​No game for my girl's team this weekend but plenty of tidying up in the garden to sort out before I could jump in the car and head back down the A420 to Swindon. My destination this Saturday was the Cricklade Shield Semi-Final between Swindon AFC and Jovial Monk FC. Having seen these teams in the group stage and in the knockouts, and been impressed by both, I was very much looking forward to this game.

The Ground
The Maroons play at St Joseph's College on Ocatal Way. I'd driven along this road numerous times before, normally on shopping trips to the Outlet Centre with my family, and never really taken any notice of the name. It was only today that I saw the twinning sign on the way into Swindon and realised that Ocatal is actually a town in Nicaragua. See. Following grassroots football can be educational as well as fun. The ground itself is fairly unremarkable, being part of the college sports grounds. It was, however, flat and looked to be a decent playing surface. The first thing I noticed when standing on the Ocatal Way side of the pitch were the four floodlights of The County Ground looming above the college buildings. It really is not much further than a long goal kick from the grounds. Seeing the County ground always reminds me of my days following West Brom home and away. One Saturday we experienced blazing sun, rain and then hail in the space of one game. Not much fun in an away end with no roof and with the majority of the Albion following in T-shirts. I have a feeling we lost the game too.

​The Background
The sides had not met before today, but they had both come up against Nalgo Sports in earlier rounds of this competition, which maybe could give some indication of how the game would go? I had also had the pleasure of seeing both sides in action on a number of occasions in the last couple of months. This is how the two teams had got to today's Semi-Final (along with links to my blogs if they were games I attended):
​

Swindon AFC
Group F
Nalgo Sports 5-4 Swindon AFC (Only Ref In Swindon?)
Purton 3-1 Swindon AFC
Redhouse 3-1 Swindon AFC (Swindon Resistance Torpedoed By Subs)
Swindon finished bottom of a very tough group but had shown that they were more than capable of competing with teams from two divisions above, something they would prove beyond doubt in the Quarter-Final.
Last 16 - Swindon Centurions H-W Swindon AFC
Quarter-Final - Ludgershall Sports 0-4 Swindon AFC (Marooned)

Jovial Monk
Group E
Jovial Monk 10-0 Swindon Centurions (walkover score awarded)
Hatherop 2-2 Jovial Monk
Chesterton 5-1 Jovial Monk (Smith Makes Jovial Monk Frown)
The results meant that Jovial Monk finished third in the group, missing out on Cup qualification on goal difference to Hatherop.
Knockout
Last 16 - Jovial Monk 1-1 Nalgo Sports (3-2 pens)
Quarter-Final - Siddington 1-5 Jovial Monk (Monks Get Winning Habit)

I arrived at the ground and saw a message from Shaun Smith, Jovial Monk's player-coach, sating that they had had a nightmare with the kit. They had been informed that Swindon played in yellow, which is also Jovial's home kit colour, and had had a lot of difficult sourcing a change kit. They had eventually managed to cobble together a set of white shirts and various shorts. However, they did not have numbers on all of the shirts, so the team sheet had a number of ways to identify players, shirt numbers and short numbers. Proper grassroots stuff. I love it. Thanks to Shaun for sending me a handwritten explanation of their team sheet. Thanks also to Swindon for DMing their team sheet to me. The is very much appreciated.

​The Game
Both of these sides had come through the tournament wearing underdogs rosettes, seemingly relishing the opportunity to cause an upset. So, it was interesting in this game to see how Swindon would cope going into a match as the probable favourites (although I have to say, I would not have liked to put a wager on who would come out on top of this game). The answer to the question was immediate. Swindon clearly had a plan to take control of the game as early as they could, and they did. With only two minutes played they won a penalty. Tom Whitham stepped up but his spot-kick was well saved by Jesse Seward-Nice in the Monk goal. An early warning for Jovial Monk but Swindon were not down-heartened by the miss and continued to look the stronger side. Jovi were not able to get a foothold on the game with Swindon doing exactly what they had done to Ludgershall last week, stifling their opposition, stopping them for playing and then mounting attacks of their own.

Jovial Monk, though, are made of stern stuff and, although they were not playing as well as they did against Siddington (mainly because Swindon are a very well organised side), they kept digging in and gradually started to get a toehold on the game. Then on the half-hour mark, Jovi sprang the first of two surprises for the home side. The ball found its way to Mike Sutton some 25 yards out and unleashed a stinging volley, beating Miller in the home goal. 0-1. A great strike. Before Swindon could recover from this they were hit again, this time after a bit of a scramble in the box, a Monk striker was pulled down to Miller and the referee, after initially trying to allow advantage, pointed to the spot. Liam Kearns took the spot-kick, making no mistake. 0-2

​Maybe this was the spur that Swindon needed? Maybe they once again felt like the underdogs? Whatever the case, they knew that they needed to hit back before the break if they were to make anything of this game and this they duly did on 40 minutes, Tom Whitham's snapshot taking a deflection to take it past Seward-Nice into the net. 1-2.
Swindon were now on the prowl, looking to get back on level terms and Seward-Nice had to be on his toes in the final minute to tip a goal bound header over the bar.

HT Swindon AFC 1 Jovial Monk 2. Swindon edged it on possession and were really in control for the first 20 minutes or so. Then Jovial Monk hit them with two quick goals, but the late goal back for the Maroons gave them something to go at in the second half.

​Within 6 minutes of the restart The Maroons were back on level terms. Sam Carter played in a dangerous left-footed free-kick from way out on the right, curling in towards the goal. The ball evaded everyone and drifted in at the far post. 2-2. We really did have a game on our hands now and despite the rising temperatures, players on both sides were giving it all they had to win the game. In their previous game, Jovial Monk's pace on the break through Luke Richards and Jono Peachey-Score had ripped Siddington apart but today, with Richards missing and Swindon a lot pacier and better organised at the back, JM were finding it more difficult to break down their opponents. Not for the want of trying though.
​

​Sixty-Five minutes into the match Swindon finally got their noses in front for the first time, Tom Whitham rising highest to nod home a right-wing corner. 3-2 and things were starting to look ominous for the Sunday league team. Their task was made even harder a few minutes later when Maher Ali was sin-binned for kicking the ball away. He was clearly frustrated with his own player rather than the referee but, as he had already been spoken to for disputing another decision just a few minutes earlier, the referee decided to pull out the yellow card and give him 10 minutes to cool off. A somewhat harsh decision in my opinion. Even from the opposite side of the pitch it was clear that his frustration was aimed at his own player and not the official.
The away side still managed to hang on, even with 10 men and, to their credit, even made attacking substitutions at this point. They were clearly not going to go down without a fight. However, their cup run was finally extinguished in the 81st minute when Tom Whitham latched onto a loose ball and rammed his third and Swindon's fourth into the net. 4-2

FT Swindon AFC 4 Jovial Monk 2. Two penalties, six goals, a hat-trick and a sin-binning. Once more, as they have done throughout the tournament, these two sides produced a thoroughly entertaining game of football, played in good spirit for the entire 90 minutes.
Swindon will now take on the winner of next Wednesday's other Semi-Final between Stratton United and Kingswood Reserves, which will hopefully be the BotP game of the week. Jovial Monk will take heart from the fact that they already have a Cup Final line dup next Sunday when they take on Division One side Marios FC at Pewsey Vale in the Swindon Sunday League Chairman's Cup Final. Ko 10:30 if you fancy going along. I am sure all support would be greatly appreciated.

Swindon AFC: Miller, Buckingham, J.Sawyer, R.Cass(c), Carter, Good, Bradfield, R.Sawyer, Street, Whitham, Smith. Subs: Fisher, R.Cass, Wells
Jovial Monk: Seward-Nice, Dent, Pres, Heawood, Collett, Redford, Ali, Lennard, Sutton, Peachey-Score, Kearns

Ground Number: 267
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

It felt a little bit weird not to be heading for Wembley on Non-League Finals Day but having made a decision, earlier in the week, to leave the limited tickets to those with a connection to the clubs involved. So, I turned my attention back to the Cricklade Supreme Trophy & Shield, a competition that I have become increasingly fond of the longer it has gone on. With a number of Quarter-Finals taking place in both Cup and Shield competition there was plenty to choose from. I chose a Shield game between Wiltshire Premier League Ludgershall Sports and, from two divisions lower, Swindon and District Division One outfit Swindon AFC.

​The Ground
This was my first visit to Ludgershall but, having previously visited both Andover clubs, Kintbury and Amesbury, I was quite familiar with most of the route down the A34 and through the Wessex Downs. Sports play at the Ludgershall Sports Ground just on the Western side of the village and South of the 11th Century Ludgershall Castle. There is parking available at the ground, alongside the pitch, adjacent to the reasonable sized clubhouse and changing facilities. The pitch is edged on three sides by a fairly new white tubular fence (erected in 2019 if the label on the piece I was standing next to is anything to go by). There are also two very new looking dugouts on the opposite from the clubhouse. The pitch looked to be reasonably flat but, on this day at least, in desperate need of a trim which seemed to be making the ball run inconsistently, something the home side would fall foul of later in the game.

​The Background
As stated before, there are two league divisions between these sides. Sports play at Step 7 whilst Swindon are currently at Step 9 in the pyramid. However, that does not tell the entire story. At the close of play last season Swindon were sitting seven points clear at the top of Division 1 of the Swindon & District League, unbeaten in 10 after winning 9. Ludgershall, in contrast, were probably glad to see the back of the season, stranded at the bottom of the league with 1 win in 12 and having conceded 62 goals in those games.
In the Cricklade cup group games, Ludgershall had lost 2-0 at Swindon before conceding their other two group matches, leaving them bottom of the table. However, in the last 16 they progressed by beating Quedgeley Wanderers Reserves 4-3 in what was reportedly a very entertaining encounter. Swindon also finished bottom of their group but had shown some very promising performances, almost producing a stunning comeback at Nalgo (Only Ref In Swindon?) and then holding Redhouse for 80 minutes before finally going down to two late goals (Swindon Resistance Torpedoed By Late Subs). In the knockout phase they were awarded a bye in the last 16 after Swindon Centurions pulled out very late on in the day.

​The Game
Swindon made a very strong start to the game, penning Ludgershall in their own half for the first couple of minutes. Their attacking intent seemed to take the home side by surprise and it took them a while to get their composure. However, they weathered the initial maroon storm and began to play themselves into the game. At this point I thought Swindon may have gone out of the blocks too quickly and would get picked off by the higher placed team. In fact it was Ludgershall who had the first really good chance of the game when their Number 9 (sorry I didn't have a team sheet) latched onto a loose ball and fired narrowly wide from an acute angle.

Ludgershall's brief period of dominance was just that, brief. Swindon soon recovered their composure and began to look the better team again, without unduly worrying the Sports goalkeeper. What they were being very successful at was completely stifling any moves that Ludgershall tried to start. I have no insight into the Swindon game plan but if it was to hold prevent Ludgershall from playing by keeping the ball in the opponents half, it was going exactly to plan.
As we approached the end of the first half the away side launched a very quick break down their right flank setting the speedy Callum Street free. He took his shot quite early, maybe seeing the keeper a little off his line, but his effort sailed just over the bar.

HT Ludgershall Sports 0 Swindon AFC 0. Aside from a short period early in the first half, Swindon were in control of the game, shutting Sports down early and not letting them settle into any kind of rhythm. The difference in league standings was certainly not evident in the first 45 minutes.

​Within 30 seconds of the restart the pitch conditions came to haunt the home side. With no danger on at all Number 2 attempted to roll the ball back to his keeper from the right-back position. However a bobble took it over the keeper's foot and everyone looked on as it dribbled over the line. 0-1. A very unfortunate own-goal.

The goal seems to unsettle Ludgershall even more and at the same time, gave Swindon an extra boost. Although the home side tried to get themselves back into the tie, they increasingly were misplacing passes a and leaving their front players looking isolated as the ball just kept being returned by the resolute Swindon midfield and back line.
Despite that, we approached the hour mark still at 0-1. Swindon looking more likely to extend their lead than Ludgershall getting back into the game.

Sports  were being forced to push more players forward in search of the equaliser and this played into the hands of Swindon. On 65 minutes Tom Whitham rose highest to get a superb flick to a ball downfield. His header was directed perfectly into the path of Sam Bradfield who took a touch, steadied himself and shaped a lovely finish around the keeper. 0-2
With Ludgershall now throwing caution to the wind in terms of positioning, but still not really making too many impressions on the Swindon goal, they were leaving themselves more and more exposed at the back. With 18 minutes remaining, Swindon broke down the right flank, Whitham again latched onto the before playing an in perfect pass into the path of Callum Street who unleashed a fantastic volley past the keeper for 0-3. Six minutes later Street returned the favour, breaking clear on the right before sliding a pass across the box to the unmarked Tom Whitham for a tap-in. 0-4.
Ludgershall were now well and truly demoralised but managed to keep Swindon at bay for the remainder of the game, which unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your view) prevented me from using the blog title Maroon 5.

FT Ludgershall Sports 0 Swindon AFC 4. Not just a cupset but a complete destruction from a team two divisions below their opponents. Nothing at all against Ludgershall. I am sure that they will regroup and come back stronger but, on the day, they were outplayed and out-battled by a Swindon team which grew in confidence throughout the game.
Swindon now go on to face Jovial Monk in the Semi-Final after Monk saw off Siddington in their Quarter-Final (Monks Get Winning Habit). This promises to be an intriguing game between two sides who have seen off higher-ranked opposition already.

Swindon AFC: Miller, Buckingham, Carter, Cass, J.Sawyer, R.Sawyer, Good, Smith, Street, Bradfield, Whitham. Suns: Wells, Hillier


Ground Number: 266
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

Once again this week I had swapped my usual Tuesday night for a Wednesday night game. This gave me the opportunity to visit a new ground and take in a competition that I had not sampled before. The ground in question was New College, home of Allexton & New Parks FC and the competition was the Everard's Tiger Bitter Leicestershire Senior League Cup and Allexton's Semi-Final against Earl Shilton Albion.

The Ground
Allexton & New Parks play at New College, just to the West of Leicester city centre. They moved into the new facility, which boats the floodlit senior pitch, a full-size 3G training pitch, a number of other grass pitches for junior football and a large clubhouse, in 2007. There are numerous car parks around New College but please, if visiting, take time to visit the club's website and ensure you park in the correct spot.
New College is a multi-sport venue with football appearing to be the predominant feature. However, I think this is the first football location I have visited that has a cycle track next to it, complete with a peloton whizzing around this evening too. 
The main football pitch is accessed through a turnstile just behind the clubhouse. The pitch itself looked flat and in good condition. There are dugouts on the far side, the city centre side and a small covered standing area just to the side of the goal on the Glenfield Road end. The closest side of the pitch, where the spectators tend to congregate, is backed by the fence surrounding the 3G pitch. All in all, a very good set-up which looks to be capable of hosting football at a higher level than Step 7 with a few adjustments.

​The Background
Despite having visited a number of teams in the Leicester area and having attended the Leicestershire & Rutland Senior Cup Final a couple of years back (Lucky Heather?), I must admit to not knowing a lot about the Leicestershire Senior League, and even less about the League Cup competition. Clearly a little research was needed (so please excuse, and send corrections, if any of these stat are wrong).
When the last league season came to a premature close both of these sides sat fifth in their respective divisions, Allexton in the Premier and Earl Shilton in Division 1. Allexton won the Premier League, which has been in existence since 1896 (exactly 100 years longer than Allexton & New Parks), back in the 2013/14 season, their only Premier League title in their 25 year history. Albion, as far as I can see, have not won the Premier League title. They have, however, won the League Cup, back in the 1982/83 season and finished runners-up in 2014/15.
The other Semi-Final took place on Tuesday evening and was also a Premier v Division 1 clash, with the top flight side, Ashby Ivanhoe Knights, edging out Highfield Rangers by a 1-0 score line.
One non-football related titbit. Back in my youth, when I played in a band, I'm pretty certain we once played a gig in Earl Shilton, possibly the Red Lion?

​The Game
It was the away side who started the game on the front foot, aided by very sluggish opening from Allexton. As early as the 7th minute, Albion came very close to taking the lead when Jack Stafford played in Jordan Creed who saw his shot narrowly fly past the post. Seven minutes later they did take the lead in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Home keeper Davis Glover came out of his box to clear a loose ball that had dropped in behind his defence. Unfortunately for the stopper, he completely missed his kick allowing Ben Waters to slide the ball into the unguarded net. 0-1
In some ways this was what the home aside needed. They immediately woke up and within a minute or two came close to an equaliser, forcing Chris Smith in the Albion goal to make a good one-handed save to push the ball away. The momentum had now swung as Allexton continued to push forward in search of a goal. It came in the 21st minute after an attack on the right, a couple of efforts were blocked but Jack McHugh fired home from the centre of the box. 1-1.
The early mistake now forgotten Allexton set about Albion, looking to get their noses in front. It took them a further ten minutes of probing but, on 31 minutes following a break down the right, the ball was swung across towards the far post where, amid vociferous offside claims from Albion, Adam Joynson was on hand to apply the finishing touch. 2-1
What happened next caught Albion and myself by surprise. Within a minute of getting in front Allexton extended their lead, so quickly that I was still tweeting the second goal when the third hit the net. 3-1. Shay Brennan was the scorer this time as the home side threatened to run rampant. 
They weren't finished there either. On 41 minutes, Lewis Hurst treated us to a stunning goal, cutting in from the left and arrowing a drive across Smith into what the pundits call the postage stamp. 4-1. It looked to be game over but Earl Shilton had not read the script. They hit back almost immediately, once again while I was still tweeting the previous goal. I looked up to see the ball hit the net, Jake Stafford (I hope) was the scorer. 4-2. I have since discovered that this was an own goal. That'll teach me to look at my phone at the wrong time.

HT Allexton & New Parks 4 Earl Shilton Albion 2. The home side started slowly, allowing Albion too much of the ball and then gifting them the lead. However, after the equaliser, Allexton took charge of the game. The late goal back from Albion may just have given the away side a glimmer of hope.

​Clearly wanting to put the game to bed as soon as possible, Allexton start strongly in the second half. A few minutes in Brennan cut in from the right and hit a dipping left foot shot which Smith did well to get a fingertip to, diverting it onto the bar and over for what should have been a corner but was given as goal-kick.
Albion, however, must have been heartened by their late goal back and, nine minutes into the second half they made it very interesting when they were awarded a free-kick, fairly centrally and just outside the box. Waters lined it up and absolutely hammered the ball into the far corner. Superb strike. 4-3.
It looked as if the away side had got themselves right back in the game but they made life more difficult for themselves when, just before the hour, they were temporarily down to ten men as Underwood got himself sin-binned for contesting a refereeing decision too strongly. They hung in there though and were back up to a full complement before Allexton took advantage of the extra numbers. However, no sooner had they got back to eleven on the pitch, they proceeded to a tempt to shoot themselves in the foot again, this time Beasley seeing a yellow and getting a 10 minute rest.
The lack of numbers didn't seem to phase Albion though, and four minutes into the sin-bin, they were awarded a penalty after Glover bundled over Stafford in the box. Waters stepped up and made no mistake in getting his hat-trick. 4-4. What a game this was turning into for the neutral(s) in the crowd.

Then, just as we were getting ready for a penalty shootout, the home side produced a little bit of late magic. Shay Brennan played a very clever backheel to put Rhys Lelachur in on gaol. He made no mistake with a  cool finish. 5-4.

FT Allexton & New Parks 5 Earl Shilton Albion 4. This one just about went to form in the end but Earl Shilton certainly made their Premier League hosts work for their place in the final. From a neutral standpoint this was a thoroughly entertaining game. I may not have known much about the Leicestershire Senior League before the game, but I'll definitely be checking out more games next season. Finally, a big thank you to the Allexton & New Parks Twitter admin who very kindly got me a parking spot and supplied photos of the team sheets.

Final
Allexton & New Parks v Ashby Ivanhoe Knights. 31st May, 16:00ko at Loughborough Dynamo
I think I am right in saying that there will be a new name on the trophy whoever wins.

Allexton & New Parks: Glover, Swain, Marsh-Brown, Parry, Johnson, Pallett, Lelachur, Hurst, Brennan, McHugh, Joynson(c). subs: Allen, Jones, Haines, Smith, Warren

Earl Shilton Albion: Smith, Robinson, Waters, Underwood, Bates(c), Beasley, Creed, Mangham, Stafford, O'Grady, Pratt. Subs: Brown, Clarke, Hughes, Olner, Sandham

Ground Number: 265
Att: 
Entrance: £5
Programme: N/A

​After my girls team suffered defeat in their Cup Semi-Final in the morning, an hour's drive was what I needed to get my thoughts in order for next week's training session. Whilst it is all about development at their age, losing a semi-final is a tough one to take at any age. Onwards and upwards. Time to start getting them ready for the offside rule next season. That could be fun.
So, after a quick change I headed off to leafy West Berkshire for the Cricklade Shield Quarter-Final between Siddington and Jovial Monk.

The Ground
Although Siddington were drawn as the home side they had agreed to play the game as an away game, so it was switched to Lambourn Sports' ground where Jovial Monk play their games. Lambourn, of course, is famous for being a centre for horse-racing, a fact that is not lost on anyone travelling from Oxford when you pass gallops (I believe part of trainer Nicky Henderson's land) and a signpost reading The Valley of Horseracing, as you approach the village. The Sports Club is on the South East edge of the village. There is parking available at the ground and on Bockhampton Road. There is a fairly large clubhouse building (closed at the moment) which incorporates the players and officials facilities. On the same side of the ground, towards the village end, there is a small covered seating area. The ret of the ground is open and slopes a little from the village end.

​The Background
Siddington, who won the Cirencester league by a point in 2007, were placed in Group B along with Minety, Tredworth and Quedgeley Wanderers Reserves. They went down 8-1 to a strong Minety side and conceded their other two games, putting them in last place and therefore into the Shield competition. In the last 16 The Blues came out on top of a seven goal thriller at Seend United, earning them a Quarter-Final place.
Jovial Monk, who I saw put up a good display against a very useful Chesterton outfit, finished third in their group. by means of a superb 2-2 draw at Hatherop and a walkover against Swindon Centurions. They were only kept out of qualification for h Cup competition by goal difference because Hatherop lost 2-0 to Chesterton whereas Monk were beaten 5-1. In the Last 16 Monk took Nalgo Sports to penalties after a 1-1 draw, beating them 3-1 in the shootout.

​The Game
Jovial Monk started the game extremely quickly, hitting their stride from the first few seconds. They created two very good chances inside the opening two minutes but both went begging. Then after Siddington had responded with a raid of their own, Monk hit them with another break which should have resulted in them taking the lead but Kris Redford's shot from the 6 yard box was well blocked by the feet of Siddington's goalkeeper Charlie Begley. The let off for the Blues was only brief however. Six minutes in and Jovial Monk took the lead. Luke Richards was set free on the right wing, he outpaced the defence before firing high into the roof of the net. 0-1

​At this point, with the away side well on top, it looked as if the floodgates may well open. Monk were retaining possession very well, playing some delightful through balls (something that was to become a theme of the game) but having not grabbed a second goal immediately, started to lose a bit of their early momentum around the 20 minute mark. This, however, was only for a brief spell before they picked up the pace again as we approached half an hour in. Siddington, despite some tidy touches in midfield, had not been able to take advantage of Monk's slowing of the pace and didn't seem to have the fire power available to hurt the Monk backline, even with the pace of Mason Lach.
Just after the half hour, Richards probably shoudl have put his side two up but this time fired wide, albeit from a tigher angle than his goal. A minute later Redford also came close, shooting over when maybe he should havr maade the keeper work. They were getting closer, but it was still only 1-0. A precarious score line. Siddington had not shown too much, but it only took one lapse and they could easily be level. The Jovial bench an coaches were well aware of this, urging their players not to take their foot off the gas.
Ten minutes before the break yet another fantastic through ball opened up the Blues defence but once again Begley did well to block the effort. Then, as we approached half-time, it was Peachey-Score's turn to go close, clipping the bar with Begley beaten this time. It looked as Siddington were going to go into the break just a goal down, after being on the back foot for most of the half when, on 44 minutes, Monk finally managed to put a bit of daylight between the teams. It was a lovely passing move that did the damage, worked down the left before being passed across the face of goal to Peachey-Score to slot home for 0-2.
Relief at giving themselves a to goal cushion could easily have been muted on the stroke of half-time when Siddington gave a warning that they could cause Monk a problem, Griffin firing narrowly over as they created their best chance of the half.

HT Siddington 0 Jovial Monk 2. The away side, playing at home, were well in charge. Some of the through balls played were excellent, slicing through the Blues defence. With some better finishing this game could easily have been completely dead and buried. However at 2-0, an early second half goal from Siddington could make Monk regret the missed chances and they gave notice of their ability with the late effort that sailed just over the bar.

​There's no doubt that the Monk players were reminded that 2-0 was not game over at the break, and they shot out of the blocks again, looking to end the game as a contest as early as they could. They came very close almost straight from the restart and again in the 49th minute when the Begley was again called into action to keep his side in it.
Then just as we approached the hour mark Monk hit Siddington with an almost carbon copy of the first goal. This time Richards burst clear on the left hand side, but the result was the same as the striker slid the ball past the keeper to make it 0-3
It was now just a case of how many goals the Sunday League side would clock up. On 65 minutes they made it four when Richards linked up with Peachey-Score for a sweet 1-2 to complete his hat-trick. 0-4. And what was his reward for grabbing three goals? That's right. He was asked to play centre-half for the remainder of the game. 
That didn't stop the wave of yellow and black attacks though. Peachey-Score was causing havoc on the right with his pace and the flow of excellent through balls was perfect ammunition for his pace and willingness to run into the channels. Siddington's keeper was still doing his utmost to keep the score down, palming away a goal bound header from Veejay Sammi this time.
On 79 minutes, after so many cultured through balls from Monk, it was a good old fashioned lump up field that got them their fifth goal. The long ball evaded all defenders and found Liam Kearns free and bearing down on goal. He duly obliged, slipping the ball past the keeper. 0-5. This was Kearns's last contribution as Monk Manager Shaun Smith finally got himself limbered up enough to put in a cameo appearance up front.

​The only blemish on the Monk performance came in the 84th minute. With the game already well beyond their opponents a clean sheet was the only target left but this was not to be as a lapse in concentration at the back let in Siddington's captain Scott McLeod to blast the ball home for a consolation. 1-5

FT Siddington 1 Jovial Monk 5. In fairness the result was not in doubt from the first minute. Although Monk found it difficult to get the second goal in the first half, they were always in control of the game. Some of their approach play was of a very high standard. If their finishing had met the same quality and the Siddington keeper hadn't made a few decent stops, it could well have been double figures.

Jovial Monk will now take on the winners of Ludgershall Sports (Step 7) v Swindon AFC (Step 9). A tough test whoever they face.

Thanks to Jovial Monk's Shaun Smith and referee Mark Niermirski for the team sheets.

Siddington: Begley, Walsh, Holness, Griffin, McLeod(c), M.Richards, Lowe, J.Richards, M.Lach, Reeves, Dodson. Subs: S.Lach, Clark, R.Lach, Miller

Jovial Monk: Seward-Nice, Redford, Peachey-Score, Richards, Sammi, Dent, Lennard, Hughes, Ali, Kearns, Edwards, Smith, A.Burroughs, L.Burroughs, Lewis


Ground Number: 264
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​For once the title of the blog does not refer to the game or an incident in the game I was watching. It also has nothing to do with Chelsea FC. It is purely because I spent most of the day prior to the game dismantling my old back garden shed.

The Ground
Yarnton play at Littlemarsh Playing Field on Yarnton Lane just across the A44 from Yarnton village. In fact, if you go past the ground, over the train line that runs right next to the ground, and drive for around a mile, you will come to Kidlington FCs ground, just as Yarnton Lane becomes Yarnton Road. There is a decent sized car park and, just inside the main gate, a very smart, new-looking, clubhouse. It does not have a Shed End but does have a On car park side, where the majority of spectators congregate. There are two blue painted dugouts, labelled Yarnton and Visitors. The opposite side of the pitch is open, forming part of the cricket ground in the summer.

The Background
The game this evening was an Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Cup group tie. With seven teams competition, each team has six group games, and this was the fifth for both of these sides. The top four after six games go through.
A win in this game was important to both teams. Yarnton were beginning the evening in third spot and a win would confirm their place in the final four. They had won three of their four games, only losing to table-toppers Kennington Athletic. Garsington needed the three points even more as they started the night just outside the top four but knowing that a win would put them into contention.
In the last, abandoned, Premier League season Yarnton were placed second when it was brought to an abrupt end. The sides had already met once, at Littlemarsh, with the home side coming out on top of a 5-4 score line.

The Game
After an initial few minutes of eyeing each other up, it was the home side who made the the early breakthrough. With just 9 minutes on the clock Hasnain Nadeem played a superb crossfield ball to find Josh Redfearn out on the left. His cross was met by Harry Ackland who christened his new boots by guiding his finish past the visiting keeper to make it 1-0.
An early advantage for Yarnton but Garsington were quick to attempt a response. They had a very loud penalty claim in the 12th minute when there appeared to be a trip in the area. The referee, however, was having none of it.

​Nadeem was doing his utmost to control the midfield for Yarnton, getting a few knocks for his troubles along the way, but despite his efforts, Garsington continued to press for an equaliser at every opportunity. Yarnton still posed a threat when they broke forward, with Redfearn and Ackland always keeping the Garsington defence on their toes. Just past the half-hour mark the away side engineered a very good opportunity, Callum Lucas played in the speedy number 15, Elliston Coble, who took a touch and tried his luck from the edge of the box. He beat the keeper but saw his effort come back off the bar.
Having had the lion's share of the play and missed a couple of decent chances Garsington were then well and truly sucker-punched a minute into added time in the first half. This time Nadeem was the scorer rather than provider, latching onto an Ackland through ball and slotting past the keeper. 2-0

HT Yarnton 2 Garsington 0. The home side scored early and late but in between Garsington have probably been the better team. Lucas and Coble for the away side have caused all sorts of problems for the home defence, who are struggling to contain them. The late second goal was harsh on Garsington.

The away side were out of the blocks quickly in the second half. More good link up play from Lucas and Coble, who were continuing where they left off. Ten minutes in, Yarnton respond to Garsington's quick start by producing the best passing move of the game so far, ending with a left-wing cross, headed just over. Nice football from the home side.
The home defence were well aware of the threat posed by the Garsington front two. Maybe that is why they were caught off guard by Joe Ryan on the hour, who, after receiving the ball wide on the left, cut inside on his right foot and unleashed a superb drive across Merritt and into the far corner. 1-2
On 67 minutes, Garsington completed the comeback. Ryan was again in the thick of the action, this time crossing perfectly for Coble to head in from close range. 2-2

Garsington had their tails up now and looked the more likely to take control of the game. However, Yarnton were not done. With 15 left to play they hit Garsington with a quick break. The ball was worked to Ackland on the edge of the box and his well hit strike was to much for the keeper, who got a hand to it but couldn't keep it out. 3-2
After fighting back from 2 down but then falling behind again, Garsington could have been excused for letting their heads drop. They, however, were having none of it. Back they came and within 4 minutes of going behind they were level again. Joe Ryan again, who was having a very effective second half, outpaced the home defence and let rip from just inside the box. His shot was way too hot for the home keeper to hold and there was Callum Lucas on hand to snap up the rebound. 3-3.

As we approached the final couple of minutes we were treated to a dramatic finale and maybe contentious. Garsington were pressing for the winner and the three points that would take them into the top four. With two minutes left of normal time Luke Warmington was played in by a superb reverse pass. In behind the final man he slid the ball past the keeper and into the net. Cue wild celebrations but the referee had already blown thinking that Warmington was offside. After a brief consultation with the Yarnton linesman, he signalled for the goal and it stood. Fair play to the linesman for being honest. 3-4. Yarnton could feel aggreived that the referee blew before the ball hit the net. Maybe the goal should not have stood?

Yarnton were behind for the first time in the match and there was not enough time left for them to hit back.

FT Yarnton 3 Garsington 4. A very good game to watch from a neutral's perspective, especially the second half. Two sides who both have great attacking potential. Yarnton looked to be in control at half-time and again when they made it 3-2. They'll be gutted to have thrown away a lead twice.​ However, great credit to Garsington who just didn't know when they were beaten. Both sides are now in the top four with one fixture left each. Yarnton face  tricky away game at second placed Launton whilst Garsington have, on paper, the easier game as they travel to bottom side Summertown Stars. It could be a fascinating last weekend of the group stage as both Yarnton and Garsington need to win to ensure a top four finish. Any slip up and fifth placed Marston Saints, who entertain group winners Kennington Athletic, could leapfrog them.

Many thanks to Yarnton's Twitter admin for supplying a photo of the team sheets so that I could put names to the numbers, and for clearing up a few errors in my tweets.

Yarnton: Merritt, Abreu, Witcher, Welford, Chesterman(c), Robson, Fegan, Ackland, Nadeem, Redfearn. Subs: Taylor, Wells, Spooner
Garsington: Gaul, Ludlow, Massingham, Smith, Bartlett, Ryan, Chalmers, Warmington, Dolton, Coble, Lucas. Subs: Mutero

Ground Number: 263
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​This Saturday, after getting very wet in the morning standing on the side-lines in a coaching capacity I decided I may as well continue the theme as a spectator and risk getting another drenching in the afternoon. Heyford Athletic, who I saw play in the Oxfordshire Senior League a while back, are only a 15 minute drive away so it seemed like a great opportunity to visit their ground and take in their game against Malvern Town Development.

The Ground
Heyford play their games at the King George's Field in Lower Heyford. There is limited parking at the ground, accessed via Mill Lane, and alongside the pitch. Beware that there is quite limited parking nearby as the ground is in the centre of the old, picturesque village, not designed for modern traffic. The club recently (in the past couple of years) has built a great new clubhouse (currently closed, of course) which sits at the entrance to the ground. The pitch is at the lower end of the playing field and does have a slope, from the Freehold Street side down towards the canal and also from the top right corner as you look from the clubhouse. Bordered by trees behind and on the canal side, the Mill Lane goal end is backed by the clubhouse and a children's play area. The club has invested in roll-out dugouts, very useful on a day when the weather was atrocious. Although, the away one did get caught by a couple of gusts and moved backwards a yard or so at one point. The pitch itself, although on a slope. looked to be in pretty good condition. All in all, a nice setup.

​The Background
This was a Bateman Sports Presidents Challenge Cup last 16 game, as opposed to the Chairman's Challenge Cup which, I believe runs each year. The last 16 in this case also being Round 1. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but it seems this competition may have sprung up to provide a little more football after he season was aborted. If I am wrong, and there have been previous competitions, please can someone tell me where to find the history? Both of these sides had only managed to play four games in their respective league seasons. Malvern sat in third spot at the close, five point off the leaders but with to games in hand after winning three and drawing one. Athletic meanwhile were et cursing their luck after winning all four of their game and topping their division. The prospect was for a close game this afternoon.

​The Game
Although the rain had slowed a little towards kick-off, the wind was still gusting and causing havoc. Just ask the local who had turned up with his own chair and umbrella. He soon gave up on the brolly after it got turned inside out for the third time. Great effort with the chair though. I wish I had thought of it (note to self, put a fold up chair in the boot).
The first big chance of the game fell to Heyford quite early on, but the close range effort was well turned over the bar by the visiting goalkeeper. In fact, it was Heyford who seemed to have settled quicker and mastered the conditions better. Which is why it was something of a surprise when they fell behind. A somewhat fortuitous goal when Malvern's Jack Cullity decided to try his luck from outside the box and to the right of centre. He dragged his effort which evaded everyone but fell very kindly into the path of Jack Davies on the back post, who fired home from close range giving the Athletic keeper no chance. 0-1.

​Heyford, noting that the wind was playing havoc with the longer balls, tried to play out from the back to get back into the game. Every time they did try to find their forwards, the wind was taking the ball out down the slope towards the canal. Malvern had the opposite problem. Every goal-kick or long ball was being held up in the wind.
Heyford really were not helping their cause by getting caught offside time after time. These decisions can always be a bone of contention in games where a member of each team is running the line. Athletic started to get a bit annoyed at the constant flagging. From my position on the opposite side of the pitch, it was impossible to tell how close they were, but the referee seemed happy enough with the decisions and to be fair, the Heyford complaints were fairly muted.
In the latter stages of the half there was a strange incident near the dugouts where an altercation seemed to break out between the Malvern coach and a Heyford player. No idea what started it and it got no further than some raised voices and a yellow card for a member of the home squad.
The constant offsides cost Athletic dearly on 44 minutes when they got the ball in the net, headed in at the far post from a left-wing free-kick. However, the flag was already up and, again, there was no complaint from Heyford.

HT Heyford Athletic 0 Malvern Town Development 1. Not a lot to choose between the sides. The conditions certainly not helping either team. One or two bits of niggle were creeping in towards the end of the half which the referee would need to keep a lid on in to stop it boiling over.

​The second half very quickly got into a pattern of play. Heyford trying everything they could to get back into the game. Looking particularly dangerous when attacking down their left. They switched the team around, pushing number 10 into midfield, which immediately seemed to give them an extra attacking dimension. Malvern appeared content to mop up the attacks and then use the conditions to attempt long balls over the top for their forwards to chase. Their defending was pretty solid but the long balls were not that effective though with most balls either running through to the keeper or drifting out for a Heyford throw-in.

Heyford started to turn the screw more and more as the half wore on, with their visitors, who only had a single substitute in the squad, starting to tire a little. Then, just when it looked as if their efforts would go unrewarded they finally made the breakthrough. A cross from the right travelled through the Town 18 yard box, eventually finding the home number 15 who steadied himself and fired a crisp drive back past the keeper to make it 1-1. A very clean strike and deserved equaliser for Heyford based on their second half display.

However, the drama was not over. Just as I was trying to work out if the game would go to extra-time or straight to penalties, Malvern won  free-kick some 25 yards out and fairly central. Cullity, who's mis-directed strike had led to the first goal, certainly did not fluff this effort. He struck it superbly over the wall and into the top corner of the Athletic net. 1-2. Almost as soon as the ball hit the net the referee blew for the end of the game. It was, literally, the last kick.

FT Heyford Athletic 1 Malvern Town Development 2. A cruel way to lose for the home team who, on the balance of play, probably deserved to win the game. Having said that, you cannot argue with the quality of the strike that won it for Malvern. They now go on to play Hungerford Town Swifts, who had walkover awarded in their tie against Headington Amateurs, in the Quarter-Final.

Other score:
Swindon Supermarine Development 2  Kintbury Rangers 3
Newent Town Reserves 3 Cricklade Town Reserves 8
Yately Town 7 Wallingford Ton Reserves 1
Chinnor 3 Abingdon United Development 2
Cove U23 5 Holmer Green Development 3
Chalfont Wasps 2 Hazlemere Sports 2 (4-5 pens)

Ground Number: 262
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

No Tuesday evening game for me this week. Instead, I decided to wait until Wednesday so that I could take a trip into the Cotswolds to catch the #CSTP21 lst 16 game between Hatherop and Redhouse.
Having never been to Hatherop before I did my usual bit of research to scope out the area and the ground. Hatherop is a small village just to the North-East of Cirencester and not a million miles away from Fairford, home of the air show and, of course, Fairford Town who I saw clinch the Hellenic Division One West title in 2017 (Champions!).
It's quite possible that Hatherop FC represent the smallest community I have ever seen play. The population of the village (as of 2011) was just 192, or around 10 squads in football parlance.
​The Ground
Hatherop play their home games right in the centre of Hatherop Village, on playing fields adjacent to Saint Nicholas Church and only a stone's throw from Hatherop Castle, which dates back to the 16th or 17th Century. It's a lovely, picturesque location for a football ground which, I am sure, is even more pleasant on a warmer Spring evening than we had this Wednesday. ​The ground is tucked away off Hatherop Road and, if you haven't been before, is not that easy to find (unless you check out Maps beforehand, as I did). There is no parking at the ground but plenty of on-street parking available around the village, especially on Hatherop Road. Entrance to the ground is through an arch and down an alleyway signposted To The Church. For some reason it put me in mind of Kenilworth Road although, of course, the entrance there is between houses rather than following church signs. I have to say, it is one of the most unique ground entrances I have ever come across. The ground also has dugouts on the far side, something of a rarity at a lot of grassroots games I have been visiting lately. With open countryside behind, cows in a field at one end and a church at the other end, it really is a picturesque venue. The pitch, I noted, looked to be in excellent condition too. All in all, a really nice place to watch a game of football, despite the rain and rapidly dropping temperature.

​The Background
Both of these sides grace the Swindon & District Premier League. At the close of play last season Redhouse had the upper hand, sitting in fourth spot with 17 points from their 7 games. Hatherop were in 7th spot having amassed 12 points from their 7 games. They had met in the league once, at Purton, where they had shared the points in  1-1 draw. Richard Crocker scoring for The Rop and Sean O'Brien for Redhouse. The sides also recently drew 1-1 in a Your Swindon Cup Group C encounter, an unsurprising score when you look at the group table. The sides are only split by goal difference, with Hatherop edging it, and both are unbeaten in five games. 
In the Cricklade Supreme Trophy & Shield competition, of which this game was a knockout stage match, Hatherop had progressed by means of finishing second in Group E. Redhouse, who #BotP saw defeat Swindon AFC a couple of weeks back (Swindon Resistance Torpedoed By Subs), topped Group F with a 100% record. 

​The Game
Both sides looked lively straight from kick-off. Hatherop's Alex Anderson looked to have the pace to cause a lot of problems for the Redhouse defence and Sean O'Brien's bustling style up front for Redhouse looked as if it would be a constant thorn in the side of the Rop backline. After a fairly even opening to the game, it was the away side who started to stamp their authority on the game. Led by the midfield work rate of captain Rob Curtis and the almost continuous cajolement of fellow central midfielder Lenny Khan, the Purton-based side created plenty of opportunities but struggled to find the composure at the crucial moments. O'Brien, in particular, was proving to be a handful. He's the sort of striker that most defenders hate to play against, strong, deceptively quick and certainly not frightened to put himself about.
Having said that, it was not all Redhouse. Hatherop still looked more than capable of causing damage when they broke out of defence, but they couldn't muster any significant efforts on the Redhouse goal.

HT Hatherop 0 Redhouse 0. Redhouse certainly saw more of the ball than their hosts, and created the clearer chances, but Hatherop defended well and looked lively when they got on the ball. All square at the break and definitely all to play for.

​Whilst Redhouse continued to have the lion's share of the ball for much of the second half, they were certainly not as dominant as they had been for the latter stages of the first period. As the half progressed Hatherop started to come into the game more and more. There were chances at both ends during what was a very entertaining second period.
Hatherop's defence showed just how much they wanted to keep the clean sheet, last ditch tackles, a couple of great blocks, and some very good goalkeeping from Richard Fleming, all stopped promising Redhouse attacks. One almighty scramble in particular summed up the game. Redhouse had several chances to put the ball away from close range but a combination of defensive determination, brave blocks, and some wayward finishing kept the score at 0-0.
Hatherop also missed a couple of good chances, blazing one well over from inside the penalty area and having another chalked off for a clear offside.

​The game was played in excellent spirit. No quarter was given or asked for, but there were no flashpoints. One potential flare-up after Khan put a late one on Hatherop's Ollie Waite who, in turn, left something on the Redhouse midfielder a minute or two later, ended with the players shaking hands, typifying the sportsmanship on display.

There was some cause for concern towards the end when, Anderson, chasing a long ball came off second best after colliding with Redhouse keeper Jamie Mingard. Anderson was helped from the pitch after a little treatment but it didn't look to be too bad an injury.

With the game in it's final throes, it was clear that a single goal would decide it. However, despite great effort from both sides, neither team could find a winner.

FT Hatherop 0 Redhouse 0. No goals, but no shortage of entertainment or incident. A really competitive game between two well-matched sides, played in exactly the right spirit. A credit to the Swindon and District League. With no extra-time required in the competition, we moved straight into a penalty shootout.

Penalties:
The penalty shootout was as tense and close as the 90 minutes had been.
Both sides scored their first two spot kicks to make it 1-1.
Then Mingard got down well to save Hatherop's second kick. Not to be outdone, however, Fleming repeated the act to save Redhouse's second attempt. Still 1-1 after to kicks each.
Both teams then scored their next spot-kicks to make it 2-2 after 3 penalties each.
Hatherop score again, to make it 3-2 before the two decisive moments.
First Redhouse put their fourth kick wide of the mark leaving the score at 3-2 after 4 attempts each.
Up stepped Richie Crocker to win it. 4-2

Hatherop progress to face the winner of the Chesterton v Purton game in the Quarter-Final stage.

Hatherop: Fleming, Stewart, Legg, Saunders, Weaven, Anderson, Crane, Bird, Maskell, Crocker, Waite.Subs: Ockwell, Hall
Redhouse: Mingard, Watson, Culliford, Harper, Khan, Valters, D.Axford, Cutler, R.Curtis(c), J.Axford, O'Brien. Subs: Cullen, Ricketts, K.Curtis, Butler

Ground Number: 261
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A