Premier Division Round Up – Match Week 26 – Sunday 19th March
SCOOP MAINTAIN LEAD IN TITLE RACE
TEAM NATHAN AFC 2 SCOOP FC 8
When shoestrings-chargrill sponsored Chippenham & Bath Football Premier Division leaders Scoop FC met basement side Team Nathan AFC a month ago they stormed to a 19-2 success. An 8-2 victory in the return match enabled Matt Richards side to maintain their 9 point advantage over the chasing pack led by FC Devizes United, Kingsmead and reigning champions AFC Melksham who all have games in hand on Scoop.
After falling behind in the opening 5 minutes, Team Nathan would have expected the worse and when Scoop added a second shortly after the floodgates surprising failed to open and the hosts had keeper Luke Farrow to thank for keeping the score to 5-0 at the break. On more than one occasion the keeper conjured up breath-taking stops to deny Scoop from running away with the game in the first half.
Ed Summers led the scoring with a 5-timer, which included a couple of sublime strikes, Nathan Baldwin netted twice before Liam Kerley scored with the last kick of the game when he scored from the penalty spot.
Bradley Blackmore and Conner Liddiard (penalty) replied for Team Nathan who got the score back to 5-2, before Scoop scored three late goals.
Prior to kick-off the teams observed a minute silence in memory of Nathan to who the side is named after, who would have celebrated his 11th birthday on Sunday but sadly lost a brave battle against cancer aged just 30 months.
FC LOCO FC 5 LANSDOWN FC 0
A 5-0 victory for PF Loco FC at home to Lansdown FC was the fourth time on the spin that the Fiddlers have picked up maximum points from their Bath based rivals.
Matthew Curnock bagged himself a brace, Joe Battrick, Sam Epsley and Nico Inglis shared the others to maintain Loco’s hoodoo over Lansdown.
FC DEVIZES UNITED v ROYAL OAK FC H/W
For a fourth time this season FC Devizes United have been awarded a league match due to their opponents being unable to raise a team. For this week’s opponents Royal Oak FC it was the third time that they have pulled out of a match with their near neighbours, the other being a Sunday Cup match.
GRINGOS FC v AFC MELKSHAM A/W
AFC Melksham are another top flight side who have suffered multiple postponements this season, due to opposition not being able to raise teams. Gringos FC were were this weeks opponents who were short of numbers for the reverse fixture and have lost 11-3 in the previous meeting earlier this month it probably came as no surprise the they handed Melksham the win.