Latest weekly round up. 17.12.23

With the last matches of the year done and dusted, despite losing a few games to the weather, we're about a third of the way through this season's fixtures. If, (and yes, it's a big "if"!), the weather is kind in the New Year, we should be on-track to complete the season without the backlog of the last few seasons. That said, there's still a long way to go!

Thanks to everyone for their continued contribution to the success of the league, and we hope you all enjoy the fortnight off over the holiday season, ready to return refreshed and revitalized to work off the festive excesses in the New Year!

Best wishes to you and your families from the League Management Committee!

Weekly round-up for Sunday 17 December 2023. Lots of cancelled games again this week. We start with the visit to Newbold Comyn of Romulus from Birmingham for a Sunday Vase Cup match against Leamington Hib’s.

Leamington Hib’s 2 Romulus 0
Hib’s march into the next round of the Sunday Vase with a workman like performance against a classy looking Romulus side. Kick off was delayed by ten minutes because some of the Romulus players had got lost! They started and played the first twenty minutes with ten men but the early chances went to the visitors and Hib’s were fortunate to go into the break with the score at nil, nil. Two goal mouth scrambles and a shot rebounding off a post could’ve seen them three down.
The half time team talk did the trick. Despite the continued threat from the Romulus attackers, who looked sharp and threatening, Hib’s kept them at bay with some stout defending and on fifty-five minutes the deadlock was broken. Tom Hackett fed a neat ball through to Conor Smith who raced through and beat the keeper to the ball and hooked his finish past the onrushing keeper and it bounced into the empty net.
It remained nervy and Romulus went in search of an equaliser. The Hib’s boys worked hard to keep them at bay and began to look for the second as Romulus pushed forward leaving themselves short at the back. The second did come and it was route one following a Romulus attack. A quick long kick downfield by Ryan Mason and the Romulus centre half made a hash of it, and Smith was on it like a flash, he raced through, one on one with the keeper, who came out to narrow the angles but Smith fired home early into the empty net past the forlorn goalie. A large sigh of relief went over the massed crowd of spectators including four dogs as Hib’s now had some breathing room.
Romulus tried to get back into it but Hib’s held on to take the win and move into the next round. A solid performance by Hib’s and a deserved win.

We move on to League action now and we start as usual with Division 1(B)
Khalsa Reserves 0 Heathcote Athletic 0
That rarity that is the goalless draw on a Sunday morning.

Tysoe United 0 Long Itchington 5
An Andy McGuire hat-trick here supported by an early Bradley Allibone strike and rounded off by a Michael Clement finish to complete the scoring.

We move on to Division 3
Napton 2 Real Barston 3
A late flourish from Napton to make it all square with less than ten minutrs to go but Barston snatched an even later heartbreaker to take the points home. A Charles Pickering brace had given Barston the advantage. Suroush Lisle-Pourzyaie and Robbie Farrell grabbed the Napton goals to make it all square, before Benjamin Valatka struck with four minutes left on the watch.

Stockton 1 Cubbington FC 3
Luke Swinnerton gave Cubbington the lead after half an hour. Jack Gibson added a brace to make it three and Stockton responded with a consolation.

We finish as usual with Division 4
Bowling Green 2 Massey Ferguson Sports and Social Club 1
A come back here from Bowling Green who were down at the break to an Adam Buzzard goal. Bradley Goddard pulled Bowling Green level just past the hour mark and Tom Gamblin netted the winner with thirteen minutes to go.

Kineton Sport & Social Club 4 Southam Sporting 7 (seven)
Fastest goal of the day here for Cameron Hill to give Southam the lead. Shamir Entezar added a second ten minutes later. Scott Dunn pulled one back for Kineton three minutes after that and then it went tit for tat. Entezar grabbed his second and five minutes later Liam Naven Jones again reduced the arrears. Danny Gair then added another for Southam three minutes later and Entezar scored his third just before the break. Joshua Thomas added another for Southam ten minutes after the break, and with twenty minutes left on the clock Harley Francis grabbed the seventh for Southam. Four minutes later Tristan Birch got a third for Kineton and Scott Dunn scored another with eight minutes to go. Southam held on to take the points!

Wellesbourne Wanderers Reserves 4 Balsall and Berkswell 6
Another high scoring game and again the visitors walked away with the points. The Hornets stormed into a first half lead banging home four goals without reply. Ruben Oliveira grabbed a hat-trick and Zack Palmer hit the fourth. Wanderers woke up on the hour mark and in the space of twenty two minutes had banged in four of their own to make it all square. Sam Seaborn , George Bryan and an Alexander Rea brace doing the damage. With only five minutes left on the clock it looked al done and dusted with a share of the spoils . The Hornets struck twice in stoppage time to steal all three points, Joe Ryan scoring in the ninety first minute and Josh Lowe getting another in the ninety sixth minute!