Longlevens host Fairford Town in an extra preliminary round FA Cup tie tomorrow and they’re in very positive mood.

They opened their Hellenic League Premier Division campaign with a 5-1 demolition of visitors Lydney Town in midweek, with Fin Gwillim grabbing a hat-trick and  Shiyak Sutherland scoring two.

It’s very early in the season, of course, but Pete Boyle, who is co-manager with Buster Davies, is certainly excited for what the 2025/26 season may bring.

They finished 17^th in the 20-strong Premier Division last season – level on points with Lydney – but Boyle said: “As a club we’re on the up. We’ve had a lot of changes but we’re in a really good position.

“We’ve got a settled squad of 20-22 players, everything is positive.”

They were 2-0 up at half-time against Lydney although Boyle admits they weren’t entirely happy with the opening 45 minutes.

“It’s a funny one, we were quite disappointed with the first half,” he said. “We felt we were a bit frantic, although in a positive way.

“Everyone was so excited at the start, there’s a really good feeling around the team and we almost channeled that excitement in the wrong way.

“The staff as well, we were probably too emotional.”

That all changed after the break with Boyle continuing: “We were brilliant, the margin of victory was really pleasing. I think a lot of the other teams will have looked at the result with interest.”

Gwillim obviously took the individual honours with his three goals, with two of them being out of the top drawer.

“He scored with a scorpion kick and got one from 40 yards,” added Boyle. “The scorpion kick was really creative, he managed to improvise with his back to goal.

“The 40-yarder was a lob over the keeper after he picked up a loose ball. He’s got the ability to do things like that, he deserved the match ball.”

Fairford, who play in the same division as Longlevens, drew their opening league game 1-1 at home to Highworth Town on Wednesday.

“They will be very tough, but it’s a game we really want to win,” said Boyle.