PREMIER DIVISON: Having suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend when they were beaten 3-0 by Potterne, things went from bad to worse for long time Robson Taylor, Chippenham League Premier divison leaders Biddestone Social this weekend.
Holidays and injuries forced them to postpone their scheduled fixture away at Westbury Rangers A who had been desperate to get a match under their belts as they have only played nine league fixtures since the end of August.
Despite missing out on a game, Biddestone who could have slipped from the number one spot had Potterne beaten Box Rovers remain in pole position as Stuart Beeho’s Rovers side after weeks of misfiring at last found their scoring boots and denied Potterne the chance to reach the summit as they ended their own poor run of results with a 5-2 success that saw them win for the first time in four outings.
Liam Fullam gave Rovers the lead on 20 minutes with the first of his three goals of the contest.
Andy Davies restored parity for Potterne when he headed home a Ben House corner before and excellent Rovers team move was given the finish that the build up deserved when Jamie Bowler sublime strike from 20 yards saw Rovers regain the lead.
Rovers opened up a two goal lead early in the second period when Fullam curled home another outstanding effort for 3-1 and another well worked team move saw Dan Harvey finish well to give Rovers a 4-1 lead.
Adam Heath pulled a goal back for Potterne but it proved just to be a consolation as Fullam went on to complete his hat trick with goal number five that capped a five star performance for a Rovers side who had seen their push for a top two finish come of the rails in recent weeks.
Dog & Fox Ashley 2, Winsley 2
Old adversaries Dog & Fox Ashley and near neighbours Winsley fought out a thrilling 2-2 draw. In a match that was described as a cracking game between two fully committed sides, that was old fashioned as it had lots of physical contact which was due in no small part to referee Ben Williamson who refereed it superbly from start to finish.
A draw was a fair result for a game that could have gone either way with the Dog & Fox having the edge on the number of chances created.
Winsley scored first within a minute of kick-off through Mike Little who ran through and finished well from a tight angle after Andrew Backman had won the ball in midfield.
Steve Roddy got the Dog back on level terms in the 23rd minute, Roddy’s goal owed much to the efforts of Chris Maskrey who beat two defenders before delivering the perfect cross to the waiting striker who gave Winsley’s keeper Chris Birleson no chance with his crisp finish.
Roddy hit the target again four minutes later to give the Dog a 2-1 lead, again strike was a well taken one that saw him turn home a Dan Fowler cross.
The second half swung both ways, with chances at either end, but neither side looked capable of scoring until Liam Richards put through his own goal, which earned his former club a point against his current team.
Miller Sports 0, FC Colerne 4
FC Colerne claimed only their second win of the season in 18 matches as they ended a 11 match winless run with a 4-0 victory over basement side Miller Sports who have now lost 14 matches on the bounce.
Miller played really well in patches and created numerous chances in front of goal but failed to take any of them and were duly punished as goals from Bradley Bennett, Steve Tarren and Paul Bates gave Colerne a 3-0 half time lead which was added to in the second half when Scott Lees completed the scoring with his first goal for the villagers.
Semington Rovers 4, Holt 0
Semington Rovers 4-0 triumph over Holt saw them seal a league double over Stuart Faint’s side who they beat 2-0 earlier in the campaign.
Semington opened the scoring with a stunning goal from Andy Harrison who volleyed home a beauty after running onto a Stewart Donohoe through ball.
Semington had to wait until the second half before doubling their lead and had it not been for their keeper Tom Wysocki who produced a breathtaking save to tip a blistering strike from Ollie Gee onto the woodwork Holt would have gone in level at the break.
Semington’s second was scored by Josh Mills in the 70th minute when he ran through on goal and coolly finished in the bottom corner.
Stuart Barber made it 3-0 on 85 minutes with the goal of the game, Barber hit a dipping volley from 40 yards out that gave Holt’s keeper Roy Hewitt no chance, but if Hewitt had no chance with Semington’s third he should rally have prevented their fourth from going in, with time running out Hewitt allowed Barber’s shot to go between his legs an over the line for the striker’s second of the game.
The Ship FC 1, Corsham Centre 8
Corsham Centre A may be halfway down the table at the moment but with games in hand on all the teams above them they haven’t given up hope of claiming a fourth successive top flight winners and although they beat The Ship 8-1 they took a very long time to break their hosts resilience and made the score line look impressive with five goals in the last 20 minutes.
Tim Jefferies gave the Centre the lead which was cancelled out by a fine Jamie Jordan goal to make it one apiece.
Paul Gittins had a glorious opportunity to give the Ship the lead but missed from close range when he really should have hit the target.
A masterstroke from Centre’s manager Martin Bradfield saw him move Shane Godsell into midfield and bring on 16-year-old Darrin Moss and for a second week running the Centre then hit the goal trail.
Simon Gray knocked home number two, and man of the match Russell Gibbings did a few tricks in the area before rifling home number three.
The Ships heads dropped and with Godsell working hard in midfield this allowed Gibbings time to release Tim Jefferies Simon Gray and James Lye, Gray made some good runs and scored a further two for his first hat trick of the season James Lye and Tim Jefferies both scored and a Lee Hayward own goal made up the eight.
Miller Sports 0, Potterne 3 (Midweek Result)
Potterne welcomed Miller Sports to Devizes Town ground on Wednesday night for what was Miller’s home fixture.
After the heavy rain from the previous day and the early morning snowfall of yesterday the game was in doubt but a late inspection passed the ground fit and Potterne took advantage as they claimed a 3-0 success over the bottom club to move them up into second spot.
Potterne were missing a few players from the team that beat Biddestone Social on Sunday, with Adam Heath rested and Matt Minnis on the bench.
The villagers started the game the brighter of the two teams as they were still on a high after Sunday’s victory and it didn’t take long for them to open the scoring, on three minutes Lee Sanders scored his first goal of the season when he back heeled a Ben House corner to make it 1-0.
As the half wore on Potterne started to look like a team that has played three games in eight days and were finding Miller hard to break down and it seemed they had ran out of ideas until Matthew Hale scored Potterne's second on 30 minutes with a good strike from 25 yards out which seemed to skid of the surface and bounce over Nick Evans hand and into the net. Potterne dominated the final 15 minutes of the half but were unable to find a way through Miller’s stubborn back line who were doing well to keep the division’s highest scorers at bay.
The second half started how the first had finished with Potterne playing keep ball but still unable to break Miller down.
Potterne tried to freshen things up by making a triple substitution, but this never really changed things as Miller’s defence stood firm. Miller's only real shot on the game came in the 65th minute but the 30 yard effort was the only thing that keeper Martin Mitchell had to save. Potterne's third and final goal came in the 75th minute when a cross from Matt Hale found the unmarked Matt Minnis and his smart header looped over the stranded Evans to wrap up what is another important win for Lee Sanders and Pete Huntley’s side as they look upset the big boys in the race for silverware.
For the final 15 minutes it was a case of Potterne huffing and puffing but were never going to blow the Miller house down. Miller must be praised with the defensive display and sticking to there task, as for Potterne they will just be glad of getting another game under there belts and another two points on the board ahead of a tough game with Box Rovers this coming Sunday.
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