The Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League finally got underway last week with three league games played plus one in the prestigious FA Youth Cup. The one game in the FA Youth Cup saw the final representative from the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League exit the competition, Radstock Town going out of the competition after losing 5-1 at home against Cheltenham Saracens. The game had been rearranged following the failure of the floodlights at Radstock the previous week that had caused the abandonment of the original tie. When the game was restaged Cheltenham proved too strong for Radstock, Jayden Purnell with the Radstock goal.

Three other teams had entered this season’s FA Youth Cup, the three teams being Bradford Town, Bristol Manor Farm and Royal Wootton Bassett Town. The first two teams had met each other in the Extra Preliminary Round with Bristol Manor Farm winning 3-1 at Bradford Town thanks to two goals from Levelle Bishop and one from Corey Stock, Harry Douchet with the Bradford Town goal. Next up for Bristol Manor Farm in the Preliminary Round were Mangotsfield United but their interest in the competition was ended when they fell to a 2-0 defeat to the South West Counties Youth League side.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town had received a bye to the Preliminary Round where they met Tuffley Rovers but fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat in an entertaining tie. Returning to the national competition this season, Nick Warren's side got off to a super start as Fin Smith put them ahead inside the opening ten minutes. Seizing on a loose Tuffley pass, Joe Beavis let loose from 25 yards but saw his effort parried but Smith was on hand to sweep home the rebound into the bottom corner. However, Rovers equalised through Ethan Walters as half time neared. Racing onto a ball over the top, he produced a neat finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. A second half own goal put Tuffley ahead for the first time in the game and despite pushing hard for an equaliser Royal Wootton Bassett Town were unable to find a second and also exited the competition.

The league season got underway on Monday 11^th September at a new venue for the league with last season’s runners-up Royal Wootton Bassett Town making the trip into Bristol to play new side to the league Bristol Manor Farm. Bristol Manor Farm look like they will be a force to reckon with in the division this season as two goals from Levelle Bishop plus further strikes from Alfie Partridge, Leyton Thompson and Charlie Williams secured a 5-0 opening night win for Manor Farm on their league debut.

On the Thursday night another new side to the league, Wims 11 also got their season off to a winning start with a 2-1 success away at Bradford Town thanks to two goals from Billy Wimble, Joel Kirby with the reply for Bradford Town.

The third new side to the league FC Chippenham, who were champions last time they entered the League in Season 2020-21, also got their campaign off to a winning start edging out Melksham Town by the odd goal in five at Stanley Park. Two goals from Harry Brain plus one from Cameron Ladner-Poole for FC Chippenham, Dayston Allison and Dean Kamanga replying for visitors Melksham.

With Calne Town having seen their game against Radstock postponed due to the restaging of the FA Youth Cup tie, a late attempt was made to give them a league game against Kingsdown who had seen their fixture with Kintbury Rangers scheduled for the Friday night also postponed. Unfortunately the two sides could not agree a night that worked for both sides and the game did not go ahead.

There was a full round of fixtures played in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League this week with the games starting on Monday night where last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers commenced their defence of the title that they won last season. They got their campaign off to a winning start with a comfortable 8-1 victory over an FC Chippenham side that had got their own season off to a winning start the previous week. Cameron Squires had scored six last season in helping Kintbury to the title and he is already half-way to matching that total after just one game as he scored three of the Kintbury goals on Monday night.  The rest of the goals were shared around the team with Jake Cooper, Ben Luckett, Kian McNally, Charlie Adams and George Mackie all getting their name on the scoresheet, Rhys House with the consolation goal for FC Chippenham.

There were three games played on Thursday evening and all saw away wins. New side to the league Bristol Manor Farm made it two wins from two games and two clean sheets with a 2-0 away win at Radstock Town. There was another goal for Levelle Bishop to add to the two he scored in Bristol Manor Farm’s opening game, Regan Lashenko with other goal.

Calne Town, who won last season’s cup final and also went close to securing league honours, also got their season off to a winning start with a 3-0 away win over Melksham Town, Asher Jones, Woody Smart and Jack Smith with the three Calne goals.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town bounced back from last week’s heavy defeat at Bristol Manor Farm to record a big win of their own away at Bradford Town. Leading 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Joe Beavis and Rhys Weslake, the visitors turned it on in the second half scoring five more goals with just one in reply for Bradford Town from Finn Pilkington as it finished 7-1 to Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Two more for Joe Beavis in the second half saw him complete his hat-trick and further goals from skipper Noah Cranswick-Coates, Finley Smith and substitute Ewan Painter rounded off a good night for the visitors.

Kingsdown have retained a substantial proportion of last season’s squad who were playing up a year last season and are expected to be amongst the challengers at the top end of the table this season. They also got their season off to a winning start but had to come from behind to secure the victory away against Wims 11. Trailing 2-0 to goals from Miguel Gomez and Billy Wimble, strikes from Tommy Hellewell, Nicholas Wilkes and Finn Devlin-Shirley saw Kingsdown turn things around to claim the three points, 3-2 the final score.

Once again there was a full programme of games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. Bristol Manor Farm were back in action on Monday night when they entertained Melksham Town. Bristol Manor Farm had started the season with two victories whilst in contrast Melksham Town had lost both of their opening two games. Monday night’s encounter between the two teams very much ran to form as Bristol Manor Farm maintained their perfect start to the season with a 4-1 win. On target for Manor Farm were substitute Evan Howse with two, Freddie Thorn and a sixth of the season in all competitions from Levelle Bishop.

The top match on a very wet Thursday night was at Bremhill view where last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers were up against Calne Town who had just missed out on league honours last season but had secured the U18 Cup. Kintbury Rangers had done a league double over Calne last season but both teams went into Thursday’s encounter having won their opening games of the season and a close game was anticipated. It proved to be just that as Calne edged it by the odd goal in five. Last season’s top scorer for Calne, Asher Jones, bagged a brace with the other Calne goal coming through Luke Masero. On target for Kintbury Rangers were Rhys Atkins and Joseph Sheridan. The win for Calne saw them move second in the table and it is now just them and Bristol Manor Farm with perfect records.

Royal Wootton Bassett Town sit level on points with Calne Town as they picked up their second straight victory, bouncing back from their opening day defeat at the hands of the league leaders. Their latest success was a 5-2 home win over Wims 11 in an entertaining affair at the Sustain Stadium. The home side took an early lead through Joe Beavis, a ball into his feet was neatly controlled, followed by a smart turn and finish into the far bottom corner of the net for 1-0. The home side were now on top and created a number of good chances. The pressure eventually led to a second goal and once again it was Beavis the scorer, the striker reacting quickly to a rebound after Rhys Westlake’s shot was well saved by the Wims keeper to head home for 2-0. Wims then got themselves back in the game with the goal of the game, a free kick from distance from Billy Wimble finding the top corner of the net to make it 2-1 at the break. Royal Wootton Bassett Town restored their two-goal advantage early in the second half, Wims lost the ball on the edge of their own 18-yard box, the ball falling to Beavis who fed Beau Hicks who made no mistake for 3-1. Wims stepped up their game and went close to reducing the deficit when a shot from the edge of the box was pushed onto the post by the home side keeper and the ball cleared. Having had that narrow escape, Royal Wootton Bassett Town then went further in front with a well taken goal. The ball found Finley Smith on the left flank and he cut inside and fired a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box which went under the Wims keeper to nestle in the far corner of the net for 4-1. Despite trailing by three goals Wims never gave up and put the home defence under tremendous pressure. They thought they had pulled one back only to see the goal disallowed by an offside flag. The visitors continued to press and went close on several occasions but a combination of some good saves from the keeper including one tremendous save to deny Wimble his second goal, a big slice of luck here and there for the home defence and some mishit shots meant that the home side somehow managed to retain that three goal advantage. Having weathered the Wims pressure without conceding, Royal Wootton Bassett Town finally put the game beyond the visitors when a long ball out of defence found Beau Hicks in the clear and he cooly finished into the far corner of the net to make it 5-1 to the home side. There was still time for one more and it went the way of Wims when a shot from distance was spilled by the Bassett keeper and Drew McIntosh had a simple tap to make the final score 5-2. Your Sport Swindon cameras were at the game and subscribers can see highlights by clicking on the link below or from the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the League website.

Radstock Town had lost their opener to Bristol Manor Farm and were keen to register their first points when they travelled to Bradford Town who had lost both of their opening fixtures. Radstock were not at their best but they did manage to return with all three points, 15 year old substitute Aelfric Bidder scoring the only goal of the game.

The final game of the week was on Friday night and it saw Kingsdown looking to maintain their winning start to the season against FC Chippenham at Stanley Park. It was another close game in what is already looking like a very competitive Under 18 Division this season. FC Chippenham led 2-1 at half time but Kingsdown ensured a share of the points with a second half equaliser as it finished 2-2. Harry Stiles and Cameron Ladner-Poole with the FC Chippenham goals, Finn Broadbank and Thomas Hellewell replying for Kingsdown who remain unbeaten after their opening two fixtures.

Another busy week for the teams in the Under 18 Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with teams involved in County Cup competitions as well as league fixtures with plenty of goals across all the games.

In the Wiltshire County Youth Cup FC Chippenham, Calne Town and Bristol Manor Farm are all through to the 3^rd Round. FC Chippenham were 3-2 winners over Lydiard Millicent on Sunday thanks to two goals from Harry Brain and one from Jack Burchell. On the same day Bristol Manor Farm were comfortable 5-0 winners over Bemerton Heath Harlequins, two goals for Ewan House and further strikes from Regan Lashenko, Alfie Partridge and Daniel Coles in this one. Calne Town were given a walkover into Round 3 with scheduled opponents Ludgershall Sports conceding the tie. In that 3^rd Round, both FC Chippenham and Bristol Manor Farm will be home to teams from Swindon Supermarine, Calne Town are away to Staverton Rangers Youth.  

In the newly established Somerset Youth Cup, Radstock Town had a comfortable passage into the next round on Thursday night, hitting seven unanswered goals past Fry Club. On target for Radstock were Theo King and Jakob Musaeus, who both scored twice, Jayden Purnell, Lex Southall and Archie Bullock.

Four games were played in the league, two on Thursday night and two on Friday night. On Thursday last season’s top two sides, Kintbury Rangers and Royal Wootton Bassett Town met at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground. Kintbury had much the better of things in the first half, hitting the crossbar on three occasions but there were to be no goals in that first half. Royal Wootton Bassett Town had grown into the game as the half progressed, but Kintbury had created numerous decent chances but had been unable to put one away. It was a similar story at the start of the second half, but Kintbury eventually did find that elusive goal, Royal Wootton Bassett Town gave the ball away in midfield, and the ball found its way to Joseph Sheridan who fired in for 1-0 to the visitors. Kintbury doubled their lead when a ball over the top found its way to Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Leyton Stepp, but his attempted clearance struck Sheridan and rebounded in front of him giving him an open goal and the striker made no mistake to put his side two goals in front. Kintbury continued to press for further goals but some wayward finishing and a couple of good saves from Stepp meant that there was to be no further scoring as Kintbury ran out 2-0 winners on the night to become one of four teams on six points in joint third spot. Your Sport Swindon were there with their camera and subscribers can view the match highlights by clicking on the link below or from the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the league website.

The other game on Thursday was at the Oakfield Stadium and it saw a high scoring game between Melksham Town and Bradford Town, the two sides scoring nine goals between them with Melksham recording their first win of the season in a 6-3 victory. Jenson Wakefield hit a hat-trick for the home side with the other Melksham goals coming through Charlie Walder, Caiden Rose and substitute Aimar Petite Harnzic, Harry Douchet, Rory Unwin and an own goal in reply for visitors Bradford Town.

There was another entertaining high scoring game on Friday night at Swindon Academy where Wims 11 met FC Chippenham with the two sides sharing 12 goals, with Wims eventually winning 7-5. Star of the show was Billy Wimble who scored four of the Wims goals, doubling his total for the season as he took over at the top of the division’s goal scoring chart. Teammate Drew McIntosh bagged a brace, with Josh Briggs getting the other Wims 11 goal. On target for FC Chippenham were Edward Oatley with a hat-trick, Oliver Young and a second of the season from Harry Brain.

The final game on Friday night saw two sides who started the evening unbeaten, Kingsdown and Calne Town. Calne were looking to build on last week’s impressive win over Kintbury Rangers whilst Kingsdown had started the season with a victory over Wims 11 and had drawn with FC Chippenham in their opening two fixtures. Kingsdown took an early lead through Tyler Preddy who was making his return following a long period out with an injury. It remained nip and tuck throughout the remainder of the match with Calne unable to find an equaliser and Kingsdown unable to find a second and in the end that early goal was all that separated the sides at the end of 90 minutes. The win for Kingsdown saw them move second in the table behind Bristol Manor Farm and maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Wet weather and a school trip meant just three games were played this week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League, a waterlogged pitch seeing the game at Bradford Town postponed and the school trip impacting Kingsdown who were due to play FC Chippenham in the League Cup.

One of the three games to get played was again in the First Round of the League Cup and it saw last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers up against Wims 11. The first half saw the two sides cancel each other out and they turned round with the game still looking for its first goal. Those goals were to come in the second half, and they all went the way of the home side Kintbury, Kian McNally, Cameron Squires and James Tomlinson all getting on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win to see Kintbury safely through to the quarter final where they will be home to Radstock Town. Full details of this season’s cup competition is shown below with the postponed game between FC Chippenham and Kingsdown meaning the full quarter final line-up is not yet known.

Thursday night saw two games played in the league including a repeat of last season’s cup final when Radstock Town entertained Calne Town. Last season’s cup final had been won by Calne Town who went into the game on Thursday night looking to bounce back from the narrow defeat they suffered at the hands of Kingsdown in their last outing. Radstock meanwhile came into the game on the back of two consecutive wins including a comfortable 7-0 County Cup win last week against Fry Club. They extended that winning run to three games with a 3-1 home win thanks to two goals from Ollie Thomas and first ever goal for Radstock from Louie Gurner. The win saw Radstock move level on six points with three other teams, including their defeated opponents Calne Town and last season’s champions Kintbury.

The other game on Thursday night was on the 3G at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground where Melksham Town were Royal Wootton Bassett Town’s visitors. It was the visitors who went in front early on through Oliver Farrell, the home side giving the ball away and Farrell striding forward to fire in a shot from the edge of the box that somehow eluded the home keeper and nestled in the far bottom corner of the net. Rhys Westlake should have levelled matters up when clean through on goal, but his shot went wide of the far post. He was not to be denied for long though, a defence splitting through ball from Joe Beavis put Westlake clear of the Melksham back line and this time he made no mistake to level matters up. Westlake was also involved in the second goal for his side, his run down the left-hand side saw him get behind the Melksham defence with a nutmeg, his attempted cross in was intercepted by a Melksham defender but fell nicely to Joseph Simpkins who curled a shot into the top corner of the net for 2-1 to Royal Wootton Bassett Town. A Joe Beavis solo effort in the second half extended the home side’s lead but Melksham kept pushing to try and get back into the game creating several chances but were unable to get the breakthrough. Their cause was then not helped when they were reduced to nine men as ill discipline saw two players pick up second yellow cards as it finished 3-1. Your Sport Swindon were there with their camera and subscribers can view the match highlights by clicking on the link below or from the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the league website.

There has been a dearth of action in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with just two league games played in the past three weeks and one cup game that was unfortunately abandoned in ridiculous circumstances. A combination of school half-term and the weather causing the lack of overall action in the division.

One of the two league games played took place on Monday 16^th October and saw league leaders Bristol Manor Farm maintain their 100% winning start to the season with a 3-1 win over Kingsdown. The leaders were made to work hard for the three points by their opponents from Swindon though. It was 0-0 at the break but Manor Farm ensured that winning run continued with second half goals from Charlie Williams, Bradley Selwood and substitute Layton Thompson. On target for visitors Kingsdown was Josh Atwell who bagged his first of the season for Kingsdown U18’s.

The only other game played in the three-week period was on Friday tonight when Wims 11 entertained Calne Town at Swindon Academy. It was to prove to be a good night for visitors Calne who moved joint second in the table with a 5-2 win thanks to goals from Thomas Gates, Harry Hynes, Asher Jones, Luke Masero and Aiden Martin, a ninth of the season from the division’s leading scorer Billy Wimble and one from Joshua Briggs in reply for Wims.

Whilst Calne were picking up their third win of the season, the one outstanding game in the First Round of the U18 League Cup was taking place at Stanley Park, with FC Chippenham up against Kingsdown with a place in the quarter final at stake and a home tie against Royal Wootton Bassett Town. An entertaining first half saw the two sides share four goals and with both then scoring once more in the second half it finished 3-3 at the end of 90 minutes. On target for Kingsdown were Josh Atwell, Jack Byrne and Ethan Lee, the FC Chippenham goals coming courtesy of Aimar Petite Hamzic, Hartley Newson and Jack Burchell. With the scores level at the end of 90 minutes, there should have been extra time in accordance with the League Cup rules but the officials and teams had agreed to go straight to penalty kicks before the game due to being advised by the person on duty at Stanley Park that he would be switching the lights off at 9:30PM. Despite truncating the evening’s action there was still not to be an outcome achieved though. After the two sides had taken one penalty apiece the person on duty at Stanley Park decided to switch the floodlights off to enable the facility to be cleared by 10PM. The referee was then left with no choice but to abandon the match which will now need to be discussed at the Discipline Meeting this coming Thursday night.

FC Chippenham were back in action on Sunday in the Wiltshire FC County Cup but exited the competition following a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Salisbury. Calne Town are through to the last eight though having been awarded their 3^rd Round tie against Staverton Rangers.

The lack of games in the Under 18 Division repeated itself again this week with just one of the five scheduled games going ahead meaning a couple of teams still only having played three league games this season. The one game that did go ahead was on the 3G at the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground where Royal Wootton Bassett Town were looking to go joint top of the table with a win, whilst opponents Kingsdown had the chance to move above their opponents into second place with a win of their own. A tight affair was anticipated, and it proved to be just that, decided by the narrowest of margins. Kingsdown had the better of things in the early stages but were restricted to a couple of efforts from distance. The first chance of the half that came the way of the home side was when a poor clearance from the Kingsdown keeper went straight to Joe Beavis on the edge of the box, but he fired his shot just over. Kingsdown then went close to breaking the deadlock as twice Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Tom Davis denied them. First a neat through ball put Josh Atwell clear of the defence and his initial powerful shot was well blocked by Davis with the ball rebounding to a Kingsdown player who was following up and whose shot was then cleared by Davis with his feet to prevent his side from going behind.  Kingsdown then had a shout for a penalty which was waved away but they were to eventually make the breakthrough. A run at the defence by Atwell saw him stumble but still get a pass away to Ethan Lee on the right hand side of the Royal Wootton Bassett Town 18-yard box and as keeper Davis came out, Lee fired a low and pin-point shot in the far corner of the net to give the visitors the lead. That was to be the only goal of the first half.

The second half saw the home side look to get back on level terms and the closest they went was when a free kick from the right to the far post was met by the head of Rhys Westlake but this time it was the turn of Kingsdown keeper to deny an opposition striker with a good save with the ball then being cleared to safety by his defence. After that the home side had a couple of chances from distance but didn’t look like troubling the Kingsdown goal. Both sides were then guilty of some late challenges from behind which required the referee to show a yellow card, with Kingsdown’s Atwell being one of those to pick up a card which would have ramifications later on. As the game moved into the closing stages it was the visitors Kingsdown who went closet to scoring and had a couple of good chances which should perhaps have been put away to make sure of the three points but it remained just the one. A second mistimed challenge from Atwell saw him unfortunate to pick up a second yellow card and a dismissal late on but his side comfortably saw out the final minutes to take all three points and move ahead of their beaten opponents into second place, two points behind leaders Bristol Manor Farm having played one more game.

Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can watch highlights of the game by clicking on the Your Sport Swindon image below or using the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the league website where other games covered by Your Sport Swindon can also be accessed.

The same night that Kingsdown were defeating Royal Wootton Bassett Town, the League’s Discipline Committee were meeting to discuss, amongst other things, Kingsdown’s recent abandoned League Cup game against FC Chippenham. The outcome of the meeting is that the game will now be replayed on Friday 8^th December at Stanley Park.

More action from RWBT v Kingsdown (pictures courtesy of Steve Green)

It was a good week in terms of fixtures in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with four league fixtures played, the only game postponed being Radstock Town’s much delayed County Cup fixture against Bishops Lydeard.

On Monday night last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers demonstrated that they have every intention of retaining their title this season with a big win away at Melksham Town. Two goals from both Joseph Sheridan and James Tomlinson plus further goals from Kyran Bennett and Nathanial Martin together with an own goal saw Kintbury to a 7-0 victory at the Oakfield Stadium. Kintbury currently sit in fifth spot following this win but have at least two games in hand over the three teams immediately above them in the table.

On Thursday and Friday night both Calne Town and Royal Wootton Bassett Town picked up wins which saw them join Bristol Manor Farm on 12 points at the top of the table. On Thursday Calne Town were up against a Bradford Town side who are still looking for their first points of the season. Whilst Bradford Town have yet to register a point, they put in their best performance of the season against Calne which saw them go agonisingly close to ending that unwanted record. Indeed, Calne left it very late to secure the three points, an injury time penalty put away by Thomas Gates being all that separated the two sides on the night. Hard on the Bradford Town youngsters but they will no doubt be encouraged by going so close against one of the leading sides in the division.

The following night Kingsdown had the chance to go clear at the top of the table with a win against Wims 11 at Green Lane but unfortunately things did not go to plan as Wims returned to Swindon with all three points following a narrow 2-1 win. A goal from leading scorer Billy Wimble, taking him into double figures for the campaign, saw Wims go into the break with a narrow advantage. The second half saw both sides find the net, Miguel Gomez with a second for Wims and Recce Ricks netting for Kingsdown. Unfortunately for Kingsdown it was just the one goal as Wims picked up their third win of the season to move level on points with Kintbury and to within a point of their beaten opponents in what is once again turning out to be an evenly matched division.

Friday night also saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town in action, and they returned to winning ways after their recent defeat at the hands of Kingsdown with a 3-1 win over FC Chippenham. Two goals from Jamie Wright plus a third of the season from Rhys Westlake put Royal Wootton Bassett Town in command and whilst FC Chippenham pulled one back there was to be no further scoring as Royal Wootton Bassett Town joined Bristol Manor Farm and Calne Town on those 12 points at the top of the table. Bristol Manor Farm have only played four games so far, winning all four, and they are finally set to return to league action this coming Friday after a break caused by both the weather and County Cup games in two different county competitions.

It was an eventful week in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League with five games scheduled but only three ending up being completed, although one other game went close to completion and will now be the subject of discussion at the next Discipline Meeting.

On Thursday night the two completed games that night saw last season’s top two sides, champions Kintbury Rangers and runners-up Royal Wootton Bassett Town both pick up away victories. Kintbury Rangers were at bottom of the table Bradford Town who had pushed Calne Town all the way the previous week. Last season’s champions were always in control of this one though, and two goals in each half saw them return with all three points courtesy of a 4-0 win. Rhys Atkins put them 2-0 up at half time and second half goals from Josh Luckett and Aydan Hutchings ensured there would be no Bradford Town comeback. The win saw Kintbury move up to joint second place in the table although Bristol Manor Farm would move back above them with a win on Friday night.

The same night Royal Wootton Bassett Town made the short trip along the A3102 to take on near neighbours Calne Town. The last game between the two sides, last season’s U18 League Cup semi-final had seen Calne win 3-1 on their way to lifting the cup and they were hoping to pick up another victory over the team from down the road. Royal Wootton Bassett Town had the consolation last season of pipping Calne to that runners-up spot by a single point and games between the two sides are normally a tight affair. In a good first half for the visitors, Sam Case put Royal Wootton Bassett Town 1-0 up before Jamie Wright doubled their lead. Calne pulled one back before half time through an own goal and the two sides went into the break with the visitors holding a slender lead. Both teams created chances after the break, but Royal Wootton Bassett Town made sure of all three points with a goal from leading scorer Joe Beavis who notched his seventh goal of the season as the visitors ran out 3-1 winners to move top of the table.

The other game on Thursday night was at Radstock Town who are behind with their fixtures due to County Cup commitments with the Youth Cup in Somerset, unlike Wiltshire, being played in midweek. Radstock were up against FC Chippenham in what was only the fourth league game of the season for Radstock. It was going well for the home side with Radstock 3-1 up with 17 minutes to go when a power surge caused the floodlights to trip. A reboot of the floodlights was undertaken with the home club advising that it would take a little while for the lights to come back on fully. The teams and officials waited whilst the reboot was done, however, with the lights not yet on, after consulting with the away side, the referee abandoned the game. As the sides were about to leave the pitch the lights came back on but the decision to abandon was not reversed. The matter will now be discussed at the next Discipline Committee meeting, with the possibility of the score at the time of the abandonment being allowed to stand or the game replayed, both scenarios being permitted under the League rules. The three Radstock goals had been scored by James Redfearn, Lex Southall and Sonny Clayton, Jack Burchell with the FC Chippenham goal.

The game between Kingsdown and Melksham Town was postponed with Melksham unable to raise a side.

The final game of the week was on Friday night when Wims 11 met Bristol Manor Farm who went into the game with four wins from their opening four fixtures. They extended that winning run to five games but were made to work hard for the three points by their opponents. A solitary goal on 35 minutes from Evan Howse was all that separated the sides on the night as Bristol Manor Farm returned to the top of the table.

Bristol Manor Farm were back in action again on Sunday when they met Port of Bristol in the Gloucestershire FA Youth Shield. Penalties were needed to settle matters after it had finished 3-3, Louis Smith scoring twice and Leyton Thompson with the other Manor Farm goal. The penalty shootout saw Manor Farm come out on top winning 5-4 to progress to the next round.

Just three games, two in the league and one in the cup have been played in the past fortnight in the Under 18 Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League. The two league games that were played both impacted the top end of the division. The last Thursday in November saw Royal Wootton Bassett Town entertain Bristol Manor Farm with both teams starting the night joint top of the table on 15 points but with Royal Wootton Bassett Town having played three more games than their opponents who they had lost heavily to in the opening fixture of the season. The opening exchanges saw the home side Royal Wootton Bassett Town create the better chances. Joe Beavis forced the visitor’s keeper to save at full stretch with a shot from the edge of the box. The home side went close again when Rhys Westlake dispossessed a defender and bore down on goal his low shot into the near post being saved by the Bristol Manor Farm keeper this time with his feet. Despite that early pressure it was the visitors who went in front albeit in a fortuitous manner, defender Oliver Smith’s attempted tackle seeing him connect with the ball but directing it into his own net for 1-0 to Bristol Manor Farm. Having gone in front the second half saw Manor Farm starting to dominate proceedings creating a couple of good chances early on. The home side had shouts for a penalty when Noah Cranswick-Coates went down in the box under a challenge, but the defender had connected with the ball first and the appeals were waved away. Bristol Manor Farm looked to give themselves the cushion of a two-goal lead and went close on four separate occasions. First Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Tom Davis was forced into a save from a shot from distance. He was then saved by his post after a back pass from Noah Cranswick-Coates was intercepted but the resulting shot came back off the frame of the goal. Davis was then forced to save with his feet from another effort and when the keeper was beaten by another effort Cranswick-Coates was on the line to clear and prevent his side from going further behind. Having rode their luck at times Royal Wootton Bassett Town were to get themselves back on level terms late on, a shot from the edge of the box from Finlay Skittrall coming back off the crossbar with Joe Beavis reacting quickest to smash the ball home for 1-1. The result meant Royal Wootton Bassett Town became the first side to take points off Bristol Manor Farm this season as the two sides continued to share top spot in the division. Your Sport Swindon were at the game and subscribers can view highlights by clicking on the link below or from the link on the Your Sport Swindon page of the League Website.

The other league game played was on the following Monday when Kintbury Rangers and Wims 11 met up. The game was scheduled to take place at Kintbury but when their pitch did not pass a pitch inspection early in the afternoon the two teams collaborated to move the game to the 3G at Moredon, the new home for Wims. A big thank you to the two teams and the match officals for their co-operation to ensure a game went ahead. Wims may have regretted their proactivity though come the end of the evening as they fell to a heavy defeat against last season’s champions who are starting to find their form. There were hat-tricks for both Joseph Sheridan and James Tomlinson, Rhys Atkins scored twice with the other goal coming through Charlie Adams in a 9-0 win for Kintbury which saw them move to within a point of the two leaders, having played the same number of games as Bristol Manor Farm but three less than Royal Wootton Bassett Town.

It is disappointing to report that Bradford Town have pulled their team out of the league due to lack of player commitment and their record will be expunged from the league table in due course once discipline procedures have been completed in relation to their withdrawal.

The cup game played involved FC Chippenham and Kingsdown who met for the third time this season having already been involved in two close encounters.  The game on Friday night was to provide yet another close encounter. When they had met in the league back in September, they had shared four goals and the points. They then met in the first staging of this First Round cup game at Stanley Park at the beginning of November and this time round the teams shared six goals sending the tie into a penalty shootout. With the two teams having taken one penalty apiece the facility then switched the floodlights off forcing the game to be abandoned. Once again on Friday, the two sides could not be separated in open play, this time sharing eight goals to once again send the tie into a penalty shootout, Darcy Garner, Edward Oatley, Harry Stiles and Oliver Young scoring for FC Chippenham, Tommy Hellewell, Sam Styes, Nicholas Wilkes and Isaac Osazuwa replying for Kingsdown. It was tight also in the penalty shootout, Kingsdown eventually edging it 5-4 to line up a home tie against Royal Wootton Bassett Town in the Quarter Final which is set to take place early in the New Year.

In outside competitions, Calne Town progressed to the semi-final of the Wiltshire Youth Cup with a 2-1 away win at Salisbury thanks to goals from Henry Curtis and Asher Jones. Calne will be away to Swindon Supermarine Youth in that semi-final.

Bristol Manor Farm also progressed to the Quarter Final of the Gloucestershire FA’s U18 Shield with a 3-2 home win over AEK Boco. On target for Manor Farm were Levelle Bishop, Louie Farrow and Euan Howse. Bristol Manor Farm will now be away to either Bishops Cleeve or Longlevens in the next round.

The Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League went into its Christmas break period with another curtailed programme of games with just two league games played, although Bristol Manor Farm were also able to finally play their Wiltshire County Youth Cup game against Swindon Supermarine. It finished 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes, Evan Howse with both goals for Manor Farm but Supermarine were victors 4-3 in the penalty shootout. Whilst exiting the Wiltshire competition, Manor Farm are still in the Gloucestershire County Youth Cup competition and are set to meet Bishops Cleeve on February 4^th.

The first of the two league games played saw last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers move top of the table with a narrow 1-0 win over Calne Town, James Tomlinson with his seventh goal of the season the difference between the two sides as Kintbury avenged the 3-2 defeat they had suffered at the hands of Calne back in September. The win saw Kintbury move two points above Bristol Manor Farm having played one game more with the teams set to meet for the first time this season in the second week of January.

The other league game played was between FC Chippenham and Kingsdown who were meeting for the fourth time this season with all three previous meetings being tight affairs with plenty of goals. The two cup games between the sides both went to penalties after it finished all square at the end of 90 minutes with the league game back in September also ending in a draw. The latest meeting between the two sides was to prove no different as the two sides shared eight goals and the points. The second staging of their cup game had also finished 4-4 before Kingsdown won on penalties and games between the two sides have certainly been entertaining affairs this season. On target for Kingsdown were Tyler Preedy and Nicholas Wilkes, who both scored twice, with Sam Dunmow, Rhys House, Edward Oatley and Thomas Collings all finding the back of the net for FC Chippenham.

Last week the focus in the U18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire League was on the quarter finals of the League Cup. Cup holders Calne Town were given a bye into the semi-final after Bradford Town withdrew from the league and the other three semi-finalists were confirmed in a week when games finally got played in the U18 category after what seems weeks of postponed games.

On Monday night league leaders Kintbury Rangers and Radstock Town were involved in a game played on a snow-covered pitch which saw no goals in open play but produced an excellent game of football between two evenly matched sides. In the end with no goal after 90 minutes nor again after 30 minutes of extra time penalties were needed to settle matters. Kintbury Rangers put all four of their opening penalties away but Radstock missed their fourth kick giving Kintbury the chance to win it with their final kick which they duly did to win 5-3 on penalties.

Whilst there was a dearth of goals on Monday night, Thursday night saw plenty as Melksham Town entertained Bristol Manor Farm. Unfortunately for the home side 12 of the 14 goals scored went the way of visitors who had a comfortable passage through to the last four. Amongst the goals for Bristol Manor Farm were Layton Thompson who helped himself to four goals, Evan Howse bagged a brace and Lavelle Bishop, Freddie Kershaw, Alfie Partridge and Corey Stock al found the net in the 12-2 victory.

The final quarter final tie was on Friday night at Green Lane when Kingsdown were home to Royal Wootton Bassett Town. It was 1-1 at the break but two unanswered goals in the second half saw Kingsdown through to the last four of the competition. On target for Kingsdown were Josh Atwell, Jack Overson and Reece Ricks, Sam Case with the goal for Royal Wootton Bassett Town.

The previous week just one game had been played in the league and it saw last season’s champions Kintbury Rangers move back top of the table after temporarily losing that position when the results against Bradford Town had been expunged following their withdrawal from the league. It was a hard fought close game away at Kingsdown, Kintbury eventually winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Kyran Barrett and Ben Luckett, Nicholas Wilkes with the Kingsdown goal.

The draw for the semi-final has been made and it sees the top two in the league drawn against each other with Bristol Manor Farm home to Kintbury Rangers, with the other tie seeing Kingsdown at home against Calne Town with the two games set to take place in week commencing 4^th March.

Radstock Town were in cup action on Sunday in the Somerset Youth Cup but went out of a cup competition for the second time in the week when they went down 1-0 to Westland Sports in what manager Ian Lanning described as their worst performance of the season.

Just two games in the Under 18 Floodlight Division of the Corsham Print Wiltshire Senior League survived the cold and wet weather this week and both were unsurprisingly played on 3G pitches. Somewhat worryingly, of the 31 U18 league games that have been played so far this season in the division, just 12 games have been played on grass despite more teams playing on grass than 3G. When the fixture statistics as at the end of December were presented at the recent Management Committee meeting (see below) it was noted that the U18 Division was the only one where fewer matches had been played than at the same stage last season. However, it has not just been the weather that has caused this issue, an increased participation in County Cup competitions has also been a driver. Hopefully, with most of the County Cup impact now diminished, the weather will improve at the back end of January and into February allowing more games to be played and avoid teams having to play more than one game a week to finish the season by the season end date set at the AGM of Friday 3^rd May.

One of the two games played this week featured the team that has played the least league games so far, Radstock Town. On a bitterly cold evening they travelled to Royal Wootton Bassett Town for what was only their fourth league game of the season. Royal Wootton Bassett started brightly, and Rhys Westlake had an early golden chance for the home side but saw his effort from close range go wide of the far post. The home side were to go in front though, a cross from the right by Finlay Skittrall was spilled by the Radstock keeper allowing Jamie Wright to pounce and put the ball away for 1-0. They doubled their lead when a clearance out of defence found Joe Beavis who, despite the presence of three defenders, controlled the ball, checked left and then fired into the net for a well taken goal and 2-0. Westlake then had another chance to increase the home side’s lead when put through with just the keeper to beat but an excellent save with his feet by the Radstock keeper stopped his side going further behind. Westlake was then again denied by the keeper with a header from a corner but although he got power on the header it was straight at the keeper and easily dealt with. The visitors didn’t really create any clear-cut chances in the first half, the home side limiting them to shots from distance which rarely troubled the home defence.

Radstock upped their game at the start of the second half and started to look like they might get themselves back into the game. After a couple of half chances they were only denied an opener by an acrobatic save by Royal Wootton Bassett Town keeper Tom Davis and it remained 2-0. Radstock continued to press and somehow the home defence survived a couple of goalmouth scrambles without conceding. After coming under some pressure, the home side gave themselves more breathing space when a ball into Junior Zumaro from Rhys Westlake saw him produce a great turn on the edge of the box and fire in for 3-0 to the home side. Credit to Radstock who, despite this latest setback, continued to try and get something out of the game and were eventually rewarded when a cross from the right was cleared straight into the path of Harry Grimsey and whilst Davis was able to get a hand on his shot, he was unable to prevent it going into the net off the far post. Buoyed by the goal Radstock continued to push for a second but the home side held out to take all three points and move joint second in the table level on points with Bristol Manor Farm and two points adrift of leaders Kintbury Rangers, although Royal Wootton Bassett have played more games than the other two sides. Your Sport Swindon were at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view match highlights by clicking on the link below or by clicking on the link from the Your Sport Swindon page of the League website which also has links to all the other games in the League which have been covered by Your Sport Swindon.

FC Chippenham have been involved in some high scoring games this season and went into their game on Friday night at home to Wims 11 on the back of two 4-4 draws. Once again Friday night was to see them involved in yet another highly entertaining and high scoring game, even surpassing the two 4-4 results. The first goal of the evening was something special, Wims’ Josh Briggs scoring from the halfway line with an audacious shot having seen the FC Chippenham keeper off his line. The same player then doubled his sides lead with a side footed shot to make it 2-0. Wims continued to press forward, and Drew McIntosh went close to a third for the visitors when put clean through with just the keeper to beat he fired just over the bar. However, he made no mistake with his next effort on goal, firing in for 3-0 from the edge of the penalty box. The teams turned round at the break with Wims seemingly in total control of the match.

Whatever FC Chippenham manager Ben Newson said to his team at half time it certainly did the trick as they came out for the second half looking like a different side. A shot from Aimar Hamzic-Petite from just outside the area gave the home side a foothold in the game as he made it 3-1. They then had keeper Lewis Clark to thank for keeping them in the match when he pulled off a spectacular save to deny Bobby Lee from extending Wims lead. The home side then reduced the deficit to just a single goal when Darcy Garner scored with a shot into the far corner of the net from the left-hand side of the 18-yard box for 3-2, with FC Chippenham now looking the more likely of the two sides to go on and win the game. Indeed, they were soon to back on level terms. Wims keeper James Stigwood spilled a cross into the box with the ball falling to Hamzic-Petite who turned his defender and hit a powerful shot that Stigwood got his hand to but the ball came back off the post falling to Thomas Collings who was following up, and he made no mistake to make it 3-3 and all to play for. The home side then went close to going in front for the first time in the game, a powerfully hit shot from Hamzic-Petite striking the cross bar. Having squandered a three-goal lead Wims upped their game and went back in front with a well taken goal from leading scorer Billy Wimble to make it 4-3. The goals just kept coming in the highly entertaining encounter. FC Chippenham restored parity once again when Thomas Collings scored his second of the game after a shot had come back off the crossbar. Were FC Chippenham heading for a third straight 4-4 draw? The answer was a resounding no as Billy Wimble once again put Wims in front, the visitors leading scorer netting for the 12^th time this season, although with two of his goals coming against Bradford Town this total is now reduced to ten with Bradford’s record being expunged. Despite falling behind yet again FC Chippenham were not despondent and went in search of an equaliser yet again and it came with a well taken volley from Hartley Newson, Newson getting on the end of a cross into the box from the right wing to level matters up at 5-5. Having never been behind all game Wims had a scare in the closing stages when FC Chippenham had the ball in the net again but a flag from the assistant referee saw the goal disallowed for offside. In the closing minutes the better chances came the way of FC Chippenham but there was to be no further scoring in what had been an enthralling match between the two sides. After the two teams had shared ten goals it meant that games involving FC Chippenham this season are averaging seven goals a game and they are certainly providing entertainment for their supporters.

Your Sport Swindon were again at the game with their cameras and subscribers can view match highlights of this entertaining encounter by clicking on the link below or by clicking on the link from the Your Sport Swindon page of the League website which also has links to all the other games in the League which have been covered by Your Sport Swindon.