8th February 2026 - Spoils shared all round on weather affected day
Mark Simpson
I suppose a long winning run had to come to an end at sometime and so Tewkesbury Town’s sequence ended at the hands of
Totterdown United who gained a valuable point in their quest to avoid relegation. Ruardean Hill also gained a valuable
point away to Stoke Gifford for a similar cause.
Despite plenty of rain throughout the week which caused multiple postponements, the pitch at Norton Lane managed to
hold through the monsoon so that Totterdown United could play Tewkesbury Town. The game started fairly evenly with
neither team forcing the play but it was Tewkesbury who got a hold on the game after around ten minutes where they had
multiple corners one of which was cleared and dropped to Jordan who crashed his shot off the bar before Martin
gratefully gathered. At around 20 minutes the ball was played through into the Totts penalty area and a tangle of legs
saw a penalty awarded and Jordan slotted home to give the visitors the lead. Totterdown struggled to build much with
Saunders isolated up front and waves of Tewkesbury pressure finally broke Totterdown, with a sliced clearance seeing
Jordan stroll through to make it 2-0. Tewkesbury had a chance to make it three from a corner but Martin made an
excellent point blank save to deny them. Totts were standing up to the pressure well, but were making zero threat
until the final five minutes of the half when some great wing play by Price saw him slip Lovell in who flashed across
the box only for Maker to just miss.
Totterdown swapped things about a bit for the second half and started ta cause
Tewkesbury a few problems. Jordan had a few half chances from good through balls which he failed to capitalise on and
Tewkesbury were having great trouble dealing with Tobin’s surging runs. On the hour Totts moved the ball well from
right to left and Wiltshire moved up and whipped in a teasing cross which saw Poole come to claim only for Tobin to
leap in and head home. Totterdown’s tails were up and they could smell blood, and in the 75th minute Tewkesbury were
struggling to clear the ball which worked its way to Hemmings at centre back, he drove forward and from the edge of
the box rocketed the ball into the back of the net for 2-2. With the game flipped on its head Totts made multiple runs
and saw some great opportunities but weren’t able to make the final telling pass. Tewkesbury broke a few times but did
not trouble Martin, and the game finished 2-2. Tewkesbury probably should have wrapped the game up in the first half
but Totterdown deservedly got a point from their second half performance and they have been improving for a while with
hope to look up the table rather than down.
On a very wet afternoon Stoke Gifford SGS Unitedtook on Ruardean Hill Rangers at the SGS college with neither team able to get
a foothold in the game early on with the blustery conditions not helping the cause. Gifford slightly edged the opening
twenty minutes with Zac Morgan and Patryk Kosciolek going close but never really threatened Aaron Underwood in the
Ruardean goal, and at the other end a shot from Harry Clark just cleared the Gifford bar. On the half hour Gifford
took the lead, Dave Talbot’s free kick into the box was poked home from close range by Morgan and minutes later
Gifford thought they had extended their lead, but the goal was ruled out for offside. As the break approached Gifford
failed to deal with a long clearance up field and a speculative effort from 30 yards by Bobby Walding flew over the
keeper’s head and into the net for 1-1. Clear chances in the second half were few and far between with Matt Hamer
coming close for Gifford and a well struck shot from Max Telling narrowly missing the Gifford upright. So, 1-1 it
finished and the spoils shared.
1st February 2026 - Totterdown United grab valuable win in basement clash
Mark Simpson
The top two both recorded 7-0 victories but at the bottom things turned around again, with Cribbs out of action due to
the weather Ruardean Hill did themselves a power of good with an away win at Bishops Cleeve and Totterdown defeated
Hanham in a six pointer to help their cause.
Despite the rain in the week the pitch at Norton Lane held up well and was in good condition for the game between
Totterdown United and Hanham Athletic. The wind had settled and Hanham made the better start having some good
possession and an early shot from distance was straight into Martin’s hands. Totterdown then started to impose
themselves forcing David Taylor into a few smart saves and best of this period was around 35 minutes when Sylvester
crashed an effort off the bar from just inside the box. This sparked Hanham back into life and they took charge
pinning Totts back and sloppy passing didn’t help their cause until Lovell managed to break away with the ball,
bursting through the middle with 3 on 2, he rolled it to Saunders who slotted past Taylor for 1-0. The goal settled
Totts down and they started the second half brightly with Price having an effort saved and forcing a number of
corners. Around the hour mark Hanham broke on Totterdown and some good wing play saw the ball fall to Hall who
dispatched well for 1-1. Five minutes later the same thing happened on the opposite side, the ball being rolled to
Maggs who made it 2-1 to the visitors. Totterdown made multiple changes to attempt to salvage something. They kept
knocking on the door with a more direct style with balls into the box and corner after corner forcing Hanham into some
desperate defending. Finally, in the 89th minute a ball into the box was flicked on and dropped to Gowing at the far
post who controlled well and flashed a volley across the goal only to be stopped by handball – a red card – and
Hemmings slotted home the pressure penalty for 2-2. With a few minutes still left Totterdown sensed another goal and
they regained possession and played forward to Tobin who won a free kick which was played into Gowing at the back post
who again controlled well and volleyed across goal forcing a fingertip save by Taylor only for the ball to fall to
Hemmings to tap home for 3-2. Scenes of joy erupted at Norton Lane; a huge six pointer had been won.
At Hamfields Sharpness backed up last weeks win with a comfortable victory over Chalford. The home side opened the
scoring early on when Tom Palmer’s corner was headed back across goal by Alfie Jones for Keiran Bennett to tap home.
Jones went from provider to scorer for the second when a long throw from Payne was flicked on by Palmer for Jones to
head into the bottom corner. Sharpness were now in full flow and the inevitable third involved some great interchange
passing with the ball played out wide to Will Payne who curled in a cross for Bennett to guide his header into the top
corner. They added a fourth when Jones was played in behind Chalford’s defence rounding Portlock and slotting home.
Chalford did have a chance to pull one back but Pete Dykes was on hand to push the effort around the post. The Sharks
made it five just before the break, Bennett racing onto a through ball crossing to Jones who tapped in for a first
half hat-trick. The intensity dropped slightly in the second half but nevertheless Bennett completed his hat-trick
lofting over Portlock. Sharks made it seven when a through ball by Jack Higgs found James Tainton who played a lovely
one-two with Marley Thomas and finished well into the bottom corner. Chalford kept plugging away and almost got on the
scoresheet but Priday blocked a goal bound effort and they then had a shot wide from a one-on-one. 7-0 keeping
Sharpness well on top.
Stoke Gifford SGS United made the trip up the M5 to Northway to take on Tewkesbury Town currently with thirteen wins
on the bounce, but coincidentally Gifford were the last team to beat Town in the league! Tewkesbury were almost in
front very early on when Lorcan Sheehan’s shot took a deflection and looped over the bar. The midfield battle started
and continued throughout with both sides having strength in the air. But it was Town piling on the pressure who got
the breakthrough on fifteen minutes when a poor clearance by Jack Sheppard was headed back into the danger zone by
Shea Danter and Scott Jordan cooly slotted home. Still pushing, Jamie Goodwin saw a dangerous effort cleared off the
line while at the other end Joe Poole dealt comfortably with a few crosses and long balls from Gifford. The second
goal came from another swift move, with Jordan making a clever header across goal for Goodwin to poke home. Just
before the interval Poole ‘s rapid long ball released Nathan Newland-Gallaway down the left delivering a dangerous low
cross which forced an own goal under pressure. The second half was much the same, with Newland-Gallaway again
providing for Goodwin to produce a crisp finish. Set piece danger followed with Lee Llewelyn swinging in a corner for
Danter to flick on and Jordan to bundle in for 5-0 and minutes later the sixth came, Llewelyn threading through a
perfect ball for Goodwin, who held off two defenders to slot past Sheppard for his hat-trick. The scoring was
completed when Joe Peachey played a low ball across the 18-yard box with Jordan getting his hat-trick for 7-0. Stoke
Gifford battled for the ninety minutes but with the Leagues two top goal scorers in fine form there was little that
could be done to stop them.
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue) - Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
Bishops Cleeve Development
(Green)
v Ruardean Hill Rangers
(Blue), Images courtesy Peter Langley
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Filton Athletic played their first game of 2026 against Broadwell Amateurs at Elm Park and it probably wasn’t going
to be Broadwell’s day when Kris Burnard got himself a first minute yellow. The first chance of the game went to Kieran
Cooper who shot wide from Taylor Anderson’s cross and Broadwell’s Locke had a chance soon after but shot over from a
corner. Filton broke the deadlock twenty minutes in when after good work down the right by Freddie Frazer he cut-back
and found Anderson who fired into the roof of the net. There was nearly an instant reply from Broadwell when Jamie
Belfitt beat two players and found Nathan Davies who was stopped by a great Tom Fry tackle. It was soon two-nil when a
great through ball from Tovey found Trey Merrett who rounded Jack Watkins to slot home. Two minutes later it was
three, Watkins spilled a Merrett free kick and Freddie Frazer was on hand to head home his debut goal. On the stroke
of half time an acrobatic effort from Tovey was tipped on onto his own crossbar by Burnard – red card – and Merrett
scored from the spot. Into the second half and Broadwell nearly scored an early goal when Jack Knight’s shot was
deflected and Tom Bradley was on hand to push it away. Filton made a few changes and Merrett’s long-range shot flew
over before he was replaced. Anderson nearly made it five but his effort went over and it did indeed become 5-0 when a
wide free kick by Fraser Venables found Kyle Thomas unmarked to head home. A very good performance by Filton after
five weeks without a game.
At The Bellfield Wick arrived with a bare eleven to take on Frampton United and the game, like the weather, was a
very dour encounter with Wick defending for the majority of the game with Frampton unable to break them down. The only
chances of any note for Frampton both fell to Lewis Vye who first cut inside the defence and his low shot was well
saved by Wick keeper Luke Bond and then from a deep cross Vye slid in but his shot was high. Wick’s best effort came
from a Mitchell Davies long range shot that moved a lot in the air which Tom Kaye did well to punch away and there it
finished 0-0.
At Kayte Lane, Bishops Cleeve Development took on Ruardean Hill Rangers and Ruardean Hill came away with a surprise
win by 2-1. With Ruardean battling relegation and Cleeves form lately it should of been routine. However it was the
visitors that took the lead with an Ollie Mason free kick that went direct in without a touch. Ruardean added a second
just before the half with a superb cross field pass that was collected by Charlie Mason and slotted home.
The second half saw momentum swing on Cleeves favour when Charlie Mason was sent off. However chances were missed by
New, Wells and Smith. It was however Monty New that continued his scoring form with a tap in from close range. Further
chances for Cleeve to draw level were squandered, with Osinuga the guiltiest when striking over from close range.
Relegation threatened Ruardean were able to hold on and gain a valuable three points.
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