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Chairman's Chat
A warm welcome to Arnall Drive to the players, spectators, and management team of this evening’s visitors Hanham Athletic.
It’s been another good week for the 1st team, firstly drawing with Filton Athletic at home on Wednesday evening in a game where we created the better chances and then winning away at champions elect Almondsbury on Saturday. These results mean we have won nine, drawn three times and have lost just once in our last thirteen matches to find ourselves in a respectable mid table position. The Reserves had a disappointing loss away at Redbridge, but a win at the weekend should result in a top 3-4 finish for Zaki Elgahmi’s young charges.
I’d like to wish Josh Young all the best after an awful situation after last Thursday’s A team match at home to Cribbs, I’m sure everyone associated with the club and the Bristol football fraternity are with me in wishing Josh a speedy recovery and hope to see him at Arnall Drive soon.
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 please speak to myself or to another committee member who will be pleased to speak to you about any potential involvement.
Finally, please remember ‘we win together, we lose together but most importantly we stick together’
Andrew |
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Matches played 19th April 2025 by Mark Simpson Only Frampton United win as top teams stumble in home straightAt the top the games in hand over leaders Almondsbury are running out and if they win their final match against Wick on Thursday they secure the title. Almondsbury did not help themselves yesterday losing to in-form Henbury and Rockleaze, but then again only Frampton in the chasing pack won. At the bottom Cheltenham Civil Service delayed relegation by drawing with Filton Athletic. Some important games coming up.
Totterdown United welcomed Frampton United to Bristol Barbarians RFC for their final home fixture of the season. An experienced Totterdown team started well and missed an early chance from the in-form Saunders. After this lax marking by the Totts defence and allowed Frampton’s Craig Mills to receive the ball, nutmeg Totts Toby Carter before slotting the ball into the bottom corner. Totterdown huffed and puffed with a few shots but Frampton coped well and won a corner five minutes from the break, and they converted a flick on at the near post with Joel White scoring, knocking the wind out of Totterdown. Totterdown re-grouped for the second half and put up a fight back, but a point-blank header from Mike Rimmer was brilliantly saved by Tom Kaye to deny Totts a way back in. The rest of the game had two even sides playing in good spirit, having a few wayward shots with Frampton holding on for a 2-0 win.
Wick hosted Bromley Heath United at The Nest in what seemed a must win game for the home side. Bromley started the strongest and were unfortunate not to be in the lead inside 15 minutes when only the post denied them. Ten minutes before half-time some neat play from Wick saw |
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Bayley Rudge fouled in the box for a penalty kick which Cory Langdon took but he was denied by Will Ferguson pulling off a good save. Five minutes into the second half Bromley took the lead, a mistimed header from Harry Madge fell to Cameron Ford who smashed home a cracking volley. Twelve minutes from time and Rudge was again fouled in the box and this time Liam McCracken stepped up and finished into the bottom corner for 1-1. Wick then threw everything at Bromley but couldn’t find the back of the net and then with five minutes left a slip by Frank Taylor-Fox gave Bromley a two-on-one and Kai Wilson pulled off a great stop but Aiden Noble was there to fire home the rebound. In time added on Bromley were awarded a penalty for a hand ball on the line for which Madge received his marching orders and up stepped Noble to send Wilson the wrong way and making sure that al three points went back to Pomphrey Hill with a 3-1 Bromley Heath win.
At The Field Almondsbury took on one of the form sides Henbury and Rockleaze. H&R with their first attack forced a corner and from it Almondsbury had a number of attempts to clear and from a looping ball in the box Jack Burgess unfortunately turned the ball into his own net. After 5 minutes Almonds got a corner and but Burgess headed into the side-netting. On fourteen minutes Holver went down the left and pulled back for Hughes but his strike was just wide. A few minutes later Holver did well to win a free kick on the left and Hughes stepped up and whipped the ball into the top left corner for 1-1. On 24 minutes a quick H&R break, and from an unfortunate bobble the ball fell to Drew Sawdon to finish well past Sam Burgess for H&R to lead 2-1. Hughes had a vicious strike which Dunning did well to push behind for a corner and just before the break Hughes delivered a good ball which Meacham could only stretch to head over. Almonds created a few chances in the second half – on 47 minutes Pali had an effort blocked and Nicholls rebound was just over the bar. Ten minutes later Hughes
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free kick was destined for the top corner but Dunning tipped over at full stretch and on 77 minutes Mannings free kick was knocked on by Lancastle but Dunning made a good reactive save. Almondsbury's cause not helped by Jack Burgess being dismissed for an off the ball incident. H&R held on for a fine 2-1 win and Almonds have to now give it all on Thursday evening.
Chalford welcomed Ruardean Hill Rangers to Highfield Way and it was the home side that started the brightest. The majority of the first half was spent with a home side camped in Ruardeans half and chances came and went as Maryon, Day, Evans and Harry all threatened the Ruardean goal but without making a breakthrough . It looked as though the sides would go in level at half time however two minutes before the break the ball was worked into Maryon who saw his shot blocked but Ryan Harry was there to follow up and toe poke to give the home side a deserved lead. The second half over was a different story. Chalford struggled to get going and didn’t play the free-flowing football of first half and despite getting into good positions lacked a bit of quality in the final 3rd to add to the score, but that said Ruardean never really threatened Sam Neale in the home goal. Chalford secured the 1-0 win and move onto Monday’s home game versus Bromley Heath
In the other League matches Broadwell Amateurs drew 1-1 with Stoke Gifford SGS United and Cheltenham Civil Service drew 3-3 with Filton Athletic |
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Date for your Diary |
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By Tony Incenzo
CROWN dependencies offshore football clubs have become part and parcel of the Non-League Pyramid in recent years with Guernsey, Jersey Bulls and FC Isle of Man all valued members of our National League System.
But I wondered what the arrangements entail for opposition teams flying across to play on these islands, so I joined the official Southall party heading to Guernsey for their Isthmian South Central; fixture last Sunday to find out more.
The build-up saw Guernsey sending travel details to their opponents. In effect, the host club covers the cost of return flights for a group of up to 25 people from Southall plus coach transport to and from Guernsey Airport. This forms part of Guernsey’s agreement to compete in mainland competitions.
Here is my diary of how the mammoth matchday experience unfolded…
7.00am – Meet up deadline at Gatwick Airport South Terminal. The Southall players arrive on time smartly dressed in club tracksuit tops. 7.15am – Southall’s enthusiastic chairman Sanjeev Sharma does a final headcount to make sure everyone is present. He grins: “I’m feel like I am the players’ dad looking after them all!” 8.00am – We are through security and on to the plane. I am sitting next to Southall manager Max Howell. He admirably video calls his young children prior to take-off. 8.35am – The Aurigny Airline flight to Guernsey departs on schedule. It’s a one-hour journey spanning 160 miles. Also on board are the three match officials for this afternoon’s game. Not surprisingly, they respectfully keep their distance. |
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8.50am – There is escalating merriment amongst the Southall squad because midfielder Chris Mulindwa has fallen asleep with his mouth wide open. So, his crafty teammates rest a coffee stirrer on his lower lip. I take a photo to capture the moment for posterity. 9.00am – Max explains his deep-thinking managerial philosophy to me. “My players are chess pieces that I move around the pitch,” he says, reflecting on his nine years at Southall as a player, then coach and now manager. 9.35am – We touch down in Guernsey and the local coach appears outside the tiny airport. Our driver is a dead ringer for TV personality Bill Oddie. Much to my amazement, he negotiates the narrow island roads by frequently mounting pavements to pass oncoming cars. This time, I am sat alongside chairman Sanjeev. He describes his burning desire to find his beloved club a permanent stadium in Southall. It will end 33 years of nomadic groundsharing following the loss of their spiritual home at Western Road. They are currently based out of the area at Burnham but will switch to Hayes & Yeading next season. 10.00am – We stop off at a very nice hotel where Southall booked pre-match breakfast. It is good to see the players choosing healthy options from the buffet spread although some of us older guys readily tuck into fried eggs and black pudding! 12noon – The coach is ready to take us to the game. 12.30pm – We pull up at Guernsey’s newly unveiled £10 million Victoria Park Stadium which is staging only its second fixture. The Southall party are warmly greeted by Guernsey directors John Loveless and Nic Legg 12.35pm – I take a peek at the facilities consisting of two excellent grandstands on either side (offering 700 seats combined) and covered terracing behind both goals. I am thoroughly impressed by the 3,000 capacity venue. It is easily up to National League South grading criteria. The Guernsey Football Associatiooffices are here too.. 1.00pm – Several of the Southall players don’t have football boots compatible with requirements specified by Victoria Park’s artificial pitch manufacturer. However, Guernsey are able to loan replacement boots. |
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1.10pm – I approach Southall director Stephen Harrison for an in-depth chat. His family possess a long association with the club and Stephen outlines how he decided to become a co-owner. In addition, I spot a couple of loyal Southall supporters visiting Guernsey for the weekend. 2.00pm – Kick-off in our Isthmian League South Central Division encounter. Guernsey have the wind behind them and dominate pulsating first half exchanges without scoring. Into the second period, Southall muster a great 20 minutes peppering the home goalmouth. All of a sudden, Guernsey break away and Sam Murray decisively shoots into the net. Two minutes later, Southall are reduced to ten men (Ryan Hope red card) thereby affecting their chances of gaining a positive result. 3.50pm – Final score…Guernsey 1 Southall 0, attendance 891. A vital three points for the ‘Green Lions’ in battling against relegation. 4.20pm – Guernsey serve a delicious sit-down meal of Thai green curry to the Southall party in a reserved section of the plush clubhouse. Yet the West London players are visibly disappointed by the match outcome and eat in near silence. 5pm – The coach returns to take us to the airport ahead of our 6.10pm flight. 7.10pm – After the Southall contingent waited patiently in Departures throughout an unexpected one-hour delay, we embark on our plane back to London. I’m seated again beside manager Max who is considerably deflated by this defeat. He gives me a fascinating blow by blow analysis of the match I’ve just watched. I tell him that he can take plenty of positives from his team’s performance. 8.15pm: We land at Gatwick Airport to conclude our lengthy day out. There are handshakes all around as the exhausted Southall party go their separate ways freshly anticipating local derbies versus Rayners Lane and Uxbridge over Easter.
Needless to say, I was pretty cream crackered when I eventually arrived home, but the trip will go down as one of my most memorable ever. |
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