Fred Ford Semi Finals and midweek round up

Fred Ford Semi-Finals

Tuesday night saw the two non-Premier Division sides face off in the Fred Ford semi-final at Clanfield. Division Two champions-elect, Cassington Rangers, met Faringdon Town Development, a side just two places above them in the league, sitting eleventh in Division One.
Faringdon started the brighter, forcing four early corners which came to nothing before each keeper made a routine save to keep the score at 0-0. Cassington had the ball in the net soon after but the assistant referee’s flag saved Faringdon’s blushes but the men in red soon found themselves on the wrong side of the officials, with two players going in the book.
Cassington keeper Tyler Walker was able to tip a fierce Faringdon shot onto the crossbar and the offside flag saved Faringdon once again as the half ended goalless.
The second half got underway but each side continued to cancel each other out. Then a pure case of the commentator’s curse saw the deadlock broken. With Twitter master John Smyth stating that the game was destined for extra time and penalties online, Faringdon found the breakthrough that they probably deserved. Faringdon managed a brilliant ball through the middle and Richard Evans ran onto it before slotting the ball past Walker. Faringdon almost made it two but Andy Makepeace was denied by a fine save from Walker. Faringdon should have killed the game off but Chris Rutt shot straight at Walker after a defensive mix up but Cassington couldn’t create a chance to level it and Faringdon held on to move onto the final.

On Wednesday it was the fourth meeting of the season between Hailey and Enstone. They’d shared a league win each between them, before Hailey advanced to the Junior Shield final at Enstone’s expense in March. Trying to forecast the winner of this game was difficult to say the least. Enstone’s Dan Bott had an early sighter but put his effort wide before Enstone did take the lead. Reece Bayliss found time and space on the edge of the box and got a shot away with his weaker right foot which beat Jack Rideout in the Hailey goal.
Hailey should have equalised soon after, Freddie Buckingham unable to force the ball home from in the six yard box.
Just before half-time Hailey did get level, a great ball into the box from Sam Wheeler found Sean King and his headed strike found the bottom corner. 1-1 at half-time.
Into the second half and the physicality increased. Plenty of tackles, fouls and talking-to from the ref, along with a first yellow of the evening for Buckingham, saw the temperature rise but remained controlled.
Enstone had the better of the exchanges as the game moved on. Jay Mair narrowly missing a drilled cross through the box.
The clock ticked to seventy and Enstone retook the lead. Liam Harris’ great strike from the edge of the box flew into the net. Hailey thought they were level three minutes later but an offside flag preserved Enstone’s slender lead. Jack Rideout then made a top class save to keep the lead at one before Dan Bott rattled the Hailey woodwork with a free kick that came perilously close to crossing the line. Eventually, Enstone grabbed a late goal to seal victory. Andy McCabe bundling the ball home from a corner to seal the match for Enstone and give them a bit of revenge for their Junior Shield defeat four weeks earlier, Enstone setting up a final against Faringdon, the team they faced in last year’s semi-final. The match will be played on the 9th May.

Premier Division

Stonesfield are just four points from the Premier Division title after a 4-1 win over Milton on Wednesday night. Carry Rice and Logan Mitchell both scored twice to move second and third in the goal scoring charts respectively. Not even a Stonesfield own goal could dampen the mood after a 4-1 win. Whilst four points will secure the title, three draws will also do the job as taking points off their two title rivals, Enstone and Hailey, will send the title their way also.

Spartan Rangers were awarded a walkover victory against Hanborough meaning that they could still get off the bottom of the table, with victory in their last league game.

Division One

Carterton suffered no celebratory hangover from winning the Division One title at the weekend as they saw off a spirited Aston side by the odd goal in five. Liam Felstead and Lewis Scott traded doubles for Carterton and Aston respectively. League top scorer Conner Townsend was the difference maker, giving Carterton a 3-2 win.

Combe are off the bottom of the of Division One after recording a second win in four games. They upset Tower Hill, the form team of the division, with a 3-0 win. Solomon Massz, Matt Walker and Charlie Ibbotson all scored once each as Combe leapfrogged Faringdon in the table.

Division Two

In Division Two Bampton recorded their eighth league win in a row with a 5-0 rout of Spartan Rangers Reserves. Callum Driscoll and James Haley both scored twice, Kieron Colley adding a fifth to add some shine to the win.

Brize didn’t have to kick a ball to keep the title race alive, Siege forfeiting the game to give Brize all three points.

Junior Cup

Division One's Hailey Reserves and Chadlington advanced into the quarter finals of the Junior Cup. Hailey Reserves saw off fellow Division One side Ducklington. Jasper Winder scored for Ducklington but Stuart Mitchell’s double saw Hailey through to the final eight.
Alfie Peachey’s hat-trick helped Chadlington thrash Milton Reserves, 5-0. Hans Korge and Pete Tate added the extras to give Chadlington a quarter final berth.

Witney Royals Reserves matched Chadlington’s score on Wednesday night, seeing off Freeland Reserves. Matt Smith scored twice with teammates Matt Holloway, Jake Harding and Corey Donohoe all scoring one each. Royals will face Siege in the next round.

Junior Cup Q/F Draw (Ties to be played 2nd May)

Cassington Rangers vs Hailey Reserves
Chadlington vs Faringdon Town Development
Eynsham vs Kingham
Siege vs Witney Royals Reserves

Supplementary Cup

Bottom of Division Three Eynsham Reserves stunned Stonesfield Reserves in the first round of the Supplementary Cup. Stonesfield had beaten Eynsham by an aggregate of 8-0 in their two league games but it was a different story in the cup. The game finished 3-3 after 90 minutes. Jayden Chappel and Mike Phipps (2) scoring for Stonesfield, Jack Morgan and Chris Baldwin (2) responding for Eynsham. To penalties it went, with Eynsham prevailing 5-3 from the spot kicks.

Chadlington Reserves and Kingham Reserves also required penalties to settle their tie. The game finished 1-1, Aaron Bennett and Patrick Doe’s goals for Chad and Kingham respectively saw the game finish level. Kingham advanced after a 3-1 win on penalties and will face Eynsham in the next round.

FC Mills and Leafield Reserves played out a five goal thriller in Leafield on Wednesday night. Mills led 2-1 at half time. Leafield scored a second in the second half but Mills got a third to win 3-2 to reach the final eight.

Yarnton A are through to the quarter finals after a walkover victory against Hailey A.

Supplementary Cup Q/F Draw (Ties to be played 2nd May)

Carterton Town vs Yarnton A
Eynsham Reserves vs Kingham Reserves
Faringdon A vs FC Mills
Aston Reserves vs Wootton/Tower Hill Reserves