7th 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 1st half and forced several corners all of
which were dealt with by the Henbury & Rockleaze backline.
Henbury & Rockleaze started the 2nd 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.
