From what looked like being a complete washout last weekend, things actually turned out far better than expected. If we end up with a hosepipe ban this summer, perhaps it’s time for the Hellenic Lawyers to take on the water companies! Cheltenham today has delivered what feels like four seasons in one day, so let’s hope for a return to some settled, dry weather.

In the Isuzu FA Vase 5th Round last Saturday, Hallen produced an outstanding performance, beating Gornal Athletic 3–0. Harrison Fairman grabbed two of the goals in a superb display that sees Hallen progress to the quarter-finals. They have another home tie on 28th February, which I’ll highlight again in the coming weeks — a great occasion for the club.

In the UHL Premier Division, with several sides involved in cup action, we had three league fixtures last weekend. Corsham Town travelled to in-form Cinderford Town and were beaten 3–1. Tuffley Rovers made the trip to Pershore Town and came away with an impressive 3–0 win, with the ever-reliable Karnell Chambers once again finding the net. Royal Wootton Bassett Town hosted Westfields and continued their steady climb up the table with a convincing 3–0 victory. Longlevens v Cribbs fell victim to Friday’s downpours despite Longlevens’ best efforts to get the game on.

On Tuesday evening, Lydney Town hosted Hereford Pegasus, with Pegasus running out 2–1 winners. Fairford Town travelled to Westfields and continued their own climb up the table with a 2–0 victory. Reports suggest both pitches were in excellent condition despite recent flooding, so huge credit must go to the grounds staff at Lydney and Westfields for their hard work.

In the UHL Challenge Cup, Hereford Pegasus edged past Highworth Town 1–0. Slimbridge made the short trip to Stonehouse Town for a Gloucestershire derby and secured a 3–1 win. Worcester Raiders faced a long journey to Mangotsfield United, with the match finishing 2–2 in normal time before Raiders prevailed 5–3 on penalties.

In the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup on Tuesday, Highworth Town made the long midweek journey to Alcester Town and returned with an emphatic 5–0 win, including a hat-trick from Bonsa Teshome. Cribbs hosted Longlevens but were beaten 3–1.

In UHL Division One, five league matches were played on Saturday. FC Stratford maintained top spot with a 2–0 away win at Ludlow Town. Wantage Town kept up the pressure with a 2–1 home victory over Brimscombe & Thrupp. Malmesbury Victoria were narrowly beaten 3–2 by Clanfield 85 in a five-goal thriller. Cheltenham Saracens drew 2–2 with Thame United Reserves, with Thame equalising in the 88th minute. Wellington enjoyed a welcome 4–1 win over Chipping Sodbury Town. Redditch Borough v Bewdley Town was postponed.

In the UHL Supplementary Challenge Cup, Shortwood and Hungerford Town Reserves drew 1–1 before Shortwood triumphed 4–2 on penalties. In midweek, Marlow Reserves beat Thame United Reserves 3–1.

Finally, in the Batemans Sports Alliance Challenge Cup, Evesham United Reserves hosted Banbury United Development but were beaten 7–1.

Let’s hope for a full programme and plenty of football to enjoy this weekend.

The rain took a massive toll on fixtures last weekend with only 3 surviving. One of these was the grass pitch at Pershore Town, a massive thanks to the grounds-staff at Pershore which must have been a huge effort. With more rain this week, we have already lost some games that were due to be played tomorrow. 

Hallen’.’ 5^th round of the Isuzu FA Vase hosting Gornal Athletic who sit 2^nd in Division One of the Midland Football League will be attempted at Hallen again on Saturday. Fingers crossed the game goes ahead and all the best to Hallen. 

In the UHL Premier Division last Saturday, where we had 2 games surviving the weather, two of the current top 3 played. 2^nd placed Roman Glass St. George hosted Fairford Town, who last time out won 7-3 away at Slimbridge. Fairford ripped the form book up again and won 4-0 to dent Roman Glass St George’s eye on top spot in the division. A real 5-goal thriller took place on the grass at Pershore Town where they hosted 3^rd placed Slimbridge. Pershore had beaten promotion chasing Cirencester Town the week before. The game was poised at 1-1 going in at the interval. Pershore then went 2-1 up and almost added a 3^rd that was well saved by the Slimbridge goalkeeper. Into the last ten minutes and Slimbridge leveled with regular marksman Jack W Smithfinding the net with a header. Deep into stoppage time Slimbridge completed the victory with Smith again on the mark to seal the win. Slimbridge are still 3^rd but hot on the heels of the top two with games in hand. 

In UHL Division One on Saturday, we only had 1 game played. Malmesbury Victoria borrowed Cirencester Towns’ 3G pitch and hosted fellow 3G pitch owners Wantage Town. The game finished 2-2 with Wantage firmly in 3^rd place and Malmesbury just one place outside of the play-off places. On Tuesday, Brimscombe & Thrupp v Carterton was the only survivor of the night and it was well worth it for Brimscombe & Thrupp who won convincingly 6-1. Again, a great effort by the grounds team at the club. 

We had 3 Vets games to survive the weather on Wednesday. In Division One there were wins for Woodley United Vets at home v Watlington Town Old Boys Vets and Gording United vets at home v Marcham Vets. In theVets League Cup, Thame United Vets beat Bicester Town Vets. 

Team of the month for January:

Premier Division – Worcester Raiders

Division One – Bewdley Town

Lookout for the trophy presentation in due course and congratulations.  

This Sunday, myself, Bill B and Brian K are heading to St. Georges Park for a Steps 5 and 6 Leagues Meeting which brings together all Step 5 and 6 Leagues from across the country. Main topics are: FA Referees Update, Club Licensing and a Step 6 Review. I will look to provide some snippets over the coming weeks for you.

Hoping for a good proportion of games tomorrow!!!  🤞🤞

The rain is starting to get a tad boring now! We have already lost games this upcoming weekend!

Weather dependent, there is a massive game in the 5^thround of the Isuzu FA Vase seeing our remaining survivors in the competition, Hallen, hosting Gornal Athletic who sit 2^nd in Division One of the Midland Football League. All the very best to Hallen to keep the UHL flag flying into the next round. 

In the UHL Premier Division last Saturday, previous leaders Roman Glass St George had no game, so 2^ndplaced Droitwich Spa took full advantage in their home 4-0-win v Cribbs and duly moved into top spot. 3^rd Placed Slimbridge travelled to bottom club at the time Hallen and were soundly beaten 4-0 with Harrison Fairman scoring a hat trick. Hallen moved off the bottom as a result and Slimbridge dropped to 4^th place as Worcester Raidershosted Westfields and two 2^nd half goals saw them leapfrog Slimbridge into 3^rd.  Corsham Town travelled to Tuffley Rovers and suffered a 3-2 defeat, Cirencester Town hosted Pershore Town and two 2^nd half goals saw Pershore Town travel home with 3 points in the bag.  Mangotsfield United hosted a resurgent Cinderford Townand lost 3-2, Fairford Town v Hereford Pegasus was postponed due to a heavy downpour just before kick-off resulting in the pitch becoming un-playable. Highworth Town hosted Thornbury Town and with the game poised at 1-1, Thornbury popped up with an 87^th minute winner to take the 3 points. Lydney Town travelled to Royal Wootton Bassett Town and travelled home on the wrong end of a 3-0 defeat. A few twists and turns this week and no doubt many more to come over the next few weeks. 

On Tuesday evening we had Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup action which saw Malmesbury Victoria travel toWantage Town and win 5-3 and Worcester Raiders v Hereford Pegasus end 1-1 in normal time with Worcester Raiders winning 5-3 on penalties. 

In UHL Division One on Saturday, Leaders FC Stratfordhosted Chipping Sodbury Town and kept top spot with a 3-1 win. Bewdley Town travelled to Shortwood United and won 2-1, Wantage Town were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Ludlow Town, Stonehouse Town v Cheltenham Saracens was also a draw, but this one finished 1-1. Alcester Town v Wellington ended in a 2-0 home win. Woodford United v Carterton ended 2-2. Redditch Borough v Malmesbury Victoria and Clanfield 85 v Brimscombe & Thrupp were both postponed.

One game in Alliance East saw Headington Amateurs v Banbury United Dev end 2-1. 

Two games in Alliance West saw Bourton Rovers Dev v UDA Glos Dev finish 3-0 and Evesham United Res v Highworth Town Res finish 2-1. 

In the Batemans Sports Alliance (Chairmans) Challenge Cup, we had wins for Ardley United Res v Easington Sports Dev and Marlow Res v Hambleden.

We had 3 Vets games survive the weather on Wednesday in Division One with wins for Goring United Vets away at Bicester Town Vets and Chinnor Vets at home v Marcham Vets.  

Golden Glove Awards for January saw Harry Pickering of Malmesbury Victoria in Division One and Joe Stocktonof Droitwich Spa in the Premier Division pick up the UHLSPORT Gloves. Congratulations to both goal-keepers.

Great news received from Highworth Town in regards to the new stadia and 3G pitch. It looks like work will start at the end of March and be ready for pre-season friendlies in time for season 2026-2027 to start. It has been a long wait with some hard work by the Highworth Stalwarts, but hopefully they will get their rewards with the new development. 

Yours in sport, 

Ian

Pleased to report a pretty full fixture list last Saturday. Thoughts go out to Westfields having seen the recent photos of their pitch. They always seem to bounce back quickly which is a testament to all the hard-working folks at the club. 

In the UHL Premier Division last Saturday, it was a very interesting day in terms of results. Leaders Roman Glass St George had a relatively short trip across to Mangotsfield United for the Bristol Derby and lost 3-2 with recent signing Lewis Powell scoring a hat trick for Mangotsfield. Droitwich Spa moved into 2^nd place after their long journey down to play Corsham Town ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Droitwich were 2-0 down at half time and they got their equalizer in the 92^nd minute.  The result of the day had to be at Slimbridge; Fairford Town were the visitors and the game produced 10 goals with Fairfordultimately winning 7-3 which included a Harrison Edwardshat trick. Worcester Raiders and Longlevens who were both in good form played out a 4-2 at Worcester with Raiders the victors. It was 3-2 up until the 94^th minute when Raiders got their 4^th to make the game safe.  Lydney Town hosted free scoring Cirencester Town and battled out for a point in the 1-1 draw.  Hereford Pegasus and Royal Wootton Bassett Town played out a 2-2 draw. There was another goal fest at Highworth where Highworth Townscored a 92^nd minute winner in the 3-2 game v Tuffley Rovers. Cinderford Town hosted Pershore Town in a game made possible due to the hard-working grounds team at Cinderford who were rewarded for their efforts with a 3-1 win. There was a Friday night game which resulted in a 1-1 draw between Cribbs and Thornbury Town. Suffice to say it is even closer at the top. With games in hand, it is still all to play for at the bottom as well. 

In UHL Division One on Saturday, with Bewdley Towns’game away at Alcester Town being postponed, we had new leaders again, with FC Stratford leap-frogging Bewdley in their away game v Wantage Town with a 2-1 victory. Stonehouse Town hosted Ludlow Town and won 3-2, Newent Town travelled to play Clanfield 85 and duly won 4-0. Redditch Borough travelled to play Chipping Sodbury Town and were soundly beaten 4-0 with George Box scoring all 4 for the hosts. Malmesbury Victoriastayed in the hunt for play-off places with a 2-0 away win at Thame United Reserves. Brimscombe & Thrupp hosted Cheltenham Saracens and won 1-0. Carterton won 2-1 at home v Shortwood United with 2 second half goals. Wellington travelled to Woodford United and won 3-0. The top 3 who have been interchanging over the past few weeks have a bit of a gap and there are still places up for grabs in the play-off places below them. At the bottom with games in hand, there are still movements to be made to the safety zone. 

Two games in Alliance West saw University of Bristol win 3-0 v Wantage Town U23 and Clanfield (85) Res travel to Bourton Rovers and win 1-0. 

In the Batemans Sports Alliance (Chairmans) Challenge Cup, we had wins for Headington Amateurs andHighworth Town Res. 

We had 3 Vets games survive the weather on Wednesday with a win for Thame United Vets in the Premier and wins for Bicester Town Vets and Goring United Vets in the Vets League Cup. 

Fingers crossed for all of our scheduled games to be played tomorrow!

Best wishes, 

Ian

All, 

Some important dates for your diaries at the bottom of this week’s news. 

The weather relented somewhat last weekend and despite some postponements, we actually got a good selection of games in.  

We only had 1 postponement in the Premier Division and 3 in Division 1. Thanks to all of you clubs for your efforts to get the games on. 

I have to start this week with tomorrow’s Izusu FA Vase 4^thround games with Slimbridge travelling down to Wessex Premier Division Downton near Salisbury in Wiltshireand Hallen hosting Hythe & Dibden, also from the Wessex Premier Division; they are travelling up from the Southampton area. Downton are currently 20^th in the table and Hythe & Dibden are 18^th. The very best of luck to Slimbridge and Hallen – keep the UHL flag flying. 

In the UHL Premier Division last Saturday, leaders Roman Glass St George hosted Westfields and won 3-0,Droitwich Spa made a 150-mile round trip to Mangotsfield United and came away with a close 1-0 victory in front of a watching 355 spectators. Slimbridge travelled to Royal Wootton Bassett Town and won 3-0 with two 2^nd half goals, Corsham Town hosted Lydney Town and won 3-0, Cirencester Town travelled to play Longlevens and scored a 9^th minute goal to win 1-0, Worcester Raiders hostedHereford Pegasus and won 2-1, Tuffley Rovers and Cinderford Town drew 2-2 with Tuffley’s equalizer scored in the 89^th minute, Thornbury Town and Pershore Townshared the spoils with the game finishing 0-0. In the Friday night game, the very local Derby between Cribbs and Hallen ended 1-1. 

In the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup on Tuesday, Hallenhosted Corsham Town and won 1-0, Carterton hosted Malmesbury Victoria and lost 0-4 with Malmesbury’sLewis James Bexon-Shaw scoring a hat trick, Wantage Town hosted Pershore Town and won 2-0 with goals in the 88 and 92^nd minutes, Worcester Raiders hosted near neighbours Droitwich Spa in front of 212 spectators and won 3-1. 

In UHL Division One on Saturday, we had new leaders in Wantage Town who won 7-1 v Newent Town and Bewdley Town having no game. 3^rd v 4^th played at Stonehouse Town and it was visitors, 3^rd placed FC Stratford who won the game 2-1. With the rest of the chasing packs’ games’ being postponed there are still places up for grabs in the play-off places. Chipping Sodbury Town travelled to Clanfield 85 and despite being 3-1 down at half time, they scored twice in the 2^nd half to draw the game 3-3. Wellington hosted Brimscombe & Thrupp and won the game 3-2 to keep their survival hopes alive.   

One game in Alliance East between Hambleden v Easington Sports Development finished 3-7. 

One game in Alliance West on Friday evening saw Carterton v Highworth Town Res finish 1-1 and Saturday’s game finishing UDA Glos Dev v Wantage Town U23 2-1. 

Following the totaling up of the scores on the doors,December Team of the Month awards go to:

Longlevens – Premier Division

Wantage Town – Division One

Congratulations to both Teams – awards will be presented in due course.

At the Hellenic League Management Committee Meetinglast night, we decided upon the method that we will be finishing the season and it is a change to previous seasons:

The Floodlit Cup Final will be on Tuesday 17^th March 2026.

The Challenge / Supplementary Cup Finals will be onSaturday 28^th March 2026.

The Final League Games of the season for Premier / Division 1 will be Saturday 18/4/2026.

The Play-Off Semi-Finals for Premier / Division 1 will be played W/C 20/4/2026. (Tuesday/Wednesday)

The Chairman’s / President Cup Finals will be onSaturday 25/4/2026.

The Veterans Cup Final will be on Wednesday 29/4/2026.

Division 1 Play-Off Final will be on Friday 1/5/2026.

Premier Division Play-Off Final will be on Monday 4/5/2026.

All the best for a dry weekend with all of our scheduled games being played!!

The weather took an almighty toll on us last weekend and continues to be a feature this week. (Fingers firmly crossed for some more football tomorrow)

We had 5 games played in the Premier Division, 3 in Division 1 (1 on the Friday evening), 1 in the Challenge Cup, 1 in Alliance West and 1 in the Chairmans Challenge cup. 

In the UHL Premier Division last Saturday, leaders Roman Glass St George travelled to Worcester Raiders and were involved in a 5-goal thriller. The game finished 3-2 to Worcester Raiders with their winning goal being scored by Adam Taylor in the 88^th minute. Droitwich Spa travelled down the M5 to play Hallen and won a hard-fought game 1-0 to leapfrog Slimbridge into 2^nd place as Slimbridge were in action in the cup. With Corsham Towns’ game being postponed, Cirencester Town moved closer behind them by winning 3-1 at home v Cribbs. (Harlie Pricescored another hat trick in the game.) Tuffley Roverstravelled down to play Thornbury Town and were involved in a 6-goal score fest. Tuffley were leading 2-1 at half time and then 3-2 up until the 96^th minute when Thornbury got their equalizer through Tom Black as the game finished 3-3. Mangotsfield United travelled up to play Pershore Townand travelled home with a 3-0 win. 

In the UHL Challenge Cup, Slimbridge hosted Westfieldsand progressed to the next round with a 4-0 victory. 

In UHL Division One on Friday evening, we had an attendance of 265 for the Brimscombe & Thrupp v Stonehouse Town game where a tribute was paid following the tragic fire in Brimscombe over Christmas. It was good to see the Brimscombe Chairman being interviewed by the regional news before the game, giving his thoughts, including the donations from the game going to the go fund me page. On a bitterly cold evening, the game ended 1-1.  On Saturday, we only had 2 games to beat the freeze with Bewdley Town reclaimed top spot with a 4-1 home win v Wellington. 9^th placed Ludlow Town travelled to play 6^thplaced Newent Town and despite being 1-0 down at the break, they scored two second half goals through Ryan Clarke and won 2-1. (The winning goal coming in the 86^thminute)

One game in Alliance West saw Wantage Town U23 v Clanfield (85) Res finish 8-0. 

One game in the Batemans Sports Alliance (Chairmans) Challenge Cup saw Evesham United Res v Headington Amateurs finish 1-5. 

One game was played in the Vets Premier Division which saw Penn & Tyler Green Vets travel to Rotherfield United Vets and win 4-1. 

One game in the Vets Division One saw Goring United Vets winning 1-0 against Chinnor Vets. 

Golden Glove Award winners in December go to James Walker of Highworth Town in the Premier Division and Thomas Rees of Wantage Town in Division One. They can both look forward to the uhlsport Goalkeeping gloves. Congratulations James and Thomas. 

There was some sad news in regards to Penn & Tylers Green reported to the league recently – Secretary and all-round Club Legend Andreas Latta passed away just after Christmas. Condolences to all at the club and of course thoughts go out to the family and friends at this very sad time. 

Regards, 

Ian