Address

Marcliff

Unit A1-A2

The Badminton Centre

Station Road

Yate, Bristol

BS37 5HT

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday

8.30am - 5.00pm

Saturday

8.30am - 12.30pm

Sunday - Closed

A warm welcome to Arnall Drive to the players, spectators, and management team of this afternoon’s visitors Chalford.

Like ourselves, Chalford are unbeaten this season all be it they have played 1 more game than us, due to this I am sure today will be a huge challenge as Chalford always prove a stern test.

Last Saturday we hosted our first Gloucestershire County League match of the season against Frampton United, who are always difficult opposition and are also usually up towards the top of the league and winning cup competitions. We had a wonderful 4-3 win, although in my opinion the scoreline flattered our opposition on the day, in the main due to our own missed chances and a few ‘hics’ at the back. That said the positives were that we won our second game of the season and have 6 points from 6 and scored four really good goals with a special one from Man of the Match Tommy Collins. It was also pleasing to see 4 of the 5 new signings play their first game at Arnall Drive.

Please come and search me out or contact me through our website if you can help with sponsoring a match, player, or pitch side advertising board, or would just like to help and get involved with the running of the club in whatever area interests you. We are always looking for more help with match days, pitch works, fundraising or just being part of an active committee.

Finally remember ‘We win together,

lose together but more importantly

we stick together’. #UTHR

Regards

Andrew

Good afternoon, everyone, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the players, management, and supporters of Chalford to Arnall Drive for today's GCL fixture.

This is our second consecutive home game, and our aim is to make Arnall Drive a very difficult place for visiting teams. Home advantage can be crucial in a division where the margins are so fine, every game is fiercely contested, and every point has to be earned.

I was very pleased with many aspects of last

Saturday's victory over Frampton. Our plan was to start quickly, and the players executed that brilliantly. We took the game by the scruff of the neck from the kick off, created numerous chances and taking two of them.

The next step in our development is learning how to manage games more effectively when the intensity naturally drops, ensuring we maintain control for longer periods.

Most importantly, we secured the three points and kept our momentum going. That

momentum is vital at this eary stage

of the season, andit is essential that

we build on itagain today with

another strong performance.

Thank you, as always, for your

continued support.

2027

Founded in 1891 Chalford joined the Mid-Glos League in 1894 playing their games at the Pleasure Ground whilst changing in the YMCA hut. As with many clubs during this time membership of more than one league was normal and in 1898 they also joined the newly formed Dursley & District League, winning the league in 1900-0 I. 1902 saw the formation of the Stroud & District League with again Chalford being founder members

In 1922 the club were founding members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League and in fact took part in the first ever league game when the club visited Broadwell. Despite taking a 2-0 lead they eventually lost 3-2. The club continued membership for 5 seasons but withdrew due to financial reasons and entered the newly formed Stroud Premier Division. In 1931 they rejoined the GNSL retaining membership until the outbreak of WWII. By this time the club was now playing at the Sycamores using the local Mechanics Pub as their changing quarters.

After the war they immediately rejoined the GNSL and in 1953 with the formation of two Divisions they found themselves in Division One. In the mid 50s plans were well afoot to have a permanent home at Highfield and on 31st August 1957 the first game was played on the new ground with Chalford beating Bream 6-1. This game was actually a Division 2 fixture with the club having been relegated the season before. By strange coincidence the club finished Runners-Up in 1958-59 behind Bream regaining their Division One status. By 1962-63 they were back in Division 2. In 1975-76 they finished Runners-Up in Division 2 behind local rivals Forest Green Rovers Reserves. 1977-78

saw the zenith of the clubs success with the lifting of the GNSL Championship. The title race went down to the wire with Championship rivals Lydney Town the visitors to Highfield on the last game of the season. In front of a large crowd Lydney had a goal disallowed and then a penalty saved before goals from Paul Tester and Nick Rock (penalty) secured a 2-0 win and that first Championship win. Sadly the club were relegated back to Division 2 in 1981-82 and even worse followed with their relegation from the league in 1987.

After 15 seasons in the doldrums the club finally regained their GNSL membership in 2002 immediately gaining promotion after finishing third behind Warden Hull United and Whitecroft. Relegation in 2006 saw them flounder in Division 2 for 11 seasons before winning the Division in 2016-17. After finishing Runners Up to Sharpness in 2018-19 the club is now hoping to emulate the 1977-78 season and lift the title again.

Last season saw the club once again finish runners-up in Division One but this time finishing 7 points behind Cheltenham Civil Service. They did however lift the Reg Davis Trophy for the 2nd time running by beating the eventual league champions 4-3 in an exhilarating final at Lydney that went right to the wire. The club are therefore keen to make league history by being the first club to achieve a hat-trick of wins.

Duane Portlock - GK

New signing this season, vastly experienced keeper having played for Brimscombe, Shortwood & Taveners. Great presence with big voice & great distribution.

Sam Neale - GK

‘Keith’ comes back in to the 1st fold after sitting out 1st half of last season. A strong performer for the reserves and with penalty saves in the reserves cup final win he’ll provide strong competition for the number 1 shirt.

Luke Benneyworth - CB

Lord Benneyworth, veteran of the back line who’s played majority of his senior football at Shortwood! A mountain of man who is vital in both penalty areas. Fines master & longest in the shower!

Johnny Davis - CB

‘JD’ is the Skipper of the side, a vocal presence & fantastic leader who’s held the arm band for 7 seasons. Sets the standard that the lads look up to. Gets his fair share of goals as well. One of the OG’s from when the group came together 8 years ago.

Luke Barstow - CB

Commonly known as ‘Pike’. Signed back on after being a bit part player last season. Defender who’s good in the air with great distribution & loves a tackle. Had his fair share of clubs.

Charlie Bond - CB/ST

‘Bondy’, a shy lad but a club stalwart and scorer of the one the best ever Chalford goals. Challenges Harris for strongest hairline in the group. Another one of the OG’s.

Jamie Lock - CB/LB

Lockdog, signed 3 years ago and has been a vital part of the back line. Superb left foot & another who chips in with a few goals & assists. Another who loves a tackle, had a DD set up with GFA last season

Ben Minnican - RB/RWB

A lad who came through the Chalford youth system. Chipped in with 16 goals last season. Delighted to secure his signature again after some strong interest. Loves an Hyrox. Ask him about his celebrity lookalike.

Ryan Outram - LB/LWB

‘Ferret’ joined the club last season from Brimscombe & went from strength to strength playing regular football. Loves a social and makes his Mum proud. Ask him to show you his tattoo.

Simon Loftus - LB

Clubs longest serving player, Mr Social Media & another OG. Moved away for the area now but will be back to wear the shirt throughout the season. Quality left foot. Travels the world for work, nobody knows his jobs!

Brad Moore - RB/CM

‘Trent’ comfortable at RB or in CM, good on the ball & been a huge part of the clubs recent success. Scored the goal in the playoff final to secure our promotion. Conversations can take a while.

Danny Harris - CM

‘DK’ it’s been said in recent years if Danny plays well Chalf play well. A vital cog in our midfield who does the dirty work & has a strong voice. Powello’s favourite and has a strong hairline.

Andrew Roberts - CM

‘Rew’ joined the club at 16 after coming through the youth system. Another OG & even at 32 he still runs around CM like a youngster. Chips in with vital goals & loves 1 worldie a season. Lives on coffee, coco pops & 20 a day.

James Keylock - CM

‘Keys’ joined as a striker 7 years ago but now finds himself in a deeper role. Superb on the ball & last seasons joint player of the year. BDK is another member of the hairline club!

Sid Fawcett - CM

Spike’ great technician & quality with both feet another one to come through the youth set up . Missed large parts of last season but we are hoping to see more of him this campaign. Loudest in the group.

Freddie Wilson - CM

‘Golden Boy’ a dressing room favourite. Electric over 15 yards & always a threat going forward. Also another one through the youth set up Injuries interrupted his last year but we are hoping to see him fully fit this year. Most intelligent in the group.

Luke Brunsdon - LWB/Forward

‘Bruno’ missed 2nd half of last season through injury but returned with a 10 minute cameo to win us the title in the last game of the season. Quick direct player who scores vital goals.

George Parker - Forward

‘The Doctor’, a lad with an abundance of talent. Quick, strong & a defenders nightmare. Another one through the youth system If we can get him firing on all cylinders we’ll have a one hell of a player.

Andy Maryon - Forward

‘Dzeko’, immense last season in attack & defence after returning from ankle surgery. Scored some very important goals last year and will be crucial to success this year. Last seasons joint player of the year. Fastest player at the club.

Ryan Harry – Forward

‘Deano’, another one to come through the youth set up at Chalford. Had one of this best seasons last year in terms of goals and will look to kick on again. Needs a +3 for presentation night.

Nat Buckland - Gaffer/ST/GK

‘Bookland’, joined the coaching staff in January & steps up to work alongside Powello this year after injuries got the better of him. Still got a headed goal in him.

Ben Powell – Gaffer

‘Powello’. 9th season in charge & the clubs most successful manager with 3 league titles & 3 cup wins in his reign.Watch out If he’s walking to the changing rooms before half-time.Thankfully agreed to stay this year after nearly getting lost near Junction 13.

19^th August 2026 -

University of Bristol win at Longlevens

The two teams who entered this league for the first time this season met as Longlevens Reserves hosted 

University of Bristol for the first time.

The game started with University of Bristol having the main bulk of the possession. It was University of Bristol who took the lead with a well worked move which ended in a pull back for the striker to slot home to make it 0-1.

Not long after the second goal came for University of Bristol. A dribble into the box was slotted in at the near post to make it 0-2. Then with 5 minutes left to go of the first half, Rylan Snelgrove and Leo Marsden Green linked up well to supply a worked ball across the opposition’s six yard box for Fin Rankin to set up Brad Martin for his well taken goal. 1-2 the score at half time.

The second half was all Longlevens Reserves for 40 minutes; pressing well only to have no luck in front of goal. Two late goals in the last 5 minutes secured the 3 points for the away side with the game finishing 1-4. With the University sides goals coming from a Khoa Dao brace, Allaster Livingston and an Own Goal.

22nd August

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.

THERE is nothing quite like the FA Cup when it comes to serving up new stories every year.

It’s not just the first round proper when a Non-League club who have battled through several games gets that dream EFL draw that captures the imagination of the TV chiefs.

And it’s not always about the, admittedly, vital prize money that means a club can improve their ground.

Sometimes it’s the moments in the extra preliminary round that will last a lifetime to the people involved.

Take the Wilkinson family. Bobby is well-known for his success in taking Hungerford Town up the leagues, promotion at Bracknell Town and a great escape with Weymouth.

Now managing at Swindon Supermarine, he had a day he’ll never forget after giving his son Lucas his debut – who also scored!

Wilkinson junior announced his arrival in style in their 3-1 extra preliminary round win over Tuffley Rovers.

As if a goal in your first appearance for your dad’s team didn’t have enough FA Cup magic already, it was also his 18th birthday!

It came with some more quirky coincidences. Born on the 8-8-2008, his goal – on 8-8-26 (the year added together also makes eight – came in the 88th minute!

 In fact all of the times of Southern League Division One South side’s goals had an eight in it. And Lucas’ lucky number is…eight!

 “I don’t think that would have ever been done,” Wilkinson senior laughed. “It’s been getting lots of publicity. We were laughing as a family because I didn’t want anyone to know anything about him – I was keeping him under my wing, guiding him slowly. Now everyone knows.

“So it was a surreal one on his birthday. No one can ever take that away from the Wilkinson family – we will always remember that moment.

“The club got the pictures and presented them to me which was a special moment in itself.

“My family means everything to me. They’ve followed my journey. For me, this is just about my son on that day. He earned it himself – it’s nothing to do with his dad – and he deserves all the plaudits.”

Wilkinson has two rules – he doesn’t want to hear about what’s going on in the dressing room and Lucas has to make his own way to and from training.

Wilkinson added: “He gets is harder than anyone! He’s a credit to work with and the boys love him.

“He’s a good player first of all. For him to do that on his 18th birthday was a very special moment for the family.”

More FA Cup tales will be written this weekend and continue to remind us why it’s the best cup competition around.