Action from Westbury’s 4-1 win away at Odd Down, courtesy of Martin Pearce.

Latest Round-ups:

Midweek Action: Westbury secured a fifth consecutive Premier Division win on Tuesday evening, coming from behind to defeat Shepton Mallet 3-1. The hosts went ahead through Tyson Pollard early on, before Ricky Hulbert headed home Jamie Jordan’s free-kick to tie things up before the break. The in-form Callum Demkiv handed Westbury their first lead of the evening less than ten minutes into the second half, with Hulbert doubling his tally soon after to grab another three points. On Wednesday evening, Elliot Saunders struck two equalisers to help Bristol Telephones secure a 2-2 draw away at Oldland Abbotonians during their First Division fixture at the Aitchison Playing Fields. There was mixed success in the first round of Devon FA St Lukes Bowl, with Ryan Bush scoring in either half of Buckland’s 5-0 win away at Ivybridge, while Willand were defeated 3-0 by Plymouth Argyle for whom Klaidi Lolos plundered a match-winning brace.

Premier Division: Westbury United made it six consecutive league wins to start their season with a 4-1 victory away at Odd Down. The reigning First Division champions enjoyed a strong first half at the Lew Hill Memorial Ground with Callum Demkiv and Joe Stradling each scoring either side of an audacious goal from goalkeeper Gareth Evans. On debut, Evans’s punt from his own area bounced over the home side keeper’s head and into the net to give Westbury a two-goal lead at the time. Odd Down pulled a goal back during the second half, but it was the away side who had the last word with Dan Kovacs scoring from the spot during the final ten minutes. Bridgwater Town enjoyed another fruitful day in front of goal, defeating fifth-placed Bradford Town 6-2 at Fairfax Park. After Josh White’s headed effort handed them a tenth minute lead, Jack Taylor struck twice to extend the hosts lead to three. Sam Towler completed a near-perfect first half with a well-placed lobbed finish, before Dan Cottle reduced the arrears three minutes after the break. Mike Duffy then restored Bridgy’s four-goal advantage, which was extended to five thanks to Harry Horton not long after Josh Witcombe had been dismissed for the away side.

Season

Action from Welton’s clash with Chippenham Park, courtesy of MIP Photography.

Willand Rovers survived a red-card to goalkeeper Mike Searle during their 4-1 win at home to Hengrove Athletic. After going ahead through Josh Searle in the ninth minute, his namesake was dismissed on the cusp of half-time, with Hengrove equalising from the resulting spot kick. The ten-man Rovers shot out of the blocks in the second half and restored their lead thanks to Luke Mortimore in the 48th minute, with two further goals from Searle helping him to complete his hat-trick on a frantic afternoon at Silver Street. There was also plenty of drama at The Lawns, where Buckland Athletic struck late to complete a 3-2 win away at Cribbs. After marching into a two-goal lead following early goals from Charlie Johansen and James Richards, Marcus Kelly cut Buckland’s advantage in half just prior to the interval. With both sides desperately in need of three points, the game was all square going into the final 15 minutes following Lewis Hedges’ equaliser, and it was the visitors from Devon who grabbed the victory following Richard Groves’ late winner. Ryan Radford plundered his second hat-trick of the season so far to lead Roman Glass St George to a fantastic 4-0 win away at Shepton Mallet. Another side to win away from home were Brislington, with Oaklan Buck scoring the only goal of the game two minutes after the break during their defeat of Bridport. Cadbury Heath came from behind to defeat Shortwood United 3-1, with Ross Moorhead scoring a pair of headers either side of Callum Ball’s goal for the away side. Clevedon Town also came out on the winning side of a 3-1 result, with goals from Archie Ferris, Alex Camm and Elliott Nicholson leading them to victory away at ten-man Chipping Sodbury Town. Hallen made it three victories from their last four league games, following a dramatic 2-1 win at home to Wellington. Having led in the fifth minute through Jamel Fisher, Hallen saw their advantage trimmed following Charlie Bridges’ leveller, only for Kyle Thomas to score the winner six minutes from time to help them climb into the top half.

First Division: Chard Town’s strong run of performances at the Dening Sports Field continued, with five different scorers helping them claim a 6-1 win at home to Portishead Town. Having gone ahead in the opening minute through Liam Cleal, Chard doubled their advantage not long after thanks to Andy Holmes, with Ollie Pearson adding a third on the half hour. Cleal then scored his second of the afternoon, before Ryan Parris and Max Westlake added gloss to the one-sided scoreline late on. Welton Rovers are another side bang in form, and they extended their winning run in the league to four matches after coming from a goal down to beat Chippenham Park 4-1. A deflected effort had given the visitors a half-time lead, but Welton got back on level terms less than a minute after the break thanks to Dylan Hatt’s chested finish.

Cheddar’s Dan Jackson punches clear during their 1-1 draw with Corsham.

Image courtesy of John Cuthbertson.

After conceding the equaliser, thanks went from bad to worse for Park who lost Enoch Loc and Caine Bradbury to red cards, with keeper Adam House thwarting a spot kick from Welton’s Alex Battrick to keep the game level. The home side pushed on against the nine men however, with Chris Pile firing them ahead, before Aaron Seviour struck twice in the dying minutes to complete the victory. Harry Walker starred for Ashton & Backwell United, scoring twice after the break to lead his side to a 2-1 victory away at Bishops Lydeard who had earlier gone ahead on the half-hour through Luke Desave. Another player to strike twice on Saturday afternoon was Sam Farthing of Sherborne, with his two first-half goals sandwiching an effort from Harry Turner as the hosts ran out 3-1 winners over Bristol Telephones. There was late, late drama at the Southfields Recreation Ground, where Radstock Town grabbed an injury time equaliser to draw 1-1 with Keynsham Town. The K’s looked to have done enough to secure back-to-back away wins thanks to Kyle Box’s 37th minute opener, but then deep into stoppage time, Luke Curtis converted a cross from Ryan Pike into the back of the net to secure a share of the points. There was also a 1-1 draw

between Corsham Town and Cheddar, with home skipper Dan King heading the Reds ahead, before Adam Jones struck five minutes from time to level things up for the Cheesemen. Oldland Abbotonians struck three times after the break to secure a 4-1 win at home to Wincanton Town in Scott Armstrong’s final game in charge for the club. Despite falling behind inside 60 seconds, Oldland gave Armstrong a fitting send-off, with

Jordan Chubb equalising in the first-half, before Adam Ireland, Liam Gale and Josh Southway each claimed goals during the final half-hour. There was also an impressive home win for Devizes Town, with Rob Mitchell, Josh Brigham and Jamie Walters all scoring in their 3-1 victory over Calne Town, while Bishop Sutton defeated Warminster 3-2 at Lakeview.

Cup Action: Bitton’s winning start to the season finally came to an end on Saturday afternoon after they fell to a 4-0 defeat away at Taunton Town in the FA Cup. The Southern League side scored twice in either half to move onto the third qualifying round, with Bitton now able to set their sights back on league matters. On Sunday, Plymouth Parkway put up a fantastic fight, eventually suffering a 3-1 defeat to National League South side Gloucester City. After falling behind inside a minute, Parkway fought back and levelled things up through Adam Carter from the penalty spot. Gloucester required two goals from Harry Williams and Jake Jackson in the final half hour to see off the gallant Parkway who matched their higher ranked opponents for large periods. Longwell Green Sports suffered defeat in their Gloucestershire Challenge Trophy tie, going down 3-1 away at Ruardean Hill Rovers despite taking the lead in the fixture.

Latest ResultsTuesday 18 th September 2018 Premier DivisionShepton Mallet 1-3 Westbury United 105Devon FA St Lukes Bowl – First Round Ivybridge 0-5 Buckland AthleticWednesday 19 th September 2018 First DivisionOldland Abbotonians 2-2 Bristol Telephones 30Devon FA St Lukes Bowl – First Round Willand Rovers 0-3 Plymouth Argyle 81Saturday 22 nd September 2018 FA Cup Second Qualifying RoundTaunton Town 4-0 BittonPremier DivisionBridgwater Town 6-2 Bradford Town 183Bridport 0-1 Brislington 91Chipping Sodbury Town 1-3 Clevedon Town 65Cribbs 2-3 Buckland Athletic 68Hallen 2-1 Wellington 38Odd Down 1-4 Westbury United 46Shepton Mallet 0-4 Roman Glass St George 88Shortwood United 1-3 Cadbury Heath 53Willand Rovers 4-1 Hengrove Athletic 58First DivisionBishop Sutton 3-2 Warminster Town 45Bishops Lydeard 1-2 Ashton & Backwell United 45Chard Town 6-1 Portishead Town 53Corsham Town 1-1 Cheddar 110Devizes Town 3-1 Calne Town 202Oldland Abbotonians 4-1 Wincanton Town 15Radstock Town 1-1 Keynsham Town 44Sherborne Town 3-1 Bristol Telephones 47Welton Rovers 4-1 Chippenham Park 52Gloucestershire FA Challenge TrophyRuardean Hill Rovers 3-1 Longwell Green SportsSunday 23 rd September 2018 FA Cup Second Qualifying RoundGloucester City 3-1 Plymouth Parkway 349

To read all of Kerry Miller’s match reports, please head to this link: http://www.toolstationleague.com/matchreports.php

Upcoming FixturesTuesday 25 th September 2018 Les Phillips Cup Preliminary RoundBrislington vs Hengrove Athletic 19:30KOCheddar vs Bradford Town 19:45KOChippenham Park vs Cadbury Heath 19:45KOChipping Sodbury Town vs Oldland Abbotonians 19:30KOCorsham Town vs Hallen 19:45KORadstock Town vs Bishops Lydeard 19:30KOPremier DivisionShepton Mallet vs Willand Rovers 19:30KOFirst DivisionAshton & Backwell United vs Longwell Green Sports 19:30KOWednesday 26 th September 2018

Les Phillips Cup Preliminary RoundBridport vs Bristol Telephones 19:45KOSaturday 29 th September 2018 (KICK OFF AT 3.00PM UNLESS NOTED) Premier DivisionBitton vs HallenBradford Town vs Shepton MalletBridport vs Cadbury HeathBuckland Athletic vs Chipping Sodbury TownClevedon Town vs Bridgwater TownHengrove Athletic vs Plymouth ParkwayOdd Down vs CribbsRoman Glass St George vs BrislingtonWellington vs Shortwood UnitedWestbury United vs Willand Rovers

First DivisionAshton & Backwell United vs CheddarCalne Town vs Sherborne TownChippenham Park vs Bristol TelephonesCorsham Town vs Chard TownKeynsham Town vs Longwell Green SportsOldland Abbotonians vs Bishops LydeardRadstock Town vs Bishop SuttonWells City vs Portishead TownWelton Rovers vs Devizes TownWincanton Town vs Warminster Town

Be sure to check out the latest episode of Western League Podcast. The broadcasts will be available on

the league’s official website at the following link: http://www.toolstationleague.com/podcasts.php

League TablesPremier Division

Team P W D L F A GD PTS1 Bridgwater Town 8 6 1 1 29 6 23 192 Willand Rovers 7 6 1 0 18 6 12 193 Westbury United 6 6 0 0 20 6 14 184 Clevedon Town 6 5 0 1 14 8 6 155 Bradford Town 8 4 1 3 13 14 -1 136 Bitton 4 4 0 0 11 0 11 127 Plymouth Parkway 5 4 0 1 11 7 4 128 Roman Glass St George 6 3 2 1 13 6 7 119 Hallen 6 3 0 3 14 7 7 9

10 Cadbury Heath 6 2 3 1 10 9 1 911 Brislington 8 2 1 5 13 19 -6 712 Odd Down 5 2 0 3 8 11 -3 613 Buckland Athletic 6 2 0 4 6 11 -5 614 Wellington 6 2 0 4 7 13 -6 615 Bridport 4 1 1 2 5 5 0 416 Shepton Mallet 6 1 0 5 9 15 -6 317 Cribbs 6 1 0 5 4 12 -8 318 Hengrove Athletic 6 1 0 5 10 21 -11 319 Shortwood United 6 0 0 6 5 25 -20 020 Chipping Sodbury Town 5 0 0 5 3 23 -20 0

First DivisionTeam P W D L F A GD PTS

1 Chard Town 7 5 1 1 21 8 13 162 Devizes Town 6 5 0 1 13 8 5 153 Welton Rovers 7 4 2 1 15 6 9 144 Cheddar 6 4 1 1 16 8 8 135 Sherborne Town 7 4 1 2 9 5 4 136 Ashton & Backwell United 7 4 1 2 11 12 -1 137 Corsham Town 7 3 3 1 12 5 7 128 Warminster Town 7 4 0 3 15 9 6 129 Bishop Sutton 7 4 0 3 9 14 -5 12

10 Calne Town 7 3 1 3 10 9 1 1011 Longwell Green Sports 4 3 0 1 10 6 4 912 Wells City 6 3 0 3 10 10 0 913 Bishops Lydeard 8 3 0 5 12 17 -5 914 Keynsham Town 7 2 2 3 12 11 1 815 Oldland Abbotonians 7 2 2 3 11 13 -2 816 Radstock Town 7 1 2 4 16 20 -4 517 Wincanton Town 6 1 1 4 8 14 -6 418 Chippenham Park 7 1 1 5 7 18 -11 419 Portishead Town 8 1 0 7 12 26 -14 320 Bristol Telephones 6 0 2 4 9 19 -10 2