Veterans' Season 2025-26

Roundups

Week One Roundup 

North Wiltshire Division

In the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division reigning champions Cricklade Town got off to a winning start with a 5-0 home win over AFC Swindon at the Corinium Stadium with Sam Collier scoring four of the five Cricklade goals, Stuart Hughes getting the other.

Unfortunately, last season’s runners-up Nationwide saw their game against FS Stratton postponed due to FS Stratton being unable to field a side. This season the punishment for such offences will be a three-point deduction and fine with the game rearranged given the pitch facility capacity we now have, bringing the Veterans in line with the other divisions across the league.

Last season Redhouse  had been involved in the title race up until the closing stages of the season and in the end would finish two points behind runners-up Nationwide. They also got their season off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Penhill United thanks to goals from Robert Malcolm-Stewart and Nolan Paul.  

After a disappointing season in 2024-25 Royal Wootton Bassett Town are hopeful of having a much better 2025-26 campaign and they started their season with a 4-1 away success against last season’s County Cup finalists ExIntel. On target for the visitors were Andy Gibson, Scott Large, Chris Head and Mark Simpkins, John Horgan with the consolation goal for ExIntel.

Another side securing a 4-1 win in their opening fixture were much fancied Purton Kingsdown who defeated Chiseldon, with all five goals coming in the second half. For Purton Kingsdown there were two goals from Dave Slattery and one apiece for Steven Davies and Paul Cooper, Ashraf Ali with the Chiseldon goal.

The final game of the week in the division was on Thursday night and it saw Swindon Rovers open their season with a 3-1 win over Stratton thanks to two goals from Peter Byrne and one from Taiwo Abolarin, Matt Bown with the Stratton goal.

Mid Wiltshire Division

In the Mid Wiltshire Division last season’s runners-up Durrington, who lost out on the title following a play-off against Melksham Town, made a good start to the current season with a 2-0 away win on Wednesday night at Westbury United, the goals coming through Russell Fuller and Terry Brooks.  

It was a week of 2-0 results with both Radstock Town and Warminster Town winning by the same score line, Warminster Town defeating Barford Hornets who are a new side to the division who have taken on a number of the players from last season’s Amesbury Junior Badgers side.

At the Blue Orange Studios Stadium Radstock Town’s three points were secured in their 2-0 win over Trowbridge Town Tigers thanks to goals from Ben Padfield and Jack Broadway.

On Monday night Calne Town had kicked off the games in the division by winning 4-2 at MOD Lyneham against Bishops Cannings. Two goals from Karl Sharratt plus one from both Craig Day and Chris Robinson did the damage for Calne Town, Adam Bewley and Jack Lenaghan with the Bishops Cannings goals.

North Wiltshire Division

Week Two in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division saw a full schedule of six games played and after the rubber crumbs had settled on the 3G pitches three teams sat top of the table with six points from their two games.

Redhouse were the biggest winners of the week scoring eight unanswered goals against FS Stratton who were playing their first game of the season having postponed their game in Week One. Dave Pratt led the way for Redhouse scoring four of their eight goals with Leigh Brown bagging a brace and Fred Galrito and Michael Jones also getting their name on the score sheet.

Cricklade Town, who have won the title for the last three seasons, sent a message to the rest of the division that they mean to hold onto the title with a hard fought 1-0 win over last season’s runners-up Nationwide, a second half goal from James Tinsley being all that separated last season’s top two sides come the end of the game.

The third side to have a perfect record after their opening two fixtures are Royal Wootton Bassett Town who were 2-0 winners at home against Swindon Rovers thanks to goals from Dean Wason and Kevin Gulliver.

There was an entertaining game on Monday night at Moredon where Stratton hosted Penhill United. Penhill took the three points thanks to a goal in each half, Steve Bunting putting them 1-0 up midway through the first half and Peter Myall adding a second at a similar point in the second half to make sure of the three points as Penhill bounced back from their opening week defeat at the hands of Redhouse.

The other two games in the division both ended in draws in what is already shaping up to be a much more competitive division this season. The game at New College between Purton Kingsdown and ExIntel on Tuesday night saw the two defences on top with neither side able to find the back of the net as it finished 0-0. The point for Purton Kingsdown sees them remain unbeaten from their opening two games in fourth place in the table. 

There were goals in the other drawn game in the division this week with AFC Swindon and Chiseldon sharing four goals and the points as both sides registered their first point of the campaign, Andrew Philpott with both goals for AFC Swindon, Daryl Herring and Adam O’Keeffe with the Chiseldon goals. 

Mid Wiltshire Division

The Mid Wiltshire Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League saw just four of the five scheduled fixtures being played, Westbury United being unable to raise a side for their trip to Melksham Town meaning last season’s champions frustratingly have yet to see action this season, with their game in Week One also postponed. As with the North Wiltshire Division there are three sides with a maximum six points from their opening two games, Radstock Town, Calne Town and Durrington.

Radstock Town followed up last week’s 2-0 home win over Trowbridge Town Tigers with a 4-1 away win over Bishops Cannings at Green Lane on Friday night. Jack Broadway scored a hat-trick with Adam Pugsley getting the other Radstock goal, Mike Booth with the Bishops Cannings goal.

Joining Radstock Town at the top of the table are Calne Town who edged a close game against Barford Hornets by the odd goal at Tidworth on Tuesday night, Chris Robinson and Karl Sharratt with the two Calne goals in a 2-1 win, Lee Bates with the reply for Barford Hornets.

Last season’s runners-up and League Cup winners Durrington are the third side sat on six points from their opening two fixtures, a solitary second half goal from substitute Shaune Smith giving them the three points against Warminster Town.

Devizes Town got their season up and running with a 3-0 away win over Trowbridge Town Tigers at Selwood Academy on Monday night, Ryan Banks, Jonathan Scott and Robert Mitchell getting the goals for the visitors.

Action from Devizes Town's 2-1 win over Warminster Town (picture courtesy of David Giles)

North Wiltshire Division

The top match in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this week was the meeting of last season’s champions Cricklade Town and the team who had finished in third place, Redhouse on Wednesday night at Cirencester Town. Last season Cricklade had done the double over Redhouse but both teams went into their game on Wednesday night on the back of two straight wins with neither side having conceded a goal in their opening two fixtures. A close contest was anticipated, and it proved to be just that as a solitary second half goal from Dean Wilson was all that separated the two sides on the night. The win for Cricklade sees them sit top of the table two points clear of second place Purton Kingsdown after three games.

Purton Kingsdown climbed a couple of places into second spot in the table with a 5-1 win over AFC Swindon at Moredon on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Paul Cooper, Steven Davies, Dave Slattery, Pat Slattery and Lee Hayward, Andrew Copland, last season’s top scorer for AFC Swindon, with their goal.

The same night last season’s runners-up Nationwide registered their first points of the season with a 4-1 win at New College against a Chiseldon side who have so far just the one point from their opening three fixtures. Adam Rudman led the way scoring a hat-trick for Nationwide with Paul Stonehouse getting the other Nationwide goal, Tom Chaston with the Chiseldon reply.

A last-minute goal from Chris Price gave Penhill United all three points in their game against previously unbeaten Royal Wootton Bassett Town on Wednesday night at Moredon. Earlier Peter Myall had scored for Penhill and Dan Wernham for Royal Wootton Bassett Town and just as it looked as though both sides would have to settle for a point Price popped up with the winner for Penhill.

The week’s action in the division had started on Monday night with the Stratton derby as FS Stratton hosted their stablemates Stratton at Moredon. Goals from Vince McMackin and Craig Kent secured the three points for Stratton as they picked up their first points of the season to climb a couple of places in the league table.

The week’s action in the division concluded on Thursday night at Moredon when Swindon Rovers entertained ExIntel. It was a close encounter settled by a solitary strike from Alex Rudd in the first half, Rudd firing in low from the right-hand side of the area to the far post the balling going in off the post. Whilst both sides created chances that was to be the end of the night’s goal scoring action as ExIntel picked up their first win of the season. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view the highlights by clicking on the Your Sport Swindon logo below.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There was also a full schedule of games played in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division this week, the first time this has happened this season. Reigning champions Melksham Town got their season off to a winning start at MOD Lyneham on Monday night, Gary Higdon scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Calne Town.

Last season’s runners-up Durrington are the early leaders of the division after they recorded their third straight win of the season, a 4-1 home victory over Bishops Cannings with Terry Brooks scoring a hat-trick with Ben Reilly getting the other Durrington goal, Mike Booth with the Bishops Cannings goal just before half time that has seen the two teams turn around level at the break.

Radstock Town sit in second place in the division but dropped their first points of the season when they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Barford Hornets, Jack Broadway with the Radstock goal, Geoffrey Wells with the Barford Hornets goal that saw them secure their first point of the season.

Westbury United were another side to get their first points of the season with a 2-1 away win on Monday night against Trowbridge Town Tigers thanks to goals from Blake Kendall and Wayne Wheeler, David Sykes with the Trowbridge Town goal.

Friday night saw Devizes Town make it two wins from two games to start the season with a hard fought 2-1 win over Warminster Town at Green Lane. An own goal gave Devizes a 1-0 half time lead and a second half goal from Chris Allen with just one in reply for Warminster from Greg Lewis making sure of the three points that sees Devizes Town in third place in the table. David Giles was at the game with his camera, and his excellent pictures can be viewed on the League Facebook Group page.

North Wiltshire Division

It was a busy week in the two Veterans’ divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with a full schedule of eleven games, in the end, being played.

In the North Wiltshire Division there are new leaders after reigning champions Cricklade Town fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of Stratton on Monday night at Moredon. Last season Stratton had beaten Nationwide to put a huge dent in their title aspirations and it will be interesting to see if this victory over Cricklade has a similar impact on the champions for the past three seasons. Two goals from Shane Dodson secured the three points for Stratton, Adam Smith with the Cricklade goal.

The new leaders of the division are Purton Kingsdown who the following night secured a 2-1 win at New College against Swindon Rovers thanks to two goals from Aaron Maximen, Peter Byrne with the Swindon Rovers reply. Purton Kingsdown are now unbeaten in four games but that record could be tested next week when they meet Nationwide.

Redhouse made it three wins from their opening four games to move up to second place with a narrow 2-1 win over Chiseldon on Wednesday night thanks to goals from Michael Jones and a sixth of the season from David Pratt, Ermal Molle with the Chiseldon goal.

Nationwide made it two wins on the bounce with a 4-1 win over AFC Swindon on Thursday night at Moredon. Adam Rudman led the way for Nationwide helping himself to a hat-trick with Neil Snow getting the other Nationwide goal.

The same night Royal Wootton Bassett Town also made it three wins from their opening four games with a 1-0 win over bottom side FS Swindon. Royal Wootton Bassett Town missed a host of chances on the night but a solitary goal from Chris Head was enough to give them the three points.

Biggest scorers of the week were Penhill United who scored five on Tuesday night against ExIntel, running out 5-2 winners. Peter Myall scored a hat-trick with Aaron Webb bagging a brace, two goals also for Lee Jones in reply for ExIntel.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Durrington started the week at the top of the table with maximum points from their opening three games, but that perfect record was well and truly demolished by visitors Devizes Town on Wednesday night, Devizes winning 5-1 to maintain their own perfect record with their third win in three games. Chris Allen led the way with a hat-trick for Devizes with Mark Dolman getting the other two goals.

Melksham Town’s game against Bishops Cannings was eventually played on Thursday night when visitors Bishops Cannings were unable to fulfill the scheduled Monday night encounter. Thank you for both teams for coming up with a solution between them that allowed the game to still be played in the same week. Melksham had already seen two fixtures lost this season and are now behind with their fixtures and were keen to see the game go ahead. They made it two wins from two games with a 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Matthew Cooper, Gary Higdon, Daniel King and Adam Young, Mike Booth with the Bishops Cannings goal.

On Monday night Warminster Town picked up their second win of the season with a 2-0 home win over Trowbridge Town Tigers. On target for Warminster were Steven Corbin and substitute James Vincent.

The same night Radstock Town maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 1-1 draw at home against Calne Town, a sixth of the season from Jack Broadway for Radstock, with Chris Robinson getting the Calne Town goal with his third of the season.

The final game of the week in the two veterans’ divisions was on Friday night and saw Westbury United register their second win in three games with a 3-1 victory over Barford Hornets thanks to two goals from Dale Rowland and one from Philip Hampson.

North Wiltshire Division

There are now no unbeaten teams in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League after Purton Kingsdown were beaten 3-0 by Nationwide on Thursday night at Moredon. Pete Monks started the scoring with a goal as early as the sixth minute of the game and two further goals in the first half from Bradley Mildon gave Nationwide a 3-0 half time lead. That was to be the end of the night’s scoring as Nationwide inflicted the first defeat of the season on Purton Kingsdown.

Redhouse  are the new leaders of the division after a 3-1 win against AFC Swindon on Tuesday night at Moredon. Two goals from Nolan Paul plus one from David Pratt did the damage for Redhouse as they secured their fourth win in five games, Robert Sawyer with the AFC Swindon goal.

Cricklade Town  joined Redhouse at the top on 12 points with a 3-1 win of their own on Wednesday night at home against Royal Wootton Bassett Town thanks to goals from Stuart Hughes, Adam Smith and Dean Wilson, Chris Head with the solitary reply for Royal Wootton Bassett Town who fell to their second defeat of the season.

The action in the North Wiltshire Division had got underway on Monday night at Moredon when ExIntel  picked up their second win of the season scoring four unanswered goals against FS Stratton. Junior Small set them on their way to the victory with the first goal, Richard Clark then added a second, before two goals in a minute from James Joyce in the second half completed the scoring for ExIntel.

Stratton are looking to be a different proposition this season, and they picked up their third win of the season with a narrow 2-1 victory over Chiseldon on Tuesday night at New College thanks to goals from Barry Cleminson and Vince McMackin, Matt Hollingshead with the Chiseldon goal.

The other game played in the division in the week saw Penhill United  and Swindon Rovers share the points following a 1-1 draw both goals coming in the second half,  Jamie Ashby scoring for Penhill and Peter Byrne scoring for Swindon Rovers.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were four games played in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division with both Devizes Town and Durrington maintaining their lead at the top of the table with victories. Durrington won 1-0 away at Calne Town whilst Devizes Town were comfortable 5-0 winners against Barford Hornets thanks to a hat-trick from Chris Allen and further goals from Daniel Sloan and Jonathan Scott to maintain their 100% winning start to the season. With four sides engaged in County Cup games next week Devizes will meet Barford Hornets again in the return league fixture next Friday.

Another side with a perfect record so far this season are Melksham Town who made it three wins from three games with a 3-0 away win over Trowbridge Town Tigers. Two more goals for Gary Higdon took his tally for the season to six, with Dan Kovacs getting the other Melksham goal.

The final game played was on Friday night at Green Lane and it was visitors Warminster Town who returned home with all three points following a 3-2 win over Bishops Cannings. On target for Warminster were Carl Clarke, Chris Steele and James Vincent, David Mountford and Mike Booth with the Bishops Cannings goals.

The game between Radstock Town and Westbury United was postponed with Westbury unable to raise a side for which they will be fined and deducted three points.

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

It was the First Round of the Wiltshire F.A.’s Veterans’ County Cup last week with five First Round ties taking place.

Monday night saw two all Mid-Wiltshire Veterans’ Division ties and both games would prove to be tight affairs. At Melksham Town the visitors were Calne Town and a solitary goal from Melksham’s Lee Morgan would be all that separated the two sides come the end of the evening. Melksham will now be away to another Mid Wiltshire Division side in the next round in the shape of Barford Hornets.

It was an even closer game between Trowbridge Town Tigers and Warminster Town with two teams all square at 1-1 come the end of normal time, Clifford Sakyi with the Trowbridge goal. In the resulting penalty shootout, it was Warminster Town who held their nerve to win 6-5 on penalties to progress to the Second Round where they will be away to fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Westbury United.

The other three ties all involved sides from the North Wiltshire Division and there were to be a couple of surprise results. On Tuesday night at Moredon, AFC Swindon, who have yet to win in the league were 3-1 winners against Swindon Rovers. First half goals from Jason Cobb and Phil Tearle saw AFC Swindon lead 2-0 at the break and a second from Tearle five minutes into the second half effectively sealed the win for AFC Swindon. Swindon Rovers did pull one back from Andrew Waller ten minutes from time, but it was too little too late as AFC Swindon went through to the next round. AFC Swindon will be away to County Cup holders Cricklade Town in the Second Round.

The following night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground Royal Wootton Bassett Town were home to FS Stratton who they had beaten 1-0 in the league two weeks ago, with FS Stratton another side yet to win in the league this season, in fact they have yet to register a point in the four league games they have played. However, they were to avenge that earlier defeat thanks to a solitary goal from Tom Brown that saw them through to the last 16 of the County Cup competition.

A tough draw in the next round sees FS Stratton at home to North Wiltshire Division league leaders Redhouse who were involved in the final game of the week in the County Cup on Thursday night at Moredon. It was the tie of the round with two teams at the top end of the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division, Nationwide and Redhouse up against each other. A tight affair was predicted, and it proved to be just that, goals from Michael Jones and David Pratt giving Redhouse a narrow 2-1 win.

The remaining ties in the Second Round of the Veterans' County Cup see a big local derby game between Devizes Town and Bishops Cannings which is scheduled to take place at Green Lane. ExIntel are home to Stratton in an all-North Wiltshire Division tie, with the final tie being the only inter-divisional game as Purton Kingsdown host Durrington, in what looks on paper to be the tie of the round.

Mid Wiltshire Division

As a result of the County Cup there was a limited schedule of league games with just two games played in the Mid Wilts Division, with Westbury United also calling off for the third time this season due to being unable to raise a side, the latest victims of their late postponement being Durrington. With Westbury already deducted six points and fined another deduction and fine will result from this latest postponement.

The two games that did get played saw Radstock Town and Devizes Town consolidate their positions at the top end of the table. A hat-trick from Jack Broadway and one from Steve Gilham saw Radstock Town win 4-2 at home against Bishops Cannings, Adam Bewley with both goals for Bishops Cannings. The win for Radstock saw them move up to third place in the table.

The week in the Veterans’ divisions was concluded on Friday night as Devizes Town registered the biggest win so far this season in either Veterans’ division with a 12-0 home win over Barford Hornets at Green Lane. Chris Allen led the way helping himself to four goals, Mark Dolman and Daniel Sloan both bagged a brace with further goals from Jonathan Scott, Ryan Banks, Ashley Lock and Liam Brown. David Giles was at the game with his camera and more of his excellent photos can be found on the League Facebook Group Page.

North Wiltshire Division

Two or three games, depending on your point of view, were played this week in the North Wiltshire Division. On Monday night Stratton and Chiseldon met for the second time this season in the league and the first meeting the previous week had been a tight affair that had been settled by the odd goal in Stratton's favour, Stratton winning 2-1. However, Chiseldon were to quickly avenge that defeat in another tight game which saw the two sides share seven goals but on this occasion it was to be Chisledon who edged it by the odd goal. On target for Chiseldon in the 4-3 win were Adam O’Keeffe. Tom Chaston, Daryl Herring and Mark Gulliver.

On Tuesday night Cricklade Town were looking to move back top of the table when they met ExIntel at New College but things did not go to plan for last season’s champions as they fell to their second defeat of the season, an early goal from Alex Rudd eight minutes into the game being enough to give ExIntel the three points which saw them move to within two points of their beaten opponents with two games in hand.

The final game league game was on Wednesday night at Moredon when Purton Kingsdown entertained Penhill United. Unfortunately, there was no appointed league referee for the game and, whilst the two sides played a game with a neutral spectator taking charge of the match, there is currently a dispute between the two sides as to whether they agreed for the official to referee the league game or a friendly. The game that was played saw Purton Kingsdown win 2-0 thanks to goals from James Tinsley and Joshua Paddon. The League Management Committee now need to decide whether the result stands or whether disciplinary action needs to be taken against the team causing any postponement and not following the protocol set out in the league rules regarding postponed games. Clubs are reminded of the provisions of Rule 23(B) as to what needs to happen where there is no match official and also the provisions of Rule 20 (E) regarding what happens when a game is postponed.

  Veterans' League Cup

Season 2025-26

Week 7 Roundup

Veterans' League Cup

After the previous week’s action in the Wiltshire FA County Cup, this week it was the turn of the Veterans’ League Cup to take centre stage with games taking place in both the First and Second Rounds of the competition.

First Round

There were six games played in the First Round with the first two games taking place on Monday night. There was an all-Mid-Wiltshire Division tie at Selwood Academy where Trowbridge Town Tigers staged what will hopefully be their final game at the school this season, with future games set to be at Woodmarsh starting with their next league fixture. It was to prove to be a disappointing night on the 3G at Selwood as two goals from Craig Hayward gave Barford Hornets a 2-0 away win. Barford Hornets will now be away to Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the next round.

The other tie played on Monday night was an inter-divisional affair at Moredon in Swindon between Stratton from the North Wiltshire Division and Radstock Town from the Mid Wiltshire Division. Whilst the journey was a long one the 4-1 away win for Radstock Town made that long journey a worthwhile one, James Billing, Adam Pugsley, Jack Broadway and Thomas Redwood with the Radstock goals, Jason Tatum with the consolation goal for Stratton.

The following night Stratton’s stablemates FS Stratton were in action, again against a side from the Mid-Wiltshire Division in the shape of Calne Town. Once again it would be the Mid-Wiltshire Division side who came out on top thanks to goals from George Brown and Gary Newman in a 2-0 win. Calne Town’s reward is an away tie against fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Radstock Town in the Second Round.

The same night there was guaranteed to be a side making it through the round from the North Wiltshire Division when Chiseldon and AFC Swindon  met at New College. When the two sides had met at the start of the season in the league it had finished all square with the two sides sharing four goals and it was to prove to be another close game with a solitary goal from Adam O’Keeffe settling the tie in Chiseldon’s favour. Chiseldon will now be away to ExIntel in the Second Round.

The remaining two First Round ties saw another two sides from the North Wiltshire Division progress to the Second Round. On Wednesday night at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground, Royal Wootton Bassett Town bounced back from their surprise defeat at the hands of FS Stratton in teh County Cup with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Mid Wiltshire Division side Bishops Cannings. Chris Head was the star of the show helping himself to a hat-trick with Mark Simpkins getting the other goal for the home side.

The final game in the First Round was on Thursday night at Moredon and it saw Purton Kingsdown record a big 7-2 win over fellow North Division side Swindon Rovers completing a league and cup double over Rovers having also beaten them 2-1 in the league. James Tinsley led the way scoring four of the Purton Kingsdown goals with Patrick Slattery, Paul Cooper and Rory Sproule also getting on the score sheet, Matthew Garrett and Taiwo Abolarin with the Swindon Rovers goals. Purton Kingsdown will now be away to Mid Wiltshire Division league leaders Devizes Town in the next round.

Second Round

The top five teams last season from each of the two divisions had been given byes to the Second Round of the League Cup and, given the way the draw panned out, it was possible to stage four of the Second Round ties in the same week as the First Round games.

On Monday night Redhouse, the league leaders in the North Wiltshire Division, made the long journey south to take on Warminster Town in a rare outing on grass for the Swindon based side given that all the teams in the North Wiltshire Division play on 3G surfaces. It was to prove to be an unhappy experience as they fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat, goals from Tom Baxter and James Vincent securing the win for Warminster, Dave Pratt with the Redhouse goal, his eighth of the season.

The top game of the Second Round was on Wednesday night at Bulford in what was a repeat of last seasons final between Durrington and Nationwide. Last season it was Durrington who had come out on top to lift the League Cup but this season’s meeting between the two sides went the way of Nationwide, as they avenged that cup final defeat thanks to goals from Neil Snow and Mason Worthington in a 2-0 win.

The same night last season’s County Cup winners Cricklade Town progressed to the last eight of this season’s League Cup competition with a 3-0 home win over Penhill United at Cirencester Town. On target for Cricklade were Stuart Hughes, Adam Smith and Dean Wilson. Penhill’s cause was not helped by having former Cricklade player Stuart Hemsley sent off.

The final tie in the Second Round was on Friday night at Green Lane where Melksham Town had a comfortable passage through to the Quarter Final stage with a 7-0 win over Westbury United. Leading scorer Gary Higdon added four more to his tally to move into double figures for the season, Lee Morgan scored from the penalty spot but also missed another, with Dan King and Matt Cooper getting the other two Melksham goals.

All the results so far in the cup and the remaining Second Round games to be played are shown below:

North Wiltshire Division

The title race in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division this season is shaping up to be very interesting in with no teams still unbeaten and with seven sides looking like they could yet mount a challenge for honours.

The current leaders of the division are Redhouse who maintained leadership of the division in Week 8 with a 3-1 win over Purton Kingsdown, another of the fancied sides this season. Two goals from leading scorer David Pratt saw him move into double figures for the season with Chris Howe getting the other Redhouse goal, Paul Cooper with the reply for Purton Kingsdown.

Cricklade Town remain level on points with Redhouse thanks to a 4-0 win over Swindon Rovers at Cirencester, two goals from Steven Algar and one apiece for Adam Smith and Sam Collier giving Cricklade the three points. Cricklade have played one more game than Redhouse.

ExIntel sit third in the table, and they were another side scoring four goals in Week 8. They defeated  Chiseldon at New College thanks to two goals from Richard Wells and one from both Richard Clark and Lee Jones in a 4-1 win that sees them sit two points behind the top two.

Nationwide were the third side to score four in Week 8 and, like leaders Redhouse, have dropped just three points so far this season, those dropped points coming in their opening game of the season against Cricklade Town. On the Thursday night at Moredon two goals from Richie Miles plus one apiece from Pete Sealey and Neil Snow gave Nationwide a 4-0 win over Stratton to make it four straight wins since that opening game defeat.  They sit three points behind the top two with a game in hand over Redhouse and two games in hand over Cricklade Town.

The action in Week 8 had got underway on the Monday night at Moredon where goals from Dean Wason and Donatas Stanevicius secured a 2-0 win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town over AFC Swindon  which sees them sit fifth in the table, also just three points adrift of the top two with a game in hand over Cricklade.

The following night, again at Moredon, it was honours even in the game between FS Stratton and Penhill United, Chris Angell scoring for Penhill and the FS Stratton goal coming courtesy of an own goal.

There were no games played in the division in Week 9 due to the school half-term holidays.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were just two games played in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League in Week 8 of the season with a waterlogged pitch resulting in the game between Warminster Town and Calne Town being postponed and Westbury United again being unable to raise a side for their scheduled game at Green Lane against Devizes Town.  

The two games that did get played saw Melksham Town  make it four wins from four games with a 7-0 win over Barford Hornets. It was a good night for Dan Kovacs who scored four of the goals, Gary Higdon bagged a brace with Matthew Cooper getting the other goal.  

In the other game played Radstock Town  maintained their unbeaten record but dropped points when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Durrington, that is now the third draw in six games played for Radstock. Jesse Walters and Keith Darling were on target for Durrington with Radstock replying with second half goals from Robbie Cunningham and James Billing.

There were again just two fixtures played in Week 9 in the Mid Wiltshire Division due to half-term. However, the two games included the big top of the table clash between two sides who went into the game with perfect league records, Devizes Town and Melksham Town. Devizes had won all of their opening five fixtures whilst, as noted above, Melksham had made it four wins in four games ahead of this week’s encounter at Oakfields. A close encounter was anticipated, and it proved to be just that with Devizes Town winning 2-1 thanks to two goals from Mark Dolman. Dolman put his side 1-0 up with a lob from the edge of the area. He then made it 2-0 capitalising on a defensive mistake that allowed him through one on one to side foot home. It remained that way until five minutes from time when a push on Aaron Ledgister in the box saw the award of a penalty to Melksham which Lee Morgan scored to make it 2-1. Melksham pushed for an equaliser and pinned Devizes back for the final five minutes of the game, but Devizes defended well to hold on for an important win in the title race. David Giles was at the game with his camera and more of his photos can be found on the League Facebook Group Page.

The other game being played this week was Trowbridge Town Tigers  at home to Bishops Cannings, a game which had been put back a week to enable the veterans’ side to play their first game under the new floodlights at Woodmarsh. It was to prove to be a happy opening night for the Tigers at their new home venue as they won 3-2 to record their first league win of the 2025-26 Season thanks to two goals from Nathan Holloway and one from Jacob Mazan, Adam Bewley and Mike Booth with the Bishops Cannings goals.

Unfortunately, after struggling to raise a side on a number of occasions this season, Westbury United  have now withdrawn from the league and their record has been expunged from the Mid Wiltshire Division league table, leaving the division with just nine sides.

Next week sees the Second Round of the Wiltshire County FA Veterans' County Cup with seven ties set to take place, which means there will just be the one league fixture played next week, which is in the Mid Wiltshire Division, with Trowbridge Town Tigers set to host Calne Town.

Wiltshire FA Veterans County Cup

Last week the spotlight in the two veterans’ divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League was on the Second Round of the Wiltshire FA Veterans County Cup, with seven of the eight Second Round ties scheduled to take place. The cup action commenced on Tuesday evening with three scheduled ties, although in the end only two went ahead with Durrington conceding their tie away at Purton Kingsdown, the only cross-divisional fixture of the round.

The two ties that went ahead on Tuesday included the all-Mid Wiltshire division tie between leaders Melksham Town and Barford Hornets. Having defeated the Hornets 7-0 when they met in the league last month, the game very much went to form with Melksham Town securing a comfortable 5-0 victory to progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition. Gary Higdon was once again amongst the goals, scoring twice with further goals coming through Kai Miller, Luke Turvey and Joe Fowler.  

The other game played on Tuesday night was an all-North Wiltshire Division tie between ExIntel and Stratton. This was a much closer affair decided by a solitary goal from ExIntel’s Marc Sheppard which was enough to see ExIntel progress to the last eight.  

There was again just the one of two scheduled ties played on the Wednesday night with Westbury United’s withdrawal from the league seeing Warminster Town awarded their tie by the Wiltshire FA.

The game that did take place was another all-North Wiltshire Division affair at Moredon with Penhill United  and Chiseldon sharing four goals, with penalties needed to decide matters. Adam O’Keeffe and Edward Erekosima were on target for Chiseldon in normal time with Pete Myall getting both of the goals for Penhill United to take his tally for the season to seven. In the penalty shootout it was Penhill who held their nerve to win 3-1 and progress to the quarter final stage.

The following night Redhouse and FS Stratton were involved in the third all-North Wiltshire Division tie of the week and the current leaders of the division, Redhouse, had a much more comfortable passage through to the next round scoring seven times in a 7-2 win. Nolan Paul led the way scoring a hat-trick, Michael Jones bagged a brace and there were further goals for Chris Howe and Mark Glover.

The final tie of the week was on Friday night at Green Lane with the ‘Devizes derby’ between Devizes Town and Bishops Cannings. Devizes currently lead the Mid Wiltshire Division whilst Bishops Cannings are at the other end of the table, and the game very much went to form with Devizes running out 9-1 winners. There was a hat-trick for Chris Allen with Josh Brigham, Ryan Banks, Rob Mitchell, Jonathan Scott and Daniel Sloan all getting their name on the scoresheet, the final goal coming courtesy of an own goal.

Mid Wiltshire Division

As a result of the cup action there was just one league game played across the two divisions and that was in the Mid Wiltshire Division and it saw Trowbridge Town Tigers pick up their second win of the season, Marc Sheppard scoring the only goal of the game against Calne Town which saw them open up a five point gap over Barford Hornets. Alwyn Bodman was at the game with his camera and more of his photos from the game can be found on the League Facebook Group Page.

Wiltshire FA Veterans County Cup

The one outstanding game in the Wiltshire County FA Veterans’ County Cup was played on Tuesday night and it saw Cricklade Town complete the quarter final line up with a comfortable 6-0 win over AFC Swindon. Sam Collier led the way scoring a hat-trick with further goals from Adam Smith, Marcus Hall and Stuart Hughes.

The Wiltshire FA have now made the draw for the quarter final games which are scheduled to take place in week commencing Monday 8^th December. The last eight in the cup competition sees five sides from the North Wiltshire Division and three from the Mid Wiltshire Division. There is one all Mid-Wiltshire Division tie which sees Warminster Town home to Melksham Town. The other Mid Wiltshire Division side, Devizes Town, will be involved in the only cross-divisional tie when they play host to Penhill United from the North Wiltshire Division. The other two ties are both all-North Wiltshire Division ties with the tie of the round being the match up of current league leaders Redhouse with the cup holders Cricklade Town. The other all North Wiltshire Division tie sees Purton Kingsdown home to ExIntel.

North Wiltshire Division

The action in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ division got underway on Monday night at Moredon and it saw Redhouse go three points clear at the top of the table with a hard fought 2-1 win over Stratton. Goals from Fred Galrito and Joe Herbert did the damage for Redhouse, Matthew Barnes with the Stratton goal.

There were two games on Wednesday night. At Moredon a Steve Bunting hat-trick helped Penhill United to a big win over ExIntel, Matthew Horsell and Peter Myall both scoring twice also in a 9-0 win, the other two goals coming through Jamie Ashby and an own goal. The win for Penhill saw them move up into fourth place in the table, four points behind Redhouse but having played one game more.

The same night Nationwide made it five straight wins in the league with a 4-1 away success over Royal Wootton Bassett Town at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. Richie Miles led the way helping himself to a hat-trick with Neil Snow getting the other Nationwide goal, Jeremy Newton with the solitary reply for the home side.

The final game of the week saw the defences on top as both Swindon Rovers and Chiseldon failed to find the back of the net and had to settle for a point apiece following a 0-0 draw. 

Mid Wiltshire Division

Three of the four scheduled fixtures in the Mid Wiltshire Division went ahead, unfortunately the only game set to be played on grass, the game between Melksham Town and Warminster Town, fell victim of a waterlogged pitch.

The action in the Division got underway on Tuesday night with a big battle at the bottom end of the table between Barford Hornets and Bishops Cannings, both teams going into the game still seeking their first win of the season. It was to prove to be Bishops Cannings evening as a hat-trick from Daniel Scarlett and a fifth of the season from Adam Bewley saw Bishops Cannings get that first league win of the season at the eighth attempt in a 4-2 win.

The following night Durrington picked up their fourth win of the season to move up to second spot, two goals from Toby Watson and one from Jesse Walters securing a 3-1 home win over Trowbridge Town Tigers, Mariusz Hoszko with the goal for the Tigers.

The final game of the week was the big one with the two remaining unbeaten sides in the division doing battle at Green Lane, with league leaders Devizes Town up against Radstock Town. It would be Devizes who retained that unbeaten tag as two goals from Chris Allen and one from Josh Brigham gave them a 3-0 win to maintain their perfect start to the season, as they made it seven wins from seven league games to sit eight points clear at the top of the table. That is now 16 goals already for Allen this season to give him sole leadership of the goal scoring table for now. The defeat for Radstock sees them sit a point behind Durrington in the table having played one more game.  

North Wiltshire Division

There were four games played this week in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division, and the four games included a shock defeat for the leaders on Wednesday night. The action got underway on Monday night at Moredon with a close game between Stratton and Purton Kingsdown. Unfortunately, both sides were to see a man sent off in the first half of the game. It was Stratton went in front just before half time thanks to an exquisite chip from Matty Bown. However, Purton Kingsdown turned things around in the second half scoring two late goals to take all three points, Steven Davies and Joshua Paddon with the two Purton Kingsdown goals to temporarily move up to second in the table.

Penhill United dislodged them from that second spot the following night with a comfortable 6-0 win over Chiseldon at New College. Star of the show was Peter Myall who scored five of the Penhill goals with Steven Bunting getting the other goal. The five goals for Myall saw him take over at the top of the division’s goal scoring chart.

The same night at Moredon, AFC Swindon and Swindon Rovers shared the points following a 2-2 draw. Pete Byrne put Swindon Rovers ahead with his fifth goal of the season, but Jermy Hope equalised for AFC Swindon on 15 minutes. Swindon Rovers, however, restored their lead four minutes later through Taiwo Abolarin to go into the half time break with a slender advantage.  It remained that way until right at the end of the match. Just as it looked like Swindon Rovers would claim a narrow win, Rob Sawyer scored a final minute equaliser for AFC Swindon to ensure a share of the spoils.

The top two sides at the start of the week, Redhouse and Cricklade Town were both in action on Wednesday night, but the two sides were to have mixed evenings. The shock of the week was the 4-0 home defeat suffered by Redhouse at Moredon. Prior to the game the only defeat Redhouse had suffered in the league all season was a narrow 1-0 reverse at the hands of Cricklade Town, but they were well beaten on the night on Wednesday by visitors Royal Wootton Bassett Town. There were two goals from Chris Head and one apiece from Josh Connolly and Jeremy Newton.

Meanwhile at Cirencester Town, Cricklade Town were home to FS Swindon looking to get their title defence back on track having surprisingly lost twice away from home against Stratton and ExIntel already this season. They got off to a good start against bottom of the table FS Stratton, Sam Collier firing them ahead on five minutes. Nick Craft then added a second to give Cricklade a 2-0 half time lead. A second from Craft midway through the second half made sure of the points for Cricklade who moved joint top of the table with Redhouse on 18 points from eight games.

Unfortunately, the game between Nationwide and ExIntel was postponed as ExIntel became the second side this season to fail to raise a side for a fixture against Nationwide.

Mid Wiltshire Division

Two of the top sides in the Mid Wiltshire Division met on Wednesday night at Bulford when Durrington entertained Melksham Town. In a tight first half Durrington were given a golden chance to put themselves ahead when they were awarded a penalty after a challenge from Ryan Tyrell. However, player-manager Jesse Walters missed the penalty firing the ball over the bar and it remained 0-0 at the break. The deadlock was finally broken early in the second half, Lee Morgan putting Melksham ahead with a clever touch over the Durrington keeper. Gary Higdon then doubled Melksham’s lead and he wrapped up the win with his second of the game, rounding the keeper to make it 3-0 which is how it finished. The two goals for Higdon saw him move level with Devizes Town’s Chris Allen at the top of the goal scoring chart.

The action had got underway in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division on Monday night when Trowbridge Town entertained Barford Hornets. Despite the game coming just two days after the postponement of the men’s Premier Division clash between Trowbridge Town and Larkhall Athletic Development on Saturday, all parties were happy to go ahead, and Trowbridge Town were rewarded with their third league win of the season, defeating Barford Hornets 4-1. The Trowbridge Town goals were shared around with Marc Sheppard, Nick Mead, Mariusz Hosko and Steve Hill all finding the back of the net. The win for Trowbridge saw them move above Calne Town into sixth spot although they have played two more games than Calne.  

The same evening Radstock Town were looking to bounce back from their opening defeat of the season at the hands of Devizes Town when they entertained Warminster Town. A close encounter ensued, and the two sides turned around with the game still looking for its first goal. It remained that way until ten minutes from time when Radstock’s Jack Broadway broke the deadlock to put the home side ahead with his eleventh goal of the season. Radstock then made sure of the three points with a second goal from Alastair Cox five minutes from time to run out 2-0 winners.

Calne Town saw their game against Devizes Town postponed due to the condition of the pitch at Devizes ahead of Saturday’s big top of the table clash in the Western League. Attempts to reverse the fixture were unsuccessful with the pitch at MOD Lyneham also not available. 

North Wiltshire Division

The title race in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League is shaping up to be one of the most exciting since the Veterans’ category was established. After this week’s round of matches there are just three points separating the top six sides. There are also now new leaders of the division after Penhill United  went top as a result of a narrow 2-1 win over AFC Swindon whilst Cricklade Town were dropping points and Redhouse were left frustrated by ExIntel calling their game off due to being unable to raise a side for the second week running. On target for Penhill in that win over AFC Swindon were Jamie Ashby and Steve Bunting, Phil Tearle pulling one back for AFC Swindon ten minutes from time, all three goals coming in the second half of the encounter at Moredon on Wednesday night.

The previous night Cricklade Town had travelled into Swindon to take on Purton Kingsdown at New College looking to maintain their lead at the top of the table. Things didn’t quite go to plan as they had to settle for just a point as the two teams fought out a 1-1 draw, Josh Paddon scoring for Purton Kingsdown and Nick Craft getting the Cricklade Town goal. Cricklade slipped to second spot, a point behind Penhill but with a game in hand. Purton Kingsdown meanwhile sit sixth in the table, three points behind the leaders and also with a game in hand.

Nationwide moved up to third spot in the table and are the side who have dropped the least number of points but have games in hand after two teams have failed to raise a side for fixtures against them. Their latest success came on Thursday night at Moredon against Swindon Rovers. An early first minute goal from Bradley Mildon giving them a 1-0 half time lead and then a second from Adam Rudman a minute after the restart securing all three points in a 2-0 win. Nationwide are two points behind leaders Penhill but with three games in hand.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town sit in fifth spot, two points behind leaders Penhill with a game in hand, after they were 2-0 home winners over Stratton at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground on Wednesday night, Mark Simpkins and Scott Large with the goals in this one.

The action in the division had got underway on Monday with a game at the bottom end of the table between FS Stratton  and Chiseldon. It was to prove to be FS Stratton’s night as two goals from Luke McQuillan and one from Calum Dunn saw them come from behind to win 3-2, Craig Kelly and Mark Guliver on target for Chiseldon. Despite the win FS Stratton remain bottom of the table for now as a result of their points deduction for failing to fulfil their opening fixture of the season. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view highlights by clicking on the Your Sport Swindon logo below.           

Mid Wiltshire Division

There were just three games played in the Mid Wiltshire Division with pitch conditions seeing the one game scheduled to be played on grass between Radstock Town and Melksham Town postponed. No such issues with the three games being played on 3G pitches which saw both Devizes Town and Durrington pick up big wins with Devizes extending their lead at the top of the table and Durrington move up into second place behind Devizes.

Devizes Town were involved in the Devizes derby on Friday night with Bishops Cannings their opponents. Having defeated their near neighbours 9-1 in the Wiltshire FA County Cup three weeks previous,  Devizes completed a quickfire league and cup double over Bishops Cannings running out 7-0 winners to make it an impressive 39 goals from their eight league games to date. Mark Dolman led the way helping himself to a hat-trick, John Scott bagged a brace with further goals from Ryan Banks and Adrian Webb.

On Tuesday night Durrington had made the short journey to Tidworth and returned home with all three points following a 6-0 win over Barford Hornets. The win for Durrington sees them eight points adrift of the league leaders having played the same number of games and a point clear of Melksham but Melksham have two games in hand and look to be Devizes Town’s main rivals for the title this season.

The action in the Mid Wiltshire Division had got underway on Monday night at MOD Lyneham where a second half goal from Chris Robinson was enough to give Calne Town the victory in a tight game against Trowbridge Town Tigers. The win for Calne was their third win of the season and saw them move above both their beaten opponents and Warminster Town into fifth place in the table.

North Wiltshire Division

It is pleasing to report that there was a full schedule of games played in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League and it remains as tight as ever at the top end of the table with three of the title contenders all dropping points.

The new leaders of the division are Cricklade Town who went top of the table following a comfortable 6-0 win over Chiseldon at New College thanks to hat-tricks from both Sam Collier and Adam Smith. Results elsewhere meant that Cricklade now sit a point clear at the top of the table.

Previous leaders Penhill United were up against the side who had dropped the least number of points this season, Nationwide, who sit outside the top three for now due to opponents not fulfilling their scheduled games. A close encounter was anticipated, and it proved to be just that as the two sides had to settle for a point apiece following a 1-1 draw. Bradley Mildon gave Nationwide the lead in the eighth minute, and it was a lead they held until nine minutes from time when Luke Wareham equalised for Penhill to ensure a share of the spoils. The two points dropped saw Penhill lose the leadership of the division to Cricklade, and they remained two points ahead of Nationwide but having played three games more. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view the highlights of the game by clicking on the Your Sport Swindon logo below:

The third title contender to drop points were Redhouse as two second half goals from Taiwo Abolarin saw Swindon Rovers hold Redhouse to a 2-2 draw, Joe Herbert and Michael Jones with the goals for Redhouse. Results elsewhere meant Redhouse dropped to fifth place in the table but are just three points behind league leaders Cricklade Town with a game in hand.

No dropped points issue for Purton Kingsdown, one of the other title contenders, who climbed up to third spot in the table with a 5-1 victory over Royal Wootton Bassett Town at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. There were two goals for both Aaron Maximen and James Tinsley with Josh Paddon getting the other Purton Kingsdown goal, Sam Lawro with the solitary reply for the home side who now sit in sixth place four points behind the leaders after a fourth defeat of the season.

It was a good week for the Stratton club as both their veterans’ sides picked up victories this week. On Monday night Stratton edged a close encounter with ExIntel 2-1 thanks to goals from Jason Tatum and Alan Leng, James Joyce getting the ExIntel goal. Then on Tuesday night FS Stratton made it two wins on the spin to climb off the bottom of the table, two goals from Richard Franklin giving them a 2-0 win over AFC Swindon who replace FS Stratton at the foot of the table.

Mid Wiltshire Division

For the second week running there were again just three games played this week in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans’ Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with the big game at the top of the table between Devizes Town and Melksham Town being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Trowbridge Town proactively ensured their game on Monday night against Radstock Town went ahead by switching the game to the 3G at Selwood Academy. The two sides then proceeded to play out something of a goal fest as the two sides found the back of the net ten times between them, Radstock eventually emerging victorious 6-4. Alastair Cox led the way scoring a hat-trick, Jack Broadway bagged a brace with the other goal coming through Robbie Cunningham.

Plenty of goals also in the game the following night between Barford Hornets and Warminster Town with Warminster Town picking up their fourth league win of the season. A hat-trick from Chris Steele and further goals from Daniel Dicks and Dale Rowland securing a 5-2 win for Warminster with Craig Howard and Alex Brown getting the two goals in reply for Barford Hornets.

Calne Town also picked up their fourth win of the season on Friday night, making the short journey back home from Devizes with all three points following a narrow 2-1 away win over Bishops Cannings. The two goals for Calne were scored by Dan Allison and Paul Maddox, Adam Bewley with the Bishops Cannings goal.

Wiltshire FA Veterans' County Cup

It was the quarter finals of the Wiltshire FA Veterans’ County Cup this week involving five teams from the North Wiltshire Division and three from the Mid Wiltshire Division. After the quarter finals were completed, there is now just the one side from the Mid Wiltshire Division left in the County Cup that side being Melksham Town Reserves. Melksham were up against fellow Mid Wiltshire Division side Warminster Town in a game switched to Melksham’s ground to enable the tie to go ahead due to a waterlogged pitch at Warminster. It started well for Melksham at the Oakfield Stadium as they went in front from the penalty spot early on in the game, Lee Morgan converting the penalty awarded after Ian Dowell had been tripped in the box. Gary Higdon thought he had extended the lead shortly after when he lobbed the advancing keeper. However, the Warminster keeper got a hand to the shot outside of his box, which enabled a Warminster defender to clear the ball off of the line. The keeper was slightly fortunate to only receive only a yellow card for his interception. Melksham were to extend that lead though shortly after, Luke Turvey firing home with an excellent finish from a fairly tight angle to make it 2-0. Warminster, however, pulled themselves back into the game with the very last kick of the first half to make it 2-1 at the break. The second half saw Warminster push for an equaliser but, despite chances at both ends, neither side were able to find the back of the net again as it finished 2-1 in favour of the two times winners of the cup Melksham, who progressed to the last four.

The other Mid Wiltshire Division side in action in the County Cup quarter finals were league leaders Devizes Town who were another side to concede home advantage to enable their tie to go ahead, the match against Penhill United being switched to the 3G at Moredon away from the grass at Nursteed Road.  A close game ensued which was decided in the end by a solitary goal scored by Penhill’s Peter Myall two minutes into the second half, his third in this season’s County Cup competition, which saw Penhill join Melksham Town in the last four.

The other two ties were all North Wiltshire Division affairs although, in the end, just one of the two was played with ExIntel being unable to raise a side for their game against Purton Kingsdown, giving Purton Kingsdown a free passage into the semi-final. Indeed, Purton Kingsdown have made the last four of the competition without having kicked a ball so far in the cup, having also been awarded their tie in the last round against Durrington, who were also unable to raise a side, and having been one of the eleven sides given a bye in the First Round.

The tie that was played was the big game of the round between cup holders Cricklade Town and Redhouse. When the two sides had met in the league it had been a tight affair with just the one goal in the game, Cricklade securing the three points thanks to a second half goal from Dean Wilson. Another close encounter was anticipated, and it proved to be just that with the game again decided by a one goal margin. Once again it was Cricklade’s night as two goals from Nick Craft helped them to a 2-1 win to complete a league and cup double over Redhouse, Fred Galrito getting the Redhouse goal.

The Wiltshire FA have already made the draw for the semi-finals which will be played in the first week of the New Year with holders Cricklade Town drawn away to Purton Kingsdown in a game to be played at New College on Tuesday 6^th January, whilst Melksham Town will also travel into Swindon to play Penhill United the following night at Moredon.

Full details of the County Cup rounds so far this season is shown below:

North Wiltshire Veterans' Division

In addition to the cup games there were three league games played in the North Wiltshire Division and two in the Mid Wiltshire Division.

In the North Wiltshire Division Nationwide went level on points with Cricklade Town at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over FS Stratton, all four goals coming in the first half. On target for Nationwide were Bradley Mildon, Adam Rudman and Mason Worthington, Richard Franklin with the goal for FS Stratton. Nationwide have a game in hand over Cricklade but with just three points separating the top six sides it is shaping up to be a fascinating title race.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town are one of the other sides in the top six and they went level on points with third placed Penhill United with a comfortable 6-0 home win over Chiseldon at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. There were two goals for Chris Head with the other goals coming through Martin Ohrland, David Bundy, Stuart Davidson and a first of the season from Jonny Aitkenhead. The win for Royal Wootton Bassett Town sees them just a point behind the joint leaders but having played one more game than Cricklade and two more than Nationwide.

The action in the division had got underway on the Monday night and it had seen AFC Swindon haul themselves off the bottom of the table thanks to a 2-0 win over Stratton. Star of the show for AFC Swindon was Will Tearle who scored the opener and then set up Jeremy Hope for AFC Swindon’s second to make sure of the three points. The win for AFC Swindon saw them climb above FS Stratton and move level on points with Chiseldon.

Mid Wiltshire Division

The action in the Mid Wiltshire Division had also got underway on Monday night when Calne Town entertained bottom of the table Barford Hornets at MOD Lyneham. Calne continued their recent good run, scoring four unanswered goals to make it three wins on the bounce and climb up to fourth spot in the table, their highest position of the season. On target for Calne in the 4-0 win were Chris Robinson with two, Ben Trafford and Kieran McLaughlin.

Last month Trowbridge Town Tigers  had suffered a 3-1 defeat away at Durrington but an improved showing in the return fixture, also on Monday night, saw them secure a share of the points in a 1-1 draw, Jonathan Williams getting the Trowbridge goal. The point for Durrington sees them remain in third spot in the table a point behind second placed Radstock Town with both sides having played nine games.

This coming week the main focus will be on the remaining four ties in the Second Round of the League Cup with both Cricklade Town and Melksham Town already through to the quarter final stage along with Warminster Town and Nationwide.

Veterans' League Cup

This week it was the turn of the League Cup to take centre stage in the Veterans’ Divisions of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with the four outstanding Second Round ties scheduled to take place although in the end only two were played. The game between Radstock Town and Calne Town  was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and will now be re-staged in the New Year, whilst Devizes Town were given a walkover in their tie scheduled for Friday night against Purton Kingsdown, with the Swindon based side unable to raise a side.

The two ties that did go ahead saw teams from the North Wiltshire Division progress to the Quarter Final stage. In the all North-Wiltshire Division clash at Moredon between ExIntel and Chiseldon it was Chiseldon who progressed to the next round thanks to two late goals. Dean Hart put them ahead two minutes from time and then a second from Scott Boden confirmed it would be Chiseldon who went through to the last eight.

The other tie played saw North Wiltshire Division side Royal Wootton Bassett Town up against Barford Hornets from the Mid Wiltshire Division. With Barford Hornets struggling at the foot of their division, and without a win all season, the game went very much to form with Royal Wootton Bassett Town scoring four unanswered goals to safely progress to the next round. There were two goals for Jeremy Newton and one apiece from Chris Head and Martin Ohrland. The only blemish on the night for the North Wiltshire Division side was ending the game with just ten men with Josh Connolly sent off. 

The draw for the Quarter Finals has been made by Chairman Brian Busson and League Secretary Jim Thorn. The draw sees last season’s beaten finalists and winners in Season 2023-24 Nationwide at home to the winners of the Radstock Town v Calne Town tie, Season 2022-23 cup winners Melksham Town  will be at home to Royal Wootton Bassett Town, Season 2021-22 winners Cricklade Town will be away to Chiseldon in an all-North Wiltshire Division tie, whilst the final tie is an all-Mid Wiltshire Division affair with Warminster Town set to be home to Devizes Town.

Full details of the League Cup rounds so far this season is shown below:

North Wiltshire Veterans' Division

In addition to the cup games there were two league games played in the North Wiltshire Division, with both the top two, Cricklade Town and Nationwide in action and both winning to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table. Cricklade Town were away to AFC Swindon and were made to work hard for the three points with the two sides turning round at the break with the game still without a goal. The second half would prove to be Cricklade’s though. Sam Collier fired them ahead and having made the breakthrough he then went on to score three more times as Cricklade ran out 4-0 winners, with Collier getting all four goals to take over leadership of the North Wiltshire Division goal scoring chart.

Nationwide were up against another of the title chasing sides Redhouse. When the two sides had met in the County Cup earlier in the season, Redhouse had edged a close encounter 2-1. It was to once again be a tight game settled by a one goal margin, but on this occasion, it was Nationwide who came out on top to avenge that earlier cup defeat, goals from Richie Miles and Neil Snow securing a 2-1 win, with Michael Jones getting the Redhouse reply.  The win sees Nationwide join Cricklade Town at the top of the table on 25 points but with Nationwide having a game in hand.

Mid Wiltshire Division

The one scheduled league game in the Mid Wiltshire Veterans' Division between Warminster Town and Durrington was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Veterans' County Cup

Last week the Wiltshire County FA Veterans’ County Cup reached the semi-final stage and by the end of the week we know that the final will now be an all-North Wiltshire Division affair between Penhill United and Cricklade Town, this despite Cricklade’s semi-final tie against Purton Kingsdown at New College being abandoned by the referee with Cricklade leading 3-0 at the time of the abandonment. The Wiltshire FA have been quick to deliberate on the matter and have confirmed that Purton Kingsdown were deemed to be the cause of the abandonment and Cricklade Town awarded the tie. The three Cricklade goals prior to the game being abandoned were scored by Nick Craft, Phil Corcoran and Sam Collier, the latter coming from the penalty spot.

The one semi-final game that did go the full duration was the inter-divisional affair between Penhill United and Melksham Town at Moredon on Wednesday night. Melksham had twice won this specific cup, their first victory in Season 2020-21 coming against Corsham Town in the very first Veterans’ County Cup competition and their second in Season 2022-23 when they defeated Royal Wootton Bassett Town. However, they will have to wait at least another season for that third victory in this competition as they fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Swindon based side. Harry Etheridge scored twice for Penhill and further goals from Matthew Horsell and Peter Myall saw Penhill through to their first Veterans’ cup final. The final between Penhill United and Cricklade Town is scheduled for Tuesday 17^th February at the Wiltshire FA headquarters at Green Lane with an 8pm kick-off.

Full details of the Veterans' County Cup rounds this season is shown below:

North Wiltshire Veterans' Division

In addition to the cup games there were also four games played in the North Wiltshire Veterans’ Division. The action got underway on Monday night at Moredon and the game between Stratton and Swindon Rovers saw Swindon Rovers pick up their second league win of the season, second half goals from Taiwo Abolarin and Oliver Moore securing a narrow 2-1 victory, Damian Smolinksi with the Stratton goal.

The following night Redhouse temporarily moved up to third spot in the table with a 5-1 win over Chiseldon at Moredon. The goals were shared around with Mike Jones, Jason Milhench, Kieran Jennings, Daniel Wilson and Rob Dean all getting on the score sheet, Daryl Herring with the solitary Chiseldon goal.  

Redhouse were dislodged from that third spot the following night by Royal Wootton Bassett Town who secured a comfortable 5-0 home win at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground over ExIntel. Both Martin Ohrland and Chris Head scored twice for Royal Wootton Bassett with Sam Lawro getting the other goal for the home side.  

The final game of the week in the North Wiltshire Division was on Thursday night at Moredon and it saw Nationwide take over at the top of the table with a 4-0 win over FS Stratton. Two goals from Richie Miles and one apiece from Simon Olding and Neil Snow did the damage for Nationwide.

Mid Wiltshire Division

There was just one game played in the Mid-Wiltshire Veterans’ Division with the two games scheduled to take place on grass at Radstock Town and Warminster Town both postponed due to pitch conditions. The one game that did take place was on the 3G at Green Lane on Friday night and it was the clash at the bottom end of the table between Bishops Cannings and Barford Hornets. Two first half goals, one at the start of the match from Adam Bewley and a second on the stroke of half time from Mike Booth were enough to give Bishops Cannings their second win of the season, the 2-0 win seeing Bishops Cannings complete a league double over their opponents and open up a six-point gap over the Hornets.