23rd August 2026 - Henbury & Rockleaze win thriller with Frampton United
Mark Simpson
Quedgeley Wanderers certainly lead the way and are scoring a lot of goals as well, but it’s early season and there are plenty of teams behind who will eventually settle into a pattern and then we’ll see.
On a typically sunny early season day at Arnall Drive, Henbury & Rockleaze produced a feast of attacking football against Frampton United and it really should have ended in a healthier scoreline for them. H&R started fast and aggressive and took the lead on 15 seconds when a clearance from Abdul Bangoura was superbly taken down by Kane Mannings who smashed his effort past a shocked Harvey Moroney. H&R grabbed their second on 9 minutes when a decoy run by Harvey Moran allowed Tommy Collins to beat three players and drag the ball from his right foot to his left and curled it into the bottom corner from a tight angle. On 16 minutes Frampton got back into the game with a back post header by Stan Shilton from a corner kick, and on the half hour Moroney made two brilliant saves firstly from a Drew Sawdon header and then from a Mannings effort which he turned around the post, and from the corner Jordan Buckett’s header sailed just wide. Frampton then went straight up the other end with a 3-on-2 and Kieran Marks cut inside and finished well from just inside the box giving Harry Trett no chance. H&R had plenty of possession and attacks with Moran. Sawdon, Collins and Nick Jones all going close, but the teams went into the break all square. H&R stated the second period on top and deservedly regained the lead five minutes in when Mannings got away and served up a delicious cross for Jones to tap in at the back post. On 74 minutes H&R should have sealed the game but Kingsley Miller’s poor cross only found Moroney with players queuing up at the back post. A few minutes later H&R did find the elusive fourth when Collins hit a superb diagonal ball finding Jones on the left and his pinpoint cross found James Capon to guide the ball home. H&R should perhaps have scored more but Frampton grabbed the final goal with almost the last kick of the game when a mix-up at the back let Freddie Porter through the middle to finish past Trett for a final score of 4-3 to H&R.
Quedgeley Wanderers continued their dominant high-scoring start to the season with a 5-0 win against Totterdown United at Waterwells. The home side established control from the opening whistle setting a high tempo pressing Totterdown high up the pitch. Quedgeley took the lead when Tom De Quincey Adams showed sharp movement on the attack and found space in the box to direct his finish low into the net. Continually driving forward and disrupting Totterdown’s build-up play in midfield, Wanderers doubled their lead when Jacob Chamberlain was rewarded for his relentless work rate by reacting quickest just inside the box to slot home. Totterdown attempted to regroup but Quedgeley’s pressure led to a foul just inside the area and Dylan Venn buried the resulting penalty for 3-0 at the break. Wanderers maintained their high rhythm into the second half giving Totterdown little space to mount any comeback and Riley Stokes capped off a strong performance by driving forward into open space to unleash a clinical finish for 4-0. Late on, Fin Jenner capped off the seamless display cleverly beating Jamie Marr to roll the ball into the net for a 5-0 Quedgeley win.
Stoke Gifford SGS United were left disappointed at the SGS stadium as Bishops Cleeve Development came from behind to claim victory in an entertaining affair. The visitors could not have asked for a better start taking the lead after just five minutes through Nathan Payne. Gifford nearly got one back moments later when Tom Manley struck the crossbar, but the early pressure failed to produce a goal for the hosts. Gifford worked their way back in with a good goal by Oscar Cox and were handed a great chance to score a second when Tyler Dunnell-Luff’s penalty kick was brilliantly saved by Joe Goodey. Two minutes later Cox thought he had scored again but was caught offside. Cleeve continued to threaten with Sam Smith heading against the crossbar on the half hour, and Harry Davis endured mixed fortunes missing from two yards out on 42 minutes but making amends on the stroke of half time to put Cleeve 2-1 in front. Gifford pushed for an equaliser after the break but were unable to find a way through, Goodey made a fine save to deny Cox while Will Ferguson kept the hosts in the game with a strong stop from Elliott Green. Deep into added time Kian Gardiner missed another Gifford penalty as their hopes of salvaging anything slipped away. So, 2-1 to Cleeve it finished.
A warm sunny afternoon at the Hawthorns, a crisp golden pitch and a good crowd watching Broadwell Amateurs take on Wick who had the majority of possession and a couple of decent chances producing two good saves from Phil Chovenac. Broadwell then had two good chances themselves, the best when Kristian Burnard was put through but a last-ditch tackle saved Wick, and a clash of heads then saw Burnard replaced by Aaron Powell who made a lively start and broke the deadlock from a Dan Brain corner rising highest to plant the ball home for 1-0. The second half saw Wick with large spells of pressure hitting the upright twice and then the crossbar. However, the decisive strike came from a well worked Broadwell move with Harry Knight stealing the ball deep in his own half, driving to the halfway line and slipping the ball through to Powell who took it into the box and a deft finish slipped under keeper Gigov for 2-0. Wick will feel hard done by, but you need a bit of luck and you must take your chances.
A thrilling game at BBS North Elm Park saw both Filton Athletic and Tewkesbury Town battle through an extremely physical encounter in difficult conditions. The opening fifteen minutes were cagey, Filton’s Cooper had a shot from the edge of the box, while Town’s Goodwin got in behind the defence early on. It was Tewkesbury who took the lead, a slip by the Filton defence created a 3-on-2 situation and an excellent ball into the box was tucked away by Beasley. Five minutes later Filton were level; after pressing Tewkesbury’s back three Peachey attempted to pass the ball back to Welch but it went through everyone and rolled into an empty net. Five minutes before the break Filton’s Waugh unleashed a 30-yard rocket that struck the crossbar. The second half was thrilling for the neutrals with big chances falling to Goodwin and Cooper. Tewkesbury struck the inside of the post, while Filton missed from close range and Quick also had a good opportunity but couldn’t make the required contact. Tewkesbury then had the ball in the net from a corner but the goal was ruled out for a foul on keeper Eyles. Overall, a 1-1 draw was a fair result but it could easily have finished 4-4.
