Robson Taylor Chippenham Sunday League News 2008/09  RSS feed | About

Chris Rawlings

Steeple Ashton Rangers will be aiming to secure a 13th successive victory that would help them cement their position at the top of the table when they make the short trip to Bratton to lock horns with an in-form Trowbridge Town Supporters' Club, who will be going all out to seal an eighth win from their last 10 outings to keep them in third place.

There is no doubt that Steeple Ashton will be given a stern test of their title credentials by Kevin Williams's supporters' club side who have been red hot since the start of December when they beat Corsham Centre B 3-1.

Ashton themselves have not lost since the end of October, when they suffered a shock 4-2 loss against Kings Arms (Market Lavington).

If both teams play to their true potential then the game has the makings of being a classic and could even end up with the points being shared, which is what happened when the sides met on the opening day of the season when the scoreline finished 2-2. That day Chris Rawlings and Simon Hussey scored for the supporters' club who came from 2-0 down to earn their point after Jack Holdway, who has since left Ashton for the Ship, gave them a two-goal lead.

Both sides have moved in an upward direction since day one and the supporters' recent good run of form has put them in with an outside chance of claiming a top two finish. To do that they must beat Steeple Ashton and they will have to do it without regular goalkeeper Robbie Newton, who will be running in the Bath Half-Marathon, and defender Charlie Rawlings, who having just regained his place in the side after injury is unavailable for the important game.

Nathan Holloway's Steeple Ashton side are tipped to take the points by a narrow margin, but if the likes of Lee Mounty, Michael Ritson and former supporters' club striker Marc Sheppard have an off-day, then they will pay the price, especially if Nick Buckle, Gavin Target and Nigel Penelhum, who has been on fire lately, are on form for the supporters' club, who have a very good chance of ending Ashton's excellent run of results.

AFC Lyneham v Riverside Renegades

BRADFORD-based Riverside Renegades haven't played for a fortnight, but thEy couldn't have asked for an easier return to action.

Lance Davis's side travel to Goatacre where they will be hosted by bottom of the table AFC Lyneham, who, if there was any relegation from Division Four would have been condemned to the drop weeks ago.

Lyneham, who have not picked up a point from any of their previous 19 matches, will fear the worst when the Renegades' bandwagon rolls into town, and having suffered an 8-1 loss early in the season Lyneham will hope that they can contain their guests in the hope of damage limitation as Renegades will be hoping to claw back some of the 17 goal advantage that leaders Steeple Ashton have over them.

Renegades might not hit double figures, but they could get close, especially if Joe Taylor, Jake Jordan, Lee Ridout, Ashley Styles and manager Davis have their scoring boots on.

Lyneham's first half displays over their past few games have been half decent but they seem to run out of steam in the second half, which is when the floodgates normally open up, so if Lyneham are anywhere near Renegades at the interval, manger Jason Raven might just be tempted to shut-up shop and pack the defence in the hope of keeping the score down.

Whatever the outcome Lyneham are certain to approach the game in the good sporting manner they have done all season that has seen them gain many plaudits, not just from their opponents but also from match officials who have been very impressed with the way they have conducted themselves throughout games that have ended in huge losses.

Somerford v Three Crowns United

CHIPPENHAM-based Three Crowns United are due to visit Somerford for what will be the villagers' penultimate game of the campaign, leaving them with another match against the Three Crowns left to play some when in April.

Tony Beasley's Three Crown defeated Corsham United 2-1 last weekend, with Adie Bray scoring both goals, and if Beasley has a full strength side available for the short trip to Somerford they could notch up a fifth successive victory.

Current form would suggest that Beasley's side should take the spoils but their hosts, who defeated Wanderers 4-2 last Sunday, will want to finish the season on a high after a run of three losses in four games undid the great work they did between mid-November and the end of January when they put together a seven match unbeaten run that at one stage saw them creep into the top half of the table.

Recent weeks have seen the home team rocked with injuries, but top goal scorer Wayne Burry made a swift return after it was feared that an injury he picked up against the league leaders would put him out for the remainder of the campaign.

Burry scored two screamers in their win over Wanderers to take him onto 25 goals for the season and he would love to add a few more to his tally, but it might prove a big ask as the Three Crowns have tightened things up at the back and have conceded just a single goal in each of their last three games and now have a couple of decent forwards at their disposal.

With Somerford looking to be back in the groove, they could end Three Crowns' fine run especially if they can repeat the form of a week ago but if they are below par, then Three Crowns will claim their ninth win of the season.

Old Road Tavern v Corsham United

THERE promises to be an intriguing game at Sutton Benger, where Old Road Tavern entertain Corsham United, who have not won a match since the start of 2008 when they defeated Kings Arms (Market Lavington) 4-2.

Since then United have plummeted down the rankings to seventh spot and with four games remaining things could get even worse for Paul Wheeler's outfit.

United will fancy their chances of collecting their first maximum point haul in eight outings when the get together with Bernie Court's side, who have lost their previous two matches, albeit they were against Riverside Renegades and Trowbridge Town Supporters' Club.

Court felt that his team were denied a perfectly good goal for offside last week against the supporters' club which would have given Tavern the lead and had it been given they could have possibly got something from the game.

Court is confident ahead of their game with United that his team can go one better than they did in September when they claimed a point from a 1-1 draw and take both points off the visitors.

Fabian Prangle scored for Old Road with the division's leading scorer, Joe Pritchard, bagging United's goal. Pritchard, who has 26 goals to his name, hasn't scored for three matches and unless he rediscovers the art of scoring could lose out on the division's golden boot award.

The result will be another close one, but Old Road are tipped for victory.

Kings Arms (Market Lavington) v Wanderers

TROWBRIDGE-based Wanderers were dealt a huge blow to their hopes of promotion last weekend when they suffered an unexpected loss against Somerford and unless Oli Turner's side are fully switched on for their game away at Kings Arms, they could experience another shock loss that would virtually rule them out of the race for an automatic promotion spot.

Wanderers won the reverse fixture 3-0. with the goals being shared by Domonic Shepherd, Carl Mackness and Craig Harman, and the visitors Northbrook are predicted to keep up their unbeaten record against John Dix's side. Wanderers have won four of the previous five encounters and drawn one.

Wanderers manager Turner might be tempted to give the ageless Tim Cross a start. Cross, who has played just three hours of football this season, has been a star in recent weeks and has come off the bench and scored three goals. Last weekend he rolled back the years with a sublime goal last weekend in his teams' 4-2 defeat.

Cross might not be as quick as he once was, but he still knows where the net is and he could well be worth a start and the chances are that given half a chance he will take it and he could well play a large part in what should be an easy win for Wanderers as they look to get their promotion challenge back on track.

2:17pm Friday 14th March 2008

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