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DIVISION TWO: All three of the leading teams in Division Two missed out on a game at the weekend, pacesetters Cooper Avon who had a free weekend remain top of the pile, but their closest rivals are now Crown Cosmos after they beat Bremhill View Social Club to leapfrog both White Hart Combe and Hullavington. Trevor Rawlings, manager of Combe who were in third spot prior to start of play had switched their game against Chippenham Police from Stanley Park to Yatton Kennell to help out Steve Mallard's Audley FC side but his kind gesture backfired as Audley were able to play their game while Yatton Kennell was under water. Hullavington who were hoping to beat Pig & Whistle United at Awdry Avenue, in Melksham and set a new club record of eight successive victories but they missed out on their chance when United called off the match due to a waterlogged pitch.

Crown Cosmos have moved back into second place after they defeated Bremhill View Social Club 3-1. Will Kibby's Devizes based Cosmos side fell behind to a Terry Cox goal after just five minutes and having lost against Martin Belcher's side last term Cosmos could have been thought that they were about to suffer a case of de-ja-vu but it wasn't to be as Dean Potter weaved his magic to bring the scores level and another spellbinding move led to him give the Cosmos a 2-1 lead. The victory was sealed 10 minutes from time by Nathan Sheridan who scored from the penalty spot to give Cosmos two valuable points in their bid for a third successive promotion Bradford FC extended their unbeaten run to nine matches after they defeated Audley FC 4-2 which Steve Mallard manager of the Audley will see as huge improvement in his teams form especially after the result of the reverse fixture two weeks ago, on that occasion Pete Collier's side trounced the Audley 13-3. Audley took a first half lead against Bradford through Sam Legg-Bagg's first goal of the season and they held the lead until five minutes into the second period when Sam Jordan restored parity for Bradford. Jordan put Bradford 2-1 in front on 55 minutes, but Audley fashioned an equaliser to give them hope of ending their poor run of results, however Dave Nolan's goal couldn't prevent them from suffering a seventh straight defeat as Mark Robinson netted to put Bradford 3-2 ahead. Bradford sealed their win courtesy of a third from Sam Jordan that saw him complete his second hat trick against the Audley.

Westbury based Horse & Groom who still have nine matches remaining were due to host Sutton Benger at Leighton Sports Ground, but the elements intervened as the relegation four pointer was shelved until another day.

DIVISION THREE Biddestone White Horse missed out on the opportunity to opened up a three point lead over the chasing pack of clubs at the top of the division two table after their fought out an eventful goalless stalemate at a very wet Green Lane against the Crown FC but considering their hosts beat Pheasant FC 3-2 in their previous match Matt Unwin's Biddestone side might see it as a point gained rather than one lost. Both sides defended well when they had to and neither side seemed interested in going all out for a winner with Crown going closest to winning the game when Jason Lucas crashed a 30 yard thunderbolt against the bar.

AFC Melksham beat 10 man Pack Horse Rangers 8-1, but after the first half it was hard to see which side was in the top three and which one was in the bottom half of the table as a struggling Rangers side only trailed Mike Rogers side 2-1. Andy Harrison saw his opener for Melksham cancelled out by Dan Deacon's first goal for Rangers, but a second for Harrison prior to the interval saw Melksham retake the lead and from then on they dominated matters as Martin Barber bagged his first goal for Melksham after good work from Chris Bishop to make it 3-1. Wayne Bailey scored number four with Marcus Underwood extending their lead to 5-1 before Andy Harrison completed his hat trick. Darren Whiting came up from defence to score number seven and the scoring was finished off by Wayne Bailey who after being out of action since last October was glad to return to action wit ha two goal haul.

Chippenham West End Club have two matches left in which to save their third division status, and one of those games is away at Blue Circle (Sunday) who will be confident that they can wrap up a league double over Tam Laidlaw's side when the teams meet later in April after they extended their unbeaten run to four games when the picked up their first away victory in nine attempts courtesy of a 5-3 win. James Mullhall gave the West End Club the lead and they should have double it through Scott Nash who with the goal at his mercy tripped over his own feet as he was about to shoot into the empty net and his miss hit allowed a Circle player to clear it to safety before it crossed the line. Scott Howse brought the cement boys level and his second of the game gave them a 2-1 lead which soon became three thanks to Greg Rogers. James Mullhall reduced the deficit for the West End with his second of the match but the Circle reclaimed a two goal cushion when Russell Dyer made it 4-2 and Simon Carter added number five prior to Chris Jenkins scoring a late third for the West End as their 5-3 loss means that they have now gone 15 matches without a win.

Corsham Park Rangers who are rock bottom of the table were unable to play their match against AFC Bell at Leafy Lane, as the Mid Wilts Youth League were holding their rearranged Cup's Semi-Final at the Rudloe based sports complex. Phil Perrett secretary of Corsham Park spent hours on the phone trying to find an alternative venue and thought that he had saved the day when the match was switched to Cuttle Lane, Biddestone but in the end Perrett's efforts counted for nothing as the match joined the list of casualties washed out by the weather.

Ady Kember was due to take his Bromham (Sunday) side to Meadow Lane to face a Westbury Rangers B, Bromham who have not played a game in March were another desperate to get a game played, and once Rangers found out that their home pitch was unplayable they jumped at the chance to stage the match even though Rangers had already played at Bromham's Jubilee Field they were prepared to give up home advantage in the hope of avoiding another midweek fixture, but the efforts of both sides went un-rewarded as the heavy overnight rain meant another cancellation.

Westbury based White Horse FC who have just two matches left to play might find themselves with a midweek game after their match at the Cement Works, was postponed. Clive Black's side were scheduled to entertain promotion and title hopefuls Pheasant in what should have been their penultimate match, but with the pitch being covered in a carpet of water their was no way they could get the game on. Pheasant still have seven matches to play and with no free Sunday until the last day of the season and with White Horse due to play Biddestone White Horse next weekend they may be tempted to get the game played in midweek rather than having to wait another five weeks to finish their season.

DIVISION FOUR Steeple Ashton Rangers strengthened their grip at the top of division four after they beat second placed Riverside Renegades that saw them open up a six point gap over their Bradford based opponents at the top of the table and it leaves them just one point away from become the first teams to clinch promotion from any of the four division this season. Riverside looked threatening at the start of the game but didn't create any clear cut chances and it wasn't long before Rangers started to get their act together and when Marc Sheppard header a Lee Mounty cross wide of the target the warning signs were there for Riverside to see and shortly after Nathan Holloway headed Rangers into a deserved lead when he nodded home a Mounty corner. Riverside almost hit back straight away when George Palmer had a shot brilliantly saved by Rangers stopper Ben King who has been superb all season. Rangers doubled their lead when a Mounty flick fell to skipper Mark Hunt whose side footed volley nestled in the back of the net to give Ashton the luxury of a 2-0 half time lead.

The second half saw Riverside come out on the attack but Ashton stood strong and still looked dangerous on the break but the Riverside keeper Gant made some fine saves to keep the Renegades well in the game with Sam Stevens going close on a couple of occasions. The game the came to life again when a shot Lee Ridout was turned home from close range by Joe Taylor halving the deficit. Rangers soon had their two-goal cushion back when a thunderous volley from Mark Hunt went in at the near post. Ashton then suffered a blow when a innocuous looking tackle on Simon Old resulted in the defender staying down. Old has suffered a dislocated elbow and will be missed at the heart of the Ashton defence. After the delay Riverside had a shout for a penalty waved away but shortly after this Sheppard brought down Jake Jordan and this time a penalty was awarded. Jordan himself took the spot kick and the power beat King who got a good hand to it but couldn't keep it out. Riverside piled on the pressure but Rangers finally got a breakaway goal when Matt Grist put Mounty through and with the help of a massive deflection from Joe Liddle, sealed the win for Rangers.

Corsham Centre B held on to third spot after they defeated Old Road Tavern 3-1 and this was Ryan Tyrell had come off the bench midway through the first half to score with his first touch that gave Old Road the lead. Tyrell who suffered a broken wrist a few weeks ago thought that he would miss the rest of the season, but wearing a light cast he was able to take part in the game but is a long way off catching top scorer Robbie Burton who is on 21 goals while Tyrell has 13. Warren Jones brought Corsham level and Chaz Young a second half lead before a second from Jones made certain that the Old Road left Meriton Avenue empty handed. Bernie court manager of the Old Road received special praise from the Centre's manager Luke Denham for in honesty while running the line for the Centre who were down to the bare 11.

AFC Lyneham slumped a 5-1 loss at home to Trowbridge Town Supporters Club who as expected returned to form after their defeat against Three Crowns United last weekend. Simon Hussey opened the scoring for the supporters' club and Chris Penelhum doubled the advantage before a second from Hussey gave his team a 3-0 half time lead. Chris Penelhum increased the supporters' club lead even further prior to Mark Adams scoring Lyneham's consolation and this was after he had a penalty brilliantly saved by keeper Robbie Newton. Nick Buckle's first goal since the middle of February made certain that the supporters' club travelled back to West Wiltshire a very happy side.

Chippenham United RAOB came back from two goals down at home to the Wanderers to register their ninth draw of the campaign, although though they late equaliser which earned them a 2-2 was shrouded in controversy. Steve Shipway hit the post for United before Wanderers took the lead when Andy Hill played in Glyn Edwards who cut inside and fired home with the aid of the post. Wanderers increased their lead in the second half when Tim Cross was on hand to tap home a Neil Collett cross. Steve Shipway started United's fight back in the 75th minute when he scored his seventh goal of the season and the comeback was complete five minutes from time when Andy Hill chested the ball outside of the area but was adjudged to have handled it inside the area and Will Symans stepped up to fire home the resulting spot kick much to the dismay of the Wanderers team, but over the 90 minutes a draw was probably the right result.

9:55am Monday 31st March 2008

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