This weekend saw the Swindon and District Football league season 2016/17 come to a close in what was a very entertaining “125 year anniversary” season.
Tawny Owl were already champions before their final league game against Swindon Centurians this weekend. The game turned in to a show case for district football with 15 goals scored between the two teams.
In a highly entertaining game with both sides creating lots of chances, it was Tawny that opened the scoring first but it was the response from Centurians from the restart that set the tone for the game as they scored in the next play to level the game up.
Tawny went on to score three more goals in the first half but a determined Centurians side stuck with them and scored two more of their own meaning it was tight going in to the second half.
In a back and forth game, it was Tawny that continued to move through the gears as the game progressed and they went on to notch up 6 more goals in the second half as Centurians struggled to maintain the high tempo.
Centurians managed to score 5 in total thanks to goals from Paul Aust(2), Nick Camden(2) and Ricky Hewitson but it wasn’t enough to stop Tawny completing the perfect season.
Perfect Season For Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl were already the Swindon champions for a second successive season before the game kicked off but, the win 10-5 victory was all the more impressive as they capped off a perfect season a record of played 20, won 20. This is the second consecutive season they have won the league with a perfect record meaning they haven’t lost a game in the league for over two years.
Elsewhere, a surprise result saw Swindon Spitfires thrash Sportz Central 8-2 with Spitfires goals coming from Michael Cox, Stephen Hughes, Keiran Butler and Luke Burroughs, with Sam Long and Phil Legace bagging themselves two goals each.
After a great month of football, Sportz would have gone into this match feeling quietly confident, despite being only 1 place above their opponents in the league. However, after a few fantastic wins in recent weeks, Spitfires came out undaunted and took full control of the match early on.
Pinehurst Top The Table
Pinehurst were crowned champions after a being award a “walkover” win in their final game of the season against Haydon Wick. Its not the way they would have wanted to end the season but that win ensured they were league champions.
Old Town United were the only team who could mathematically catch them but after a fantastic start to the season, the backlog of fixtures at the end of the season has taken their toll as they struggled in their last few games. This weekend was a similar story as they lined up against a Wroughton side who have their eye on the cup final next weekend.
Wroughton got off to a great start as they netted twice thanks to fine finished from Lee Curtis and Daryll Chambers but Old Town fought back to level the game up. The Wroughton keeper was kept busy throughout the game and his fine performance kept Old Town out and kept them in the game.
This determine performance was reflected throughout the side and was duly rewarded as Morgan Watts went through to give Wroughton the lead.
Old Town continued to attack but couldn’t find their feet in front of goal as they missed a number of chances and an unlucky own goal off the Old Town defender late in the game, summed up the game and their end of season challenge as the game ended 4-2.
Marlborough Res ended their stop start season with a 4-0 victory at home against a Lower Stratton side who finished 3rd in the league. It was a dominating performance from start to finish and goals from Aaron Presley and Joe Litherland plus a brace from Ben Crane secured the victory.
Un-Finished Business In Basement Battle
There was still some un-finished business at the bottom end of the table as bottom side Swindon AFC picked up an “walkover win” against Lyneham and lifted them two points above Chiseldon at the bottom of the table.
Chiseldon needed to pick up the win against mid-table New Town All Stars to ensure they didn’t end up bottom of the league as well as giving them bragging rights over their rivals.
It was a tight affair with both teams looking to dominate the midfield battle and it was Chiseldon who started brightest creating a number of chances but failed to hit the target on each occasion.
All Stars were looking to play counter football and their direct approach had the Chiseldon defence on the back foot but they failed to carve open any clear cut chances as the game ended 0-0 at half time.
Chiseldon rung the changes at half time and adopted a more attacking approach to try and win the game.
This opened the game up and allowed both sides to orchestrate chances and it was All Stars who took advantage after a poor clearance resulted in the ball dropping on the edge of the box. A neat turn from the All Stars striker and a shot through a crowded box ended up in the back of the net.
Chiseldon pushed hard to find an equaliser and created a few chances. The best opportunity coming from a James Lovell bicycle kick which seemed destined for the back of the net but struck the post and stayed out, which seemed to sum up Chiseldon season as they failed to find the back of the net.
This loss meant that Swindon AFC came off the bottom of the table of the first time this season and Chiseldon ended it in bottom spot.