PREMIER DIVISION ROUNDUP: Rangers stun Biddestone to keep top spot (From Wiltshire Times)

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PREMIER DIVISION ROUNDUP: Rangers stun Biddestone to keep top spot

2:31pm Monday 25th January 2010

WESTBURY Rangers A remain top of the Robson Taylor, Chippenham & District League Premier Division after they won their battle with Biddestone Social.

For Social, the 5-2 defeat was their first of the season in all competitions and it was also their first loss against Shaun Gardiner’s side in five outings.

Biddestone, for whom it was their first league outing since the end of October, fell behind to a Matty Smith goal and a second from Smith gave Rangers a two-goal advantage before Gary Banks got Biddestone back in the game before the interval. Biddestone fell further behind to a stunning long-range effort from Chris Storey before the in-form Steve Healy reduced the arrears once more.

But their dreams of a comeback were soon dented when Marc Lanfear netted number four for Westbury.

A second from Lanfear, that took his tally for the season to 19, knocked the stuffing out of Biddestone, who were left shocked at the final whistle.

The result has opened up the race for the number one spot, with Westbury back in contention along with Dog & Fox, Biddestone and defending champions Corsham Centre.

Box Rovers 1 Dog & Fox Ashley 2

WITH Biddestone losing, Dog & Fox Ashley took over as the second-placed side following their 2-1 success at Box Rovers, whose own hopes of claiming the title suffered a further setback. Box took the lead through Tom Smith after five minutes, but Nick Ross drew the Dog level before half time and, after the break, Steve Roddy put the Dog 2-1 ahead on 75 minutes.

That was how the match finished despite Box hitting the woodwork three times in the last 15 minutes as they went in search of an equaliser which just wouldn’t come their way.

Cooper Avon 6 Winsley 3

COOPER Avon carried on from last week's excellent win over Corsham Centre by overwhelming Winsley 6-3 at the Conigre.

Simon Gillatt opened the scoring, after a through ball from Dave Macey, by slotting home.

Gillatt lobbed the keeper for his and the Tyremen's second following a James Ponsford assist.

Moments later, a Macey pass released his brother Ben who coolly finished for number three.

It was soon four nil when Gillatt fired home for his hat-trick after some good work by Mikki Harrison.

Winsley smashed in their first of the game after Alex Shaftoe failed to collect a cross which left Grant Price free to find the net.

Winsley started the second half better than the home side and soon forced home their second of the game when substitute Phil Little scored.

With the Tyremen on the back foot, Gillatt took it upon himself to kick-start Cooper Avon.

He collected the ball with his back to goal, turned one defender and then again before despatching the ball right into the top left hand corner.

Cooper Avon's sixth came soon after when Tim Eatough struck a tame shot past the Winsley keeper, who was presumably unsighted.

Nketia Aboagya scored his first goal for Winsley as they added a third but it was to count for nothing.

Corsham Centre v The Gladstone Arms - pp

FOUR-TIME league winners Corsham Centre were hoping to put the disappointment of last week's Knockout Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of Cooper Avon behind them with a home victory over The Gladstone Arms at their Meriton Avenue base.

But the pitch, which took a battering a week ago, was in no fit state to stage the game after is was used on Saturday afternoon.

The Centre, who have played only six league matches, could have done without the postponement as they are already looking at playing midweek games and would have like a match before next week's clash with Semington Rovers, who took a point of them when the sides clashed at the end of December.

The Gladstone have seen no action since they were beaten 4-2 by Potterne at the end of November.

Maud Heath Sports 0 Holt 4

WITH Maud Heath Sports' pitch at the Recreation Ground in Calne unplayable, Dave Beal had no problems in switching the game to Holt - despite having already been beaten 5-0 by Stuart Faint’s side back in November.

But at the final whistle Beal may well have regretted his decision, as Holt had completed a rare league double courtesy. Ollie Gee’s goal separated the sides in the first half but once Dale-Alexis Goldstone made it 2-0, Maud Heath’s heads dropped and further goals from Alan Fodder and Cameron Henley wrapped things up for Faint’s side.

Potterne A FC 0 Semington Rovers 2

MANY people thought that Semington Rovers 4-2 victory over Potterne A earlier in the season was a fluke result.

But when the sides went head to head in the reverse fixture at the weekend, Semington proved otherwise as they claimed a 2-0 victory which moved them into fourth place.

After a goalless first half which saw both teams miss some very good chances, Semington finally broke the deadlock on 50 minutes when Stuart Barber scored after work from Bobby Mitchell.

The match then flowed from end to end and again both sides wasted chances to score before Rich Allum, who had come on as a second-half substitute, hit the all-important second that sealed Semington’s fifth win of the season and has killed off any lingering doubts that Allan Clarke’s side would face a relegation battle later in the season.