Gloucestershire County League

12^th October 2024 - Gala win Gloucester Derby

Mark Simpson

Almondsbury are back on top after a scoring spree (they scored two) against leaders Stoke Gifford. Sharpness are in second after scoring five at Broadwell and Cheltenham Civil Service were narrowly beaten by Ruardean Hill and remain bottom. It was also Les James Cup day with the first two quarter final ties.

It was derby day at Fairmile Gardens as Gala Wilton took on Quedgeley Wanderers and it was the hosts who dominated the early exchanges with slick interchange between the midfield and centre forward Jamie Creed. Gala were in front on 20 minutes when Ethan Vaughan beat two players and curled a left foot shot from the edge beating an outstretched Nathan Charnock. Gala continued to dominate and turned possession into another goal with Creed beating the offside with a cool and collected finish. Gala started the second half in the same dominant vein and Jordan Molyneux had a 1 on 1 with Charnock who pulled an inspiring save. The game petered out but Gala managed a third when Creed was in the right place scoring from a rebound and 3-0 it ended Gala taking the three points.

To the Forest and Ruardean Hill Rangers, faced Cheltenham Civil Service, with a goalless first half where neither team were able to gain any control. Service’s best first half chance fell to Mani Singh who shot over from the edge, and Hill’s best chances, both to Alex Stephens, were both saved by Jon Dix. The game came to life in the last 20 minutes, Hill taking the lead after Stephens beat two defenders and rifled the ball in from the edge of the box. Service equalised when a run from Leo Milan drew a foul from a defender and Dylan Tucker beat Aaron Underwood from the spot. The game appeared to be heading for a draw when a free kick from halfway by Hills’ Kane Fellows was fumbled over the line to give Hill a 2-1 victory.

A tightly contested match took place between Chalford and Wick at Highfield Way. Wick started the better side and had a lot of the ball but it was Chalford who struck first when a long ball from Portlock wasn’t dealt with and Andy Maryon showed great vision lobbing Kai Wilson from 35 yards. Wick continued to dominate possession and deservedly levelled when a well worked move down the right was finished by Liam McCracken at the back post. Wick finished the first half on top but failed to test Portlock. Chalford started the second half on the front foot but it was Wick who went closest when Corey Langdon was denied by Portlock when one-on-one. Chalford went close to grabbing the three points when Maryon flashed an effort wide. But with Wick dominating the first half and Chalford the second it could be said 1-1 was a fair result.

Chalford (Red) v Wick (Green), Images courtesy Peter Langley

Chalford (Red) v Wick (Green) - Images courtesy Peter Langley

Chalford (Red) v Wick (Green), Images courtesy Peter Langley

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A bright day at the Hawthorns where Broadwell Amateurs took on Sharpness for what would be a challenging match for the hosts. Sharpness hit the ground running playing quick incisive football and were in front on five minutes when Alex Garner broke free and calmly shot past Jack Watkins. They nearly doubled that lead when Tomlin unleashed a powerful shot narrowly missing the upright. Broadwell regrouped and 14 minutes in mounted their first serious attack when Harry Williams provided a well timed pass to Ethan Dunscombe who found the net for 1-1. However, Broadwell’s defence was struggling to cope with the Sharks pressure and four minutes on Brad Gibbs was left unmarked to beat Watkins for 2-1. Continuing to dominate Sharpness extended their advantage after Watkins did well to parry an initial shot but Palmer bundled the rebound in for 3-1. Broadwell started the second half with some bright attacks but the Sharks soon took control and a slick right-wing move ended with Alfie Jones making it four for the visitors. Soon after, on 55 minutes, Will Tainton broke into the box and slotted past Watkins for the Sharpness fifth. Sharpness remained comfortable and saw out a 5-1 victory on a day where the hosts never recovered from a shaky start.

Totterdown United hosted fellow newcomers Filton Athletic. Filton initially started the game the sharper of the two. Totterdown started to play some nice football and Chaz Hemmings scored a fantastic long range free kick, putting Totterdown United 1-0 up. Less than 5 minutes later Filton got the equaliser via a free kick from Kyle Thomas which went in through an error from Ashley Martin which saw the ball dribble through his legs. Not long after another mistake, a mix up between keeper and centre back left Trey Merrett with a tap in to an open goal to put Filton in control. The second half Totterdown started a lot brighter having a lot more possession and trying to create chances. Filton captain Kyle Thomas was sin binned which gave Totterdown an opportunity to capitalise on the extra player advantage but never did. Filton then put the game to bed with a beautiful strike from substitute Yusuf Abdulrahman. Filton deservedly got the win as they were the better team on the day.

In todays other league match, Almondsbury went back to the top with a 2-0 win over Stoke Gifford SGS United at The Field in front of a crowd of just over 200 with Zach Morgan and Matteo Pali the goal scorers. Filton Athletic gained a 3-1 win away to Totterdown United with Josh Hemmings on target for Totterdown and Kyle Thomas, Trey Merrett and Yusuf Abdulrahman the Filton scorers.

Les James League Cup - Sponsored by Boca Teamwear - Frampton United and Henbury & Rockleaze progress

To the League Cup and to Arnall Drive on an Autumnal day for Henbury & Rockleaze against Hanham Athletic who should arguably been in front on three minutes when Karim Rendall was one-on-one with Jordan Dunning but struck the outside of the post. It was a cagey affair and it wasn’t until the 23rd minute when Dan Webb went clear for H&R, but his fierce shot didn’t trouble Ashton Trott. H&R broke the deadlock on 41 when Sam Bailey sprinted away playing in James Goulden who crossed for Callum Winter to turn the ball in from close range. H&R thought they’d go in to the break 1-0 up but Hanham had other ideas when Rendall was played in over the top and finished expertly past Dunning for 1-1. The second half started with a few good minutes of Hanham pressure, Dunning saving from Sam Archer and again on 58 minutes when he saved superbly from Rendall in a one-on-one. On 65 minutes Bailey found himself one-on-one with Trott, but the keeper did well to turn the ball round the post. It was at this point that H&R started to dominate and on 68 Bailey latched onto a through ball from George James and struck the ball past Trott. Three minutes later Kacper Kalkowski and Jordan Dent combined for Dent to place the ball past Trott for a third. Five minutes later Dent did it again with a fine strike from the edge after Trott couldn’t deal with an awkward back pass. On 82 Jordan Rickman rose well from a free kick and his well-placed header past Dunning gave Hanham their second. However, H&R weren’t going to let Hanham back in and went straight up the other end with Joe Hodson turning in Kalkowski’s cross for a fifth. So there it is! Last years finalists are out with H&R convincingly making the semis by 5-2.

Todays other quarter-final was at the Bell Field where Frampton United took on Bromley Heath United and it was Frampton who started off the better of the two and Fin Blythe was unlucky when his shot came back off the post, but it didn’t take long for him to get on to the scoresheet when his shot from the edge of the box beat Will Ferguson. Bromley’s Aiden Noble had a deflected shot well saved by Tom Kaye and just on the stroke of half-time Frampton were two-up when Archie Myatt’s cross was headed in for an unfortunate own-goal. Five minutes after the re-start Kaye did well to push Ben Ackerman’s shot away and in the 64th minute Max Harper-Emerson turned his defender but saw his shot rebound off the post. Kaye once again denied Bromley, getting down well to save from Noble. The final effort of the game saw Blythe’s free kick strike the post, but it finished 2-0 to Frampton and on to the semis.