It was back to league action this weekend as teams in the Cheltenham League and the big match in Division One saw leaders Cheltenham Civil Service, who started the day six from six, look to protect their perfect league record against third-placed Newton who visited Tewkesbury Road, writes Rob Morrison.

Kicking off eight points adrift of their hosts, Wayne Baker’s Newton have yo-yo’d between Division One and Two in recent seasons, although they have proved more than capable of upsetting the leading teams. And so it proved as Newton left Tewkesbury Road with a 3-1 win which brought Service’s run to a shuddering halt.

Bishop’s Cleeve III manager John Hunt got the birthday present he was longing for last weekend when his team beat Service in the Charities Cup. Cleeve led 2-0 at half time and although Service fought back, Hunt’s men got the result their first half performance merited when an own goal in the dying minutes handed them a 3-2 win.

After the present of a place in the cup semi-final last weekend, Hunt’s focus turned to league matters when they hosted second-placed Andoversford. Based on their performance last weekend this promised to be a tougher game for Andoversford than Cleeve’s midtable position suggested.

Andoversford made a strong start to the season, although progress was checked last time out in the league when they were surprisingly beaten by Kings. A couple of victories in cup competitions since then has seen them return to winning ways, something they needed to continue if they were to close the gap on Service. At full time the teams left with a point apiece after sharing six goals in a 3-3 draw.

We may be closing in on Halloween but Upton Town had only played two league matches in the Cheltenham League, sponsored by Bristol Street Motors, going into this weekend’s fixture. Despite sitting in sixth spot, 12 points off top spot, Upton Town’s position was somewhat misleading as they had a 100 per cent record from their two games.

With the potential to be title contenders, Town were facing a Dowty’s team who sat directly above them in the league at kick-off and nursed aspirations of challenging the top teams themselves.

An intriguing game with the potential to highlight the league’s dark horses suggested it will be Town who will be challenging at the top after they won 3-1.

Tewkesbury Town are another team who have started their campaign strongly, winning three of their opening four matches, taking them to fourth in the table. They travelled to Whaddon United Reserves, a team who continue to struggle for league points.

On paper Whaddon manager Kev Taylor has a strong squad with the likes of Lee Bolger, but come 5pm United’s poor run showed no sign of abatement after they went down 5-1.

Like Whaddon, Shurdington Rovers and RSG have also struggled this season, the latter losing their opening four games. The two teams met at Welch Road where hosts RSG knew a further defeat would see the teams around them start to pull away. Thankfully for them it was not the case as they took the points with a 4-2 victory.

The Beeches travelled to Cheltenham Civil Service Reserves in the big game in Division Two which saw first meet second. After a scorching start where they scored goals for fun, Cirencester-based Beeches have seen their progress checked somewhat in recent weeks, including a 4-0 defeat against Saturday’s hosts in the reverse fixture.

Service, under the stewardship of player manager Dan Midwinter, had made a perfect start to the campaign, winning their opening four matches without conceding a goal, and they went into the game knowing victory would take them two points clear of their opponents with two games in hand.

It seems it was not to be the day for Service as the reserves also lost 3-1 and, like their first team on the other pitch, lost their 100 per cent record as well as the game.

FC Barometrics Reserves started the day on Service’s shoulder and with three wins from four they have adjusted well to life in Division Two, after relegation at the end of last season. They looked to stay in touch with the top two when they travelled to Gala Wilton Reserves.

Gala started the day on midtable with two wins from five. Hoping home advantage would tip the balance in their favour, it may well have helped as they took the points with a 2-1 win.

Bredon Reserves and Prestbury Rovers were two more teams who found themselves in the midtable area. They met at Bredon knowing that victory would keep them in touch with the leaders in these early stages. It was the home team who left the pitch the happier following their 4-0 win.

While Bredon and Prestbury were competing in the middle of the table the same could not be said for Andoversford Reserves. Rooted firmly to the foot of the table they went into Saturday’s game against Fintan in search of their first point of the season.

Fintan started the day on six points, but with just two wins from six matches they were unlikely to be in a charitable mood, needing points themselves to avoid a bottom of the table battle later in the season. A 2-0 win for Fintan added to Andoversford woes as they continue to search for their first points of the season.

In the final match Hanley Swan faced Tewkesbury Town Reserves. Town started the day in the lower half of the table, however, having only played three matches – the lowest in the division – they went in search of points that would start to propel them up the table. It was not to be however as they went down 7-2, a result which moved Swan into third in the table.

While St Paul’s United’s unbeaten record, stretching back to their formation at the start of last season, continues to loom large in Division Three it is AFC Renegades that are bossing the division, winning their opening five matches and setting the benchmark for others to aspire to.

Both St Paul’s and Renegades, along with a number of other teams in the division, were in County Cup action this weekend with just two league games taking place.

In the early kick-off Cheltenham United hosted Leckhampton Rovers. With just one win and four loses from their opening five games United have struggled to find winning form.

Leckhampton on the other hand have made a sounder start, winning two and drawing one of their four games. While such form is unlikely to see them take top spot, they are fighting at the right end of the table and have shown their ability by holding St Paul’s to a draw. The game ended up going with the form book as a 5-0 win for Rovers increased the pressure on United.

In the other game in the division Brockworth Albion Reserves hosted FC Lakeside Reserves. The two teams started the day in seventh and eighth place with Brockworth edging their opponents by a single point. That became four by full time after Albion won 5-0.

The 2017/18 season has seen an excellent showing by Cheltenham League clubs in the County Cup competitions, no more so than from Division Four where 10 teams were in cup action this weekend. This left just one league match which saw two Worcester-based clubs face each other.

Malvern Vale Firsts hosted Welland in what promised to be a fascinating game. Both teams entered the last round of matches with a 100 per cent record only to suffer defeat. Although there is still a long way to go, the winner of this game would gain an early advantage in the race for the title. At full time the teams could not be separated, as a 1-1 draw saw the points shared.