Witney & District Football Reports - Week 14

By Ant Barlow

Written by David Evans

Successful Stonesfield are first name into Fred Ford Semi’s.

Fred Ford Quarter Final
It was giant killer vs giant killer as Stonesfield and Bampton played out the first quarter final of the season. Both sides were at this stage of the competition after defeating Premier Division opposition in the previous round. Carry Rice scored twice to ensure that the tie went with the form book as high flying Stonesfield advanced to the semi-finals. Peter Searle and Sam Bodinham added one each to complete Stonesfield’s scoring. Jake Pritchard and Chris Laurence replied for Bampton but Stonesfield won 4-2 inside 90 minutes. Stonesfield will have to wait until January to find out their opposition as the remaining ties don’t take place until the New Year.

Premier Division.
Charlbury remain undefeated and in full control of the Premier Division after overcoming Carterton Rangers at the weekend. Josh Hunt and Rhys Warner-Carter combined to score one each as Charlbury came through 2-0. Charlbury are now second in the league, have the best goal difference and are just three points behind Aston with three games in hand.

Charlbury were able to advance up the league thanks to Tower Hill defeating Minster Lovell. Tower Hill made their own impressive leap up the league as they escaped from the bottom and jumped three places in the process thanks to their 3-1 victory. Sam Wright had scored for Minster Lovell but goals from James Scott, Jack Scott and Kieran Watts put Tower Hill seventh.

Division One
Eynsham SSC recorded their first away win of the season by triumphing over Witney Royals in an eight goal thriller in the battle of the bottom half. Jamie Kennedy, Miles Roberts and Robbie Cockroft scored one each for the home side but Eynsham went two better for the three points thanks to an own goal and two doubles from John Ayres and Ryan Stockford. Eynsham jumped two places in the league thanks to the victory.

Combe were one of the sides leapfrogged by Eynsham as they shared six goals with Bourton Rovers for a share of the spoils. Ethan Penny, Ayo Obingyi and Mike Gardner all scored for Combe with Lee Mosson, Nathan Langford and Ben McPhilimey replying for Bourton in the 3-3 draw.

Alfie Peachey scored a brace for Chadlington but they missed out on the chance to go top as Milton defeated them 3-2. With the top two not in league action, three points would have put Chadlington top on goal difference but they were undone by a Levi Steel brace. Jake Taylor adding the third to take home the points for Milton.

Division Two
Charlbury Town Reserves have managed to jump five league places in the space of a fortnight and have put themselves right in contention for a promotion push after Christmas with a five star performance over Witney Wanderers. A Mitchell Faulkner hat-trick did the majority of the damage in Town’s 5-1 victory with further goals from Gary Jones and Dom Hemmings. Telmo Fernandez scored the consolation for Wanderers but Charlbury recorded back to back victories for the first time this season and jumped to third in the process.

Minster Lovell Reserves also put in a five star performance to maintain their grip on pole position in the league. Seb White and Gary Mitchell scored a brace apiece and were backed up by Josh White as they put bottom side Aston Reserves to the sword in their 5-0 win.

Hailey Reserves remain tight on their coattails as they battled through against Kingham in another five goal game.

This one proved to be much tighter as George Wood and Harry Noteman scored for Kingham but Hailey rallied to go one better thanks to a Sean King brace and a third from Darren Tasker. Hailey’s 3-2 victory finally gives the top two a little bit of breathing space but the chasing pack have significant games in hand.

Siege FC returned to winning ways to close the gap to the sides above them. Ian Steele’s brace helped them on their way with Karl Dodds and Lee Marsden bringing the total to four. Corinthians, their opponents, replied through Harry Purfitt and Richie Hall but the game finished 4-2 to Siege.

Brize Norton and Ducklington also managed six goals in their game but the points were shared as it finished 3-3. Charlie Fisher, Sam Doherty and Dan Stanley scored for Ducklington but they were matched by Ryan Weston and a Steve Marshall brace as the points were shared.

There are now just four points separating 3rd and 9th in the district’s tightest league.

Division Three
Bletchington Reserves were the big winners as they thrashed Witney Royals Reserves to jump into the top half of Division Three. Loren Bushay, Michael Trafford, Chris Fennel, Jamie Wilkins and Tom Knox (2) combined to put six on the board. Josh Harvey scored Royals’ consolation in the 6-1 defeat.

FC Mills are now second in the league after overcoming Bourton Rovers Reserves in the comeback of the weekend. Bourton were 2-0 up with just 15 minutes to go thank to Liam Williams and Max Salf but FC Mills showed great character to come back and snatch three points thanks to Stu Cutts and a Jon Roome double. The victory ensuring that Mills leapfrog Spartan Rangers Reserves on goal difference and now sit just two points behind leaders Carterton Town B.

Hook Norton will also fancy their chances at promotion after seeing off Chipping Norton Town Reserves in a seven goal thriller. Mark Corbett scored for Chippy and he was backed up by Rocky Burton scoring a brace but Harry Prickett scored a brace of his own for Hook Norton and was joined on the scoresheet by Max Harris and Ben Haynes as they went one better in the 4-3 win.

Hook Norton are now just eight points off the leaders and have two games in hand. Next week’s fixture list serves up the tasty fixture of Hook Norton vs Carterton Town B as both sides look to cement their promotion push before Christmas.

Division Four
FC Ascott Rangers won their second game in a row, to record only their second win of the season and put pressure on the sides above them as they try to climb the league. Anthony Hull was one of their scorers as they defeated Spartan Rangers A 2-1. Mev Gundem replied for Spartan Rangers A but Ascott Rangers win puts them just one point behind their opponents.

Stonesfield Reserves find themselves with breathing space at the top of the league thanks to their victory over fourth placed Chadlington. A solitary Karmian King goal was enough to give Stonesfield the three points and put them six points clear of second place Milton Reserves.

Their gap increased over Milton Reserves after they fell to a surprising defeat to Eynsham Reserves. Andy Stratford and a Kieran Clarke brace gave Eynsham a 3-2 victory as Milton lost for the first time away from home this season.

There were further problems for the chasing pack against bottom half opposition as Kingham Reserves fell to a 4-0 defeat against Wootton Reserves. Mark Mumford scored a hat-trick to put Wootton well on their way to victory and Simon Stokes added the fourth to complete the scoring as Wootton gave themselves a little bit of space between them and the bottom two.

Where next?

Witney & District Football Reports - Week 15 Saturday 22nd December 2018 Written by David Evans
Witney & District Football Reports - Week 13 Saturday 1st December 2018 Written by David Evans

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