Chairman’s Chat

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

The 1^st team picked up a really good away win last week at Ruardean Hill Rangers a notoriously difficult place to go and get anything, the victory was courtesy of a great all-around display from everyone present and a hat-trick from the tireless Drew Sawdon in midfield. It was a good weekend for the club with 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses across the 5 Saturday and 2 Sunday sides.

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

GFA cup ties not included

TODAY'S MATCHES

Matches 30th November by Mark Simpson

Almondsbury head the table still, despite dropping two points, but Sharpness, Frampton United and Wick are hot on their heels, all winning, Totterdown United, Cheltenham Civil Service, and Henbury & Rockleaze picked up valuable wins at the other end.

In the Forest, Ruardean Hill Rangers took on Henbury & Rockleaze and it was Hill who made a fast start with H&R penned in, and after only two minutes Hill’s Max Telling rattled the H&R crossbar from 25 yards. Straight down the other end Aaron Underwood slipped but made a great recovery save from Fraser Butt. All action, five minutes in an overhead kick from Ruardean’s Kane Sansom was tipped over by Jordan Dunning and from the resulting corner Kane Fellows hits the post. Following a scuffed H&R shot on 8 minutes, a minute later unmarked Drew Sawdon headed H&R in front from a corner somewhat against the run of play. Two minutes later Sawdon lashed his second in from a tight angle following a defensive mix up. On 18 minutes it was three, Underwood unusually fumbling an H&R corner gifting Sawdon his hat-trick. On the half hour with Hill trying to salvage something they were denied by the H&R defence with Dunning struggling to get back across his goal. Five minutes before the break an Ollie Mason free kick was kept out by Dunning and Just after the break a double Underwood save kept Hill in touch. Up the other end Dunning made a good save to keep Mason’s free kick out, and Hill were given a lifeline on 61 when Mason was pulled to the ground in the box and Steve Clark scored the resulting penalty kick. Hill were starting to control things and a Clark’s effoert was saved with Mason’s follow-up blocked. Fifteen minutes from time Clark hit the post after finding himself a little room and then Dunning denied Sansom’s half volley. On 80 minutes Dunning again saved his team from a Mason free kick. Five minutes to go and H&R defenders put their bodies on the line to deny Fellows in the six-yard box. Two minutes from time Hill’s frustration was summed up with Telling retaliating and getting a red card and there it ended 3-1 to H&R.

At Fairmile Gardens both Gala Wilton and Stoke Gifford SGS United needed the points for differing reasons with both sides looking to bounce back after poor recent results. Under difficult conditions in which to get the ball down and play any quality football , it was Gala who made a fast start with a goal on five minutes with a long ball over the SGS defence latched onto by Rob Reid who lobbed the keeper from 25 yards. But, SGS equalised on 32 when following a 50-50 tackle the ball broke to Dan Twomey who scored with left foot shot from the edge of the box via the post. The second half was much of the same with plenty of strong challenges and both sides finding it difficult to play their football. The sides remained level until the hour when a controversial moment happened, a free kick was swung into the Gala box and Dan Wharton headed goalwards and with the ball cleared, to the surprise of many the Referee decided the ball had crossed the goal-line and a goal was given. Gala never recovered and so Stoke Gifford took the three points 2-1.

At Tewkesbury Road Cheltenham Civil Service had a tough challenge from Chalford again with both sides needing the points for differing reasons. It was Service who were putting together some good phases of play, and in one, the play was switched down the right to the on-running Sam Jackson who hit the ball across the goal and via the post for 1-0. Service were generally managing the game quite well, but Chalford were still able to earn a series of corners. Unfortunately for Service a rushed goal-kick just before half time was lost on the edge of the box allowing Travis Cooke to curl in the equaliser. The second half had both teams creating chances and Service managed to miss three one-on-ones. Chalford missed chances from set pieces with both keepers on good form. The winning goal for Service came from Alin Neamtu with some trickery and a tidy finish into the bottom left of the goal and a valuable 2-1 win for Service.

At Pen Park, Filton Athletic took on leaders Almondsbury and in the very first minute Trey Merrett was put through by Kyle Thomas but Sam Burgess pulled off a good save. Straight after Almonds had their own chance, Zach Morgan’s shot saved by Barry Phillips. Plenty of action, next up Burgess saving from Merrett from a Venables cross and from the resulting corner, Venables cross evaded everyone and went narrowly wide. On 18 minutes an excellent bit of wing play from Filton’s Jack Willmor beating two Almonds defenders finishing with a low cross for Callum Mitchell to score at the back post for 1-0. A 32nd minute Almonds shout for a penalty was turned away and from an Almonds corner Alex Hill headed narrowly wide. On 42 minutes a great free kick from Lewis Hughes flew past Phillips to square the match. Just into the second half Almonds were almost in front with a shot off the post but did make it 2-1 when a cross was spilt by Phillips and Morgan was on hand to tap in. Filton pressed for the equaliser but saw shots by Venables and Thomas blocked. Almondsbury almost scored a third when Morgan’s shot was saved by Phillips. Said Hassan saw his header well saved by Burgess and with Filton pressing Hassan had a shot over the top and a header from Cooper was narrowly wide. But, on five minutes of added time and with pretty much the last kick of the game Burgess could only get a hand to Venables free kick effort and in it went for 2-2. A good game and a fair result although Almondsbury may feel hard done by.

Hot on Almondsbury’s heels are Sharpness who visited Pomphrey Hill to take on Bromley Heath United. Bromley dominated the early exchanges creating a number of chances but were unable to capitalise. Sharpness had their first real chance when George Thomas headed over in the fifteenth minute and five minutes later were in front when a midfield mis-control by the hosts allowed Kier Bennett to run through and shoot into the net. Two more well worked goals followed in a twenty-minute period with Bromley taking their foot right off the gas. Thomas had a headed goal from Bennett’s pin-point cross and the Bennett himself putting the 

Sharks into a comfortable position. But, five minutes before the break things began to change as Sharpness were reduced to ten, and Heath quickly took advantage with Jack Withey’s unstoppable header. They almost got another back but Ben O’Brien’s close-range effort struck the crossbar. With Bromley buoyed early second half pressure resulted in a penalty, converted by Withey and now it was game on. Five minutes later it was 3-3 with O’Brien pouncing on a loose ball from a corner. Bromley could have been in the lead but Luke Bessell’s free kick was spectacularly saved by Sharks keeper Holder. The game then became a little scrappy with both sides determined not to lose, but, with just a few minutes to go the game was turned on its head when dangerman Kier Bennett broke through for his hat-trick and a seemingly unlikely 4-3 victory for Sharpness.

Hot on everyone’s heels at the top are Frampton United who took on close neighbours Quedgeley Wanderers at the Bell Field. Frampton got straight into the game, Fin Blythe’s shot just creeping wide. Harry Furniss came close for Quedgeley but his lob was just too high and in the 25th minute a poor clearance fell to Will Hawes but Nathan Charnock made amends with a great save. It wasn’t until the 32nd minute that the first goal came, a Blythe cross and Henry Driver-Dickerson tapped in. Both sides continued to attack until the break. A minute after the re-start Manolo Espada drove the ball across the box and Driver-Dickerson was on hand again for 2-0. Quedgeley came close with Sean Lawson’s long range strike just wide, but Frampton had a free-kick in the 68th minute on the edge of the box and Charnock did well to push Blythe’s strike onto the post but unfortunately for him the ball fell to Myron Turner whose shot went in via the underside of the crossbar. Jacob Geddes made it four when he rose highest and headed in from a corner and in the last-minute Geddes scored again to close the game out at 5-0 to Frampton which seemed a little harsh on the hard-working Quedgeley team.

At the Bristol Barbarians RFC both Totterdown United and Broadwell Amateurs were looking to gain some valuable points at the wrong end of the table. The game started fast paced with lots of pressure from both sides. Totterdown had the ball in the net on 15 minutes but the goal was chalked off for an offside. But they did eventually break the deadlock on the half hour, with Chaz Hemmings heading in an Ollie Lovell corner. But, Broadwell drew level shortly after with a long range strike from Aidan Creighton finding the bottom corner giving Ashley Martin no chance. The second half started with Broadwell the brighter of the two, but it became very end to end with both keepers on form. Hemmings was denied another headed goal by Creighton’s clearance but he finally got his brace with a left foot finish in the 75th minute. Totterdown defended brilliantly as a team for the last fifteen and saw things out for a valuable 2-1 win.

At the Hallett Construction Pavilion Hanham Athletic took on Wick, another team hot on Almondsbury’s heels, but it was Hanham who got an early third minute lead when Karim Rendall was put through and rounded Kai Wilson for 1-0. Wick equalised on twelve, a ball over the top allowed Fred Taylor-Fox a shot well saved by Ash Bryan but the ball came back off the post for Bailey Rudge to score. Wick should have been in front but Corey Langdon put the ball past the post when clean through. They did, however, take the lead when Bryan mistakenly threw the ball to a Wick player who set up Taylor-Fox to finish with a great shot into the top corner. The Miners equalised right on half time when Brandon Barnes’ free kick into the box was finished by Rendall. Hanham had the first real chance of the second half on 57 but Josh Gibbs run and shot was well saved by Wilson. Wick took the lead on 85 minutes when a lack of concentration in the home defence allowed Langdon to run unchecked and finish well into the far corner of the net, and there it finished 3-2 to Wick.

AND then there were two.

A total of 653 clubs from the National League System entered the 2024-25 Emirates FA Cup, at various stages, from the extra preliminary round back in early August.

Now it’s just Dagenham & Redbridge and Tamworth flying the flag in the third round proper from outside the 92 – and they’ve both got tasty ties to look forward to!

Tamworth, in particular, got the best possible reward for knocking out League One neighbours Burton Albion by landing a plum home tie with Premier League giants, and eight-time winners, Tottenham Hotspur.

Yes, Big Ange and his men will be gracing The Lamb on the weekend of January 11 for what promises to be a humdinger of a clash, evoking memories of when Spurs, with Jose Mourinho, Gareth Bale et al, famously visited Marine during the Covid-hit 2020-21 campaign.

Tamworth were the headline act of Sunday’s second round ties after holding rivals Burton to a 1-1 draw at the Pirelli Stadium after extra time before popular goalkeeper Jas Singh made two crucial saves in the penalty shootout to see his side through.

That came under 24 hours after Dagenham & Redbridge had become the first Non-League side to take their place in the hat for the third round tie after knocking out London rivals AFC Wimbledon 2-1 on Saturday – their second successive away victory over League Two opposition.

Next up for Ben Strevens’ men is a crunch London derby with Championship side Millwall – a tie which is bound to whet the appetite of a partisan area east of the capital.

There were a few near misses too, as far as Non-League progression went.

Kettering Town led Doncaster Rovers for long spells of their Sunday lunchtime kick-off, only for two late goals from former Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp to turn the tables and break Poppies hearts.

Then, a couple of hours later, fellow Step 3 side Harborough Town raced into a 2-0 lead at Reading, only to be pegged back to 3-3 at the end of the 90 minutes.

But despite being down to ten men, the Royals found a way through thanks to two extra-time goals from Chem Campbell.

Harborough’s defeat naturally re-opened the ‘FA Cup replay’ debate with the new ruling denying the Bees the chance of taking Reading back to Bowden Park for a lucrative second crack of the whip, undoubtedly in front of the TV cameras.

Solihull Moors’ 2-1 defeat by last season’s play-off final conquerors Bromley rounded off a memorable second-round weekend for Non-League clubs with the likes of Gainsborough Trinity, Oldham Athletic, Brackley Town and Wealdstone all coming mighty close to securing a place in round three and a potential Premier League big gun.

That prize this year belongs to Tamworth – and I’m sure the Non-League family will be behind them every step of the way.

Elsewhere, something pretty cool happened to us at Non-League Paper towers this week.

We are very proud and delighted to have won the Football Supporters’ Association award, in the Non-League category, for the first time.

It was particularly humbling given the list of such deserving nominees we were up against; Dunstable Town, for the incredible community work they carry out, the Torquay United Supporters’ Trust for their efforts in saving the club during a tough year, and Worthing owner George Dowell for his incredible tale, turned into a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Naturally, we are unbelievably proud to have claimed this award but we simply couldn’t have done it without the amazing  support of so many people; the football clubs, managers, chairmen, contributors, writers and photographers, sponsors, and most of all you, the readers.

It really is a huge team effort and we thank each and every one of you.

BY JON CROUCH