Midweek Action: There was a hat-trick of away wins during the midweek of First Division action, with AEK Boco’s 8-0 mauling of Keynsham the most eye-catching result of the three. The K’s have been on an upward trend over recent times, but they were put to the sword by their visitors, with Isaiah Crawford notching a hat-trick during the one-sided victory. Sam Thomas also struck in either half, with Seb Scott grabbing a brace alongside a goal from substitute Joe Thomas as Boco ended their three-match winless run with a ruthless performance which saw them score six second half goals at the AJN Stadium. In Tuesday’s other encounter, Brislington ran out 3-0 winners away at Wells City to move closer to the top two. The reigning champions have now won eight of their previous nine league fixtures, many of which have been one-sided scorelines, and took the lead at Wells thanks to a penalty from Jordan Ricketts. City were afforded the chance to respond from the spot themselves, however Charlie Crook was denied by Bris keeper George Dorrington, allowing them to maintain their slender advantage. Dean Griffiths then put the game out of sight, with his quickfire double midway through the second half confirming another three points for the Foxes. 24 hours later, Radstock leapfrogged Brislington back up into second spot following a last gasp 2-1 win away at Shirehampton. The game took a while to spark into life, and after Adey Harvey had put Town ahead in the 67th minute, Shirehampton hit back almost instantly thanks to a smart free-kick from Ryan Radford. That set up a thrilling finale, and having lost their previous two matches, Radstock will be relieved to have returned to winning ways with Jacob Reader’s 88th minute strike helping them to register maximum points.
FA Vase: Three Western League sides have prolonged their stay in the national competition after completing excellent third round victories on Saturday afternoon. One of those was a given considering it was a battle between Premier Division duo Barnstaple and Falmouth, with the tie going the way of the visitors from Cornwall. Having faced one another in a pair of league fixtures over the past 35 days, the sides know each other well, and it was Falmouth who made the stronger start, with the away side going ahead in the tenth minute courtesy of James Ward. A second goal midway through the second half from Ollie Walker extended Falmouth’s advantage, and despite losing their clean sheet in stoppage time, it was Andrew Westgarth’s outfit who booked their spot in the next round. Joining them in the upcoming draw will be Brixham who held off a late flurry from Downton to win by three goals to two at Wall Park. Following a quiet 40 minutes to open the game, Brixham came to life at the end of the first period, with Danny Gaze and Jake Chisholm scoring twice in quick succession to put them two goals to the good. A third goal from Cole Harford midway through the second half made it 3-0, and in the end that proved to be a crucial strike, after Downton scored twice in the final 20 minutes to give the Devonians a late scare.
Bridgwater were the third Toolstation side to make it through to the fourth round after they rebounded from late heartbreak to bear Royal Wootton Bassett on penalties. Having made an awful start which saw them fall behind in the tenth minute, Bridgy gained parity in the closing stages of the opening half thanks to a long-range screamer from Harry Horton. Another belting finish soon after the break from George King turned the game in United’s favour, and it looked like they had done enough to squeak home, only for the hosts to level affairs with a goal line scramble during second half stoppage time. That goal could have derailed Bridgwater, but they dusted themselves down to topple their hosts at the end of a sudden death penalty shootout, with Jason Quick scoring the winner following a pair of saves from keeper Isaac Finch. Clevedon came unstuck away at Hartpury College, with home forward Ben Baxter scoring twice during the second half to overturn Sam Beresford’s early opener. Meanwhile, Wells City will head back to Hamworthy Recreation at a later date after their tie was abandoned at the hour mark due to fog.
League Action: Due to postponements and cup ties, only two Premier Division contests took place on Saturday, with St Blazey’s recent topsy-turvy form continuing after they beat Nailsea & Tickenham by three goals to two. Having suffered a heavy defeat at table-topping Helston last weekend, the Blaze roared ahead thanks to an excellent solo effort from Ryan Downing. That opening goal seemed to kick the visitors into gear, and after levelling through Luke Osgood, they soon found themselves 2-1 up following a close-range finish from Fabien Mokhtari. Nailsea themselves have struggled to secure points over recent weeks, and those struggles showed up once again at Blaise Park, with Luke Cloke drawing the home side level ten minutes from time after rounding the keeper and slotting home. St Blazey sensed an opportunity to keep their foot on the pedal, and due to a mistake by the Swags defence, George Newton was able to capitalise, prodding home in the 87th
Saturday afternoon. One of those was a given considering it was a battle between Premier Division duo Barnstaple and Falmouth, with the tie going the way of the visitors from Cornwall. Having faced one another in a pair of league fixtures over the past 35 days, the sides know each other well, and it was Falmouth who made the stronger start, with the away side going ahead in the tenth minute courtesy of James Ward. A second goal midway through the second half from Ollie Walker extended Falmouth’s advantage, and despite losing their clean sheet in stoppage time, it was Andrew Westgarth’s outfit who booked their spot in the next round. Joining them in the upcoming draw will be Brixham who held off a late flurry from Downton to win by three goals to two at Wall Park. Following a quiet 40 minutes to open the game, Brixham came to life at the end of the first period, with Danny Gaze and Jake Chisholm scoring twice in quick succession to put them two goals to the good. A third goal from Cole Harford midway through the second half made it 3-0, and in the end that proved to be a crucial strike, after Downton scored twice in the final 20 minutes to give the Devonians a late scare.
Bridgwater were the third Toolstation side to make it through to the fourth round after they rebounded from late heartbreak to bear Royal Wootton Bassett on penalties. Having made an awful start which saw them fall behind in the tenth minute, Bridgy gained parity in the closing stages of the opening half thanks to a long-range screamer from Harry Horton. Another belting finish soon after the break from George King turned the game in United’s favour, and it looked like they had done enough to squeak home, only for the hosts to level affairs with a goal line scramble during second half stoppage time. That goal could have derailed Bridgwater, but they dusted themselves down to topple their hosts at the end of a sudden death penalty shootout, with Jason Quick scoring the winner following a pair of saves from keeper Isaac Finch. Clevedon came unstuck away at Hartpury College, with home forward Ben Baxter scoring twice during the second half to overturn Sam Beresford’s early opener. Meanwhile, Wells City will head back to Hamworthy Recreation at a later date after their tie was abandoned at the hour mark due to fog.
League Action: Due to postponements and cup ties, only two Premier Division contests took place on Saturday, with St Blazey’s recent topsy-turvy form continuing after they beat Nailsea & Tickenham by three goals to two. Having suffered a heavy defeat at table-topping Helston last weekend, the Blaze roared ahead thanks to an excellent solo effort from Ryan Downing. That opening goal seemed to kick the visitors into gear, and after levelling through Luke Osgood, they soon found themselves 2-1 up following a close-range finish from Fabien Mokhtari. Nailsea themselves have struggled to secure points over recent weeks, and those struggles showed up once again at Blaise Park, with Luke Cloke drawing the home side level ten minutes from time after rounding the keeper and slotting home. St Blazey sensed an opportunity to keep their foot on the pedal, and due to a mistake by the Swags defence, George Newton was able to capitalise, prodding home in the 87th minute to lead the hosts to a dramatic last gasp victory. In the other game, Wellington extended their unbeaten run to three matches after gaining a battling point away at Buckland. With 12 places separating the sides at kick-off, it was no surprise to see Buckland go ahead after half an hour when Cieran Bridger drilled the ball low and hard into the bottom corner of the Wellington net. The Somerset side battled hard throughout the contest, and secured the point their performance deserved when Lewis Jennings slotted the ball home ten minutes after the interval.
It was a busier afternoon in the First Division, with seven matches taking place, although only six of those reached the full-time whistle after Wincanton’s clash with Bristol Telephones was abandoned after 30 minutes due to the foggy conditions. There was plenty of goal action elsewhere in the division, including at Bitton, where the hosts stormed to a 4-2 victory over Hallen. The highest scorers of the afternoon were Bradford Town, with Sam Jordan’s hat-trick helping to secure an 8-0 thumping of bottom side Bishop Sutton. A Jordan header put the Bobcats three-up at the interval, adding to earlier goals from Jordan Pinder and Ben Wickens during a one-sided first half. Things then got tougher for the struggling Sutton after the interval, with Jordan taking the lead out to six with his third goal of the game. There was also a goal for Tyson Pollard on his return to the team, with Wickens and Jack Witcombe closing out the contest with a pair of late efforts. Third-placed Cribbs Reserves enjoyed another strong showing away at Warminster, running out 3-1 winners on the back of a fast start at Weymouth Street. The away side flew out of the blocks, storming into a two-goal lead inside the opening nine minutes courtesy of goals from Liam Clayton and Tatenda Mateke. It was then Kieran Clayton’s turn to get his name on the scoresheet, stretching the advantage out to three, with Warminster grabbing a consolation 15 minutes from time. Another side to win 3-1 were Longwell Green Sports, with a strong second-half showing helping them to down Cheddar. Dean Chrisostomou had given the Cheesemen a share of the half-time spoils, but they were eventually defeated, with Sam Bainbridge, Sonny Passco and Billy Hensler all on target for Longwell Green who continue to flourish on their home turf. AEK Boco were the other home victors, with a tenth goal of the campaign from Sam Thomas helping lead them to a slender 1-0 win over Odd Down, who ended the game with ten men. Shirehampton have a sharpshooter of their own, and Louis Snailham played a starring role in their 2-1 comeback win at Cadbury Heath. Things weren’t looking good for the visitors who found themselves a goal down with 15 left on the clock following a powerful finish from Dom Anderson at the end of the first half. Snailham then took over the contest, and after levelling from close range, the same man then struck again two minutes later to flip the game on its head in Shirehampton’s favour.