It's been a difficult week to say the least. My Father passed away on Tuesday morning and, although not unexpected, it has still been a time of great sadness. I was in two minds about going to a game at all this midweek but, after much deliberation, I made the decision to go ahead as planned. It was my Dad who gave me my love of football. From going down the park as a small kid, playing school football, through my first trial for a local team, playing the game, watching the game, and coaching, he's always been there to encourage and support me. He took me to my first game in the late 1960s, Brierley Hill Alliance v Kidderminster Harriers. Our last game together was 4 years ago, Dudley Sports v Shifnal Town (Sports Ship Seven To Shifnal). Going to a game this midweek seemed like the right thing to do and also allowed me to put something down in black and white as a lasting tribute to my Dad. Not particularly relishing the prospect of nearly 2 hours of driving, I decided against my original plan to head over to Tytherington Rocks and instead opted for a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup game a little closer to home, Penn & Tylers Green v Shrivenham. 

The Ground
It's almost exactly 2 years since I last visited French School Meadows (Stalemate). At that time the club had just moved back to their ground after finally getting permission to install their telescopic floodlights. As far as I could see, nothing much has changed in the intervening two years. Everything is still very neat and tidy. The pitch looked to be in tip-top condition. All in all, it's a very nice ground with good facilities and a playing surface designed for good football.

The Background
The Berks & Bucks Senior Cup has been around for a very long time. The initial winners back in 1879 were Reading who beat Marlow 1-0 in the Final. Since that time six different teams have clocked up double-figures of wins. Wycombe Wanderers lead the way with 28 but Maidenhead united, Chesham United, Slough Town, Marlow and Windsor & Eton (now defunct) all have over 10 victories. Neither Penn nor Shrivenham have won the trophy or even been in the final as far as I can see.
Despite both teams plying their trade in the Hellenic structure for quite some time (Shrivenham are still in the Hellenic Premier), they have not played in the same division at any time. Penn, now in the Combined Counties League Division One, were always in the Eastern section of the Hellenic League whilst Shrivenham came up through Division One West. They have also not met in the FA Vase or FA Cup in the past. Therefore, unless they have played in the competition previously, this could be the first competitive meeting between the sides.
Shrivenham have already played one game in the competition, coming from a goal down at Abingdon United to win 2-1. Both goals were scored by Callum Parsons-McGhee, including a 91st minute winner.
Neither team have started their respective league seasons too well. Both are paced fourth from bottom but they also both have games in hand on a number of the teams around them. There is, of course, one Step difference between the teams with Penn still in Step 6 and Shrivenham in Step 5. However, with the lower ranked side at home, will this balance out?

​The Game
The visitors were out of the blocks like Olympic athletes. With only 3 minutes played they made the breakthrough. A lovely ball down the right set Max Lloyd free to run clear. He drove towards the by-line before cutting the ball back perfectly for Zac Skinner to put the ball and himself into the back of the home net. 0-1. Shrivenham were flying at this point and, for the first 10 minutes or so, you had to worry for Penn. The way Shrivenham were playing the ball around, spreading play and generally cutting through Penn with ease, it looked as if it was going to be a long night for the hosts. However, a combination of the home side sticking with it and Shrivenham inexplicably seeming to take their foot off the gas, meant that Penn started to get a foothold on the game.
With fourteen minutes gone they had a gilt-edged opportunity to equalise A ball through the middle caught the Shrivenham defence calling for offside but although one player was clearly off he made no attempt to go for the ball. Instead Fred Tripp ran through from an onside position to be one on one with Sam Ayres. Unfortunately for the hosts he slotted his effort narrowly wide of the post.
Despite not levelling the game up one the scoresheet, it was certainly more of an even contest on the pitch now. Penn were having problems picking up Callum Parsons-McGhee, who was dropping deep to receive the ball. Comfortable with holding on to the ball in a tight spot as well as able to pick a good pass, he was causing some concern for the home side, as he did all night. However, Penn were also looking more dangerous now and just before the half hour mark they did get back on level terms with a goal quite similar to the one they conceded. Left-back Sydney Woods went on a great run down the left flank before producing a low cross that laid it on a plate for Tripp. 1-1
If anything now, the home side were slightly edging matter, although it was a fairly even match up and it was Shrivenham who almost got their noses back in front after 37 minutes. a long range effort was palmed away by Butcher at full stretch. The loose ball was picked up and recycled to Parsons who saw his effort cleared off the line by home captain De Franco. Then, just when it looked like we were going in all square at the break, Penn engineered a goal of their own. Shrivenham conceded a free-kick some 25-30 yards out. The ball was dinked over the top of the defence towards the left hand touchline. De Franco just managed to reach it before it crossed the line, slipping the ball back inside for Danny Jordan to score from close range. 2-1

HT Penn & Tylers green 2 Shrivenham 1. In some respects a strange half of football. Shrivenham looked like world-beaters for the opening 10 minutes, threatening to blow Penn away. However, credit to Penn for hanging in, equalising and then getting themselves in front just before the break. As a neutral, plenty of entertainment.

​The second half began in a similar vein to the way the first ended, evenly. Two closely matched sides .
Just before the hour mark, however, Shrivenham got themselves back on level terms. Once again, as with both Penn goals, it was created with good work on the left side. This time Shriv captain Robbie Hendry was the creator, getting down the left before delivering a low ball across the six yard line. Joshua Elms got in front of his marker and finished with a deft, if not cheeky, little back flick past Butcher. 2-2.
Now it really was anyone's game. I'm not sure a supporter from either side would have been able to predict the outcome of the game at this stage. The home side made a few changes in an effort to get themselves back in front but, with 10 minutes to go, it was the visitor's who struck what was to be the killer blow. the ball was fed to Josh McGrory on the right-hand corner of the Penn penalty area. He unleashed a low drive across Butcher and into the far corner of the net. 2-3
A few minutes later Shrivenham's first scorer, Zac Skinner, was put clean through with a golden opportunity to seal the game but screwed his effort narrowly wide of the post. Penn threw everyone forward in the closing minutes, looking to force a penalty shootout, but it was all to no avail.

FT Penn & Tylers Green 2 Shrivenham 3. A thoroughly entertaining game of football that really could have gone either way. The game swung backwards and forwards with both sides always looking to go forward.
If you want to catch either of these teams in action this weekend, Shrivenham welcome bottom side Thornbury Town to The Recreation Ground whilst Penn host mid-table AFC Aldermaston.

Penn & Tylers Green: Butcher, Mirza, De Franco(c), Henry, Woods, Watson, Flint, Whitfield, Jordan, Isaac, Tripp. Subs: Jones, Nicholls, White, Hore, Zondo
Shrivenham: Ayres, Gregory, Hendry(c), Dodd, Taylor, Cook, McGrory, Lloyd, Elms, Parsons, Skinner. Subs: Bright, Hirst, Hall, Broadbank

Ground Number: Re-Visit
Att: 
Entrance: £7.00
Programme: Online

Another great weekend of action across the Division and in the County Cup matches. The round-up of the action is below. After that we are focussing on the coming weekend with five of our teams in action in the FA Cup. There are some cracking ties scheduled and you can read all about them below.

Carterton 2-4 Kidlington
Two Sam Wadey-Smith goals for Carterton were not enough to prevent Kidlington continuing their superb start to the season. Elisha Cox, with two, Abi Haynes and and an own goal saw The Greens run out 4-2 winners and extend their lead at the top of the league.

Caversham United 0-3 Penn & Tylers Green
Penn & Tylers Green came up with the goods again to see off a determined Goats challenge. In an almost exact repeat of last season's Berks & Buck FA Trophy Final, the Buckinghamshire outfit matched the 3-0 result from that match and even managed to have the same players on the scoresheet. The only difference being that whereas in the Final Sasha Smith grabbed two and Ellie Ludgate-Williams one, the roles were reversed with Ludgate-Williams getting two this time.

Bucks & Becks Cup 
Milton United 0-1 Reading
By all accounts a sterling effort from United before being narrowly edged out of the game by a single Reading goal. Milton have still only played a single league game this season but remain in second spot. With the FA Cup coming up next week, they will be going into October having still only played once in the league.

Woodley United 2-0 Long Crendon
Top scorer May Hamblin, who has notched in every game for Woodley so far this season, was on target again to put United in front at the break. A second goal from Ellen Surtees completed the scoring with just over a quarter of an hour to go.
The Wanderin Tractor once again made the journey over to make a great report on the game.

This weekend's fixtures, all 14:00 kick-offs:

FA Cup
Caversham United v Eversley & California
These sides met at exactly the same stage of the FA Cup last season, although the location was reversed. On that occasion Caversham came out on top, winning 4-2 with two goals from Freya Jenkins and one each from Caitlin Levy and Holly Swan. Eversley will be well rested, having not had a competitive game since the first weekend of the season. However, United made something of a reputation as a cup team last season. Can they keep it up?
Mapeldurham Recreation Ground, Upper Woodcote Road, Mapledurham, Reading RG4 7LD

Milton United v Ascot United
Another tough test for Milton as they welcome the Premier League leaders to The Heights. Ascot arrive with a 100% record
Another tough test for Milton. Premier league leaders Ascot have a 100% league record and have already scored eight goals in their two games. However, Milton have already showed that they are up for the cup this season having put eight past Slough in the previous round. This promises to be a cracking contest.
Milton Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

Tilehurst Panthers v Long Crendon
These sides were Thames Valley Division 1 stable mates until this season. They fought out a 1-1 draw at Long Crendon in the league last season but, in the carbon-copy of this game, Long Crendon won 5-0 at Tilehurst with goals from Ellie Northcott(2), Emma Leith, Nicole Jacobs and Megan Baillett. Panthers have gone goal crazy in their last two matches, winning 8-1 at Taplow in the Cup and then thrashing Haddenham 9-0 at home in the league, a game that saw Tilehurst's Deanna Cane notch a double hat-trick.
Reading City FC, Rivermoor Stadium, Scours Lane, Tilehurst, Reading RG30 6AY

Watford v Penn & Tylers Green
It's not easy to find out too much about this game. Watford's first team play their home games at Wealdstone FC's ground but the FA website just states the venue for this game as County Cup Ground #77. Judging by the form of Penn at the moment, I doubt they will be too bothered about where they play. Including the first game that was abandoned (but I am told is going to stand), Sasha Smith and Ellie Ludgate-Williams have already scored seven goals between them this season. They are going to pose a threat going forward to any team ay any location.
County Cup Ground #77 (possibly Wealdstone FC)

Making the most of decent driving weather I decided to head back up to Staffordshire for the second week running this midweek. Who can resist a local derby and a cup match to boot? Two completely new clubs for me too. Rocester, now of the North West Counties League and Uttoxeter Town, currently plying their trade in the Midland League structure. With less than five miles between the grounds, this was a proper local derby. As far as I could see, no-one had christened this derby game. These days most derby matches have a name, often using the El Classico title as a basis. In this case, however, bearing in mind that both Rocester (the current headquarters of JCB) and Uttoxter (the birth place of Joseph Cyril Bamford) have such close ties to the JCB name, I think The Digger Derby would be appropriate.

The Background
The Staffordshire Senior Cup is one of football's oldest competitions having first been run in 1877 when Stoke defeated Talke Rangers in the Final. Stoke went on to win the following year too and are still the competition's most successful side with 19 titles. It's a competition that used to be dominated by the area's professional clubs, Aston Villa, West Brom and Wolves have all clocked up double figures, as too have Stafford Rangers, champions for the last three tournaments.

​Uttoxeter Town have never won the Cup, not been in the Final. However, in the 2007-08 season Rocester won it with a Final victory over Kidsgrove Athletic. This came after they lost the 2000-01 Final to Port Vale, there only other Final appearance.
Oddly, depsite the proximity of the clubs, there is a not a great history of games between the teams. In fact, they only appear to have been in the same Division once in recent history, 2018-19, when both were in Midland League Division 1. Uttoxeter finished seven places and 21 points above their neighbours that season but, on the pitch, honours were far more even. An early season 0-0 draw at Hillsfield was followed by a 1-0 Boxing Day win for Uttoxeter.
Uttoxter were promoted to the Midland Premier Division (Step 5) two seasons ago, so play at a Step above Rocester in the North West Counties Division One South. This season has not started particularly well for either club although Town, with one win from their seven league games, will ceratinly be happier than The Romans. Rocester are anchored to the bottom of their table having lost all ten of their league outings so far. Even worse, they have scored just three times whilst conceding an average of over three per game.

​The Ground
Rocester's Hillsfield Stadium is situated just to the East of Rocester village. The ground is adjacent to an old mill building, built by the famous industrialist Richard Arkwright, that now is home to the JCB Academy, a school for Year 9 and above with a focus on engineering. There is ample parking to the rear of the stadium which is accessed through a single turnstile in the corner of the ground. On the car park side of the ground is the clubhouse, next to which is the main stand, The Gilbert Egerton Stand. The dugouts are also on this side of the pitch. Opposite this there is also a covered standing area which straddles the half way line. On both sides of the ground there are grass banks which allow a good view across the playing area.

​The Game
Rocester, as the home club, were resplendent in their change kit of all blue while their visitors wore a rather natty yellow kit with unique patterns on the shirt and shorts. My only qualm was the use of white numbers on a yellow background. Almost impossible for us old gits to see the numbers clearly from further than 20 yards away.
In a fairly even opening few minutes, although neither keeper was threatened, both sides looked up for the game. Rocester, to be fair, didn't have the look of a team still searching for the first win of the season.
After 9 minutes the home side got themselves in front. It wasn't the prettiest of goals, but they wouldn't mind in the least. A long punt from keeper Charlie Wood turned the Uttoxeter backline and, under a little pressure, Harry Bickerton headed the ball past his own keeper. 1-0 
The goal didn't open any floodgates. In fact, it was the only significant action within the first 20 minutes. That was until Ethan Newton-Taylor decided to try his luck from 20 yards, seeing his effort skid just wide of the home goal. Again, after this effort, there was plenty going on in the centre of the park, but neither keeper was being unduly threatened. However, the game did come to life more in the last 10 minutes of the half, as Uttoxeter tried to step it up, looking for an equaliser. They forced their first corner after 35 minutes and although it came to nothing seemed to spark them into action. With four minutes to go until the break they were again on the prowl. Following a bit of pinball in the home penalty area, Sam Birks latched onto a loose ball but could only loop his effort over the bar. Then with the referee getting ready to blow for the break, the visitors came even closer. A corner from the left found Thorley at the back post. His header looked goal bound until Wood somehow managed to produce a point blank save to keep his side in front.

HT Rocester 1 Uttoxeter Town 0. A fairly even first half with clear cut chances few and far between. Probably fitting that the the difference so far was an own goal. Uttoxter came into the game more as the half wore on and looked to have the upper hand just before the break.

The visitors were back on the front foot in the second half, starting as they left off at the end of the first 45 minutes. However, as in the first half, the possession did not equate to clear cut opportunities. On 53 minutes Ashley Elliott earned himself a yellow card for a lunge in midfield. The first sign of a 'derby-like' tackle in what had been a relatively calm affair.
Uttoxeter had their hosts pinned back in their own half but still couldn't get them selves back on level terms. Then, as often happens they were caught on the break. Rocester, after soaking up a fair bit of pressure launched a raid of their own with Connor Mason shooting low past Tolley. 2-0.
That goal sparked the game into life and only three minutes later Uttoxeter got themselves right back in it. A deep cross from the left was met at the far post by Paul Hughes who played it back across the six yard box for Sam Birks to tap the ball over the line. 2-1.
If I was a betting man I would have probably put a few quid on Uttoxeter at least getting an equaliser at this point. Their tails were up and you could see that they thought they were going to pull it back. However, try as they might, they still couldn't get the all important goal. Then, on 81 minutes, they were sucker punched again. Substitute Greg Large went on a powerful run down the left, stepped inside and unleashed a beautiful curling, dipping shot over Tolley into the far corner. 3-1. A fantastic goal.
Town were still not giving up. As we entered the final few minutes Thorley once again came close, heading over when he maybe should have at least got it on target. If that one had gone in, we could have been in for a very interesting final minute or two.

FT Rocester 3 Uttoxeter Town 1. A first win of the season for The Romans, local bragging rights, a 'cupset' and progress in the Staffordshire Senior Cup. Not a bad night's work for the home side.
At the weekend Rocester travel to Ashby Ivanhoe in the FA Vase. Uttoxeter are back in league action as they welcome Highgate United to the Oldfields Sports Ground.

Rocester: Wood, Stevens, Paddock, Zona, Bullock(c), Wadsworth, Payne, Elliott, Mason, Niven, Bates. Subs: Burrows, Lomas, Large, Redgate, Rennelson
Uttoxeter Town: Tolley, Bickerton, Thorley, Newton-Taylor, Dyche, Comery(c), Richardson, Harper, Hughes, Birks, Hassell. Subs: Neild, Baines, Kenny, Weldon, Hepburn

Ground Number: 327
Att: 160
Entrance: £6.00
Programme: £1.00

After much confusion following the cancellations last week and rearrangements this week, hopefully there won't be any changes to the fixtures coming up next Sunday. However, before getting into next week, let's catch up on the results from two high-scoring FA Cup ties and a couple of league matches.

FA Cup
Brentford 5-4 Woodley United
May Hamblin grabbed her second goal in two games. Other Woodley strikes came from Rebecca Gooch, Sarah Lawrence and Charley Evans but it wasn't quite enough to stop The Bees who came out on top thanks to goals from Kirsty Matthews, Sophie Troth and a hat-trick from Chloe Logie. A full report of the game can be found on the Brentford website

Milton United 8-0 Slough Town
Charlotte Comley struck a hat-trick, Georgia Winger grabbed a brace and there were also goals from Holly Porter, April England and Chloe Phillips as Milton went goal crazy in their FA Cup tie with Slough Town. Eight goals without reply saw United safely through to the next round and continued their high-scoring start to the season. That's twelve goals in their opening two games now.

League
Carterton 0-1 Caversham United
The Goats got their season up and running with a single goal win at Carterton. Having lost twice to their hosts in the Thames Valley League last season, Caversham finally came up trumps. Striker Sumayah Zayadi hit the only goal, making it two in two games for her this season.

Reading Today has coverage of Woodley United & Caversham United in their weekend round-up.

Kidlington 0-0 Long Crendon
Crendon managed to nullify the threat of Kidlington's in form Courtney Sumner but couldn't find the net themselves. Kidlington, however, maintained their unbeaten start to life at this level and Crendon got themselves on the board for the season after their opening day defeat.
Wings Media covered the game and captured some great photos. 

View the FA Full-Time League Table here.

This coming Sunday. All games kick-off at 14:00.

League
Carterton v Kidlington
Carterton welcome unbeaten Kidlington to The Sports Pavilion looking to bounce back from their home defeat to Caversham last weekend. Having been held to a goalless draw by Long Crendon, the Greens will be looking to top scorer Courtney Sumner to get back amongst the goals and keep them top of the pile.
The Sports Pavilion, Monahan Way, Carterton OX18 3AN

Caversham United v Penn & Tylers Green
Penn return to action after a long break following their abandoned game on the opening day. In a repeat of last season's Berks & Bucks Cup Final, they travel to a Caversham side who are buoyant after bagging their first win of the season last weekend. Striker Sumayah Zayadi will be looking to make it three goals in three games after scoring both of The Goats' goals so far this season.
Mapeldurham Recreation Ground, Upper Woodcote Road, Mapledurham, Reading RG4 7LD

County Cup Matches
Milton United v Reading
For the second week running United are in Cup action. After last weekend's superb 8-0 hammering of Slough Town, they face a potentially difficult County Cup tie against Reading. Striker Charlotte Comley will be looking to continue her brilliant start to the season having already grabbed four goals in two games.
Milton Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

Woodley United v Long Crendon
Woodley were on the wrong end of a nine goal thriller at the weekend, eventually succumbing 5-4 to Brentford in the FA Cup. The goals have been spread around their team so far this season, but May Hamblin leads the way having scored in both games so far. Long Crendon steadied their league ship at the weekend, holding Kidlington to a 0-0 draw after going down 4-1 to Milton United on the opening day.
Woodlands Avenue, Woodley, Reading, Berks RG5 3HE

​Continuing my recent theme of County League games I decided to head North this Wednesday and take in the Staffordshire County Premier League. In reality this was not my first trip to Brereton Social. I made the journey towards the end of last season only to find that the game against Eastwood Hanley had been called off late in the day, whilst I was in transit.

The Ground
Brereton have played at their Armitage Lane Ground (The Red Lion Ground) since their formation in 1899. It is situated in Brereton, just to the South East of Rugeley, Staffordshire on a triangular piece of land bordered by the A51, Armitage Lane and Brereton Hill/Main Road. There is a car park on site which seems to fill up quite quickly on a match day. However, there is also street parking available on Armitage Lane right outside the ground entrance. rom the car park entry to the ground is through gate alongside the clubhouse. There's no turnstile but entrance fees are paid to a man at a table, who I believe was the club Chairman this evening (that's what I love about non-league, everyone chips in). The club looks out over the playing area, with a few tables and chairs also set out alongside the pitch. On the same side of the ground, the car park side, there is also a covered seating stand which has the dugouts on either side, in front of which are two of the largest technical areas I've ever seen. The opposite side of the ground is bordered by trees, as is the far end which backs onto a school. There is a grass bank behind the goal nearest to the club house end. There is access around all of the ground but no more covered spectator areas apart from the main stand.

​The Background
Brereton, now part of the Staffordshire County League furniture, have spent a good part of their history playing in the West Midlands League and the Midlands Combination. They won West Midlands Division One in the 1970-71 season but have not yet won the Staffs County League, although they wree runners-up to AFC Alsage last seaosn and won Division Two in 2016-17. They have started this campaign very well and currently sit top of the pile having won eight and lost one of their opening nine games. their one defeat coming at hoem to Alsager Town Reserves in August.

​FC 41 were only formed in 2020 and have managed two consecutive promotions since then. They take their name from the No 41 Gin House Tap Room and Bar in Stoke, not a million miles from their home ground (thanks to the FC 41 Twitter account for the information). In their first season they were runners-up in Division Two and last season they came third in Division One, earning a place in the Premier League. Initially all went well, with a win and draw in their opening two games. However, they then went down to four straight defeats before getting a very creditable 2-2 draw at second-placed Leek CSOB last time out, coming from a goal down to lead 2-1 before conceding an equaliser. As far as I can tell, this would be the first competitive meeting between the clubs.
As a mark of respect for The Queen a minute's silence was observed before kick-off

​The Game
The match got off to what can only be described as a scrappy start. Neither side seemed able to get any flow into their play and, despite Social seeing more of the ball, neither goalkeeper was tested at all in the first ten minutes. In fact the first major opportunity did not happen until the 18th minute. It fell to the home side when an attempted pass into the box took a couple of ricochets before falling nicely into the path of Conor Phillips on the left hand side of the penalty area. He scooped the ball past the advancing figure of visiting keeper James Bourne only to see his effort drift wide of the post.
Social were now finally starting to up their game and produce the sort of football you'd expect from the league leaders. Captain Max Marshall was next to try his luck, firing over from the edge of the box. This, as we would see later, was just a case of him finding his range. 
The opening goal arrived on 31 minutes and it was Brereton who grabbed it, inspired by a great run from Ben Elcock. The midfielder powered down the right flank, eased his defender off the ball and then delivered it on a plate for Marshall to slot home from 10 yards out. 1-0.
They say that you are at your most vulnerable when you have just scored. Well, in this case it was the other way around. We had waited over half an hour for a goal and then got two within there minutes, both for the home team. The second goal was made and finished by Brad Hodgson. The number 9 hounded the 41 defence, getting a boot on an attempted clearance and diverting the ball to Marshall. Hodgson continued his movement into the box, accepted the return pass and made no mistake with the finish. 2-0

A double blow for FC 41 who were now well and truly under the cosh. Credit to them for steadying the ship for a while but they could only hold out for another 10 minutes. Just before the half-time whistle was due Marshall latched onto a ball, just beating the onrushing keeper to it. He was forced out wide but, as Bourne raced to get back between the sticks, the host's top scorer composed himself, took a a few steps inside to give himself a slightly better angle, and then hammered an unstoppable shot into the far top corner. Superb strike. 3-0

HT Brereton Social 3 FC 41 0. Social took a while to get into their stride but once up and running gave the new boys a bit of a lesson in how to take a game by the scruff of the neck.

​The second half started in a similar fashion to the first. Scrappy. Although, it has to be said that FC 41 were giving a better account for themselves after clearly getting a bit of a roasting during the break. Social were still seeing slightly more of the ball than their opponents, but neither keeper was unduly stretched for the first 15 minutes of the second period. 
However, on 61 minutes, out of the blue, FC 41 launched a raid on the home goal. The ball was played to Joshua Gilson who flashed his strike just wide of the post. A definite warning to Social that, despite being on top, they could not afford to ease off too much. At this point, Kieron Cliff on the left flank for Social, looked like their biggest threat. His pace on the flank was causing a few problems for the visitor's defence. On 65 minutes some good work in midfield by James Russell saw a through ball find Cliff but his shot could not beat Bourne.

With just over 20 minutes remaining FC 41 once again showed Social that they couldn't rest on their laurels. From a corner on the right substitute Mitchell Jones headed in on the back post. 3-1
Social looked to hit back and settle it, Hughes tried his luck from outside the box forcing Bourne into a low diving save to his right. Then, just inside the last 10 minutes, FC 41 made it very interesting. Following a bit of a scramble in the home box Jones was again on hand to stab the ball home for 3-2. Somehow, from a position of total dominance, Social found themselves in a battle.
However, they needn't have worried too much. With five minutes left they won a free kick just outside the box and a little to the right of goal. Sub Adam McFarlane stepped up and struck a beauty, curling the ball over the wall, hitting the underside of the bar and going in off the despairing attempt of Bourne to keep it out. 4-2
That was it. There was no coming back for FC 41 now.

FT Brereton Social 4 FC 41 2. Social stay top of the league although they did conspire to make this game much harder than it should have been. Credit to FC 41 though. They were dead and buried by half-time but continued to play their game and almost staged a stunning fightback.
On Saturday Brereton face a tough looking test as they travel to fifth placed Ball Haye Green, although Ball Haye may have preferred coming to Brereton as they currently have a 100% away record. FC41 make the very short trip (less than 2 miles) for the derby with Eastwood Hanley, who are currently in bottom spot having lost all nine of their games so far.

Brereton Social: Todd, Bridges, Gratton, Deebank, Cliff, Russell, Marshall(c), Elcock, Franklin, Phillips, Hodgson. Subs: Davies, Marsh, Godwin, McFarlane

FC41: Bourne, Kelsall, Hulson, Eaton, Plant, Podmore, Wain(c), Gilson, Fern, Buchanan, Reece. Subs: Jones, Hyatt, Dennis, Swann


Ground Number: 326
Att: 
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: N/A

Following on from last weekend's break in play, all of the Division One North sides are back in action again this Sunday. Once again, there is a mish mash of league and cup action, with the postponed FA Cup games taking precedence over league and County Cup fixtures.

We start this week's preview with the FA Cup ties that were already covered in last week's edition

Brentford v Woodley United (ko 15:00)
London and South East Division One side Brentford are already 3 games into their league campaign. Seemingly strong at home, they have won both fixtures so far, scoring five and conceding just one. Their one blot was the 9-2 defeat to league leaders Dorking Wanderers. Woodley's league season got off to the perfect start with a 1-0 win at Eversley & California thanks to May Hamblin's great finish.
Bedfont Sports Club, Hatton Road, TW14 9QT (as listed on Brentford's website rather than Full-Time)

Milton United v Slough Town (ko 14:00)
Slough opened their Thames Valley Division 1 season two weeks with a thumping 5-0 win at Banbury United. Despite both of these sides coming up through the Thames Valley Leagues, they don't appear to have been in the same division together. Milton had a great start to their league campaign with a resounding 4-1 defeat of Long Crendon. Four different players got on the scoresheet, suggesting that united have firepower in depth throughout the team. Likewise Slough, who shared their opening five goals across four players.
Milton Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

There are three games in the league this weekend. All are 14:00 kick-offs
Carterton v Caversham United
Two sides who suffered heavy defeats on the opening day come face to face. Carterton did the double over the Goats in last season's Thames Valley campaign. An early season 2-1 win in Berkshire was followed by a 4-1 home win on the final day of the season. Sixteen of the twenty-two players who started that final game of last season remain in the squads this season, so the teams will know each other well.
Sports Pavilion, Monahan Way, Carterton OX18 3AN

Kidlington Youth v Eversley & California
What a start to the new season for Kidlington, jumping two divisions and facing last season's cup conquerors, they smashed it with a 4-1 win. Eversley were edged out 1-0 at home to Woodley on the opening day. The visitors will need to be on their guard to stop Kidlington's Courtney Sumner, top scorer last season who also notched all four on the opening day. Eversley's joint top scorers from last season, Rebekah Pantony and Joanne Harfield are both still in The Boars' squad.
Exeter Park, Crown Road, Kidlington OX5 1AB

Penn & Tylers Green v Long Crendon
Following the abandonment of Penn's first game, the league table still hasn't been updated. However, if the score line (5-1 to Penn) stands, as I am informed it will, they will go into this Sunday's clash as league leaders. Long Crendon went down 4-1 to Milton United at The Heights on the opening day but will take heart from the fact that they did the league double over their rivals last season. This included a 1-0 win at Penn courtesy of a Michelle Bailey goal, coincidentally the scorer of their first SRWFL goal on day 1.
French Meadow School, Elm Road, Penn HP10 8LG

MakeAD1N will be back with all the results, reports and photos from this weekend's games next week. Keep sending in the links, photos and reports please.
info@botp.co.uk

A pattern seems to be emerging this season, County Leagues. In the past few weeks BotP has taken a look at the Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Leagues. This Tuesday I decided to continue this trend by venturing into the Nottinghamshire League for the first time. This also gave me the opportunity to tick off a club that had been long on my list, Borrowash Victoria, and see another team that I had not yet had the chance to watch, Wollaton.

The Ground
Borrowash play their home games at the Anderson Electrical Arena in Spondon just to the East of Derby. The ground is part of a large space that includes the Spondon Sports Association, Spondon Bowls Club, Anchor Bowmen Archery club and, of course Graham Street Prims FC. The two football grounds are so close that games between the sides are referred to as El Carparkio because they share parking space. One note for anyone coming to this ground for the first time. the entrance off Borrowash Road, as far as I can tell, is not signposted at all and, to all intents and purpose, it appears that you are driving into a disused pub car park. When you do find your way in, drive through the first car park and you will see the ground in front of you. There is also some parking available right alongside the ground, so you may be lucky enough to get a spot there.

Entrance to the ground is through a single turnstile which brings you in behind the goal. Immediately to your right there is a covered seating area, The Joe Kellogg Memorial Stand, which runs directly behind the goal. Joe Kellog was a former Vics player who tragically collapsed and died during a training session from an undetected heart condition. The Kellogg family have since raised money to supply grassroots clubs with defibrillators. Next to this is Ando's clubhouse and bar. Down the left hand side of the pitch there is a large main stand which spans the halfway line. Opposite this are the brick-built dugouts, behind which are the changing facilities and a toilet block. The arena would be an impressive facility even a few steps higher but for Step 7, which is where Vics find themselves this season, it is a superb stadium in my opinion.

​The Background
Borrowash have spent the majority of the past 40 years at Step 6 level, although they have switched leagues on a few occasions (Northern Counties, Central Midlands, East Midlands, United Counties). Recent history has seen them struggling towards the bottom of the league culminating in last season where they were rock bottom of United Counties Division One. The consequence is that they find themselves in the Nottinghamshire Senior League for the first time in their history this season.
Wollaton, by contrast, were founder members of the Notts Senior league in 2004, having come up through various local league sin the Midlands and Nottingham. They won back to back titles in 2005 and 2006, before winning for the third time in 2015. In both this season and the 2004-05 season Wollaton did the double of League Title and Senior Cup.
Both teams have started this campaign well. Wollaton went into the game in fourth spot having won three and lost one of their four games. Their only defeat coming at the hands of league leaders Sandiacre Town. Victoria are currently 9th but have a 100% record after playing just two league games. Interestingly Victoria have not played an away game yet and Wollaton have yet to play at home. 

​The Game
It was Wollaton, in their pale blue shirts, who made the better start, looking lively from the first minute. Only 2 minutes had been played when a move through the middle saw their big centre-forward, David Udoh, bring the ball down and send Tommy Street in on goal from the left hand side. Home keeper Tom Smith, however, was quick off his line to narrow the angle and block well. Three minutes later Udoh, who was proving to be a handful for the Vics defence, muscled his way onto a ball down the left before playing in a perfect cross onto the head of Gus Bonnington some 8 yards out. Unfortunately for Wollaton his header was straight at Smith who saved comfortably.
These two close shaves sparked some response from the home side and seven minutes in they created a chance of their own. It started with Smith in goal. His long punt down field was latched onto by the pacy Paul Johnson who had the legs on his defender. Wollaton's keeper, Glenn Guyatt, spread himself well to get enough on the ball to prevent Johnson's shot hitting the target and the ball was cleared to safety. 
Just before the quarter hour mark we had a brief stoppage in play when a Vics defensive clearance caught out referee Kieran Shaw, hitting him smack on the back of his head. However, he was soon ok to continue.
After Wollaton's good start, Vics had now managed to stem the flow to a certain extent and the game was far more even than the first few minutes. On 25 minutes Street, who had been getting increasingly frustrated with the way things were going, tripped a Vics player in centre midfield and got himself a yellow. However, his frustrations were nearly quashed a few minutes later when a left wing corner was narrowly headed over by Josh Broad.
Of course, when one team has been creating all of the chances it's always the other team who go ahead. Sure enough, Vics were awarded a free kick some 40 yards out which was delivered into the box by Lewin. As players ran towards the ball Guyatt came for it and elected to punch clear. He made firm contact but directed the ball straight at the onrushing Vics defender Alex Birch. The ball looped high into the air and, with players and goalkeeper all making an effort to get back, just dropping in under the bar, the spin taking it into the net and then back out again. An extraordinary goal but they all count. 1-0.
Undeterred, Wollaton continued to look the more dangerous of the two sides without really testing Smith again. On 40 minutes Udoh chased down a long through ball, just winning a foot race with a covering defender and the keeper. He got a tow to the ball, sending it past Smith but probably too far ahead to reach. The striker then ended in a heap in the area amidst penalty shouts from the visitors. Nothing given and, from my position I would say the correct call from the referee. There didn't appear to be any contact and, to be fair, there was not too much in the way of complaint from the striker.

HT Borrowash Victoria 1 Wollaton 0. A strange half in many ways. The visitors have had much more of the ball and the home keeper has been much busier than the Wollaton stopper. However, after what can only be described as a freak goal, the hosts lead at the break.

​A free-kick for Wollaton four minutes into the second half narrowly evaded players arriving at the far post as the visitors continued to look dangerous. However, Vics attacks may have been more infrequent than their visitors but when they did attack they certainly posed a threat. Five minutes into the half Muir's stinging drive was well saved by the visiting keeper at his near post.
Wollaton continued to press forward but were thwarted by a series of offside flags which served to increase the levels of frustration for players and coaches alike. Street, already on a yellow and flagged offside several times, was walking a tightrope with the referee. Just past the hour mark it looked as if the visitors had finally got reward for their efforts when they had the ball in the home net after Street headed in a Smith free-kick, only for the assistant's flag to be raised again.
Just to add salt to the wounds, four minutes after the disallowed goal Borrowash went up the other end and sealed the game. No luck involved this time though. Paul Johnson, who's pace and close control had been a threat all night, burst through the Wollaton defence before calmly slotting the ball past the keeper. 2-0
Johnson came close to getting another five minutes later when Wollaton tried to play out from the back and the nippy striker dispossessed the goalkeeper inside the penalty area. Luckily for the visitors a combination of the scrambling goalkeeper and a covering defender pushed the striker wide enough for him to screw his shot the wrong side of the post.

FT Borrowash Victoria 2 Wollaton 0. Vics maintain their 100% start to the season and climb to fourth in the table, replacing Wollaton in that position, who themselves drop to sixth. On Saturday Borrowash face their first away trip of the season as they make the journey to seventh placed FC Sez. Meanwhile, Wollaton have their first home game as they welcome Woodthorpe Park Rangers. Wollaton lost both games against Rangers last season and will be looking to put that right.
Grassroot TV (@Grassroot_TV) were also at the game and captured some great drone footage. You can either view the Highlights or the Full Game by clicking on the links.

Borrowash Victoria: Smith, Clarke, Lewin(c), Davies, Birch, Anthony, Muir, Patterson, Johnson, Dolby, Benjamin. Subs: Wood, Roome, Riley, Barker
Wollaton: Guyatt, Draycott, Crofts, Phillips, Doyle, Sanders, Bonnington, Smith(c), Udoh, Broad, Street. Subs: Keane, Pearson, Connor, Lacey

Special thanks to Rob Hornby, The NSL Registrar and Discipline Officer, for providing the team sheets to me. Extremely helpful and very much appreciated.

Ground Number: 325
Att: 
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: by eMail

Welcome to the second edition of Make A D1N. With all eight teams kicking off their league campaign last Sunday, we have been collecting reports and photographs from around the web. We also look forward to next Sunday which sees three more league games with the other two sides starting their FA Cup adventures.
We start with a round-up of events from Sunday:

Eversley & California 0 Woodley United 1
Woodley began life back in Division One by taking all three points at Fox Lane. A May Hamblin strike was the difference between the two sides in what sounded like a very tightly contested game.
There's a great review of the game from new hopper and blogger @wanderintractor here - The Wandering Tractor 
This game was also lucky enough to have not one but two local photographers present. Take a look at the action from @oakmistphotos here - Oakmist Photos and you can see some great shots from @andrewbatt5 here - Andrew Batt
Rdg.Today also ran a report of the game which features some of Andrew's photos - News & Sport for Reading

Kidlington Youth 4 Caversham United 1
The Greens produced a complete reversal of the cup meeting between the sides last season. Last season's top scorer, Courtney Sumner who also scored Kidlington's goal against Caversham last season, got off to a blistering start grabbing all four goals for Kidlington. Sumayah Zayadi replied for the Goats on a day that they will want to put in the past as soon as possible.
The photos below are just a small selection of those captured by Steve Surman Photography - @Stevens7200

​Milton United 4 Long Crendon 1
United put last season's ninth place finish firmly in the past as they started the season with resounding victory over newly promoted Long Crendon. Ahead 2-1 at the break through goals from Charlotte Comley and Holly Potter, Milton added two more through Natalie Evans and April England in the second half. Michelle Bailey, who also won Long Crendon's PotM award, replied for the Greens.
Wings Media were on hand to capture some great photos from the game - Wings Media

Penn & Tylers Green A-A Carterton (5-1)
This game was abandoned after 76 minutes following a medical emergency involving a Carterton player. BotP has been informed that the player in question is home from hospital and recovering, which is great news. I am sure everyone wishes her all the best.
Penn were leading 5-1 when the game was stopped, with two goals each from Sasha Smith and Ellie Ludgate-Williams and another from Henna Hussain. Kirsten Rolls replied for Carterton. We are told that the result will stand, which puts Penn top of the table on goal difference at the end of week 1.

Looking forward to next Sunday, there is a mixed bag of league and FA Cup fixtures. All games ate 14:00 kick-off unless stated.

Up for the cup are both Woodley United and Milton United.
Brentford  v Woodley United
London and South East Division One side Brentford are already 3 games into their league campaign. Seemingly strong at home, they have won both fixtures so far, scoring five and conceding just one. Their one blot was the 9-2 defeat to league leaders Dorking Wanderers.
Bedfont Sports Club, Hatton Road, TW14 9QT (as listed on Brentford's website rather than Full-Time)

Milton United v Slough Town 
Slough opened their Thames Valley Division 1 season last weekend with a thumping 5-0 win at Banbury United. Despite both sides coming up through the Thames Valley Leagues, they don't appear to have been in the same division together.
Milton Heights, Potash Lane, Milton, Abingdon OX14 4XB

In the league
Eversley & California v Carterton
Both will be looking to bounce back after opening day defeats. The sides shared a division in the Thames Valley League for a few years and, despite Eversley holding sway a few years back, the last five meetings have produced 4 Carterton wins and a draw. Having said that, Eversley have one year extra experience at this level. It could be a tight encounter.
Eversley Sports Association, Fox Lane, Eversley RG27 0NS

Long Crendon v Caversham United
Two more sides looking to get their campaigns started after opening day defeats. Both played in the Thames valley League last season with Long Crendon finishing six points ahead of the Goats. However, in head to heads it was Caversham who had the bragging rights, doing the double over The Greens, 3-1 at Mapeldurham and 2-1 back in Long Crendon.
Long Crendon Recreation Ground, 9 Chearsley Road, Long Crendon HP18 9BS

Penn & Tylers Green v Kidlington
The final game this week sees two sides who started the season like trains go head to head. Defence could well be key in this game as both sides possess excellent fire power. Ellie Ludgate-Williams and Sasha Smith scored 33 between them last season. Both scored a brace on the opening day. Kidlington's Courtney Sumner smashed home 31 in 20 games last season and bagged all four against Caversham last Sunday.
French Meadow School, Elm Road, Penn HP10 8LG

Please let me know if I missed any reports or if anyone wants anything else included in this or future blogs. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed. Please keep them coming in.

This season Saturday games are going to be few and far between for me, so I was keen to make the most of a rare opportunity this week. A few games caught my eye but the one that stood out was the early season top of the table Gloucestershire County League clash between Gala Wilton and Sharpness. Both sides had started the season well, it was a new ground for me and two teams that I had never had the pleasure of watching before. Perfect Saturday afternoon fare on the last weekend before my U13 girl's season begins.

The Ground
Wilton Rovers were formed in 1952. They moved home to the Gala Club in on the Northern boundaries of Gloucester in 1970, adopting the name of the club later in their history. Situated no more than a drop kick from Gloucester Rugby's Kingsholm Stadium (you can hear the PA announcements and crowd quite clearly), the Gala Club comprises of a fairly large clubhouse, function room and conference facilities. There's plenty of parking available on both sides of the clubhouse. A patio and barbecue area sits in front of the club, looking out towards the football pitch. These days all of the features of the playing area are on the clubhouse side of the pitch. A relatively new covered standing area separates the two dugouts. This is the only covered area on the ground now, although on the far side you can still see the foundations from the old Gala stand. Such a shame that this has now gone. If you look at the images of the club on Google maps you will see a Craig Dabbs photo of the stand from 2016. The pitch itself looked as if it had stood up quite well to the recent dry weather. There's possibly a slight slope from right to left when looking form the clubhouse side, but nothing of any great consequence.

​The Background
Both sides had started the Gloucester County League season very well and, at the start of play, both were boasting 100% records. Gala sat top of the pile with 9 points from their 3 games. To add to that record they had also already scored 12 goals, beating Cribbs reserves 4-2 on the opening day, following up with a 3-0 win at Patchway Town and then a 5-1 home defeat of Quedgeley Wanderers. Sharpness, who came back into the Gloucester League setup in 2019 from the Gloucester Northern Senior League, started the season with a 4-2 win over Quedgeley and followed it up with a 2-1 win over Stoke Gifford. They sat third at the start of play, ahead of their first road trip of the season. Last season saw both sides finish in the top five, Sharpness third and Gala fifth. Gala won this fixture 2-0 with goals from Jay Dare and Callum Thomas. The return at Hamfields was a 0-0 draw which saw five yellow cards.
Massive thanks to Gala coach Jon Clay for taking the time to let me take a phot of their team sheet and then heading back into the changing rooms to bring out the Sharpness sheet. I don't like asking coaches on matchday, they've got enough going on, but Jon was more than happy to help. A credit to the club.

​The Game
After a cagey opening it was gala who produced the first shot on target when Truan Taylor had to be alert to hang onto a Dan Gayner shot after 8 minutes. Not to be outdone, Sharpness tried their luck a few minutes later. Tom Frankham weaved inside form the left before seeing his shot deflected wide for a corner off a defender. A lively start from both sides.
A minute later Gayner was again looking dangerous a he muscled his way onto a long ball through the middle. He managed to get a shot away but, once again, was thwarted by Taylor. The big Gala striker was starting to cause a few problems for the visitor's defensive line. that looked as if it would only get worse for Sharpness when, after a fairly long delay for treatment, centre-half Tome Freeman was forced off with what looked like a head injury. The defender was on his feet and walking around the pitch afterwards, so hopefully nothing more than a precaution.
The game became increasingly scrappy from this point. The danger from Gayner's runs lessened as Gala were caught offside, much to the ire of their players and bench, many times. In fact, the flagging of the Sharpness linesman (no assistant referees at this level) became a constant complaint from the home team. I'll be honest, at no point in the game, in either half, was I in line with any of the decisions, so I can't pass any comment on this at all. I guess this is just a feature of the game at this level. Who'd want to be a lino eh?
The long gala through ball did almost pay dividends in the 40th minute though. No flag this time as Ben Sluman just managed to win a race for the ball with visitor's keeper Truan Taylor. His toe poke beat the keeper but also just went wide of the far post. Probably as close as either team had come to a goal for a good twenty minutes or so. However, it was the visitors who came close to having the final say of the half. A left wing corner caused a bit of a scramble in the Gala penalty area before it was finally scrambled clear.

HT Gala Wilton 0 Sharpness 0. As expected, a tightly contested game between two very evenly matched sides. A scrappy affair with what appeared to be a number of personal scores being settled in favour of playing football. Not too many clear cut chances but certainly not dull game. I finally got to meet Andrew Jackson of Tiger Sports Photography (@tigersportphot1). We've been in contact over Twiiter for some time but this was the first time we had both been at the same game, so good to meet up in person at last.

​There may not have been any goals in the first forty-five minutes but we only had to wait four or five minutes to see the net bulge in the second half. The goal came somewhat out of the blue and caught both myself and Andrew by surprise a little. A gala raid up the right flank produced a lovely cross from Gayner deep into the Sharpness box, where home striker Martin Smith climbed above everyone to power a header back past Taylor into the net. 1-0.
After the goal the game settled into similar patterns as the first half for the next fifteen minutes. By this time I had relocated to a spot in the new stand between the two dugouts to get a better idea of the atmosphere between the two sides. I think it's fair to say that both sides had their gripes with the officiating at times. As we past the hour mark it was clear that Sharpness were putting a lot of effort into stepping things up and were increasingly looking to get forwards. On 65 minutes Sharpness sprung a quick break down their right hand side  but the final ball across the face of the goal was just too far ahead of Jake Evans for him to make a proper contact.
Of course, as the away side pushed for an equaliser they left themselves more vulnerable at the back. that was the case on 80 minutes when Dan Gayner went on a good run culminating in a powerful shot that Taylor was again forced to repel at his near post. Then with five minutes remaining Gala came even closer when Kiran Mace's header crashed against the bar.
We were now at the stage when both benches were asking the referee how long there was to play. by my watch we were into the first minute of added time when the match took a twist. Sharpness won a corner on the left. The ball was lofted into the box with the majority of the away team loaded in there. A header was directed goalward only for a home defender to head it off the line. The ball fell to Sharpness captain Ben Gibbs on right-hand edge of the box and he drilled it back past Newman and a crowd of players  to level the game. 1-1. Cue much celebration from the Sharpness bench. 
That celebration, however, was muted compared to what happened two minutes later, with the referee about to blow for full-time. Calls for a penalty from Sharpness fell on deaf ears but again the ball dropped to a Sharks player, this time substitute Will Lacey. He slid the ball past Brad Newman to send the visitor's bench into absolute raptures. 1-2.
Their was barely time for the home side to restart the game before the referee blew for the end of the game. 

FT Gala Wilton 1 Sharpness 2. Sharks completely turned the game on its head in added time to retain their 100% league record and draw level on point with Gala at the top. Absolutely gutting for the home side and, unsurprisingly, there were words to be had between some of the players, benches and supporters. To be honest, after such a highly charged end to a game that had had a bit of an edge anyway, it was to be expected and, in all fairness it was, as they say, a bit of handbags. Nothing untoward.
From a neutral's point of view you couldn't ask a lot more form the end of a game and the Gloucestershire County League didn't fail to produce as far as I am concerned. If you want to check out either of these teams, and I strongly suggest you do, they will be back in cup action next weekend. Sharpness host Quedgeley whilst Gala Wilton make the trip to Stoke Gifford.

Gala Wilton: Newman, Loveridge, Parry, McNally(c), Mace, Molyneux, Sluman, Howell, D.Gayner, Smirt, A.Gayner. Subs: Walters, Harmer, Foxwell, Antonio, Gibbs
Sharpness: Taylor, Ben Gibbs(c), Thomas, Dummelow, Rouse, Freeman, Cawkwell, Frankham, A.Higgs, Brad Gibbs, Jack Higgs. Subs: Lacey, Walsh, Evans, James Higgs, Paterson

Ground Number: 324
Att: 45
Entrance: N/A
Programme: Online