Westbury Rangers on revenge mission

Winsley were unable to field their strongest side for their trip to Biddestone Social last Sunday so manger Paul Ranger, despite having nearly 50 players at his disposal, decided to postpone the match rather than take a chance against a Social side who were looking forward to the game.

Westbury are likely to be without Paul Beavers but will be eager to avenge their earlier loss and will be hoping that the current leaders will be able to put a side together no matter how many Western League players they have missing from their huge squad.

Bottom of the table Trowbridge Harriers visit Box Rovers, who are just above Harriers in the table but have a five point margin between themselves and the relegation trap door, as it is more than likely that just one team will drop from the top flight this season as Corsham Cricket Club resigned from the league prior to the start of the new campaign.

Harriers haven't won from 22 matches - their last victory came in March of last year - and they will be expecting the worst as they have already lost 7-4 to Rovers this term.

If Harriers can conjure up a win from somewhere then it could boost their morale, but with a number of suspensions to key players imminent they need to record their first win of the season sooner rather than later.

Holt recorded their first win since October last Sunday, when they beat Sherston Town 4-2 in the only Premier Division match that survived the elements.

Holt's next opponents are reigning champions Corsham Centre who since losing 13-3 to Holt in October 2002 have repaid that defeat with interest.

In Holt's famous win Tom Pang scored six and Neil Grant five, but the once regular players have been limited to guest appearances this season. Holt would love it if both players were available to take on the Centre this Sunday in the hope of revisiting the glory days.

The Centre easily won all four of their latest games against the villagers and only a brave or stupid man would bet against them extending that run to five wins when the teams meet for the first time since Holt joined the top division.

Dog and Fox Ashley are due to welcome Sherston Town to St Laurence School, but after the school's decision not to allow the Dog to use the pitch last Sunday the game could be in doubt, especially if any more rain should fall before the weekend.

Clive Bancroft's Dog and Fox side have not won since they beat Sherston 8-1 in October. On that occasion Mark Gerrish led the scoring with a well taken hat-trick. Sherston will look for an immediate return to winning ways after losing to Holt last Sunday, but with only four wins from their last 17 matches on the road they could be in for another torrid time against a Dog and Fox side who have not played since the last day of 2006.

When Maud Heath Sports and Biddestone Social locked horns earlier in the season, they produced an eight goal thriller which ended 5-3 in favour of Biddestone. Since the turn of the year each team have played just one game and both sides were successful, with comfortable wins against respective opponents Bradford News and Trowbridge Harriers.

John O'Meara's Biddestone Social side will start as favourites to beat Andy Townsend's Sports side for a fifth time on the spin, but if Sports' Steve Allison can build on his recent double for the Calne-based side, which were his first goals since his move from Fascia Graphics, the speedy front man could cause Social a few problems and lead them to a surprise win.

Division One

ONE of the biggest games in the league this Sunday is the match at Steeple Ashton, where the First Division joint leaders, Semington Rovers and Potterne, go into battle.

Rovers currently have the edge over their promotion rivals by virtue of a better goal difference. A victory for either team would see them as outright pacesetters and should Rovers recapture the form that gave them a crushing 5-1 win the last time the teams met then Potterne's hope of taking any silverware would almost certainly be over for another season at least.

It should be an interesting contest as both teams go into the game on the back of five successive wins, but with home advantage Rovers should just edge it.

Should the game between Semington and Potterne fail to produce an outright winner then FC Colerne could top the table if they beat North Star A for a third time this season.

Colerne won the reverse fixture 2-1 and with a similar scoreline they knocked the Star out of WG Parr Trophy which they won last season. Colerne are having one of their best ever seasons and are serious contenders for a top two finish as are their opponents, who have been hindered by their stop-start season which has seen them fall behind with their fixtures. But the long trek to Colerne should see them complete only their ninth game to date and a win could move them up a place or two.

Kings Arms (Trowbridge) have changed their name to Coyote FC and will be hoping that with the change of name comes a reversal of fortunes.

The Wiltshire Sunday Cup semi-finalists held a clear-the-air meeting last Sunday and it is hoped that instead of the infighting between a few players they can now resort to playing the quality football they are known for.

Coyote welcome fierce rivals Kingfisher to their Seymour Road pitch and although the hosts have lost three matches to date, including a 6-2 thumping by the Kingfisher, they could still net a fourth successive promotion if they can start winning again, Kingfisher will be a tough nut to crack but now Chris Carr has sorted things out with his star players the results should start to improve and a win over Kingfisher would be a great start to a new era.

Perennial strugglers Atworth United should be safe in the division for another season, as should their opponents Christian Malford, who have undergone something of a transformation this season following the loss of a few key personal. But they are starting to steady the ship and will see the rest of this season as a opportunity to blood new players as they prepare for next season.

Atworth started poorly and it was looking as if once again they would be involved in a relegation dogfight, but five wins in the space of six matches shot them into the top half of the table and if they can beat Malford for a second time it would be the first time since 1998 they have achieved a league double over two teams in one season, having already defeated Chippenham Sports and Social Club twice.

North Bradley are set to host basement side Hullavington and unless the visitors can find a winning formula they could be heading for a second straight relegation.

The battle to beat the drop looks ever more likely to be between Hullavington, Chippenham Sports and Chippenham Police and with no win in their last nine matches Hullavington are the favourites for the chop.

The villagers are desperate to return to winning ways, but with hosts Bradley out to maintain their push for promotion with a third straight win Hullavington may wish that they had stayed at home as Bradley ought to improve on their 3-1 triumph from earlier in the season and heap more grief on the bottom club.

Chippenham Police visit Foresters Arms and the boys in blue will fancy their chances of claiming their first victory in three games, as their hosts are battling to avoid a fourth straight loss after a impressive run of five victories took them up to second spot.

When the teams clashed in October Foresters won 3-0, thanks to a hat-trick from Steve Pegler. If Pegler can steal the show again then it will be the home team who will arrest their run of poor form, but if the police can keep Pegler under lock and key they will have look a good bet to take both points and claim what could prove to be an important fourth win from 14 matches.

Division Two

THE match of the day in the Second Division between third placed Rowde and fourth placed The Ship has been postponed by the league to let the Ship concentrate on their imminent cup game.

This means that AFC Calne and British Lion OC, who share top spot with 16 points, each have an opportunity to extend their advantage over their promotion rivals to three points.

Calne make the long trip to Southwick Sports, whose players could be forgiven for forgetting what a football looks like, having not played for 10 weeks. The reverse fixture went Calne's way, with Jason Matthews scoring goal that gave his team a 1-0 success, and the scoreline will probably end up in Calne's favour again this Sunday.

Southwick, who have just five points to their name, should be safe from the drop as the two teams below them struggle to move out of the danger zone.

Southwick have the added advantage they have played fewer matches than all the clubs below them and immediately above them so they should start to climb the table once they start playing again.

Should Calne suffer an unexpected defeat British Lion OC will move to the summit if they beat Sutton Benger, which on current form should be a formality as the Lion have won all of their eight games to date while Benger have managed just two victories from 11 outings.

Phil Oliver's depleted British Lion squad hopes to get a welcome boost as they push for promotion as midfielder Darren Brown is close to a return to fitness. Brown and Tom Paget have so far missed this season with broken legs. Brown is hopeful of playing in February while Paget may have to wait until next term to get back to action. Brown's fitness will bring a sigh of relief to the Devizes-based team as Danny Rawlings and Jack Stevens are at University, Andy Stonestreet has joined the Army and Luke Huunyball is missing due to work commitments. All four are unlikely to feature much in the second half of the season.

With just one win in 10 matches White Horse are looking odds-on for the drop and with The Crown Devizes next up for the Westbury-based team things are likely to get worse before they get any better.

The Horse have conceded 39 goals in just five games and with a total of 78 goals against they have the worse defensive record of any team in the league. Things will probably worsen against the Crown who have already beaten the Horse 5-0.

The Crown have not played since before Christmas but their last match saw them claim a creditable draw against a much fancied Ship side and they should follow that up with win number five of the season.

Wayne Duggan's FC Bradford will be hoping to make it three wins on the trot when they visit Biddestone Arms, who will be looking to seal a third successive two pointer. Having hammered Bradford 8-2 earlier in the campaign they will be favourites to make it a hat-trick of wins. On that occasion Andy Davis scored five of Biddestone's goals but after that he went to watch the Ashes series in Australia. Now back in the country he is available for selection again and if picked he could well return to action with a bang and add to his goal tally.

Division Three

DUE to rearranged cup matches the Third Division fixture programme has been butchered, with only two of the planned six matches now taking place.

The games featuring Pack Horse Rangers and Cooper-Avon, Westbury Rangers B and The Southgate Inn, Wheatsheaf FC and Corsham Park Rangers and White Hart Combe and Biddestone White Horse have all been lost as teams try to bring cup competitions up to date.

From the games that survived the chop all eyes will be focused on the bottom of the table clash featuring basement side Chippenham United RAOB and Somerford.

If United can pick up their second victory of the season they have every chance of moving out of the bottom two in the table. A win would definitely see them move above Biddestone White Horse, who are in cup action, and a victory by a three goal margin would see Somerford drop into the bottom two and move United to safety for the time being.

Should Somerford take maximum points from the game then United's days in the division could well be coming to an end as they will find it hard to claim many more points before the season ends.

Blue Circle have not played since early December when they beat White Hart Combe 6-3, but they have been hit with a two point deduction for playing an ineligible player in their game against Somerford earlier in the season.

Blue Circle will want to get those points back as soon as possible but a visit from AFC Pilot is unlikely to see them do that this week, as Pilot will want to repeat their success of October when they hit the cement boys for six.

Pilot still have high hopes of getting out of the division this season but with six losses to their name to date and with the top sides still to play at least once the best placing they can hope for is fourth spot, which could be good enough to see them promoted as a couple of teams from the divisions above have resigned from the league this term.

Division Four

LEADERS Bromham are without a game this weekend but they are guaranteed to still lead the pack come Sunday afternoon as second placed AFC Bell cannot catch them even if they beat Wanderers in their rearranged match.

Having been due to play Little George, Wanderers were desperate to get a game played on their home patch at Leighton Sports Ground, Westbury, however a visit from the Bell may not have been their chosen opponents as the Devizes-based team look to return to winning ways after the 9-0 drubbing they received from Corsham Centre in last week's Knockout Cup game. Bell should win with ease.

In hastily rearranged games Pack Horse Rangers will host Westbury Rangers B, and the Pack Horse are due a win which would see them deny Westbury a league double after they won the earlier fixture 1-0 thanks to a Neil Gordon goal.

Should Westbury take the points on offer it would give the Meadow Lane outfit a third win on the bounce which would almost certainly secure their status in the division for another season at least. Pack Horse have yet to register a win against a Westbury-based side and they may find it harder than they expect to break that hoodoo against a Westbury Rangers side who have at last found some consistency.

White Hart Combe have been given a match against Corsham Park Rangers, who won the previous encounter between the teams 3-1 and if they can repeat that scoreline then they will ease their own relegation fears and put the pressure back on Combe.

Combe ended a run of four defeats when they beat Chippenham United 5-3 last Sunday and if they can follow that victory with another two pointer then Trevor Rawlings' side will be heading in the right direction as the season reaches its conclusion.

AFC Melksham entertain Churchill Arms and nothing less than a win will be good enough for Mike Rogers' team as they look to build on their recent victory over leaders Bromham which re-ignited their promotion ambitions.

Melksham should record an easy win especially now they have Gareth Evens on board, Evans scored two goals on his debut and should find it easy to find the net in Division Four, especially with Luke Ballinger as a strike partner. Churchill Arms have found the going a lot tougher than they expected, but if they can start finding the target they should make a rapid move up the table.

The Rising Sun recorded their first victory in 17 matches last Sunday when they beat Corsham United 5-1, and the signs are looking good that they might just claim a record breaking second win when North Star B visit Northbrook.

The Riser will be on a high for the game and there is no reason why they should not beat the Star, especially as they only lost a nail biting reverse fixture 4-3. If they can avenge that loss and inflict on the Star with a fourth successive loss then their celebrations from last week look likely to continue for a little while longer.

When Trowbridge Town Supporters' Club and Chippenham West End Club met in November a Peter Barby goal gave the supporters a 1-0 victory. Since that meeting the West End have lost just once in eight matches and are favourites to even the score this time around when the sides meet at Bratton.

Bottom club, Old Road Tavern welcome The Crown FC to the Rec at Sutton Benger and with no win in 11 matches the Tavern look odds-on to suffer the same fate they did when the teams clashed earlier in the season. Then the Crown won 12-1 and they will be hoping to put double figures on their opponents again as they try to maintain their slender hopes of finishing in the top three, after being tipped as one of the teams to shine this season.