In a weekend which saw the elite teams enter the FA Cup it was apt that a man who left his mark on that competition in his time with Bishop’s Cleeve was among the goals for his current club, even if the road doesn’t ultimately lead to Wembley.

Scoring all five goals for Cleeve in their first qualifying round game in 2004 earned Kevin Slack the FA Cup player of the round award and he showed he still knows where the net is on Saturday, scoring four in Whaddon United’s 11-1 demolition of Cheltenham United in the Cheltenham League’s Senior Charity Cup.

The competition takes place at club, not team, level with clubs from all divisions pitted against one another and Division One Whaddon showed they were too strong for Division Three United

Whaddon were not the only team hitting double figures. Division One Dowty Dynamos hammered Andoversford Reserves of Division Two 19-1 with Inigo Walker scoring five, Eliot Green bagging four, while Max Gourley and Adonis Georgiou both claimed hat-tricks to make it a miserable day for their visitors.

On paper the stand-out tie of the round saw the top two in Division One meet as Malvern Vale hosted Tewkesbury Town. Both teams have accumulated 19 points in the league, however Town have done so from four games fewer.

Vale shaded the league meeting at the end of the November 3-2 so Town were looking for revenge, but they once again went away disappointed although the margin of defeat, 7-1, will have surprised many

Bredon Reserves and Southside Star have both been struggling for Division One form and their meeting at Swindon Village not only gave one of them an opportunity to put together a decent cup run but also gain a psychological advantage in the battle to avoid relegation.

With home advantage Star could not get past their opponents in normal time as the teams played out a 3-3 draw. They held their nerve, however, to book their place in the next round with a 5-3 victory via a penalty shoot-out

Newton are another club who have struggled in Division One. A single point from their eight games leaves them rooted to the foot of the table and a tie against Prestbury Rovers did not look like it would give the Whaddon-based team an easy opportunity to start to build a winning run.

Rovers went into the tie as clear favourites and showed why as they won 4-2.

The final all Division One tie saw Kings host Bishop’s Cleeve A. In recent years both clubs have enjoyed some success in cup competitions and their league form this season suggested this would be a close game. At full-time Kings had secured a 3-0 win thanks to goals by Matt Hill (two) and Simon Dempster.

It was a result that delighted Kings manager Andy Davis, who said: “I couldn’t ask for more from the team.”

St Paul’s and Renegades were formed in the same season and both clubs have risen up the divisions, accumulating an array of silverware in the process. While St Paul’s edged league titles in the lower divisions, Renegades took the Division Two title at their rivals’ expense last year.

With St Paul’s passing up on promotion, the teams are now plying their trades in different divisions for the first time and this was an ideal opportunity to see how far the clubs have developed while apart.

As so many times in the past, St Paul’s claimed the advantage over their long term rivals, winning 3-1.

Apperley, meanwhile, faced a mammoth task having been drawn against Division One Shurdington Rovers. With just two wins from seven games, Apperley needed to pull off one of the shocks of the round if they were to progress. The game went with form although a 1-0 victory for Rovers was much closer than expected.

Division Two Brockworth Albion Reserves went down 1-0 to Division One Cheltenham Civil Service Reserves in the Junior Charity Cup earlier in the season but were hoping home advantage would give them an upturn in fortune on Saturday. And so it proved as they shocked their visitors with a 1-0 win to hand Service their first cup defeat of the season.

There was one other Division One against Division Two fixture as Smiths Barometrics Athletic travelled to Hanley Swan. Baros were sniffing an upset but they were unable to get past their hosts as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

Gala Wilton Reserves have won four of their six league games in Division Two but went into their game against Division Three FC Lakeside Reserves as underdogs. Lakeside have beaten all-comers this season and boast a squad that looks capable of competing at a higher level. They showed just why they are so highly rated as they dispatched Gala 6-1.

Another game that looked like it could provide an upset saw Division Two Fintan face Division Four leaders Tewkesbury Athletic. Despite losing their 100 per cent record in their last game before Christmas it has been an excellent season so far for Athletic who have won eight of their nine league games.

Fintan, meanwhile, have won just two of their nine league game and while they were unable to beat Athletic over 90 minutes, they did avoid a cup upset by winning the penalty shoot-out.

It was a similar story for Athletic’s Division Four rivals AFC Cheltenham. AFC went into 2020 with their 100 per cent record still intact while their Division Two opponents Welland have won just three of their nine games. Again however, league position trumped form as Welland won 2-1.

In their previous game Leckhampton Rovers underlined their Division Two title credentials with an excellent 2-1 defeat of St Paul’s. They were drawn against Division Two bottom club Pittville United and went into the tie confident of progressing to the next round and that confidence was well placed as they won 4-1.

In addition to a Division Three against Division Four cup tie there were three Division Three league games.

In the cup Falcons travelled to Kempsey Corinthians. The Cirencester-based club will have felt that a shock was on the cards with the lower ranked team winning their opening three league games, however, Falcons have shown with the defeat of Cheltenham United that they can compete with most teams at this level.

Kempsey were unable to defeat their opponents during normal time, however, they pulled off a shock via the penalty shoot-out to send Falcons out of the competition.

In the league the second and third placed teams faced the two bottom clubs as third-placed Cheltenham Civil Service III faced Southside Star Reserves and second-placed Smiths Barometrics Athletic III hosted Malvern Vale Reserves. With both Service and Baros capable of taking top spot come 4pm there was plenty to play for and both showed why they are at the right end of the table as they won 5-3 and 4-1 respectively.

In the other game Charlton Rovers Reserves faced Tewkesbury Town Reserves. Just a point separated the teams at kick-off although Rovers had played four fewer games. By full-time the margin had increased to four points as Rovers won 6-4.

There were four league games planned for the weekend in Division Four including only the third league match of the season for Bishop’s Cleeve Development

Cleeve propped up the table at the start of the weekend but victory against Cheltenham Saracens III could have seen them move up by as many as four places. Despite the incentive it was Saracens who took the points, winning 2-1.

It was a similar story for AFC Renegades Reserves who had just three points to show from their opening seven games. They hosted a Fintan Reserves side who had averaged a point a game from their eight matches and could have finished the day as high as third if other results went their way. Fintan’s points per game average was maintained as the teams drew 4-4.

In their last game of 2019 Winchcombe Town Reserves took the three points and Tewkesbury Athletics 100 per cent record. Although they had lost two of their six league games, Town kicked off the day in third place and felt they were well placed to profit should the teams above them slip. That means, however, they must win matches starting with Saturday’s game against a struggling Charlton Rovers III.

With a win expected, Town duly delivered, taking three points following a 3-1 victory.

The final game saw Gala Wilton A beat Pittville United Reserves 3-1.


Saturday’s results
Cheltenham League Senior Charity Cup

Apperley 0 Shurdington Rovers 1
Kings FC 3 Bishop’s Cleeve FC A Team 0
Brockworth Albion Reserves 1 Cheltenham Civil Service 0
Cheltenham United 1 Whaddon United 11
Dowty Dynamos 19 Andoversford 1
Hanley Swan First 2 Smiths Barometrics Athletic 0
FC Lakeside Reserves 6 Gala Wilton Reserves 1
Fintan First 1 Tewkesbury Athletic 1 Fintan won 4-2 pens
Kempsey Corinthians FC 2 Falcons Reserves 2 (Kempsey won 5-4 Pens)
Leckhampton Rovers 4 Pittville United 1
Malvern Vale FC First 7 Tewkesbury Town 1
Prestbury Rovers 4 Newton 2
St Paul’s United 3 AFC Renegades 1
Welland Reserves 3 AFC Cheltenham 1

Division 3
Charlton Rovers Res 6 Tewkesbury Town Res 4
Smiths Barometrics Athletic 3rds 4 Malvern Vale Res 1
Southside Star Res 3 Cheltenham Civil Service 3rds 5

Division 4
AFC Renegades Res 4 Fintan Res 4
Cheltenham Saracens 3rds 2 Bishop’s Cleeve Development 1
Pittville Utd Res 1 Gala Wilton A 3
Winchcombe Town Res 3 Charlton Rovers 3rds 1