Week 15 Football Report

Unfortunately, the snow and freezing conditions wiped out all football for most of December. The last competitive action for many sides was the 3rd December. It seemed that the weather would try and intervene again this week, with wind and rain forecast and ready to scupper the post-Christmas comeback. But the pitches and the players prevailed, with just four games postponed because of the conditions.

John Fathers Junior Shield Quarter Finals

Unusually, some teams have had back-to-back Junior Shield fixtures because of the lack of games. Witney Royals, Enstone, Hailey, Hanborough and Stonesfield all prevailed in December which meant 5 W&D teams made up the quarter-final line up in the County Cup. A cruel draw pitted four teams against each other, which at least meant that two sides were guaranteed a place in the semi finals but also meant that two sides would definitely be exiting. As it happens three teams got through.

Hanborough’s pursuit of their second Junior Shield in five years continues as they brushed aside Witney Royals at The Field. Two strong line ups entered the field for both teams but Hanborough showed their quality in their 4-0 victory. Al Rogers’ double plus goals for Tom Weedon and Craig Johnson put Hanborough into the last four.

Hailey survived a massive fright against Stonesfield to maintain their defence of the trophy they won last year. A nine goal thriller at Middletown entertained the watching public who saw ninety minutes of action. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it was all over in ninety minutes. Jordan Cormack and Sam Wheeler scored for Hailey but Sam Bodingham, Jack Sale and Jack Logan combined to put four in the net for Stonesfield. It was left to Freddie Buckingham to maintain his imperious goal scoring form this season to smash home a hat-trick and snatch a 5-4 win for the current champions.

Enstone are the third name in the draw after a 2-1 win away at Hardwick Sports. Andy McCabe and Jay Mair scored one each to give Enstone a win. Three teams into the final four means at least one W&D side will make the final.

Premier Division
Just the one premier division game this week with Charlbury recording back to back league wins, even if they were 49 days apart. After last playing a league game on the 19th November, and beating Milton 4-1, they returned for their first game in 2023 and beat high-flying Freeland. Rob Keylock scored for Freeland but Mark Goode and Martin Nutt’s goals gave Charlbury a 2-1 win to bump them up to fourth.

Division One
In one of the battles at the bottom, Combe grabbed their third win of the season over fellow strugglers Hailey Reserves and leapfrogged them in the table in the process to drop Hailey into the bottom two. Jake Smith scored for Hailey but they were blown away by Combe’s clinical finishing as they hit four. Ciaran Northwood, James Minchin, Luke Barton and Marcus Smith all scored one each for a 4-1 win.

Ducklington hosted Faringdon Town and recorded their first home win of the season to avoid falling to the bottom of the league and in turn, sent Faringdon bottom instead. Tom Townsend and Sam Gubbins goals brought a welcome three points to Glebelands. Faringdon also had Liam O’Sullivan sent off to round off a miserable afternoon.

At the other end of the table, RAF Brize Norton took advantage of playing their game in hand to return to the top of the table but required a late goal blitz to take all three points against Tower Hill. Michael Duerden’s strike was sandwiched between Josh Hartley and Jack Scott’s goals as Tower Hill went in at half-time 2-1 up. And it stayed that way until the 75th minute, when Duerden got his second to restore parity. Maahir Alam then hit an eleven minute hat-trick to pull Brize clear and Mike Flavell’s solitary goal put the icing on the cake as Brize eventually ran out 6-2 winners.

Division Two

Cassington’s 100% record continues after a 4-1 away win against Witney Royals Reserves. It was a battle of second versus third but Cassington swept away their rivals to move back to the top of the league. Neal Hobday gave Cassington a 1-0 half-time lead. Will Morris doubled their lead on 62 minutes with Luke Edwards and Lewis Hooper scoring later in the second half to secure the points. Archie Tranter scored Royals’ consolation.

Eynsham beat Bampton to close the gap on Royals in third place. Ben Oates, Jack Knight and Peter Edwards’ goals took all three points for the home side. Cameron Bilton responded for Bampton.
Dan Lay hit a hat-trick as Kingham jumped up to fifth. Dom Hemmings scored twice with Damian Corbin scoring once as Kingham ran out 6-3 winners over Milton Reserves.

Siege moved into sixth place with a hard fought 2-0 win over Freeland Reserves. Jamie Kennedy and Gez Morgan netting for the hosts for their fourth win of the campaign.

Hatherop Reserves and Leafield played out the only draw in the division but the game wasn’t short of drama. In a first half dominated by Leafield, it was Hatherop who took the lead against the run of play in the 42nd minute, from a corner. Hatherop had the better chances in the second half but Leafield hit the bar and forced two smart saves as they grew more dangerous. The equaliser came in the 68th minute to draw them level. As the skies darkened and the wind and rain picked up, Leafield got a penalty in injury time however, after a call from the side lines, the kick taker was swapped and the resulting penalty was blazed over the bar, with the final whistle sounding immediately after.

Spartan Rangers Reserves remain bottom of division two after an agonising defeat to Faringdon Town A. A goalless first half brought nothing of consequence, but the game came to life in the second period. Faringdon took the lead on 60 minutes through Chris Rutt, with Will McPherson doubling their lead ten minutes later. If Faringdon thought the points were secured then Spartan had other ideas. Joel Graham pulled a goal back with two minutes to go and as Spartan hunted for an equaliser they saw their closest effort cannon off the bar as Faringdon escaped with all three points.

Division Three

Josh Betteridge’s four goal haul made the headlines as he helped Sherborne Harriers to the biggest win of the day with a 9-0 mauling of bottom side Eynsham Reserves. Corey Cullen also hit a hat-trick on the day as Sherborne ran riot. Cullen and Betteridge both scored twice prior to half-time to give Sherborne a 4-0 half time lead. Betteridge scored twice in the opening ten minutes of the second half to complete his four-timer before Cullen completed his hat-trick with twenty left on the clock. It was left to the Joynes brothers, Alex and Daniel to complete the rout and give Sherborne their biggest win of the season.

FC Mills are still on course to go top, once they’ve played their two games in hand, after a narrow win over Deer Park Rangers. Cullen Angus continued his rich form in front of goal by grabbing two for himself and Rangers, but James Morgan and John Frederick hit back for Mills. It was left to substitute Dean Spivey to score a third goal for Mills to take all three points and jump up to fourth in the table.

Wootton remain third, level on points with Mills, and just two points off top spot, after a welcome 4-1 win over Tower Hill Reserves. It was Wootton’s first league win since 29th October. Asha Townsend moved to twenty goals this season with his solitary goal, Lee Spencer also scored once with Dan Harris scoring two. Liam Aust got Tower Hill on the scoresheet at least.

Chadlington Reserves moved up to second with a 5-1 win over Carterton Town but needed a second half onslaught to take all three points. Sam Davin scored five minutes before half-time with Martin Plumbridge coming off the bench to make it two on the stroke of half-time. Cameron Matheison hit back for Carterton, but Nadir Fortes scored twice in ten minutes to extend Chadlington’s lead and Finlay Beggin finished the scoring with two minutes to go.

Stonesfield Reserves remain sixth after beating seventh placed Kingham Reserves, but given the condensed nature of division three, means they are only three points off top spot. Kieren Grant and Mike Phipps scored one each in the 2-0 win, for a sixth win of the season.