town’s first home game of the 2025-26 season, was rewarded with the game drawing a massive crowd of 573.  This was Trowbridge Town’s highest attendance since the club reformed and joined the Wiltshire Senior League and was also higher than their last fixture played at their old Frome Road ground. As well as competing for the three vital points the two sides were also competing for The Stuart Withers Memorial Trophy, in memory of the late Shrewton chairman who was tragically killed in an accident last year, which going forward will be competed for every time the two sides meet.  With Trowbridge struggling at the foot of the table and with Shrewton going so well at the top end of the table and scoring for fun, it always looked like a tough ask for the home side to get a win in their opening game under the new lights and so it proved.

Leading scorer Kian Tydeman fired Shrewton ahead with just four minutes on the clock, a ball from Lewis Elshaw down the left-hand side, found Tydeman who fired past the Trowbridge keeper Jordan Gullis from outside the box for goal number 22 of the season for the Shrewton striker. The lead did not last long though, George Bendle curling one into the top corner of the net with just eight minutes gone to level matters up at 1-1. Shrewton restored their lead ten minutes later, dispossessing their opponents on halfway, Shrewton broke quickly culminating in Liam Palfreeman putting in a cross from the right that found Sanjay Samuda who fired home at the second time of asking after Gullis saved his first effort to make it 2-1. Shrewton extended their lead eight minutes before the break, a switch of play from Tydeman putting Samuda away, his effort on goal was well saved by Gullis but the ball fell nicely to another Shrewton player but his effort was saved this time by Gullis with his feet but unfortunately for the Trowbridge keeper the ball then fell nicely for Tom Plank who made no mistake for a third Shrewton goal to send them into the break with a 3-1 lead.

It stayed 3-1 until just before the hour mark when Shrewton effectively put the game beyond the home side, Samuda cutting in from the right and feeding Palfreeman whose initial effort was well saved by Gullis, but the ball fell nicely for Palfreeman who made no mistake at the second attempt to make it 4-1 to the visitors. Shrewton went further in front on 67 minutes a great ball from Plank finding Tydeman down the left flank whose effort on goal produced another save from Gullis but once again the ball fell nicely for a Shrewton player, on this occasion, veteran striker Justin Bennett placing the ball into the far bottom corner of the net for 5-1. Five minutes from time Shrewton grabbed a sixth, nice set up play between Bennett and Plank setting up Morgan Aldridge for his third goal of the season. There was still time for one more goal and it went the way of the home side, Bendle scoring a late consolation goal for his side with his second of the game to make the final score 6-2 to the visitors. The win for Shrewton saw them not only lift the inaugural Stuart Withers Memorial Trophy but also move to within a point of league leaders Swindon Supermarine Dev with a game in hand. The heavy defeat saw Trowbridge drop to the bottom of the table by virtue of scoring fewer goals than Calne Town Reserves, the two sides having an identical goal difference. As Yazz once sang, for Trowbridge, from now on, the only way is up but they will have been delighted with how many people had come along to witness history being made at Woodmarsh and all their hard work coming to fruition. There are another 21 league games to try and put things right on the pitch with 16 of those games being at home. Both Martin Pearce and Alwyn Bodman were at the game with their cameras and more pictures from the game can be viewed on the League Facebook Group Page.

Fountain Trophies Cup

There were two more games played in the Fountain Trophies Cup First Round in midweek with both games seeing leading sides in the Premier Division up against sides doing well in Division One of the league. Last season’s cup competition had seen the Division One sides lower the colours of Premier Division opponents on several occasions, but this season’s competition is generally seeing the Premier Division sides get the better of things, with just the one upset so far this season, Shrivenham Dev’s win at Wroughton on Saturday. On Tuesday night Division One leaders Fairford Town Reserves were home to the Premier Division leaders Swindon Supermarine Development and a storming first half from the Premier Division side saw them lead 3-0 at the break thanks to goals from Tom Phillips, Rhys Williams and Evan Black. When Regan Lach added a fourth for Swindon Supermarine on the hour mark the tie was effectively over. A second of the game for Phillips 20 minutes from time, with his 12^th goal of the campaign in all competitions, extended Supermarine’s lead but there was time for a consolation goal for Fairford Town Reserves, Harry Yeates scoring in the final minute of the game to make the final score 5-1. 

The following night Larkhall Athletic Development entertained Bishops Cannings in a tie that had been moved to Larkhall Athletic’s Plain Ham ground when the Wiltshire FA organised an event at short notice on the original scheduled date at Green Lane. Once again it was the Premier Division side who came out on top, Larkhall scoring six times without reply to progress to the Second Round. Ben Wickens scored twice to take his total for the season to nine with further goals coming through Reuben Whitson, Ewan McMillan, Milo Murgatroyd and James Horrocks, who also moved onto nine for the season, in the 6-0 win.

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