Week 26 Football Report

Premier Division

Jay Mair’s hat-trick moved Hook Norton joint top of the Premier Division with a 5-2 win over Stonesfield. Carry Rice and Mike Phipps hit back for Stonesfield but Mair’s haul, which takes him to nineteen goals for the season, was backed up by a third goal in three games for Rob Vincent and a Cole Davies strike.

RAF Brize are top by goal difference alone as they dropped points to fourth placed Charlbury. Mike Flavell scored for the league leaders but his strike was cancelled out by James Robertson’s goal.

A stoppage time winner from Tom Gregory put Hailey in the box seat in the title race. Hailey endured a difficult opening 20 minutes against Milton but took the lead against the run of play thanks to Tom Evans. Milton equalised thanks to Dan Hootton’s goal but Gregory’s winner leaves Hailey four points off top spot with three games in hand.

Enstone earned their first draw of the season, away at Hanborough. The 0-0 draw left Hanborough in mid-table and Enstone bottom.

Division One

Hailey Reserves earned a draw against mid-table Witney Royals as they moved out of the relegation zone this week. Daniel Townsend scored for Royals but Moh Semlali’s seventh goal of the season gave Hailey their third draw of the season and moved them up one place.

Eynsham dropped into the relegation zone after falling to a valiant 2-0 defeat against table topping Tower Hill. Jack Scott’s goal and a Tom Costley penalty kept Tower’s title destiny in their own hands.

Chadlington kept up the pressure on the leaders with a late winner against Junior Shield finalists Heyford Athletic. Matt Soanes scored on the half hour mark to give Chadlington the lead but Robert Gosling struck back for Heyford. The game looked to be heading for a draw but James Andrews’ winner, nine minutes from time, gave Chadlington the three points to keep them three points behind Tower Hill.

Ducklington also earned a narrow victory to maintain their potential title challenge. They had to do it the hard way as Eliot Major and Matt Champion scored for Hanborough. But Josh Lakey pulled one goal back for Duck before substitutes Ben Stanley and Jasper Winder scored to give Ducklington a 3-2 win, to keep them seven points off top spot with two games in hand. Duck host Tower next week in a crucial battle at the top.

Bampton moved top of the form charts with their fifth win in six games, as they thrashed Spartan Rangers 4-0. Bampton moved fifth as a result of their seventh win of the season. Their four games in hand make them hard to ignore for a late push for the top three.

Two early goals for Cassington gave them all three points on their visit to February’s team of the month, Aston. Aston played three times in February, winning all three, including ending Ducklington's long standing unbeaten record so was richly deserved.
On the day, Neal Hobday gave Cassington the lead as early as the fourth minute and Rangers doubled their lead in the 21st minute thanks to Jordan Lyne. Aston did pull a goal back but couldn’t find an equaliser as Cassington eased any concerns of being dragged into a relegation scrap.

Division Two

Three games saw eight goals scored as the five games in Division Two produced 32 goals!

Top side Moreton Rangers were the pacesetters, brushing aside FC Mills with an 8-0 win to keep hold of top spot. Edward Churchill and Lee Brooks scored a brace each and more goals followed from Javan Nurse, Bence Varga, Keiron Harte and Callum Peters in the one-sided rout.

Eight goals scored at Chadlington but nothing to separate the sides as Chadlington Reserves and Witney Royals Reserves reached stalemate. Aaron Bennett and Mikey Piper traded doubles for Chadlington and Royals respectively. Lee Haynes and George Slatter scored one each for Chad but Royals left with a point thanks to Stuart George and Luke Baker’s goals.

The same scoreline played out in Faringdon as Faringdon Development and Siege played out an eight-goal thriller. Faringdon had four scorers on the sheet, Adam Sly, Peter Fletcher, Tom Walsham and Richard Evans all scoring one each. Siege had two players vying for hat-tricks by the end of the game. Tommy Burns and Jonny Dover both scored twice but both sides had to settle for a point instead.

Kingham also scored four times but managed to keep a clean sheet at the other end to ensure they left Leafield with a handsome victory. They also put together four different scorers as Shane Cooper, Jamie Youngson, William Wrenn and Mitchell Faulkner scored one goal each in the 4-0 win.

Coupled with Leafield’s defeat, Bourton Rovers’ 3-1 away win over high-flying Yarnton A meant that Rovers leapt out of the relegation zone George Callinan’s brace and Arlen Hartley’s solitary goal gave Bourton a much needed three points. Shelton Mhlanga’s goal from the bench was nothing more than a consolation.

CHQ United earned an easy three points courtesy of a walkover victory over Freeland.

Division Three

The landscape at the top of Division Three shifted dramatically as two of the top three dropped points and teams around them earned crucial victories.

In the biggest game of the weekend, fourth placed Tower Hill Reserves hosted second placed Carterton Town and the home side scored three goals without reply to walk away with all three points. Sam Doherty and Matthew Warner scored one goal each. A Carterton own goal compounded their misery. Tower’s victory leaves them four points behind Carterton with two games in hand.
Aston Reserves missed the chance to move to within one point of Carterton as they could only manage a draw against eleventh placed Eynsham Reserves. The 1-1 draw happened to be each side’s first draw of the season. Owen Johnson scored for Eynsham. Sam Bodinham scored for Aston who are now three points behind Carterton with one game in hand.

Deer Park Rangers are six points clear and with games in hand but by their own admission were rusty in their 1-0 win over Sherborne Harriers. Jack Hamblin’s goal on the brink of half-time was enough for all three points and Rangers’ 14th league win this season.
In a direct copy of the fixture from Division One, a Spartan side faced a Bampton side and the Bampton side won 4-0. In this case it was the reserve sides facing off, with Spartan hosting, but Bampton recorded their first consecutive victories of the season with four different scorers combining. Charlie Jones, Dan Paintin, Brendan Neale and Chris Laurence all got in on the act to put Bampton eighth.

Yarnton B moved to four games unbeaten as they held Heyford Athletic Reserves to a 2-2 draw. Chad Blackman and David Baron scored the goals that earned them a point and whilst they are only ninth, they have five games in hand on some teams and could reach as high as second place if they win them all.

Stonesfield Reserves bounced back from consecutive defeats at the end of February to record a 3-1 win over Faringdon Town A. Chris Rutt scored for hosts Faringdon but goals from Jonny Newton, Noah Drew and Freddie Holloway gave Stonesfield a 3-1 win.