27^th September 2024 - Les James League Cup Quarter Final Draw

The Quarter Final draw for the Les James League Cup sponsored by Boca Teamwear is as follows

• Totterdown United v Gala Wilton
• Henbury & Rockleaze v Hanham Athletic
• Frampton United v Bromley Heath United
• Quedgeley Wanderers v Sharpness

All games to be played on dates to be arranged

7^th September 2024 - Les James League Cup sponsored by Boca Teamwear

Nigel Meaney

A break from the League programme today with the first round of the Les James League cup sponsored by Boca Teamwear. Holders Stoke Gifford SGS United’s defence of the Trophy ended at Frampton United. Totterdown United gained their first win of the season on penalties at Broadwell Amateurs. There were also first wins of the season for Henbury & Rockleaze and Quedgeley Wanderers who downed the league leaders Almondsbury on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. Sharpness, Hanham Athletic, Bromley Heath United and Gala Wilton complete the second round line up.

Gala Wilton took on Filton Athletic at Fairmile Gardens keen to respond following their defeat to the same opponents in the league a fortnight ago. After a fairly even first 30 mins in which both keepers were rarely troubled, it was Filton who took the lead with a smart first time finish from inside the box by Frasier Venables on 30 mins. Filton were then on top for the next 15 minutes but couldn’t make their superiority tell on the scoresheet and it remained 1-0 at half-time.

But whatever the Gala management said at half-time had the desired effect as Gala came out strongly and they drew level on 50 mins with an excellent lobbed finish from Henri Francis following a through ball. Both sides then saw efforts go narrowly wide as both teams threatened, but it was Gala who got what turned out to be the winning goal on 77 mins when an excellent Junior Kpowosa cross was met at the far post by Jamie Creed. Gala were then able to see the game out and earn the win to safely go through to the next round.

Frampton United hosted cup holders Stoke Gifford SGS United on The Bellfield and it was Frampton who created the first chance after good build up play George Driver-Dickerson had a glorious chance but skewed his shot wide, 10 minutes later Gifford's Cosmo Browne went through the Frampton defence but Tom Kaye thwarted him with a fingertip save, On 22 minutes Frampton had another chance but shot wide, then Gifford's Paul Cronin had a chance but Kaye saved well with his feet, Frampton opened the scoring from a corner played in and Craig Mills poked the ball home.

After the break the game ebbed & flowed with the best chance falling to Gifford's Jake Abraham but again Tom Kaye was there to pull off a good save. The last 20 minutes Gifford began to exert pressure on the Frampton Defence but this was brought to a sudden halt when in the 86th minute a long clearance from the Frampton keeper was headed on by Jamie Martin for Henry Driver-Dickerson to increase the lead to 2-0 then a couple of minutes later Driver-Dickerson put the result to bed when he was bundled over in the box & picked himself up to slot the resulting penalty home for a 3-0 win for Frampton.

Henbury & Rockleaze defeated Chalford to gain their first win of the season and first win in the Les James League Cup for 7 years! The game started very fast with two evenly matched sides, Duane Portlock in the Chalford goal was the first called into action when he turned a Sam Bailey effort away to safety on 9 minutes, whilst the game was end to end Henbury & Rockleaze took the lead on 15 minutes when Dan Webb got behind the defence and cut the ball back to Bailey who was there to side foot the ball into the net from 4 yards out. Jamie Lock then struck the cross bar with a fierce drive on 20 minutes with Harry Trett well beaten in the Henbury & Rockleaze goal, fortunately the ball was hacked away to safety. Chalford had lots of pressure at the end of the 1^st half and forced several corners all of which were dealt with by the Henbury & Rockleaze backline.

Henbury & Rockleaze started the 2^nd half on top and went 2-0 up on 49 minutes when Drew Sawdon struck a great shot past Portlock from the edge of the area after good build up play by James Goulden and Dan Webb. On 65 minutes Henbury & Rockleaze thought they sealed the cup win when Dent fired home from a Dan Webb cross but was adjudged to have been in an offside position and then on 73 minutes Dan Webb perhaps should have done better when one on one with the Portlock, although the keeper spread himself well and saved with his legs. Chalford did manage to get on the scoresheet when skipper Johnny Davis scored with a thunderbolt header from a corner on 88 minutes to setup what could have been a nervy ending for Henbury & Rockleaze although they managed to soak up the pressure to secure their first win of the season.

At the Hawthorns, Broadwell Amateurs faced off against Totterdown United in a tightly contested match that went down to the wire. Broadwell started the game with great intensity, immediately putting pressure on Totterdown with a series of attacks. They created three solid chances within the first five minutes, the best of which fell to Ethan Wilkins. After breaking through the defense, Wilkins found himself one-on-one with Totterdown’s goalkeeper Ashley Martin but failed to convert, steering his shot wide of the post. Totterdown weathered the early storm and began to grow into the game, especially down the left flank where George Saunders surged forward, cutting inside and forcing Broadwell keeper Jack Watkins into a sharp save, turning the ball around the post for a corner. As Broadwell struggled with misplaced passes, Totterdown capitalized, and confidence began to build within their ranks. Chaz Hemmings dominated in the air, winning the majority of aerial duels for Totterdown, and they gradually gained control. Against the run of play, Totterdown opened the scoring in the 40th minute. A quick move down the right wing saw the ball threaded through to Isaac Sulyman, who appeared to be in an offside position. Despite the linesman raising his flag, the referee waved play on, and Sulyman coolly slotted the ball past Watkins to give Totterdown the lead. Broadwell felt hard done by, but the halftime whistle blew with the score 0-1 in favor of the visitors.

The second half began somewhat disjointedly, with both teams struggling to find rhythm. Broadwell tried to play out from the back, but their passing continued to let them down, while Totterdown stuck to their aerial gameplan, with Hemmings continuing to dominate in the air. Broadwell had a golden opportunity to equalize on 50 minutes when Kristian Burnard found himself in space, but his effort sailed over the bar. The breakthrough finally came in the 70th minute when a Broadwell attack resulted in a shot striking a Totterdown defender’s arm inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot, awarding a penalty to Broadwell. Jordan Locke stepped up and confidently converted, placing the ball into the bottom left corner to level the score at 1-1. Both sides pushed hard for a winner in the closing stages, with Broadwell goalkeeper Jack Watkins pulling off a series of superb saves to keep Totterdown at bay. The best chance of the game came in stoppage time when Ethan Wilkins unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box that was destined for the top corner, only for Ashley Martin to make an incredible save, tipping it around the post.

With no winner after 90 minutes, the match headed to a penalty shootout. Totterdown were clinical from the spot, while Broadwell struggled to convert so it ended 4-1 to Totterdown when Alex Silvester netted their fourth penalty. Despite a valiant effort from Broadwell’s keeper, Jack Watkins and a late resurgence Totterdown United advance to the second round, leaving Broadwell to reflect on missed opportunities and the cruel nature of penalties.

At Waterwells Quedgeley Wanderers welcomed league leaders Almondsbury. Early exchanges were fairly even , with a Rio Spencer shot for Quedgeley the most notable effort. On 13 minutes Omar Alrawi gave Almondsbury the lead, when he broke through the Quedgeley defence and rounded keeper Nathan Charnock to slot home. Quedgeley had their chances as the ball eluded Luke Holder for what would have been tap in, and Sam Burgess in the Almondsbury goal was forced into a good save by Finley Jenner after he spun away from his marker. Almondsbury had one strike ruled out for offside and other chances dealt with by Charnock.

In the second half both keepers and defences were kept busy as both teams looked for the next goal. Charnock was forced into a good save from Alrawi after Matt Harmer broke though the Quedgeley defence. Charnock gathered an Almondsbury free kick and set Nathan Payne on his way but the Almondsbury defence covers well. Almondsbury keeper Burgess clears long on 62 and the resulting cross finds Craig Lancastle but his hearer comes back off the crossbar. Josh Page clears the ball off the line for Quedgeley, then on 81 a good move across the pitch for Quedgeley finds Sean Lawson on the edge of the box and he chips the keeper to equalize. There are a couple more chances for both sides with the last right at the end when Almondsbury keeper Burgess comes out to gather butt misses the ball Abiodun Odewale runs through but can't catch the ball in time. So it finishes 1-1 and on to the penalty shootout which finished 5-4 to Quedgeley after 7 kicks each.

Sharpness hosted Ruardean Hill Rangers for the second time this season. The game was a very scrappy affair in the first half with neither side creating many opportunities. The second half was following the same pattern until the last 15 mins where all the action took place. The visitors went close to breaking the deadlock when Steve Clark's free kick hit the post. Ruardean tested the woodwork again with 5 mins remaining, Alex Stephen's intercepted a pass from the Sharpness defence & let loose a strike which struck the bar. Sharpness were the side though to break the deadlock in the last couple of minutes. Great play from Will Lacey down the wing who beat his man & found Alex Gayner with his cross & he made no mistake with his finish. Gayner made it two a minute later to seal the result finishing with aplomb when set through one on one.

After a week of continuous heavy showers the flat was pitch at Pomphrey Hill was in amazingly good shape for its first game of the season as Bromley Heath United hosted Wick and both teams made the most, playing some really good football throughout the game. Wick started the game the stronger, edging the possession in the first quarter of the game and came close to scoring when a long range free kick effort rattled the cross bar on 20 minutes. Bromley came into the game much more in the remainder of the fist half with the lively Aiden Noble having to good efforts saved by Kai Wilson in the Wick goal. Wick's Cory Langdon looked also looked lively during this period trying to create chances for himself and the rest of the team. The first half ended 0-0 but this didn't really reflect the quality of football and the effort of both teams.

In the second half again, Wick started with more possession and the better chances with both Tommy Lacey and Cory Langdon coming close. Bromley to their credit responded well and took the lead on 60 minutes when a dangerous cross was headed on by Jack Withey under a lot of pressure from the Wick keeper for Ben Ackerman to eventually head home. It was Bromley’s turn to have the better of the play and create more chances as they pushed for another during this middle period of the half with Bromley's Aiden Noble looking dangerous in lots of areas. Kai Wilson was the busier of the two keepers in this period, making several good stops. However, Bromley did manage to beat him on 30 minutes when a penetrating free kick form Luke Bessell was headed home by Jack Withey, Bromley's impressive captain. Wick continued to play good football and finished the game well but couldn't get the goal that would have made the remaining minutes very interesting. A good game of football to watch, played in the right way and with a great attitude. Credit must go to both sets of players and management.

In the remaining game Hanham Athletic were clinical in seeing off Cheltenham Civil Service, goals from Jamie Fry, Mikey Golding, Karim Rendall and a Brandon Barnes penalty securing a 4-0 win for the hosts.

31^st July 2024 - Les James League Cup First Round Draw

The First Round draw for the Les James League Cup sponsored by Boca Teamwear was made at the League Meeting last night and the full draw is as below.

Stoke Gifford SGS United begin their defence of the cup with a trip to Frampton United.

All three promoted clubs were drawn away for their league cup debuts, with Chalford visiting Henbury & Rockleaze after their merger. Filton Athletic have a run up the motorway to Gala Wilton. Totterdown United get an early visit to the Forest of Dean to face Broadwell Amateurs.

• Sharpness v Ruardean Hill Rangers
• Frampton United v Stoke Gifford SGS United
• Henbury & Rockleaze v Chalford
• Gala Wilton v Filton Athletic
• Hanham Athletic v Cheltenham Civil Service
• Bromley Heath United v Wick
• Quedgeley Wanderers v Almondsbury
• Broadwell Amateurs v Totterdown United

All games to be played on Saturday 7^th September

The Les James League Cup is sponsored by Boca Teamwear