Corsham Centre back on title course

12:00pm Friday 25th April 2008

Of the 10 sides in action this Sunday, only Winsley, Maud Heath Sports and Semington Rovers missed out on a game on Thursday night.

And Semington Rovers might wish they were without a game this weekend as well as their opponents Corsham Centre look to have rediscovered the hunger to hang onto the title which they have won for the previous two seasons.

Semington Rovers face a Corsham Centre side fresh from their win over Box Rovers on Thursday night and having overcame that potential banana skin they have the bit between their teeth and will be confident that they can see off Allan Clarke's side for a second time in six games and follow up their 6-0 success with another victory.

Kris Davis and Simon Gray both scored doubles with an own goal and Tom Lye effort making up the half dozen the last time the sides met.

Semington Rovers will have to play better than they did last weekend when they drew 1-1 with Dog and Fox Ashley if they are to avoid another whitewash, but unless Clarke can get the best out of players like Stuart Barber, Kelvin Lockwood, Stewart Donohoe, Bobby Mitchell and Liam Richards, Semington could be in for a torrid time as the Centre look to keep up the pressure on Biddestone Social at the summit.

The points should travel back to Corsham with the Centre who will stretch their unbeaten run to16 matches if, as expected, they take the honours.

Biddestone Social v Maud Heath Sports

LEADERS Biddestone Social might have beaten Westbury Rangers A on Thursday night and may well be dreaming of picking up the title after their success, but they face another tricky encounter on Sunday - not against one of the top sides but at home against relegation threatened Maud Heath Sports who are fighting for their lives to stay in the division.

Maud Heath won't give up their place without a fight and they could cause more problems to Biddestone Social's title ambitions than a number of other sides in the division.

The sides only met 11 days ago and on that occasion goals from Dan Lardner, Jamie Lyons and Ryan Trowbridge sank the Sports.

Biddestone Social will stretch their winning run to 17 matches if they can seal a league double over Andy Townsend's side who will go into the game with a little bit of confidence having beaten Holt 2-1 last Sunday, thanks to a Darren Holcombe brace that keeps alive their hopes of beating the drop.

Since the teams reached the top flight in 2004 Biddestone Social have had the upper hand. From the seven previous meeting the the Biddestone boys have won six and lost just the once but they know that Maud Heath are no mugs and that on their day they are more than capable of causing a shock.

Dan Lardner and Danny Jones will be hoping that their short spell as the villagers' joint management team will end in triumph and won't be derailed by a side who they should beat comfortably.

Bradford News v Westbury Rangers A

WESTBURY Rangers A might have waved goodbye to their hopes of finishing in the top two after losing against Biddestone Social last night, but they are in action again on Sunday when they visit Bradford News who will be on a high after beating North Star A.

But the victory still leaves the newsmen with a massive task to beat the drop as they still have to face Biddestone Social, Westbury Rangers and local rivals Dog and Fox Ashley, won't do them any favours. To maintain their top flight status they are going to have to pull out all the stops and play like they have never played before this season.

The newsmen, who will be without Domonic Sims, Darren Wing, Tom Downing and possibly Darren Morris, won't fear Rangers as they have a fair record against them over the years. Mark Hurkett's side might have only won once in the previous 11 encounters but they have drawn four and lost six, but only on one occasion, when they lost 5-2, were they outplayed. All the other defeats have been very close results.

Westbury manager Shaun Gardiner will be very much aware of the threat that Bradford pose to them as he is good mates with his opposite number Hurkett and although the result will probably go against the home team the pair will probably share a couple of beers in the bar after the game to talk about what went wrong and how things could have been different.

With both sides needing the win for different reasons the match should be fiercely contested and again could be won by the odd goal in a low scoring contest, with the visitors tipped to take maximum points.

At this stage of the season and with the ways things are poised in the bottom three, the newsmen would happily settle for another draw.

Miller Sports v Winsley

MILLER Sports welcome Winsley to The Beeches, Shaw, having restored some pride and a little bit of the their reputation following last weekend's dismal display against Biddestone Arms that saw them lose 14-0 with a 3-1 loss away at Dog and Fox Ashley on Thursday night.

Winsley, who claimed a second successive victory last weekend with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Box Rovers courtesy of a Mike Little goal, know that for them to claim a hat-trick of victories and avenge their 3-2 defeat from early March they are going to have to perform a lot better than they did last time out.

Winsley manager Paul Ranger has already written this season off as a bad nightmare but he is confident that his team will come back better and stronger next season. He plans to shuffle his pack in the close season and bring in a couple of new faces to help give his side a fighting chance of competing with the likes of Biddestone Social, Westbury Rangers A and Corsham Centre which should be possible as they finished as runners-up last term.

Miller Sports are likely to include Winsley old boy Nick Ridout in their starting line-up and it could well be Ridout who turns out to be the match-winner as Miller Sports will want to end what has been a roller-coaster season with a couple more victories. With Maud Heath and Westbury Rangers A still to play they might just struggle to chalk up any more than two more points. But having said that they know that they are capable of winning all three games they have left but it all comes down to having the right attitude which sometimes is lacking in Tim Knight's side.

When the mood is right they are a very good side and have some top class players in Luke Smith, Ashley Groves, Ridout and Westbury United keeper Nick Evans, who are all capable of turning any game when they are in the right frame of mind.

North Star A v Dog and Fox Ashley

AFTER losing at home to Bradford News on Thursday night, Calne-based North Star A entertain another Bradford-based outfit, Dog and Fox Ashley, at on Sunday in what is now a must win game.

Clive Bancroft will take his Dog and Fox side to Calne having gained a victory over Miller Sports on Thursday night.

North Star, who couldn't buy a win from early October to early February, were as good as down a few weeks ago after a 10 match losing run saw them plummet down the table to bottom spot. But three victories have put them in with a chance of reaching safety and if they can beat the Dog and Fox then they will probably be safe for another season.

The Star would be left with two matches to play - and both of them are against the reigning champions Corsham Centre - and it would be very unlikely that Gary Elliott's team would get anything from those games, so this Sunday's match will give them the best opportunity they have to get another crucial victory under their belts.

The Dog and Fox defeated North Star 4-2 in their earlier encounter, thanks to goals from Ricky Trott, Steve Roddy, Dan Fowler and Russell Whatley, and in all probability the result will be the same, but the Star will throw everything at their visitors in the hope that they might just nick at least a point from what should be a close contest.