Biddestone Social put pressure on leaders

Biddestone's 3-1 victory over Corsham Cricket Club saw them narrow the gap to four points. Gary Banks lobbed Biddestone ahead after 23 minutes after being set up by Steve Healy. The lead was doubled on 43 minutes when Jamie Lyons converted from the penalty spot after Gary Banks had been bought down.

Lyons made it 3-0 in the 51st minute when he slotted home another penalty again after Banks had been bought down. The cricketers' reply came from Rob Murphy.

Westbury Rangers A eased past a makeshift Dog and Fox Ashley side, who used two goalkeepers in their 7-2 defeat. Both Gary Epps and Nick Gant featured in their first game of the campaign when they were called into action at the 11th hour.

Marc Lanfear led the scoring for Rangers with a hat-trick and Pete Ayton, Ross Parker, Sam Tucker and Paul Smith all hit singles. Steve Roddy and Steve Latham bagged the Dog's consolation goals.

If confirmation was needed that Sherston Town are no longer the team they were when they achieved the league and cup double in 2004, opponents Winsley provided it as they crushed the former champions 11-4.

Dean Ranger put Winsley ahead but goals from Ed Wilkins and Luke Irvine saw Sherston lead 2-1. Two goals in a minute, from Dean Ranger and Gary Higdon, saw Winsley regain the lead and from then on they hit the goal trail as Ranger added two more, to take his tally for the game to four, Matt Taylor hit two and Dan Kovacs, Mike Little, Chris Tricker and another Higdon effort made up the 11.

Winsley has the chance to score a 12th goal when they were awarded a penalty but usual penalty taker Neil Kirkpatrick handed the ball to his son Sam who duly missed from the spot. Ed Wilkins sealed a hat-trick for Sherston with two second half goals to add to his first half effort.

Louis Slater hit Hullavington's consolation as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Bradford News which saw their losing streak stretch to 14 matches. Danny Hurkett and Jason Povey produced good finishes to put the newsmen 2-0 up and when Steve Bryant curled home an excellent effort to make it 3-0 before the break, the game was over as a contest.

Although Hullavington rallied in the second half it was not enough to stop Bradford from gaining revenge for their early 1-0 loss to the villagers which is Hullavington's only success this season.

Trowbridge Harriers and Box Rovers met for the second time in as many games and, as last week, the game finished 3-2 in favour of Box, who this time had to come from 2-0 down to claim the points.

Paul Edwards' 30th minutes effort was doubled by Louis Stillman whose well struck drive from distance made it 2-0 at the interval. Liam Fullham halved the deficit five minutes into the second period, and Tim Jefferies drew Rovers level before he scored a controversial penalty three minutes from time which saw Rovers triumph 3-2.

DIVISION ONE

Spencer Sports' 2-1 success at Holt leaves them just one point away from an automatic promotion place into the top flight.

Spencers took the lead against Holt midway through the first half through Tim Eatough.

Tom Pang was mis-firing in front of goal for Holt but they fashioned an equaliser when Tyler Pang headed them level.

This gave the villagers the belief that they could go on and beat the champions-elect but it was not to be as Tim Eatough won the game for Spencers when his free kick took a wicked deflection off Nick Corbett to leave goalkeeper Dave Ivermee wrong footed. Spencer's Antony Jenkins had an outstanding game in defence.

Semington Rovers stayed in touch with the leaders after they defeated Chippenham Police 5-0 at a rain swept Steeple Ashton to leave the boys in blue in fear of the drop once more.

Ian White, Bobby Mitchell, Andy Hunt, Danny Rimmer and Nathan Walker shared Semington's goals.

The Horse and Groom remain at the foot of the table, two points adrift of the Police, after they suffered a 3-1 home defeat to North Bradley, who took the lead in the first minute through Jack Heard. Ben Derrick headed the Horse level before sloppy defending gifted Craig Brown Bradley's second. Jack Heard made the most of another error to wrap up Bradley's win.

A shortage of players forced Atworth United to postpone their game away to North Star A, who were hoping for a game ahead of their appearance in this coming Sunday's WG Parr Trophy final.

DIVISION TWO

It's been a bad week for leaders King's Arms. Their game on Sunday with local rivals Virgin Mobile was postponed due to their pitch at Seymour Road being waterlogged, and although Virgin's home pitch was less than five minutes away and on inspection perfectly playable, Virgin were unwilling to use it.

King's Arms are also under investigation for allegedly fielding an ineligible player in their recent 3-2 victory over Southwick Sports. Should they be found guilty of the offence then the two points their gained from the win will be deducted from their tally, leaving the race for the title wide open again.

Wheatsheaf did enough to claim a 4-2 win against FC Bradford and narrow the gap at the top to just one point. With the scores tied 1-1 each at the break, after Juliano Lima (Wheatsheaf) and Lee Radwell (Bradford) traded goals, the game was nicely poised, but further goals from Lima, Marcus Young and Rob Blackwood won it for Wheatsheaf.

George Palmer was Bradford's other marksman, but the outcome might have been different had Jake Jordan not hit the woodwork from the penalty spot for Bradford.

Southwick Sports played the whole of their game with Parsons Nose with only seven players and paid a heavy price, losing 10-2. Southwick, who were let down by a number of their players, decided to go ahead with the game unlike their opponents who just a couple of weeks ago postponed a game because they only had 10 players available.

Mark James led the scoring with a hat-trick, Craig Townsend claimed a double and the other goals were shared by Ricky Sullivan, Sean Meers, Nigel Decarteret, Richard Siekiera and Steve Pegler.

Jamie Moth and Carl Davies were Southwick's scorers.

Sutton Benger's James Pope scored his second successive hat-trick as Benger beat Steeple Ashton 5-1. Chris Miles and Tom Birch also found the net for Benger and Nathan Holloway replied for Steeple Ashton.

White Horse FC edged clear of the drop zone after they disposed of Chippenham United RAOB, who were unable to recapture the form that saw the beat title chasing Kingfisher 5-3 last weekend.

Paul Phelps (2), Gary Perrett, Craig Pocklington and Clive Black were on target in the Horse's 5-1 victory. Luke De-Bour claimed United's solitary effort.

DIVISION THREE

Leaders Fascia Graphics overturned a 3-2 half-time deficit to earn a 4-4 draw against Wheatsheaf FC. Fascia made the best possible start when Mark Smith put them in front after only 20 seconds.

Adam Taylor tied the scores with a thunderbolt from 30 yards only for Smith to regain the lead for Fascia. Fascia goalkeeper Antony Barber spilled Gavin Cox's shot to Richard Boden who tapped home an equaliser.

Another error from Barber gifted Boden a second goal after 43 minutes which saw Wheatsheaf lead 3-2 at the break. Boden completed his hat-trick in the 58th minute when for a third time keeper Barber dropped the ball at his feet giving him the easiest of all chances to make it 4-2.

Fascia replaced Barber with Steve Allison and after 68 minutes the gap was reduced as Marcus Lovesey headed home Fascia's third goal. Andy Palmer earned them their point when he tied the game at 4-4 with 18 minutes remaining. Although Fascia pushed hard looking for a winner Wheatsheaf held on for a deserved point.

Bar OC bounced back from a poor performance last time out with an emphatic 6-0 win against Corsham Park Rangers at Bromham.

With the visitors let down by the non-appearance of several key players, Bar OC dominated from the start but it was 13 minutes before they threatened the Corsham goal. Mike O'Donnell's corner was knocked back by Dave Crawford and John Stockman's header flashed wide.

Soon after Luke Hunneyball set up the lively Stockman but when a pull back would have undoubtedly let Danny Powell score, his strike partner fired wide. Within a minute Luke McFarlane came to Corsham's rescue when he smartly beat aside Rob Drown's close range drive. Corsham's attacks were sporadic but Clive Parsons' 25 yard free kick had to be turned round by Mark Stonestreet after 25 minutes.

Within a minute the same player saved Corsham with a fantastic tackle just as Stockman was about to fire home. The busy Kevin Hodgkinson kept Stonestreet alert on 37 minutes but the midfielder's 25 yard volley dipped over the bar. Bar finally broke down the stubborn resistance two minutes later.

Stockman's clever flick to Drown allowed the charismatic midfielder to clip the ball back to Tom Paget to hook home. Danny Powell was a constant handful for Corsham's defence and his delicate touch set up Hunneyball who fired wide from 15 yards. Bar OC extended their lead straight after the break. Drown was bundled over by Kevin Streeter and O'Donnell scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot.

Parsons fired another free kick over Stonestreet's cross bar as Corsham tried to claw their way back into the game. Once again, Parsons came to the visitors' rescue when he bravely blocked Darren Brown's shot after he had rounded the keeper. McFarlane held Powell's 25 yard volley on 54 minutes and smartly tipped over Crawford's header on the hour as Bar OC stepped up a gear.

The home side scored their third goal on 70 minutes when Danny Rawlings and Luke Enderby linked. Although McFarlane parried the initial shot he was helpless as Powell swept home from close range. The fourth goal came within four minutes. Powell unleashed Drown who calmly lobbed McFarlane from the edge of the box. With time running out Bar OC increased the winning margin.

Enderby released Tom Evans, whose finish was out of the top drawer. With virtually the last kick of the game Powell beat two Corsham defenders before firing an unstoppable drive past McFarlane from 22 yards.

Rowde Dynamos have given themselves a massive chance of claiming an automatic promotion place after they overcame the atrocious conditions at Avebury to beat hosts AFC Calne 2-1, who themselves were hoping for a top two finish.

Jamie Mullens set Rowde on their way to a sixth successive win when he scored after 30 minutes. Dean Fry equalised for Calne on 55 minutes before Mullens cut through Calne's defence to hit Rowde's winner 15 minutes from time.

Somerford FC swapped places with opponents North Star B at the foot of the table by virtue of their 2-1 success, leaving the Star staring relegation in the face. Somerford went into the game on the back of 10 straight defeats and in the knowledge that another loss would leave them with a lack of confidence as the season reaches its climax; but the right result was achieved with goals from Chris Yeo, who volleyed home a blinding strike from 20 yards, and Wayne Burry, whose diving head was equally as good.

James Taylor consolation for the Star's was his first goal for the club.

Blue Circle were unable to extend their winning run to four matches as they were battered by the blustery conditions and Sir Audley's Arms who ended their own run of abysmal form with a convincing 8-2 win.

The Arms, who had only collected one win from their previous eight outings, led 5-0 at the interval, with Chris Shipway's first goal of the season breaking the deadlock. Luke Gullick (2), Craig Manley, Kieron Smith, Dave Nolan and Stuart Field (2), which were his first goals for the Arms, did the damage. Matt Bradley and Martin Hemmens were on target for the losers.

Trowbridge Town Supporters' Club dropped into the bottom two after losing 3-1 at home to Pack Horse Rangers.

Rangers struck first when Sean Rushmore finished off a great team move. Nick Buckle curled home a stunning free kick to tie the scores and for a while Trowbridge were on top.

Rangers regained the lead five minutes into the second half when Rushmore's long ball found Glyn Pascoe who finished well to make it 2-1. Shahram Hemarti wrapped the win up with Rangers' third.

DIVISION FOUR

Plough opened up a seven point lead on The Southgate Inn at the top of Division Four. Southgate, who have not played for three weeks, have four games in hand on Plough but with the points on the board Plough are hoping they will keep ahead of their promotion rivals until the sides meet on the final day of the season.

Plough were back to their best as they hit Wanderers for right unanswered goals. Dave Thomas' opener for the Plough was their 100th goal of the campaign. He went on to claim a hat-trick, Dave Appleyard struck a brace and Colin Brady, Dave Percival and Shaun Percival ensured a comfortable win Cooper-Avon remain third after a thrilling 2-1 success over White Hart Combe, who had not lost for five games.

Cooper-Avon fell behind in the first minute when Jamie Farquharson fired Combe in front. Melksham Town's Dave Macey equalised for the tyremen before the break and Paul McCarthy won it for the Melksham-based team when his strike from 25 yards crashed into the net.

AFC Melksham's 100 per cent effort proved to be the deciding factor in their game with KSM who the beat 3-0 at a muddy Yatton Keynall. Alex Lock somehow managed to squeeze the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0 and KSM then had Danny Johnson sent off for a bad challenge on Andy Harrison.

Two more second half goals from Lock saw him complete his hat-trick and take him to the top of Melksham's scoring charts. Lock also won a penalty for Melksham which was taken by captain Chris Rogers but saved by keeper Dave Sett.

A waterlogged pitch at the Beeches, Shaw, led AFC Pilot to postpone their game with The Crown FC, who have now gone three weeks without a game.

This Sundaysees the first cup final as First Division North Star A lock horns with Third Division Wheatsheaf FC in the Westernsport Trophies-sponsored WG Parr Trophy at Corsham Town FC, kick-off 2pm.

Results For Sunday April 2

Auto Business Solutions Ltd, Chippenham Sunday League: Premier Division:

Bradford News 3, Hullavington 1; Corsham Cricket Club 1, Biddestone Social 3; Trowbridge Harriers 2, Box Rovers 3; Westbury Rangers A 7, Dog & Fox Ashley 2; Winsley 11, Sherston Town 4

Division One:, Holt FC 1 Spencer Sports 2; North Bradley v Chippenham Sports & Social Club postponed; North Star A v Atworth United postponed; Semington Rovers 5, Chippenham Police 0; The Horse & Groom 1, North Bradley 3.

Division Two: FC Bradford 2, Kingfisher FC 4; Kings Arms (Trowbridge) v Virgin Mobile postponed; Southwick Sports 2, Parsons Nose 10; Sutton Benger 5, Steeple Ashton (Sunday) 1; White Horse FC 5, Chippenham United RAOB 1.

Division Three:, AFC Calne 1, Rowde Dynamos 2; Bar OC 6, Corsham Park Rangers 0; Fascia Graphics 4, Wheatsheaf FC 4; Sir Audley's Arms 8, Blue Circle (Sunday) 2; Somerford FC 2, North Star B 1; Trowbridge Town Supporters Club 1, Pack Horse Rangers 3.

Division Four: AFC Pilot v The Crown FC postponed; Cooper Avon 2, White Hart Combe 1; KSM 0, AFC Melksham 3; Plough 8, Wanderers 0.