SPRING CUP: North Bradley progressed to the semi-final of the AM Print and Copy of Westbury-sponsored Spring Cup by narrowly beating Calne Eagles 2-1 in a very evenly contested game.

Calne Eagles started the brighter of the two teams and controlled a lot of the possession in the early stages, however, it was North Bradley who came closest to scoring early on when Matt Coles saw his close-range shot blocked on the goal line by Eagles’ defender Roy Wenham.

In the 25th minute Calne Eagles opened the scoring when a good through ball by full back Kevin Hamersley caught the North Bradley backline square. Goalkeeper Rob Elliott ran 40 yards to try and clear the danger, but was beaten to the ball by Alphie Archer, who then unselfishly set up Tom Evans who side-footed the ball into the empty net. Calne continued to play well and carried their lead into the half-time break.

In the second half North Bradley upped their game a gear. Their superior strength started to show on the heavy pitch and Calne Eagles were forced to defend deep. Calne goalkeeper Andy Windsor made numerous good saves, but the pressure finally told when Matt Coles pulled North Bradley level after 55 minutes following a goal-mouth scramble. Calne Eagles then brought on substitutes Brett Cullen and Nick Cawley and this saw them regain their composure and start to pass the ball.

Thereafter, chances to score were at a premium, as both teams seemed to cancel each other out. As the game progressed, extra-time appeared to be increasingly likely. In the 85th minute, Roy Wenham, blocking a shot with his shin was instead thought by the referee to have made a studs-up, two-footed challenge and awarded North Bradley a penalty. Craig Brown tucked home an unstoppable shot from the spot.

In the closing minutes, Calne pushed frantically for the winner and were awarded numerous free kicks in their opponents' half, but North Bradley defended stoutly and held firm for a hard fought victory.

Mere Town YDT 0, Foresters FC 5

MERE Town YDT played hosts to high-flyers Foresters FC and played some exciting football against the Division Three leaders.

Despite their brave efforts however, they were unable stop the Foresters’ attackers from taking control and by the half-time break it was 4-0 to the visitors, with goals from Mark Harwood, Owen Burnett (2) and Gavin Klukowski (penalty).

The second half saw the Mere defence tighten up, but they were still unable to stop Nick Harrison from scoring to make the final score 5-0 and book Foresters a place in the next round.