Week 29 Match Report

Premier Division

Charlbury Town won by the odd goal in five to end Hook Norton’s outside chances of winning the league this season. Hooky started the day level on points at the top, and a win could have seen them move top in their last game of the season and left them waiting on other results. Jay Mair ended his league campaign on 22 goals and looks set to be the golden boot winner for this season. Miles Hook scored a second but a 12th goal of the season from George Sulik and further goals from Charlie Chadwick and Martin Nutt gave Charlbury a 3-2 win and moved them back into fourth.

RAF Brize moved three points clear after a walkover victory against Enstone.

Division One

Jack Scott’s hat-trick gave Tower Hill yet another win this season as their lead at the top stretched to seven points this week. They beat struggling Hailey Reserves 3-0 with Scott scoring all the goals. The fixture list pits first versus second next week as Tower visit Chadlington in a game that could pretty much determine where the title ends up this season.

Ducklington lost further ground as they slumped to their third consecutive defeat. Luke Barton scored the only goal of the game as fifth placed Combe claimed all three points. Just five points separates 3rd and 7th now, with everyone below Ducklington with at least one game in hand on them.

Bampton moved to within two points of Ducklington after dishing out a 6-0 thrashing of Eynsham. James Haley and Jake Prichard both scored twice with Miles Roberts and Adam Lee adding the extras. Bampton have two games in hand on Ducklington and could leapfrog them in the table.

Heyford Athletic are five points back after beating bottom side Spartan Rangers 2-0. They possess three games in hand though so could easily move into the promotion spots. Spartan endured their 16th league defeat of the season. Anything but a win in their next gam will see them relegated.

A goal in each half saw Brize Norton win for the first time since December as they beat Cassington Rangers 2-0. Jake Barden scored with a minute to go in the first half to give Brize the lead. Joe Hatt’s 17th goal of the season secured the points with twenty to go and moved Brize five points clear of Eynsham.

Division Two

The big game in Division Two saw two of the bottom three face off as Chadlington Reserves hosted Leafield. Leafield were coming off the back of an impressive win against Yarnton A last week but couldn’t find it in themselves to travel as successfully this week. It was 0-0 at half-time but Aaron Bennett broke the deadlock immediately after the start of the second half and substitute George Slatter cemented just a third win of the season for Chadlington eight minutes later. The win saw Chadlington overtake Leafield as Leafield slipped back into the bottom two.

Bottom side Milton under Wychwood Reserves earned their third draw of the season as they kept in touch with the sides above them. Jack Romanek’s first half goal was cancelled out by Roger Moss’ goal for Yarnton. Both Leafield and Milton have at least two games in hand on the sides above them which could prove crucial.

At the other end of the table, the title race is all but over after Wootton slumped to defeat against mid-table Kingham All Blacks. Kingham played extremely well and their high pressing style seemed to unsettle Wootton considerably during the ninety minutes. Jamie McCuaig scored for Wootton but a Shane Cooper brace and a third goal from Yusuf Okunade got Kingham all three points in a 3-1 win. The defeat means Moreton Rangers need just six points from their remaining six games. Wootton remain seven points behind CHQ United in the race for the last promotion spot.

Faringdon Town Development’s impressive season continues after Peter Flecther’s goal gave them a 1-0 win over FC Mills. They now have daylight in fourth place and still have an outside chance of stealing promotion but need CHQ United and Wootton to drop points in the process.

Division Three

210 days. That’s how old this season is, 210 days. After 210 days and 18 hard fought games, Leafield Reserves have their first win of the season. They hosted Kingham Reserves and got off to the perfect start as Mykel Ryan opened the scoring for 1-0. It stayed that way until half-time and then in the second half, Leafield went goal mad! Leon Smith scored a second to ease the pressure before Steven Allery’s 40-yard screamer killed off the game. In a show of strength and longevity, evergreen John Forteath scored not once but twice as Leafield hit five on a perfect afternoon. Josh Savage did get Kingham on the scoresheet but they could do nothing to dampen Leafield celebrations when the final whistle finally sounded.

Aston Reserves also scored five for victory as they kept up the heat on the top two. Reece Wain scored twice to move into third in the goal scoring charts. Phillip Jeacock and Jordan Blackstock definitely scored one each. It’s for those at Aston to decide whether Sam Bodinham or Harvey Alder scored the other, but it was definitely five. Chris Rutt and Jonathon Taylor replied for Faringdon A but Aston left with all three points after a 5-2 win.

Carterton Town produced a solid performance to remain three points clear of Aston in second. Ben Pullen’s brace and goals from James Harvey and Matt Williams saw them win comfortably against Spartan Reserves with a 4-0 victory.

Another quick-fire start, another three points for Deer Park Rangers in their pursuit of the Division Three title. They scored all three of their goals in the opening 25 minutes as they powered past Eynsham Reserves 3-0. Jack Hamblin scoring after just three minutes, Cullen Angus doubled the lead nine minutes later and Daniel Squires contributed his effort in the 25th minute. No other real action of note until Brandon Laing saw red in the 90th minute but the game was already won. Rangers remain six points clear with seven games left. They travel to Carterton Town next week in a battle of 1st vs 2nd.

Heyford Athletic Reserves beat Tower Hill Reserves 3-1 to move clear in fourth spot. The three points leaves them five behind Carterton in second. Heyford travel to Aston next week as 3rd faces 4th in a pivotal weekend in the promotion race.