INCIDENT PACKED LAST SATURDAY OF SEASON - 21 April 2012

The afternoon started with a farcical postponement at Meadowbank! A sudden rain storm at Meadowbank led to referee Alan Baldwin calling the Hellenic Premier match off against Thame just before 2.30 despite protestations from both sides that the game should go ahead. It was the only game in the league to be postponed and both Forest Green and Slimbridge locally played. The referee was asked to leave his decision for a while to give Shortwood's well maintained pitch time to drain. Regrettably, the referee refused to re-inspect and left the ground at 2.50 by which time the pitch had drained and both sides, officials, and supporters were completely bemused as there would have been no problem with a 3.00 kick off. The Hellenic League Office was contacted by Shortwood secretary Mark Webb at approximately 3pm, no contact having been received from the referee. Ironically, Saturday was the deadline for all matches in the Hellenic Premier to be completed with Shortwood, over past weeks, having had a difficult time getting their backlog of games played while desperately trying to catch Oxford City Nomads in their quest for the title. The problems are now not over. Manager John Evans was hopeful that his tired side would have time to rest before their GFA Cup final on Thursday evening against Bristol Manor Farm but it seems that even this has been denied him - as the match has been re-scheduled for the first available date being Tuesday evening 24th April - just 48 hours before the GFA Final. Thame will also have to make the journey again, this time in midweek and hope their journey this time will be more fruitful in drawing their season to a close!

There were also problems at Fairford Town were a serious back injury in the 1st half saw the match halted for over an hour by referee Rob Sayers. Following the arrival of a paramedic team the player was stabilized and removed from the pitch under medical supervision and transferred to hospital in Swindon. The match was re-commenced and played to finality with Fairford Town suffering a 3-4 loss to Wantage Town. A defeat that may condemn Fairford to relegation, this will only be finally known when all promotion and relegations throughout the 'National League System' are known in early May.

There was a second abandonment at Henley Town were referee Gary Coster called an early halt to proceedings after a the game suffered a serious injury. Actual details are not, at this time available, At the time of the postponement Binfield were leading 3-1 and were already declared 'Champions. In view of this the HL Executive has agreed the result will stand.

League Chairman Bob Dalling had a busy day with his first 'port of call' being Tytherington Rocks were he presented the Division One West 'Championship Shield' to the 'Rocks' who went on to end their season with a convincing 3-1 win against Cirencester Town Dev'. Second call for the Chairman was to Finchampstead to present the Division One East 'Championship Trophy' to Newbury who finished their season with an unfortunate 2-1 reverse at the hands of 'Finch'.

The Premier Division 'Championship Shield' has still to be presented to Oxford City Nomads but arrangements are in hand for this to be resolved this week.

Premier Division
On the final Saturday of the season, newly crowned Premier Division Champions, Oxford City Nomads, travelled to Wokingham & Embrook and went down 1-0 to the only goal of the game scored by Wokingham’s Adam Cornell. An eventful game at Fairford Town saw Wantage Town win 4-3 but only after a lengthy hold up for an injury to a Wantage player who was taken to hospital. Tom Butler netted a hat trick for Wantage with Gavin Jones scoring the winning goal. Nathan Gambling and Jack Williams (2) scored for Fairford. Flackwell Heath beat Cheltenham Saracens 5-3 with goals from Lee Thompson (2), Danny Jordan (2) and Jeffrey Brown. The scorers for Saracens were Lorcan Sheehan, Carl Griffiths and Elliott Kennedy. Highworth Town rounded off their league programme with a 5-0 trouncing of Binfield with goals from Matt Bennett, Richie Saunders, Craig Curtis, Rory Sproule and Dan Hilder. Reading Town’s impressive run in continued with a 3-0 win at Holyport. Ben Gladwin, Michael Bartley and Jamie Piercey were all on target for Reading. Slimbridge beat Henley Town 4-1 with goals from Alex Higgs, Tom Cole, Marvyn Roberts and Jamie Martin. Adam Jeffrey scored Henley’s reply. The match at Shortwood United was controversially postponed due to a pre-match downpour and is scheduled for Tuesday evening, 24th April.

One West
Brimscombe & Thrupp rounded off their season with a 5-2 away win at Purton. Matt Green (2), David Woodfield, Jamie Underwood and Ben Deakin all scored for Brimscombe. Purton replied with goals from Richie Crocker and Jamie Richards. Clanfield beat Headington Amateurs 1-0 with a goal from Dan Dixon. Easington Sports and Cricklade Town fought out a 3-3 draw. James Trevitt, Shaun Lambourne and Andy Parsons scored for Easington with Alex Povey (2) and Aaron Webb replying for Cricklade. Lydney Town beat Trowbridge Town 2-1 with goals from Sam Elliott and Dan Clarke. Jake Sainsbury scored for Trowbridge. New College Swindon beat Malmesbury Victoria 3-0 with goals from Jamie Pidgeon (2) and Callum Courtney. Champions Tytherington Rocks beat Cirencester Development 3-1 with goals from Stuart Nelson and Justin Bishop (2). Nathan Hawkins replied.

One East
The new Champions of Division One East, Newbury, travelled to Finchampstead for their final game of the season and went down 2-1 to goals from Richard Kell and Kylo Atkinson. Callum Willmoth replied for Newbury. Lambourn Sports made the short trip to Hungerford Town and came away 2-0 winners with goals scored by Richard Guy and Adrian Mooney. Penn & Tylers Green were held to a 2-2 draw by Letcombe. Goals for Penn & Tylers from Liam Ratcliffe and Jamie West were cancelled out by goals for Letcombe scored by Lyle Gifford and Adam Clayton. Rayners Lane beat Milton United 2-1 with goals from Lawrence Yaku and Harry Henley with Paul Druce replying for Milton. Thatcham Town and Chinnor fought out a 3-3 draw Russell Benham, Chris Byrne and Steve Howe were on target for Thatcham with Ryan Davis, Ryan Chapman and Mark Jones scoring for Chinnor.

16-19 April

Premier Division
Oxford City Nomads were crowned Premier Division Champions without kicking a ball in anger as a result of a resolute performance by last year's Champions Wantage Town, who held title chasing Shortwood United to a 1-1 draw at Meadowbank on Tuesday evening. Tom Rowe gave Wantage a first half lead that was equalised by Kevin Slack early on in the second half. Wantage survived an onslaught by Shortwood but their defence held firm to secure a point, thereby ending Shortwood's title hopes after a valiant effort over the last few weeks, catching up fixtures delayed due to Shortwood's extended cup runs in several competitions. Highworth Town beat Fairford Town 2-0 at The Elms with goals from Matt Bennett and Callum Parsons.
The curtain came down on the Rob Forty/John Fisher era at Shrivenham with a 1-2 home defeat to Division Runners up Shortwood United. Shane Davis gave Shrivenham an early lead but goals from Tim Haddock and Alton Axton saw Shortwood take the points. Wantage Town recorded a 3-0 win over Binfield with goals from Jake Rowe, Sam Parish and Richard Claydon

One West
Brimscombe & Thrupp brought their inaugural season in the Hellenic league to a conclusion with an emphatic win over Lydney Town. Goals from Matt Green and David Woodfield for Brimscombe and two goals from James Morse for Lydney led to a 2-2 half time score line. The second half belonged exclusively to Brimscombe with Matt Green scoring his second of the evening with further goals coming from Lee Pritchard (2) and Ben Deakin. Hook Norton beat Purton 2-1 with goals from Ben Tew and Chris Tillcock. Marcus hall scored for Purton from the penalty spot. Trowbridge Town went down 1-3 to Cricklade Town for whom Ben Mitchell scored a hat trick. Jake Sainsbury replied for Trowbridge. Old Woodstock Town went down to the odd goal in five against Headington Amateurs. Murray Nicholls and Alan Robinson were on target for Old Woodstock with Oliver Zaja (2) and Shaun Jacobs scoring for Headington.

Hellenic Cup Round Up
Reading Town won through to the Final of the Supplementary Cup beating Cheltenham Saracens 2-1 with two goals from Matt Gladwin. Elliott Kennedy scored Saracen's reply.14 April

14 April

Hellenic Supplementary Cup
Holyport booked their place in the last four of the Supplementary Cup with a 1-0 win over Chinnor. Holyport's winning goal was unfortunately for Chinnor, an own goal. Holyport play Highmoor-Ibis in a home semi-final tie scheduled for 24th April.

Premier Division
Oxford City Nomads are within touching distance of the Premier Division title following a 3-0 win over Abingdon Town and with results elsewhere going in their favour they have one hand firmly on the title and Championship Shield, but there are still matches to go and there could be twists in the tale before the 'Fat Lady' sings!
Nomad's goals were scored by Conor McDonagh (2) and Louis Joyce in a rather lack lustre match.
Shortwood United were held 1-1 by Flackwell Heath for whom Danny Jordan scored a late equaliser to Jake Parrott's earlier goal for Shortwood. Fairford Town continue to fight for their Premier Division lives and pulled off the surprise of the day winning 2-1 at Ardley United. Charlie Grabe and Jon Gabilondo netted for Fairford with Ryan Brooks replying for Ardley.
The significance of this result was underlined by defeats for both Witney Town and Bracknell Town. Witney went down1-2 at home to Cheltenham Saracens for whom Andrew Crosskey and Carl Griffiths were on target. Andrew Younie scored for Witney. In a highly charged match, Reading Town beat neighbours Bracknell Town with goals from Michael Bartley (2), Jordan Lovelock, Matt Gladwin and Graham Lewis. Ben Knight (2) and Tom Nugent scored for Bracknell.
Highworth Town played Wokingham & Embrook for the 2nd time in 48 hours and won 2-0 thanks to early goals from Dan Wallington and Matt Bennett. Henley Town lost 1-0 to a last minute Josh Millar goal for Binfield. Slimbridge beat Thame United 2-0 with goals from Alex Higgs and Jamie Martin. Kidlington drew 2-2 with Wantage Town. Ryan Curtin scored Kidlington's goals with Richard Claydon and Tom Butler replying for Wantage.

One West
Old Woodstock Town won 3-1 at Headington Amateurs confirming their second place finish behind Tytherington Rocks. Gavin Kidd and Murray Nicholls (2) were on target for Old Woodstock with Yannick Nkwanyou replying for Headington Easington Sports beat Lydney Town 3-0 with goals from Pete Moulder, James Trevitt and an own goal. Hook Norton beat Clanfield 2-1 with goals from Liam Fudge and Mark Dennis. Devon McCalla replied for Clanfield.
New College, Swindon won 4-0 at Trowbridge Town with goals from Lewis Watts, Gio Wrona (2) & Lee Toomey.

One East
Barring an absolute freak result, Newbury have virtually secured the Division One East title following an 8-0 demolition of Abingdon United. Scorers for Newbury were Darren Jones (3), Callum Willmoth, Jay Hill, Marc Piper, Kalief Madden and an own goal. Rayners Lane and Chalfont Wasps drew 1-1 with Simeon Mitchell scoring for Rayners Lane and Andrew Dean equalising for Chalfont Wasps.
Didcot Town went down to the odd goal in five at home to Maidenhead United. Lewis Noble scored both Didcot goals, whilst Jonathan Giles (2) and Ryan Tye scored for Maidenhead. Hungerford Town lost 1-0 to Penn & Tylers Green for whom Jago Seymour scored the only goal of the game. Letcombe crashed 1-5 at home to near neighbours Milton United for whom Warren McCabe scored a hat trick, Kyle Allsworth weighed in with the other two goals and Adam Bruce scored Letcombe's consolation goal.

Division Two in Focus
A 2-0 win at Finchampstead secured their second title in a week for Binfield. This time the Reserve string became Champions of Division Two East taking an unassailable points lead with two matches still to play.
In Division Two West Gloucester City Development are almost there, unfortunately it looks like the title will be won due to points gained from defaulting clubs who suffered player availability problems within the past two weeks.

11 to 12 April

AM Print & Copy Floodlit Cup Final
Binfield secured their first ever cup final win in the UHLSPORT Hellenic League on Thursday night with a 2-0 win against potential Premier Division champions Shortwood United. A goal in each half from Ian Davies saw Binfield lift the trophy after suffering intense periods of pressure from their Gloucestershire opponents.
This was an excellent advert for competitive Hellenic football in a match without a 'nasty' challenge that was officiated to a high standard by Stacey Woodley and his team. For fourth Official Joe Mizzi this season ands a 30year association with the Hellenic League and senior football. Joe is retiring back to his homeland of Malta later this year and his happy smiling demeanour will be sadly missed.

Supplementary Challenge Cup Quarter Final
Cheltenham Saracens reached the Semi Finals with a 5-2 win over Newbury. There were two goals each from Sam Slender and Michael Rhodes., with Jamie Hammond weighing in with Saracens fifth. Saracens face Reading Town in the Semi- Final on Wednesday 18th APRIL.

Premier Division
Cheltenham Saracens made the long trip to take on Henley Town on Tuesday evening and came away with three points from a match that was full of goals and ended with the score line 5-3 in favour of Saracens. Jordan Bryan, Leigh Rayson and Andrew Crosskey gave Saracens a three goal lead before Neil Archbold pulled a goal back for Henley. Two goals for each side were then traded in the last ten minutes, Alex Bruce and David Hoar scoring for Henley with Jamie Hammond and Elliot Kennedy scoring for Saracens to put the game beyond the reach of Henley. Wokingham & Embrook beat Highworth Town 3-1 with goals from Adam Cornell (2) and Dean Thomas. Richie Saunders scored Highworth's reply.

One West
The local derby between Cricklade Town and Malmesbury Victoria ended in a 1-1 draw in front of an attendance of 88. Ed Wilkins gave Malmesbury the perfect start scoring in the 3rd minute. Matt Povey equalised for Cricklade on the half hour mark. Brimscombe & Thrupp trounced Carterton 5-1 with goals from Lee Pritchard (2), Matt Green (2) and Michael Beckingham. George Seacole replied for Carterton.


One East
Chinnor and Didcot Town Reserves fought out a 2-2 draw. Dan Stone and Tom Folley scored for Chinnor. Tom Mudge and Jamie Newport ensured Didcot secured a point.

9 April

Premier Division
Shortwood United moved two points closer to Oxford City Nomads with a 4-0 win over Fairford Town, a result which sees Fairford slump to the bottom of the table. Shortwood's goals came from the regular sources of Bohane, Parrott and Slack with an own goal rounding off the scoring.
Oxford City Nomads were held to a goalless draw at home to Slimbridge.
Witney Town ensured their stay at the bottom of the table was as brief as possible by winning 3-1 away at Abingdon Town. Andrew Younie, John Rixon and Tom Austin were on target for 'The Blanketmen' with Mark Janes replying for Abingdon Town.
Highworth Town came back to earth with a bang after their comprehensive win over Oxford City Nomads, losing the local derby match at The Elms to close neighbours, Shrivenham 1-2. Goals from Aaron Maximen and Paul Sanders saw John Fisher's charges take the points back to Shrivenham, Matt Horsell scored the Highworth goal. The early bank Holiday kick off saw Flackwell Heath beat Holyport with a late winner from Riccardo Cannon. Dan Rapley put Holyport in front early on but Liam McManus replied for Flackwell before Cannon's late intervention. Thame United holding an open day attracted a very healthy attendance of 265 to watch their match against Ardley United. Unfortunately for Thame they met an in form Ardley with leading scoring Ryan Brooks in top form, notching a hat trick. Thame's woes were added to by scoring a last minute own goal to add to Brooks three. Dan West had earlier given Thame a glimmer of hope, netting in the first half.
Wantage Town recorded a 1-0 win over Reading Town who have been in good late season form until today. Tom Butler scored the winning goal for Wantage.
Wokingham & Embrook went down to a late Ian Davies goal for Binfield after Luke Lee had given Wokingham a first half lead and Callum Whitty equalised ten minutes into the second half.

One West
Winterbourne United secured the vital three points they required to put themselves into a promotion position by winning 2-1 away at Wootton Bassett. Jack Pitcher and James Mainstone scored for Winterbourne with Matty Bown replying for Wootton Bassett.
Cirencester Town Development recorded a welcome win beating Purton 1-0 with a goal from Josh Morse.
Clanfield also recorded a 1-0 home win over Cricklade Town with a goal from Robbie Harrington.
Old Woodstock Town had a good 4-1 win over a recently resurgent Carterton. Wes and Dan Bone were both on the score sheet with additional goals from Alan Robinson and an own goal. The Carterton goal was also an own goal. Basement side Trowbridge Town put up a creditable performance against champions Tytherington Rocks, going down to the odd goal in five. Stephen Toogood and Ian Groves scored for Trowbridge with Alex Chapman (2) and Andrew Criddle, netting his third goal of the Bank Holiday weekend, scoring for the Rocks.
Lydney Town's recent good run of form continued with a 4-0 win over New College, Swindon. Adam Price (2), Peter Macklin and regular scorer, Jarred Liddington were all on target for Lydney.
Hook Norton recorded their biggest win of the season, putting six past Easington Sports without reply Scorers for Hook Norton were Andrew Helby (2), Chris Tillcock, Mark Dennis, David Buckwell and Robbie Wyatt.


One East
Highmoor Ibis suffered a rare defeat at the hands of Abingdon United for whom Dwayne Adeleye and Gareth Spackman were on target. Jamal Forde-Small scored for Highmoor from the penalty spot.
Newbury did their title hopes a power of good with a 1-0 win over Hungerford Town. Chris Blackford was the Newbury hero netting a last gasp winner. Newbury are level on points with Highmoor Ibis and have two games in hand.
Chalfont Wasps edged Milton United by the odd goal in seven with goals from Tom Bayle, Marc Holt and Fred Tripp (2). Simon Vaisey, Warren McCabe and josh Axtell replied for Milton.
Lambourn Sports and Chinnor drew 2-2; the Lambourn goals came from Danny Langford and David Livings with Chinnor's goals being scored by James Hawes and Darren Peverill.
Letcombe secured three vital points with a 1-0 win over Finchampstead with Danyal Ali scoring Letcombe's winner.
Having scored five at the weekend, Maidenhead United conceded five going down 1-5 to Woodley Town. Sam Cripps (2), Brett Rann, Jordan Sawyer and Lee Wheeler were all on target for Woodley with Xavier Etienne netting for Maidenhead.

7 April

Premier Division

With leaders Oxford City Nomads in Cup action, the focus at the top of the Premier Division was on the chasing clubs. Shortwood United beat Wokingham & Embrook 2-0 with goals from TJ Bohane and Kevin Slack to close to within eight points of the leaders and also have two games in hand.
Ardley United won 4-1 at Slimbridge with goals from Ryan Brooks (2), Nick Thorne and Ben Thomas. Jamie Martin replied for Slimbridge. Bracknell Town made it seven points out of the last nine with a 3-1 win over Cheltenham Saracens, lifting themselves off the bottom of the table for the first time this season. Goal scorers for Bracknell were Ben Knight (2) and Martin Bradshaw. Joe Donaghue scored for Saracens.
Witney Town replaced Bracknell Town at the bottom of the table, narrowly losing 2-3 to Flackwell Heath. Andrew Styles and Henry Dalton scored for Witney. James Tripp, Riccardo Cannon and Nathan Poulton scored for Flackwell. Fairford Town went down 0-3 to Thame United for whom Brad Chalmers, Ben Gray and Nik Rhodes were all on target. Binfield scored six without reply at Kidlington. Ian Davies led the way with a hat-trick, further goals coming from Callum Whitty, Josh Millar and Michael Hancock. Henley Town recorded a 3-1 win over Abingdon Town with goals from Kharis Lavine, Gary Smith and David Hoar. Mark Janes replied for Abingdon Town. Reading Town beat Ascot United 3-1 with Jamie Piercy (2) and Matt Gladwin on target for Reading. Tom Nugent scored for Ascot United.

One West
Winterbourne United missed a chance to move into 2nd place going down 0-2 at home to Brimscombe & Thrupp for whom Michael Beckingham scored both goals. Tytherington Rocks who wrapped up the title several weeks ago had a comfortable 5-0 home win over New College, Swindon. Scorers for Tytherington were Anthony Perry, Jack Smyth, Andrew Criddle (2) and Toby Colebourne. Purton were held to a 1-1 draw by Lydney Town. Dave Gee opened the scoring for Purton with Steven Jones replying for Lydney. Similarly, Malmesbury Victoria were held at home 1-1 by Cricklade Town. Aaron Sanghera scored for Cricklade with Max Sparrow replying for Malmesbury. Wootton Bassett recorded a 2-0 win over Cirencester Town Development with a goal from Craig Bowden and an own goal. Headington Amateurs beat Easington Sports 3-1 with goals from both Ben and Luke Cuff and Jay Hill. Andrew Stidder netted Easington’s reply.

One East
It was as you were at the top of Division One East. Newbury won 4-1 at Chinnor with goals from Darren Jones (2), Oscar Berkhout and Dan Lachacz. Stuart Braun replied for Chinnor. Hungerford Town went down 1-3 at home to Chalfont Wasps for whom Michael Wilson and Fred Tripp (2) were on target. Lee Hamilton scored for Hungerford. Lambourn Sports lost 0-3 to Woodley Town. Richard Thomas and Louis Howell (2) scored for Woodley. Maidenhead United thumped Thatcham Town 5-0 with goals from Ryan Tye (2), Sankoh Lamin, Kyle Lucas and Taurean Roberts. In the battle of the bottom two, Milton United beat Didcot Town and in doing so lifted themselves off the bottom. Carl Bolton, Mark Druce, Josh Beech and Ben Taylor all scored for Milton with Jack Bernasconi replying for Didcot.

Bluefin Challenge Cup Semi Final
Highworth Town booked a place in their first ever Bluefin Insurance Brokers Challenge Cup Final with a comprehensive victory over League leaders Oxford City Nomads. The goals for Highworth came from Craig Curtis, Dan Hilder, Matt Horsell, Dan Wallington and Callum Parsons

Supplementary Cup
Highmoor Ibis progressed to the semi- final of the Supplementary cup with a 3-0 win over Clanfield. Jamal Forde-Small, Aaron Baker and Tristan Campbell were all on target for Highmoor.

Midweek

Premier Division
In the opening match of the scheduled midweek fixtures, Bracknell Town travelled down the M4 to Highworth Town and came away with a well earned point from a goal less draw. Tuesday evening saw the top three in action with Ardley United in 2nd place taking on 3rd place Shortwood United at Meadowbank. Shortwood came out on top in a cracking match in which Ardley more than played their part. Joe Tustain, Kevin Slack, Jake Parrott and Michael Haddock were all on target for Shortwood with Nick Thorne netting twice for Ardley. Highworth played their second midweek match on Wednesday and drew 2-2 with Ascot United. Ascot took a 2-0 half time lead thanks to two goals from Ian Brooks. A Josh Parsons double saved the day for Highworth. Wantage recorded their best win of the season, winning 5-0 at Cheltenham Saracens. Gavin Jones (2), Richard Claydon, Stuart Cattell and Dan keen were on target for Wantage.

One West
Carterton having won their last three matches made it four with a 3-1 win over Cirencester Town. Jamie MacDonagh (2) and Chris Mills scored for Carterton. Oliver Pitt netted a late consolation goal for Cirencester. Wootton Bassett had an off night at Rylands Way, losing 0-3 to Lydney Town who like Carterton, have spent much of the season at the wrong end of the table, but of late have been showing signs of the form they are capable of Regular goal scorer, Jarred Liddington set Lydney on their way, with further goals coming from Ross Scott and Peter Macklin.

One East
Maidenhead United beat Milton United 2-1 with goals from Anthony Mendy and and Ben Ackim. Dan Morgan scored for Milton. Rayners Lane strong end to the season continued with a 2-0 win over Finchampstead. Ryan Upton netted both goals for Rayners Lane. Thatcham Town returned to winning ways with a 4-2 win over Abingdon United. Mark Hughes, Robert McLay, Shaun Thorp and David Cameron scored for Thatcham with the Abingdon goals coming from Joe Parker and an own goal.

Supplementary Cup
Reading Town travelled to Wiltshire to take on Malmesbury Victoria in the Hellenic League Supplementary Cup and were victorious, winning 2-1 with goals from the prolific Graham Lewis and Dan Lingwood. Michael Lees replied for Malmesbury.

County Cup Round Up
Thame United narrowly missed out on a place in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup Final, going down 1-2 to North Leigh of the Southern League, in a tempestuous match played at Court Place Farm. Thame put up a sterling effort, but were hampered by the dismissal of Alex Stewart early on in the first half. North Leigh progressed to the Final with goals from Jonathan Mills and Ben Reardon. Louis Cordice scored Thame’s goal.