Witney & District Football Reports - Week 12

By Ant Barlow

Written by David Evans

Draw’s galore see Premier spoils shared

Premier Division
In an important weekend at both ends of the table, none of the six Premier division sides involved in the three games at the weekend could find the cutting edge to get the three points.
The bottom two faced off as Tower Hill and Spartan Rangers came together knowing that three points could have had a significant impact on their points total but a 1-1 draw was the final result. James Scott scored for Tower Hill but David Pryse equalled things up for visiting Spartan and did nothing for either side’s league position.

At Kilkenny Lane, the last of the 100% league records disappeared as FC Hollybush held Charlbury to a 1-1 draw. In a dramatic turnaround from the 6-0 thumping handed out last month, Hollybush managed to get on the scoresheet through Craig Mays. However, a Chris Hirons own goal levelled proceedings to keep Hollybush second and Charlbury fourth but both have significant games in hand on Aston.

With the other results in the league going their way, Aston had a prime opportunity to take three points and practically ensure that they would be top come Christmas but they came up against a battling Carterton Rangers side who took a point home with them. Goals from Ryan Colleton and Joe Wood gave Aston hope but Jonny Dover and Jamie MacDonogh combined to share the points. The draw saw Aston drop points at home for the first time this year. Rangers are now undefeated since September.

Fred Ford Cup Round Three
In the one remaining tie in the third round of the Fred Ford Cup, Combe came through against Witney Royals to progress to round four. Matt Baker, Callum Surrage and Sammy Hart scored in their 3-0 win. Combe’s reward is a trip to premier division Hailey in the next round.

Division One
Stonesfield boast a 100% record in November and Raffy Rice has scored in every single game this month as well to ensure that Stonesfield will start the festive month top of the pile in division one. He wasn’t alone as he was joined on the scoresheet by Peter Searle, James Little Sam Bodinham and Reece Bayliss (2) as Stonesfield racked up six. They didn’t have things all their own way though as Stephen Pearce and Lewis Dady both scored a brace for Milton as it finished 6-4 to the visitors.

Stonesfield are top by a point from Moreton Rangers as they found life a little more comfortable against Eynsham SSC. A clean sheet and goals from Javan Nurse and Ben Shurmer (2) ensured a 3-0 victory and second place in the league.

There were also three goals in the match between Chadlington and Middle Barton but both sides managed to get on to the scoresheet. Dan Bott followed up from his hat-trick last week in scoring for Middle Barton but they were undone by goals from Jacob Hazelwood and Jordan Godfrey as Chadlington maintained their 100% home record and kept third place in the process.

Bourton Rovers and Bletchington faced off against each other knowing that victory for either side would propel them into the top four for the time being and the home sides 3-2 victory meant that Rovers would be the ones to lead the chasing pack as December’s fixtures commence. Jamie Wilkins and Todd Parker-Hunt scored for Bletchington but Bourton Rovers’ top scorer Adam Webley got one with Matt Rose’s double giving Rovers the three points.

Division Two
Fourth versus second was the fixture of the week (on paper) from division two as Hailey Reserves faced off against Witney Wanderers and by full time the sides had switched positions in the league table. Wanderers found the back of the net thanks to goal machine Telmo Fernandez and Stu Morrison but Hailey went one better thanks to Henry Macke, Freddie Buckingham and Tom Evans. Hailey jumped to second as a result.

Witney Wanderers drop to fourth as they were also overtaken by Kingham, despite the fact that they dropped points in their 2-2 draw with Charlbury Town Reserves. Mitchell Faulkner and Mike Thompson scored for Charlbury but they were cancelled out by a Gaz Price double. Charlbury’s point taking them out of the bottom two.

Charlbury were replaced in the bottom two by Siege FC after they fought valiantly but couldn’t stop leaders Minster Lovell Reserves going home with the three points. Siege took the lead through Andy Makepiece as they looked to do the league double over their counterparts but Minster fought back thanks to Luke Hessey and Gary Mitchell to keep them top by a point.

Corinthians managed to get their first win of the month and jumped three league places by beating Brize Norton 3-2. Steve Marshall scored twice for Brize but Corinthians prevailed thanks to goals from Frank Webb, Harry Purfitt and Richie Hall.

Division Three
The league table shifted early on Saturday morning as Bletchington Reserves forfeited their league game against Spartan Rangers Reserves. This gave Spartan a walkover victory which put them top, at least until all of the two o clock games had finished.

With a sizeable gap between fifth and sixth place in the league, the division is turning into a five way battle for promotion and a five way battle for survival. Hook Norton and Wootton switched places in the promotion chasing pack, as Hook Norton handed out a 5-1 thrashing to jump into fourth place at the expense of their opponents. John Mair, James Ingham (2) and Harry Prickett (2) all scored for Hook Norton whilst Michael Steers scored the consolation for Wootton. The result leaves Hook Norton primed for an important December as they face two of the top three sides in the lead up to Christmas.

FC Mills grabbed an important three points as they continue to pursue the two sides above them. They overcame Bourton Rovers Reserves 2-1 thanks to goals from Dan Hedges and a Lee Mcguiness strike with just 3 minutes to go until full time to break Bourton’s hearts. Bourton had taken the lead thanks to Matt Winter.

There were two hat-tricks for Carterton Town B as they reclaimed top spot by 4pm on Saturday by thumping Tower Hill Reserves 10-0. Shay Lowthian and Matt Mills both scored three each to put Carterton fully in control and were joined on the scoresheet by Dave Wanless (2), Tyler Webster and a 40 yard thunderbolt from Liam Felstead proved to be the goal of the game. The result leaves Tower Hill third bottom and they now have the worst goal difference in the league.

Division Four
A Martin Kraus hat-trick set Milton Reserves well on their way to a thumping victory over Spartan Rangers A at the weekend. Milton ran out 9-1 winners in the end thanks to further goals from George Ford, Lewis Reeve-Smith, Brandon Laing, Scott Soy and Joshua Cooper (2). Daz Craig scored Spartan’s consolation. Milton are now second and can boast being the league’s top scorers after this result.

There was also ten goals and a hat-trick scorer on the winning side in the match between Bampton United Reserves and Brize Norton Reserves. Danny Claridge, Jason Hirshfield and Dan Sollis (2) all combined for visiting Brize as they battled hard for the three points but Steven Newman’s hat-trick, a brace for Steve Allery and a single strike for Lewis Townsend saw Bampton win 6-4.

At the other end of the goal scoring spectrum (or rather lack of), FC Ascott and Chadlington Reserves played out a 0-0 draw. Ascott remain seventh and Chadlington drop to fourth as a result of the stalemate.

Wootton Reserves jumped out of the bottom two after beating bottom side FC Ascott Rangers. Simon Stokes, Theo Flatman and Jack Pease scored one each to give Wootton the three points. Rangers remain pointless for the season as we enter December.

Stonesfield were able to increase their advantage at the top of the league in the easiest way possible. Eynsham SSC Reserves forfeited the game in advance of kick off meaning that Stonesfield go six points clear after Chadlington’s draw and the absence of a game for Kingham Reserves.

Where next?

Witney & District Football Reports - Week 13 Saturday 1st December 2018 Written by David Evans

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