20th September 2026 - Henbury & Rockleaze and Wick share spoils
Mark Simpson
Only one League match this week as most other teams were playing County cup games, with Longlevens Reserves, Broadwell Amateurs, AFC Mangotsfield Rocks and Stoke Gifford SGS United knocked out.
It was a warm but drizzly day at Arnall Drive where Henbury & Rockleaze should have had the game wrapped up in the first twenty minutes, however, Wick dug in and played their part in a game that was a good advert for Gloucestershire County League football. The game was helped by being superbly officiated by Simon Shaw. H&R took the lead on 5 minutes when Tommy Collins managed to get the ball out to Nick Jones who was one-on-one with ex-teammate Callum Winter and went past him with ease and his fierce shot from 10 yards out found the back of the net. On 15 minutes Wick keeper Goradz Gigov brilliant denied Kane Mannings to make the first of what would be a series of great saves. In fact, just 2 minutes later he did well with a fierce 30-yard drive from James Capon and the twice saved well with his legs after a melee from a corner. On 37 minutes another superb save denied Drew Sawdon, but Wick were playing their part and were putting pressure on the H&R fullbacks, and eventually on 43 minutes the pressure paid off when some neat footwork by Bayley-Rudge saw him fire at goal, a shot which Harry Trett could only parry and Fred Taylor-Fox was there to smash the ball past the flailing defenders to take both sides in level at the break.
At the start of the second half that man Gigov was at it again brilliantly denying Mannings from point blank range. And on 52 minutes Abdul Bangoura was one-on-one with him but was denied by another breathtaking save, turning it around the post. Wick then got back into the game and had the next 15 minutes of pressure, although they never really tested Trett other than to test his ability to deal with long crosses. On 75 minutes Jordan Buckett rattled the post from a yard out with a header from Bangoura’s corner and then, just a minute later, Mannings hit the post again reaching for a ball across the six-yard box. Both teams huffed and puffed for the last 15 minutes without creating any real chances and they both settled for a draw as the sun came out and set on what was an exciting 1-1 game for the 71 spectators in attendance.
