Monday evening saw me heading back over to Siddington for the second time in under a week. The occasion this time, the Cricklade Trophy Cup Final between Chesterton and Malmesbury Victoria Development. The game was originally scheduled for Hatherop's ground but was moved to Siddington presumably because the location was far more convenient for both sides.
​I had had the pleasure of seeing both of the semi-finals, in which Chesterton had beaten Hatherop 6-0 (Chesterton Too Hot For Rop), and Malmesbury had seen off Wickwar Wanderers after a penalty shootout (The End Of The War). This promised to be a very tight contest despite the apparent three division gap between the teams, Chesterton being in the Stroud & District Division 1 (Step 10) and Malmesbury in the Wiltshire Senior League (Step 7).

​The Background
This was not just a Cup Final, it was a local derby Cup Final, with just over 12 miles separating Chesterton's Siddington Playing Field and Malmesbury's Flying Monk ground. There was also goig to be at least one player on the field who had played for both clubs, maybe more. With some dampness in the air and a fresh coating a rain on the ground to make a slippy top surface, it all added up to what promised to be a competitive and entertaining game.
I am pleased to say that it did, indeed, live up to the billing.
​

​The Game
There was still a few drops of rain falling as we prepared for kick-off. Malmesbury in their black and white striped shirts, red shorts and red socks, Chesterton in a two shade blue shirt, dark blue shorts and socks. I noticed early on that Scott Smith, who I had seen score seven times in two games for Chesterton, was missing and not on the bench. I was to find out later that he was taking part in a 24 hour charity golf event.
Malmesbury were the first to show in this game, quickly getting into their stride and pushing Chesterton back into their own half. Six minutes in Chesterton's keeper Karl Wright had to be very sharp off his line to smother a Joe Tranter effort and two minutes later the same Vics striker was again played in, this time by a delightful pass from Joseph Ogugua, only to put hiss effort just past Wright's right-hand post. A very lively start from Malmesbury but it wasn't all one way traffic. Chesterton, who also like to play a passing game, were slowly easing their way into it and got their first strike on target after 15 minutes when a Tom Cox effort was gathered by Macauley Brown.
It was Vics, however, who got their noses in front, just before the 20 minute mark. Once again Ogugua was the architect, sliding an inch perfect pass in to Joe Tranter, who finished calmly and precisely. 0-1
Malmesbury were now on top and two minutes after taking the lead they almost doubled their advantage. Aaron Sanghera weaved some magic on the left flank, got to the by-line and cut back for Harrison Archer who saw his effort blocked on the line.

​Although Malmesbury were undoubtedly on top, Chesterton were not without their moments. They won a free-kick around 30 yards out and to the right of the goal as they looked. The ball was lofted in towards the back post and, as everyone challenged but missed it, the ball pinged off the far post and went safe. Malmesbury went straight up the other end and had a very big shout for a penalty turned down. I'll be honest, I looked down just as it happened, but the Vics supporters around me were adamant that the referee had missed a clear foul.
There was then a brief lull in goalmouth action, although no let up by either team in their quest to play attractive football. 
Chesterton once again had Karl Wright to thank on 37 minutes, when he had to be alert to block a Tranter effort. Tranter could easily have had a first-half hat-trick if not for the Chesterton stopper. Chesterton immediately went up the other end, setting Tom Cox loose to attack the Vics backline, but Josh Curtis timed his tackle perfectly (think Bobby Moore against Brazil in 1970) to thwart the Chesterton striker.
Malmesbury then hit Chesterton with a late second goal. A free-kick wide on the right was clipped towards the front post and flicked on into the path of Joseph Ogugua who met it with a crisp volley to beat Wright. 0-2

HT Chesterton 0 Malmesbury Victoria Development 2. Two good sides who both want to play passing football. Malmesbury's extra bit of composure on the ball, combined with their defensive organisation, saw them take a commanding lead into the break.

​The second half saw Chesterton take it upon themselves to get an early goal back. They almost did this as early as the 46th minute, winning a corner on the right. The ball was played into the 6 yard box where big striker George Peare challenged with Brown, heading the ball past the Vics keeper. However, the linesman had already signalled that the ball went out and back in from the corner, chalking Peare's effort off. There was a brief stoppage whilst Brown received some treatment after the collision but he was soon back on his feet.
Chesterton had managed to reassert themselves on the game at the start of the second half, even if they had not managed to reduce the deficit. However, they were completely undone just before the hour mark when a Brown goal-kick bounced over the entire Chesterton defensive line leaving Tranter with a free run on goal. He did not need a second invitation, sliding the ball past the advancing Wright to make it 0-3.
This looked to be game over, but Chesterton didn't seem to be downhearted. In fact, immediately after the third goal, they went up the other end and produced arguably the best passing move of the game before forcing Brown into a decent save. Then, just past the hour, they did manage to get one back. Peare found himself on the right wing and absolutely hammered over a shoulder height cross towards the near post. Kieran Jones bravely put his head in, narrowly getting in front of Brown, to nod the ball home. 1-3. Once again the Vics keeper was in the wars, requiring more treatment after the collision with Jones.
Even after getting one back, with less than 30 minutes remaining, it looked to be more of a consolation than anything else. That was until, the 76th minute when Chesterton broke down a Malmesbury attack and launched a quick raid of their own down their left side. Peare was set free and he duly slid the ball past Brown for 2-3. Now it was a different story. Chesterton smelled blood and Malmesbury, who had played with great confidence up until that point, were visibly wobbling.

​The equaliser only took another four minutes to arrive. Once again it was Peare, out on the right, who drove in a low hard cross, right across the Malmesbury six yard box. A nightmare for defenders, running back facing their own goal. This proved to be the case for Ethan Porter who inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net. 3-3.
What a comeback from Chesterton. From 0-3 to 3-3 in 20 minutes and we were in for a nail-biting final 10 minutes.
Credit to Malmesbury, who had been rocking, but suddenly pulled themselves together. Both sides, in fact, were going flat out to win the game. On 84 minutes Chesterton, once again, were indebted to Karl Wright who reacted superbly to get down to an Ogugua header, diverting it around the post. A minute alter Ogugua pulled a long ball out of the sky with a superb touch but his low effort went narrowly wide. Tranter was then put in the clear but once again Wright was equal to the task, saving with his feet this time to deny the striker his hat-trick.

FT Chesterton 3 Malmesbury Victoria Development 3. What a game! Some superb football on show from both teams. No holds barred. Certainly a few tasty tackles going in, but no maliciousness, just honest challenges (although maybe one or two were ill-timed). From a neutral's perspective, I would have given both teams a medal and declared it a draw. Neither deserved to have to go home as losers. However, that's not the way football works, as we know, and with no extra-time being played we were straight into a penalty shootout. Twice I have seen Malmesbury play and both games have gone to penalties. They won the last one. How was this one going to pan out?

Penalties
Aaron Sanghera for Vics scores. 0-1
Will Power for Chesterton scores. 1-1
Joe Tranter for Vics scores. 1-2
George Peare for Chesterton scores. 2-2
Josh Curtis for Vics scores. 2-3
Dan Jones sees his penalty saved by Macauley Brown. 2-3. Advantage Malmesbury?
Jospeh Ogugua has his kick saved by Karl Wright. Still 2-3.
Kieran Jones levels it up. 3-3
Anthony Brown for Vics, scores. 3-4
Ian McSherry has to score for Chesterton, and he does (not dies as I tweeted). 4-4
James Archer is next for Vics. Scores. 4-5
James Moorcroft for Chesterton makes it 5-5
Connor Laidlaw next for Malmesbury. Scores. 5-6
Tom Cox makes no mistake. 6-6
Dan Cole scores for Vics. 6-7
Ashley Rockley scores for Chesterton. 7-7
Macaulay Brown, Vics goalkeeper, steps up and scores. 7-8
Matched by Kyle Walker for Chesterton. 8-8
Ethan Porter next for Vics but Wright saves well. Still 8-8
Dan Fragnoli to win it for Chesterton. Scores! 9-8

​Congratulations to Chesterton. Cricklade Supreme Trophy Champions 2021. 

Chesterton: Wright, Barham, Moorcroft, Luce, Fragnoli, D.Jones, Cox, K.Jones, Peare, Power, Stratford. Subs: Walker, Rockley, McSherry
Malmesbury Victoria Development: M.Brown, A.Brown, Cook(c), Fortune, Porter, Curtis, Ogugua, Cole, Tranter, H.Archer, Sanghera. Subs: Tilley, Laidlaw, Lyon, Scull, J.Archer

So, that's the end of the Cricklade Supreme Trophy & Shield 2021. I think it is safe to say that the competition was a success. From a personal perspective, I have enjoyed every minute of watching games and keeping the scores, tables and fixtures up to date on the web site. The Shield Final was the 14th game that I managed to attend. I added 11 new grounds to my list, saw a total of 70 goals scored (not including the two penalty shoot-outs) and travelled a total of 1245 miles in the process. Most importantly, 32 teams got the opportunity to play competitive football after yest another washed out season. So, a big thank you to organisers Cricklade Town, Chairman Richard Austen and former first-team manager Craig Kent.

​Just over two months ago I headed over to Siddington village to watch Chesterton play Jovial Monk in, what was for me, the opening game of the Cricklade Trophy and Shield competition. In between that day and this evening, I have watched 12 other CSTP21 games, including 3 semi-finals and the final of the Shield. Tonight was my opportunity to make it a clean sweep of semi-finals as I heeded back to Siddington Playing Field to watch Chesterton take on Hatherop in the remaining Trophy semi-final, with the winners earning the right to play Malmesbury Victoria Development in the Final. Once again, this blog isn't taking quite the same format as normal. I only visited the ground a few weeks ago and nothing has changed since I was last there. Check out the match blog from the previous visit here (Smith makes Jovial Monk Frown).

​The Background
The teams met in the group stages back in April where a 2-0 Chesterton win, courtesy of goals from Tom Cox and Scott Smith, saw them to Group E with a 100% record. Hatherop went through in second place, edging out Jovial Monk on goal difference. This means that three of the four teams in Group E made it to either the Trophy or Shield semi-final stage. Tough group. 
​In the Last 16 phase I watched Hatherop fight out a hard-earned 0-0 draw with Redhouse before progressing on penalties (Rop Spot On). Chesterton actually went down 4-1 to Step 7 Purton but were later awarded the tie by the organisers after Purton were deemed to have played an illegible player. Ito the Quarter-Finals. Hatherop once again went to penalties after coming from behind to earn a superb 3-3 draw at Shrewton, whilst Chesterton were 2-0 winners at Minety.
Despite the fact that, officially, Hatherop play two steps higher than Chesterton at the moment. Chesterton ended the previous season with a 100% record and had rattled in 35 goals in their 8 matches. In a normal season they probably would have been promotes for the second successive season. Add to that their win in the group stage and they were going into this game as favourites.

The Game
Chesterton lived up to their billing from the first minute, immediately putting their opponents on the back foot.
Only three minutes had passed when the home side took the lead. Hatherop's keeper was forced into a diving save when a long range effort bounced just before it reached him. He managed to parry the ball away but only into the path of Chalmers Phin who stroked the rebound home. 1-0
​Chesterton didn't let up and seemed to have so much time and space, especially in midfield, that Hatherop just couldn't get a grip of the game at all. Twelve minutes in the home side doubled their lead and it was that man Scott Smith, who scored five the last time I watched Chesterton, volleying a dipping drive over the keeper and just below the bar. 2-0
The second goal spurred Hatherop a little and with 17 minutes on the click they produced their best move of the half. Their number 9 was set free down the right wing. His low cross was met by the Number 14 running into the box at pace. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his effort down and the ball sailed over the bar. A promising move though.
Two minutes later, as if to quell any thoughts Hatherop had of a comeback, Chesterton launched an attack down their own right flank. The ball was crossed deep towards the far post where Tom Cox met it with his head sending the ball against the post and then the keeper before it nestled in the back of the net. 3-0

Hatherop at this point were forced into making a substitution and took the opportunity to re-shuffle their pack a little, bolstering their midfield in an effort to stem the blue tide and try to find a goal themselves. The plan worked for about 9 minutes before Chesterton forced a corner on their left side. Taking advantage of an overload they worked  short corner routine before delivering a pinpoint cross to the far post where Joe Stratford was waiting to nod in the fourth. 4-0. Five minutes later and the home side, who by now were understandably packed full of confidence, produced a lovely fifth goal. Tom Cox and Kyle Walker exchanged passes to split the Rop defence, leaving Cox to slide over an inch perfect pass to Scott Smith, who duly obliged by sliding in his second goal. 5-0
With the game as good as over and only just over half an hour on the clock, it is testament to Hatherop's willingness to keep playing that the score remained the same for the final 15 minutes of the half. Will Power did have a good long range effort turned around the post just before the break, but the home side could not find another way through the green defensive line.

HT Chesterton 5 Hatherop 0. All one-way traffic. Chesterton have found way too much space and time all over the field. A change of Rop formation after the third goal slowed the onslaught for a short time, but Chesterton just had too much for Hatherop.

​What a difference a half-time break makes. The game may be gone but Hatherop come out fighting in the second half. Even within the first couple of minutes it was noticeable how much closer they were getting to the Chesterton players. Of course, you could say that Chesterton had the game in the bag and maybe had dropped the intensity but I think credit should be given to Hatherop who rolled their sleeves up and made a real fight of the second period.

Early in the half they won a couple of free-kicks just outside the Chesterton box, but both were put well over the bar. It would have been interesting to see what happened if either, or even both, had gone in. I don't for one minute think that Chesterton would have unravelled if they had conceded but the extra confidence that it would have given Hatherop may well have made for a much more lively second half. As it was Chesterton looked to be confident in their defence, although Hatherop did give them a few more scares than in the first half. Unfortunately for the away side the final ball or shot was just lacking on the day.

As we approached the last 10 minutes Chesterton once more applied a bit of pressure. A shot from outside the box was half blocked and span away as if going for a corner. The Rop defence, and most of the Chesterton players, gave it up for a corner but not Phi, who chased it down and found himself with the ball at his feet and in a load of space close to the touchline. he looked up and slid over a lovely pass for Tom Cox to slot home. 6-0

FT Chesterton 6 Hatherop 0. A comfortable win for Chesterton. The game was effectively over before half-time but credit to Hatherop for coming out in the second half and making much more of a game of it. Two more goals from Scott Smith, that's seven he has scored in the two Chesterton games I have seen. 

​Chesterton: White, Stratford, Walker, Moorcroft, Pitts, D.Jones(c), Phin, Power, Cox, K.Jones, Smith. Subs: McSherry, Perry, Fragnioli

Ground Number: Re-visit
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

After seeing my girl's team come from a goal down to win 7-1 in the morning, I was in a buoyant mood as I set off for Hatherop, looking forward to the Cricklade Supreme Shield Final between Stratton United and Swindon AFC. Having very recently watched Hatherop play on their ground and only a day or so ago posting my preview of the Final, this match blog is going to follow a different format to my normal blogs where I try to give a little background to the game and provide some insights to the ground and location for any groundhoppers that may want to visit. IF you want to read the preview then click on this link: CSTP21 Shield Final Preview. If you want to know a little more about the Hatherop Playing Field then check out the match blog from an earlier round: Rop Spot On

The last time I was here there were dark skies and slightly chilly temperatures set in during the game. However, today there was none of that. Blue skies and soaring temperatures made for a very pleasant location for the spectators, not so comfortable for the players and officials who must have found it quite hard going at times.

​The Game
Stratton were on their game from the very first second of this match. Immediately setting about Swindon and seemingly unsettling the Maroons, who maybe didn't expect United to fly at them so early in the game.
Only 5 minutes into the game Joe Brett pulled down a loose ball in the centre circle, took a few strides and then, seeing the keeper out of position tried his luck from all of 45 yard. Although the strike was not as clean as he would have hoped, Will Miller was still trying to make his ground and was beaten by the pace and a wicked bounce. 0-1. What a start to the game!
​Paying no heed to the four division gap between the teams, Stratton continued to dominate possession and cause plenty of problems for Swindon. Sylvester Anaisie, leading the line, was keeping the Swindon central defenders fully occupied whilst Joe Brett, starting out on the left, was increasing dropping deeper and conducting play from midfield. The Stratton display put me very much in mind of the way Swindon played at Ludgershall in the Quarter-Final. Very much on the front foot and preventing their opponents from playing by keeping their own tempo high and splaying, as much as possible, in the opponent's half. As I remarked to the assistant referee during the drink break though, could Stratton stay the pace in this heat especially as Swindon seemed to respond very well to being behind or under pressure. Time would tell.

Just on the half hour came a period of 10 minutes that changed the whole course of the game. It started with a piece of individual magic from a set-piece that got Swindon back in it. Stratton conceded a free-kick just outside their box and to the right of the goal as the keeper viewed it. Nathan Smith lined it up, producing a superb effort, over the wall and into Michael Wright's top right hand corner. 1-1
Swindon were back in the game and had suddenly seemed to awake from their early slumbers. Five minutes after going level Swindon were awarded another free-kick in an almost identical position. Nathan Smith was once again behind the ball. Wright lined his defence up and, being aware of where the first effort went, maybe edged along to his right a little. Smith then dug out another peach, curling an effort into the opposite corner this time. 2-1. Two absolute bangers from Smith.
Almost immediately after the goal Stratton were on the attack, looking for a quick equaliser. Brett chased a long bouncing ball as the keeper came out to meet it. The two collided heavily inside the box, with Brett looking to have come off the worse. 

Anyone who may had a thought that this game was as good as over with Swindon in front were in for a surprise quite early into the second period. Only 6 minutes had passed when Brett managed to curl an effort past Miller and in off the far post to make it 2-2. Another very good finish, made to look even better a few minutes later when Stratton were forced to substitute the same player because he was still feeling groggy after the first half collision.

Losing both Anaisie and Brett, the two players I had picked out as potential game winners, certainly took some pace out of the Blues attack but it didn't stop them from being a threat. Jack Jeffries took over leading the forward line and was still capable of keeping the Swindon defence on their toes. 
​
The majority of the second half seemed to pass by very quickly, the sign of an entertaining match. Both sides were pressing for a winner but a combination of solid defending on behalf of both teams, and a a couple of wayward finishes, left both goals intact as we approached the final few minutes. The prospect of penalties loomed. A few of the Stratton supporters near to where I was standing commented that they had taken off four of their possible five penalty takers, but as it happened they need not have worried. Stratton's fantastic efforts were finally finished off in the 87th minute. Swindon won a free kick way out on the left and only just inside the Stratton half. Sam Carter went to swing a ball into the penalty area but didn't quite catch it right, sending the ball in low towards the front post. Tom Whitham was quickest to react to the ball, getting ahead of his marker and poking the ball past Wright. 3-2 with very little time left for Stratton to react. There were still a few minutes of added time to play but the Swindon goal remained relatively unthreatened, and the Maroons were crowned 2021 Trophy Winners.

​FT Swindon AFC 3 Stratton United 2. A very close contest just about edged by Swindon with the late goal. The way the fixtures have fallen has meant that I have seen Swindon play more than any other team in this competition and I have been impressed with them in every game. They were not at their best today in my opinion, but that was largely credit to Stratton who kept at them for the entire 90 minutes. 
A hard one for Stratton to take after putting up such a good fight all through the game. If this is what a team who were in the lower half of Division Four last season looks like then all I can say is the Stroud & District League must be one hell of a strong league.

Swindon AFC: Miller, Buckingham, J.Sawyer, Reece Cass(c), Carter, Good, Bradfield, R.Sawyer, C.Street, Whitham, Smith. Subs: B.Wells, C.Wells, Regan Cass, Fisher, A.Street

Stratton United: Wright, Keylock, Corhan, Musa, Lindsay, Brereton(c), Anaisie, Brett, Timbrell, Cook. Subs: Oliver, Clarke, Simmonds, Hemmings, Field

Ground: Revisit
Att: 85 (approx. manual count)
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

It may be approaching the middle of June but there are still quite a few matches to found around the country. This Wednesday I had the choice of a very tempting Cup Final in Derbyshire or a Thames Valley Division 4 game with implications at the top of the league. Both games had some appeal but in the end it became apparent that there was no way I would get to Sherwood Colliery in time. Besides, who could resist a trip to a ground called The Cauldron? So, TVPL it was for Reading YMCA Rapids v Henley Town Development.
​
The Ground
Reading YMCA play their home games in Padworth, a village some 10 miles South-East of Reading. The ground is to the rear of the local  Village Hall and has the wonderful title of The Cauldron. The ground is easily accessible from being just off the A4 and M4. There is parking available at the ground (be aware, the parking spots are quite narrow) on either side of the Village Hall building. The pitch is behind the Village hall bordered on one side by trees and then the River Kennet, and on the other side by, quite uniquely, a caravan site. This alone should be a reason for any groundhopper to pay a visit. There cannot be many grounds out there that have a caravan park running down one side of the pitch. They are literally within touching distance of the dugouts. Wonderfully quirky.
Food and drink is available from a serving hatch at the back of the Village Hall and there is also a kids playground next to the Village Hall. The pitch, despite the grounds name suggesting a bowl of some sort, looked to be pretty flat and in good condition.

​The Background
Before the start of play Rapids sat in third spot and were one of three teams still in with a shot of the title, albeit in their case a very outside chance. In pole position were Reading City with 38 points and three games to play. Burghfield Reserves sat second with 26 points and three to play, although one of these games will be away at Rapids. Reading had a game in hand, tonight's match, and were on 30 points after their 16 matches. Effectively Reading needed to win all four remaining games and hope that Reading City didn't take more than three points from their remaining three, whilst they needed Burghfield to lose at least one of their other games.
The sides met at The Triangle just over a month ago with goals from Shane Guidera and Matthew Thatcher giving Rapids a 2-0 win. 

​The Game
Henley, kicking towards the Village Hall in their white shirts, certainly started the brighter of the two sides. However, the first talking point came at the other end of the ground in the 11th minute when Rapids had a loud penalty claim waved away by the referee who was in a decent position to see the incident. This at least served to wake the home side up a little but, in some ways, Rapids pushing into the Henley half a little more led to the opening goal for the visitors. When a home attack broke down inside the Henley half the Red Kites launched an incisive counter-attack. A superb cross field ball in between the centre-half and the full-back split the home defence and allowed their right wing-back (sorry I didn't have a team sheet) to get in behind them. Reading's Kyle Longmate reacted to the threat but his attempted tackle was just slightly too late bringing the Henley player down just inside the box. Penalty.
Fred Kirby stepped up and converted the spot-kick to give the away side the lead. 0-1
The lead, however, only lasted for 6 minutes. Reading won a corner on their right side and, when the ball was played into the box, James Coker rose highest to power a header into the net. 1-1

​Given the league positions, I expected the equaliser to signal the start of a Reading onslaught. However, it disn't transpire. In fact it was Henely who came closest to another goal when Number 9 was put through. His shot beat Froude but struck the keeper's right-hand post and bounced clear.

HT Reading YMCA Rapids 1 Henley Town Development 1. Henely looked dangerous when attacking down their left, which is how they got their goal. Reading looked as if they didn't get out of first gear. Although I had seen them play before, I had the feeling they had far more to offer than they have shown in the first half.
​

​Henley were again quicker out of the blocks in the second half, but for a much shorter time than the first period. The home side had clearly been asked to step it up a gear at half-time and were now starting to get the ball down and play more. Their attacking threat was aided by the introduction of Jhamal Robinson and Jason Bye. Robinson, in particular, showing plenty of pace and trickery and giving the Henley defence a lot more to think about.
Henley, however, were not without some threat of their own. Just past the hour mark Kirby saw a lovely effort just clip the top of Thatcher's bar before going to safety.
Three minutes after that minor scare though, the home side took the lead for the first time in the game and it was substitute Robinson who made the difference, latching onto a loose ball just inside the Henley penalty area guiding a low effort through a mass of bodies into the bottom corner of the net. 2-1
That goal seemed to finally release the shackles from the home side and they were almost immediately on the hunt for more goals. It didn't take too long. On 69 minutes another home substitute, Jason Bye, was on hand in the six yard box to turn in a low cross from the right and make it 3-1

​Six minutes ater that Rapids conjured up the gaol of the game and it was the goalscoring substitutes who combined to produce it. Robinson, out on the left, beat his man and swung over a perfect cross, behind the defensive line but just too far out for the keeper to easily claim it. Bye was alert enough to get in behind his defender, just getting a toe to the ball before the keeper coudl react, stabbing the ball into the net. 4-1
Unfortunately, both Bye and the Henley keeper picked up knocks in the goal incident and both had to be replaced, with the Henley Captain taking over between the sticks.

FT Reading YMCA Rapids 4 Henley Town Development 1. It took over an hour and a few substitutes but Reading finally stamped their authority on the game and eventually won the game reasonably comfortably. 
The result leaves YMCA in third spot, three pinits behind Burghfield and five adrift of Reading, but with Burghfield appearing to already know they have three points on Saturday (Full-Time has them down as a walkover against Farnham Royal Mavericks), it would seem that the title will go to one of these two. Of course YMCA's game against Burghfield at the Couldron on the 19th could still end up being the title decider, depending on results this coming Saturday.

If you haven't visited The Cauldron I suggest you put it on your list for next season or maybe even get there for the Burghfield game, which could be massive.


Reading YMCA Rapids: Thatcher, J.Coker(c), Sinclair, Churcher, Grundey, Miles, Longmate, Cousins, Johnson, G.Coker, Froude. Subs: Russell, Lemm, Bye, Robinson, Naisbitt
Henley Town Development: 


Ground Number: 270
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

This was something of a last minute decision to make the trip down to Gloucestershire. However, after a morning of open water swimming with my daughter was cut a little short because the water was so called, I realised that I still just about had time to make it to Wickwar for the Cricklade Cup Semi-Final with Malmesbury Vics Development. As luck would have it, I already knew that the only Ref in Swindon (I know, he's not), Andrew Lincoln, was running the line today. So, a quick DM to let him know I was on my way meant that I could get the team sheets DM'd straight to my Twitter account. Knowing an official is an absolute godsend when watching games at grassroots level where it is so difficult to get hold of team sheets a lot of the time.

The Ground
Wickwar Wanderers play their home games at the Wickwar Playing Fields just to the West of the village. The ground is accessed via a single track road which has very limited passing places. There is a small car park at the ground itself but for bigger games, such as today's match, I guess may will have to do as I did and park in the village, which is a good 5-10 minute walk away. This accounted for me missing the kick-off by a couple of minutes.
There is a small building housing the changing facilities and toilets a kids playground and a very interesting looking small, squat tower behind the far goal. I also noticed on the way out that there is a traditional beacon hidden amongst the trees behind the village end goal. The pitch has a slight slope back towards the village end but is otherwise reasonably flat. All in all, a very pleasant location to watch football especially on a warm Summer's day.

​The Background
This Semi-Final pitched together the lowest ranked and highest ranked clubs left in the competition. Wickwar, who play in the Stroud League Division One were in tenth spot at the close of play last season. The other Semi-Final will see Step 8 Hatherop take on Chesterton, who play in the same Division as Wickwar but were sitting pretty on top of the league when the season was prematurely ended. Opponents, Malmesbury Victoria Development, play in the Wiltshire Senior League and are the only Step 7 team left in the draw. It's a tough test for the home team, up against a side from 3 leagues higher but after beating Cricklade Town's Reserve side, also of the Wiltshire Senior League, 4-1 in the last round, they'll certainly be up for the challenge. To give some context to this result in regards to today's semi-final, Malmesbury drew 2-2 with Cricklade Town Reserves in the group stage. 

The Game
As I said, I got to the match a few minutes after kick-off but luckily I was already in position on the far side of the ground when we were treated to a couple of minutes of mayhem at both ends of the pitch
On 11 minutes Wickwar were awarded what looked like quite a soft penalty from my position towards  opposite end of the ground. However, a visiting referee, who had a much better view, confirmed at half-time that it was indeed a foul and a good decision from the referee. Rob Haines fired home the spot-kick to give Wanderers the lead. 1-0
They say teams are at their most vulnerable when they have just scored, and this appeared to be the case when, within a minute of the goal going in, home keeper and captain, Lee Bindon, slightly mis-timed his dive at the feet of a Vics striker, bringing the player down and giving the referee no option than to point to the spot again. Kyle Witt took the ball but Bindon made up for his error, diving low to his right to save the kick.
​
HT Wickwar Wanderers 1 Malmesbury Victoria Development 1. A fascinating game of football. Wanderers took the lead and then seemingly were happy to concede possession and play on the break. Malmesbury had what seemed like at least 80% of the ball but only managed to get one goal. Wickwar, despite playing the majority of the game in their own half, did look dangerous on the odd occasion they managed to get forward.

A quick wander around the pitch to grab the promised bottle of water from Andrew (team sheets and refreshments. This is the life) after leaving my own in the car when rushing to make kick-off, and it was time to get the second half under way.
​In terms of possession stats, the second half was nowhere near as one-sided. Maybe the heat had started to take its toll on the Vics players after bossing the first half? Maybe the the Wanderers players, after holding their opponents in the first 45 minutes, sensed a cup shock on the cards and found that little bit extra? Whatever the case, it is testament to Wickwar that the three division gap between the sides was not at all evident.

Just past the hour mark Bindon again got down very sharply to parry a goal bound effort. Tranter was quick to latch on to the rebound, sliding the ball into the net only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
​​There was a tension in the air as we approached the dying embers of the game. Both sets of players knew that one mistake would probably end their cup run. This, almost inevitably, boiled over on the pitch at one point. I didn't get a clear view of what started the confrontation, but a couple of players got involved on the far side from where I was standing. This was pretty close to the small but very partisan and vociferous local support, which maybe also had a bearing on what happened. The referee, aided by some hands-on local captaincy from Bindon, who physically removed Haines from the melee, calmed matters down quite quickly.

Malmesbury continued to try to press forward, urged on by defender Josh Curtis who, it has to be said, seemed to be everywhere on the pitch for the last 10 minutes. The Wickwar front-line, even with a few changes in the second half, continued to cause problems for Vics with their non-stop running into channels. However, despite their efforts, neither side could break the deadlock inside the 90 minutes and we headed straight into a penalty shootout situation.




FT Wickwar Wanderers 1 Malmesbury Victoria Development 1. A wonderful game from a neutral's perspective. Two teams fully committed to the game who both gave everything they had despite the very warm conditions. There really was nothing to separate them, especially in the second half. It was actually a shame that anyone had to lose this game.

The Shootout
Penalties, whilst a great spectacle for the crowd (especially neutrals), are a nerve jangling way to decide a football match. You have to admire any player that volunteers to be one of the penalty takers in these situations.

It was Malmesbury who took the first kick, Aaron Sanghera making no mistake. 0-1
Rory Morgan then scored his kick for Wickwar. 1-1
Interesting that he first two penalties were taken by substitutes.
Joe Tranter made it 1-2 for Malmesbury before Haines repeated his first half kick to equalise. 2-2
Malmesbury's Josh Curtis made it 2-3 and Ellis Cox made it six from six. 3-3
Joseph Ogugua, ignoring the stick he was getting from the locals, made it 4-3
Tommy Gilder kept his nerve to make it 4-4
Next up for Malmesbury, Kyle Witt who had missed the first half spot-kick for them. No mistake this time though. 5-4
Another Wickwar substitute, Tom Cranwell, took the next kick but, unfortunately for him and the home team, put it over the bar. Such a hard way to end a game.

Malmesbury go through 5-4 on penalties and will face either Chesterton or Hatherop in the Final.

Wickwar Wanderers: Bindon, Sands, Abbott, Lingham, Leahy, Dix, Gilder, Cox, Haines, Simmons, Aston. Subs: Morgan, Drew, Beale, Cranwell, Howe
Malmesbury Victoria Development: Brown, Witt, Cook(c), Fortune, Lyon, Curtis, Ogugua, Cole, Tranter, H.Archer, J.Archer. Subs: Scull, Laidlaw, Sanghera, Porter


Ground Number: 269
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

​After watching the first Cricklade Shield Semi-Final last Saturday, I was keen to get to this re-arranged second semi-final to see who, out of Stratton United and Kingswood Reserves, would be facing Swindon AFC in the final.

The Ground
The game was not plated on Stratton's normal home pitch. Instead it was switched to nearby Deer Park School on the Western perimeter of Cirencester. There's not too much to say about the ground apart from the pitch was flat and looked to be in good condition. There was also a hole in the net of the goal at the end furthest from the carpark. More of this later.

The Background
Both of these sides ply their trade in the Stroud & District League, Stratton in Division 4 and Kingswood Reserves in Division 7. At the early close of play last season, Stratton were 11th of 13 teams having won two of their eight games, scoring 9 and conceding 25. Kingswood Reserves were propping up Division 7 but had only played 5 games in total, winning one, drawing two and losing two. They too had scored 9 goals but had conceded 22.
The sides have already met in this competition, having been drawn together in Group C. Stratton came out on top that day, winning 3-1 at Kingswood with goals from Brett, Aniasie and Tysom.

The Game
The first meaningful piece of action in the game almost saw the away side take an early lead. They hit Stratton with a quick break down the right side and when the low hard cross was driven in it presented Ibrahim Musa with a real problem. Running back towards his own goal but knowing that a Kingswood player was coming in behind him, he had to try to get to the ball. He managed to get a toe on it but only succeeded in diverting the ball, at pace, back towards his own goal. Luckily for Musa goalkeeper Mike Wright was alert and managed to turn the ball against the bar before gratefully grabbing the rebound. Something of a scare for the home side.
Four minutes later, however, Stratton were in front. A free-kick from the right-flank was played deep towards the back post where Sylvester Anaisie did well to keep it alive, turning the ball back across the goal for Joe Brett to volley home from close range. 1-0.

​Stratton were hungry for more and only two superb saves from Tyler Hopkins, getting down low to an initial effort and then reacting brilliantly to turn the rebound out for a corner, kept the score at 1-0. His heroics, however, were only a temporary reprieve for Kingswood. Two minutes later, following a right-wing corner, Jack Jeffries rose highest to power home a header for 2-0.
Kingswood responded well to going two down in such a short space and were unlucky not to get one back in the 19th minute when they saw an effort come back off the post. This, however, was as close as they were to come in the first half. Not long after that, in the 21st minute, we had what, at first, seemed to be a moment of some controversy. Sylvester Anaisie was put through on goal, running diagonally left to right. He hit a low shot past Hopkins towards the far corner of the net which, from mine and the Kingswood benches perspective, looked to have gone narrowly wide. However, Anaisie immediately wheeled away to celebrate the goal and referee Andrew Lincoln (another name check. Those royalties are growing), signalled that the ball had indeed passed through the hole in the side of the net (see introduction). At half-time he confirmed that the net rippled and that a Kingswood player had confirmed that it did go in. The joys of grassroots football!. 3-0.
Five minutes later and Kingswood pushed the self-destruct button, conceding a penalty with a rash challenge in the box. No complaints from the defenders as Andrew Lincoln pointed to the spot. Brett took the ball and calmly slotted home his second of the evening. 4-0

There was no more scoring in the remainder of the first half. Stratton kept pushing forward, Kingswood defended well but didn't really pose any threat to the home side on the break. 

HT Stratton United 4 Kingswood Reserves 0. A solid first half from the home team who, in all fairness, bossed the game. The combination of Brett and Anaisie for Stratton was too much for the visitors to deal with.

​When the game resumed Stratton were straight back on the offensive, Aniasie hitting the post within the first two minutes after springing the offside trap. However, the home side failed to add to their tally and, as we hit the hour mark, it was actually Kingswood who almost got the first goal of the second period. Ryan Gorman-Williams was put through down the left flank with a clear run towards goal. Wright came out of goal to narrow the angle and the Kingswood striker slid his shot narrowly wide of the post. Five minutes later Stratton made the away side pay for their missed chance when Anaisie burst through their defence before smashing the ball past Hopkins. 5-0
There was another lull in the scoring and it was a further 15 minutes before we saw the sixth goal. Joe Brett putting the icing on his personal performance, launching himself at a delightful cross and heading past Hopkins for his hat-trick. 6-0.

The game was starting to get a little niggly now. Kingswood knew they were well and truly beaten and were getting wound up by a bit of Stratton showboating. To be fair to the home side, their captain audibly issued instructions for them to see the game out with no messing around.
With four minutes remaining one of Stratton's substitutes, Jay Griffiths, was played in behind the defence by a lovely little reverse pass. He calmly finished the move to make it 7-0. Three minutes later the same player got another opportunity inside the Kingswood box. This time, as he managed to get a toe to the ball, he was tripped, and although the ball found its way into the net, the referee had already blown for the offence. Griffiths was handed the ball and he duly obliged from 12 yards. 8-0

FT Stratton united 8 Kingswood Reserves 0. Stratton just had too much for Kingswood on the night. The visitors never gave up trying but, in all honesty, were beaten by a much better team who played to their strengths. The power, pace and skill of Brett and Aniasie was just too much.
Stratton will now play Swindon AFC in what promises to be a good Final game.


Stratton United: Wright, Lindsay, Musa, Coker?, Cook, Brereton(c), Jeffries, Vallance, Brett, Anaisie, Timbrell. Subs: Woods, Keylock, Clarke, Oliver, Simmonds, Griffiths

Kingswood Reserves: Hopkins, Piper, Newnes, Gorman, Pierre, L.Hewer, Gorman-Williams, Toop, K.Walker, Dean, Johnson. Subs: Bezar, Bishop, Ford, R.Walker, B. Hewer

Ground Number: 268
Att: N/A
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A