Week 11 Match Reports

Premier Division

Stonesfield managed to stun second place Hook Norton on Saturday in a back and forth encounter at Stonesfield. Thinks looked bleak inside the first ten minutes as Cole Davis raced through unchallenged and lifted the ball over Mike Phipps to put Hooky ahead. Stonesfield were level just four minutes later though, an innocent long ball was sliced through the air by the unfortunate Jake Wheeler who inadvertently lobbed his own keeper and put the ball in his own net. The physicality of the game grew as the half grew older. Ollie Wynn was the first in the book for a reckless challenge before Jacob Oliver then saw his name taken for kicking the ball away after a free kick. Jake Wheeler’s afternoon got slightly worse as he picked up a card for Hooky for another reckless challenge but no goals could be found. Then the turning point, a three-goal blitz inside six first half minutes moved Stonesfield into the lead and clear at the half-time break. First Will Barker pounced on a loose ball inside the box to slam the ball home for the lead. Three minutes later and Jordan Newman despatched a world class free kick from the edge of the ‘D’, firing his high, hard and handsome into the top corner for a 3-1 lead. With just two minutes left on the clock it was Jacob Oliver’s turn to be quickest in the box and Stonesfield were in dreamland as they led by three at the break.
If Stonesfield were looking for an easier second half they didn’t get the start they wanted. 47 seconds of the second half had expired when Logan Mitchell popped up in the box to beat the advancing Phipps and reduced the deficit to two. Hooky were then masters of their own downfall, a mishap in their box saw them fail to clear their lines after two attempts and Harrison Connolly fired home to restore Stonesfield’s three goal lead. Jay Mair scored 12 minutes later to bring Hooky back to two and increase the nerves in the Stonesfield ranks but they held on supremely well and in the end were comfortable winners as they moved away from bottom spot!

Late penalty drama saw Milton under Wychwood rescue a point which moved them off bottom spot of the league. Charlbury were the opponents and took the lead thanks to George Sulik’s fifth goal of the season. Then, two minutes from time, Milton were awarded a penalty which Ryan Oliver stepped up to slot away to give Milton their first draw of the season.

Junior Shield

Freddie Buckingham’s hat-trick led the way as Hailey romped to a 7-0 victory in the Junior Shield. Their opponents, Leys United, had no answer to the green and white charge on Saturday afternoon. Tom Gregory scored twice for the home side with Jordan Cormack and Jack Wood adding the extras in a comfortable win.

Enstone put their league form behind them to advance in yet another cup competition. Already through to round two in the Charity Cup, they moved into round three of the Junior Shield with a penalty shootout win over Longford Park. As is the way with Enstone this year, they did things the hard way, falling behind inside ten minutes after sloppy defending put themselves in trouble and Longford easily put away a header from six yards. Jordan Godfrey levelled ten minutes later and Enstone then took control of the game. Two strong penalty shouts were turned down during the remainder of the half as Enstone turned the screw but the sides went in level at the break.
At the third time of asking, Enstone did get a penalty after Nathan Bott was fouled in the box. Brother Dan stepped up and tucked away the spot kick to give Enstone the lead. Enstone then wasted multiple clear cut chances to see off the game and were made to pay with seven minutes left as Longford Park equalised. As per the County Cup rules, the game went straight to penalties. Danny Phillips saving smartly from Longford’s spot kick to give Enstone an early advantage. Dan Bott put away his second spot kick of the game and was followed by Nathan Bott and Liam Harris as the teams traded successful spot kicks. At 3-2 Longford missed their fourth and that paved the way for Dan Newman to put his penalty away and send Enstone through to the third round.

Heyford Athletic scored the only goal of the game to see off Hornton to reach the last 16.

Eynsham SSC were unfortunately beaten by Hardwick Sports 5-0.

Junior Shield Third Round Draw (ties to be played no earlier than 2nd December 2023).
Tower Hill vs Chesterton
Ducklington or Freeland vs Enstone
Chadlington vs Aston
Stonesfield vs Milton under Wychwood
Hardwick Sports vs Hailey
Musketeer vs Charlbury
Bampton or Leafield vs Finmere
Wootton vs Heyford

Fred Ford Cup 2nd Round

A second half blitz from Cassington Rangers eased them past Brize Norton and into the last 16 of the Fred Ford Cup. Declan Green gave them the lead before Joe Hatt equalised for Brize. Just past the half hour mark and Jason Blackman grabbed his first of the afternoon to give Cassington the lead once again. Into the second half and it was one way traffic in terms of goals. Max Gallagher extended Cassington’s lead with less than 60 seconds on the clock and Blackman doubled his tally 12 minutes later to give Cassington breathing room at last. Brize battled on but couldn’t find a way through. Gallagher got his second of the afternoon with twelve left on the clock and Tyler Walker put the icing on the cake in the last five minutes to give Cassington a 6-1 win.

October’s Team of the Month, Moreton Rangers (pictured above), secured a cup win over fellow Division Two side Siege FC. Moreton only won by one goal in the league encounter earlier in the season but had a more comfortable afternoon this time around after a 4-0 win. Tom Newbould, Keiron Harte, Harry Peters and Louis Dean-Brown all scored one each in a resounding win.

Witney Royals stunned Premier Division leaders RAF Brize Norton with a 2-1 win at Brize. Dave Rabbich scored for Brize but Jack Allen’s brace was enough to put the Division One outfit through.

Tower Hill and Combe were two other Division One sides who advanced into round three. Tower Hill maintained their excellent form with a 3-1 win over Spartan Rangers. A Tom Costley penalty plus further goals from Adam Bolley and Sam Britnell gave Tower Hill yet another win this season. Stephen Wright replied for Spartan.

Combe avoided an upset against Division Two side CHQ United. United were in the contest thanks to goals from Fabian Daniels and Troy Weaven but Charlie Ibbitson’s brace put Combe back in the game and strikes from Daniel Burgess and Louis Ashcroft saw Combe over the line.

Carterton United were made to work hard but eventually got over the line against Division One’s Bampton United. Jack Bellenger’s brace was cancelled out by goals for James Haley and Karl Pritchard but Conner Townsend earned the Premier Division outfit a 3-2 win and a place in next round’s draw.

Wootton were made to work hard but eventually came through in an eight-goal thriller with Faringdon Town Development. Ronnie Platt scored a hat-trick for Faringdon but Wootton accumulated five different goal scorers to storm to victory. Theo Kevranou-Flatman, Jamie McCuaig, Tyla Morgan, Jamie Hutton and Craig Gilboy all notching one each in a 5-3 win.

Division One

Just the one game in Division One as a spirited Hailey Reserves side earned just their second point of the season to stop Hanborough Reserves bursting into the top three. A scrappy game was summed up perfectly by a first half of few chances but Jack Simmonds was able to fire in off the woodwork to give Boro a half time lead. The second half seemed to petering out but Hailey drew level thanks to a Seb White finish. Luke Perkins received his marching orders late on but Hailey held firm despite being a man down for their second draw of the season.

Division Two

A stunning George Slatter hat-trick earned Chadlington Reserves their first win of the season after beating fellow strugglers Bourton Rovers by the odd goal in five. Slatter had two inside the opening five minutes for a dream start. A Jack Nicholson finish and a Chadlington own goal made for a close contest but Slatter proved to be the difference as he grabbed his hat-trick three minutes after the break Chadlington moved off the bottom of the table.

Division Three
None of the top five were in action this weekend so a chance for the chasing pack to make up some ground.

Sherborne Harriers did take advantage in recording their fourth win of the season. A tight first half saw seven goals scored, with Sherborne leading 4-3 at the break against Faringdon Town A. The second half was all Sherborne though as they fired in another four without reply to run out 8-3 winners. Louis Hegarty, Chris Horner and Paul Eaton scored Faringdon’s first half goals. A hat-trick from Josh Betteridge moved him to nine goals for the season. A brace each for Daniel O’Toole and Ben Law helped Sherborne on their way with Daniel Joynes finishing off the scoring to move Sherborne fifth.

Yarnton B stretched their unbeaten run in the league to five games with the biggest win of the day in Division Three. Five goal scorers combined to help Yarnton to a 7-0 win over Spartan Reserves. James Adams, Chris Marsh and Angus McIver scored one each. Sean Dyer and Barney Quick both went one better by scoring two each as Yarnton edged closer to the top six.

Damien Corbin was in fine form as his four goals helped Kingham Reserves thump Bampton Reserves 6-1. Jake Godfrey scored the other two as Kingham gave their goal difference a healthy shift. Frazer Cooper scored Bampton’s consolation.

Eynsham Reserves recorded just their second win of the season as they overcame bottom side Leafield Reserves. They didn’t have it all their own way in the eight-goal epic, Leafield putting three on the board thanks to Marcus Vinicius (2) and Gary Mitchell. Eynsham managed to put five on the board to grab all three points thanks to goals from Mark Duval, Lewis Wild, Chris Baldwin, Sam Godfrey and Ben Norris.