Wiltshire Senior League

Division 1

Tuesday 20th August 2024

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.29

Down Ampney 20 (Twenty) Purton 0, attendance 32

@ Broadleaze

The Butts

Down Ampney

GL7 5QX

No Admission or Programme.

Well, what can you say about this…before we’d even played half an hour it was already 7-0, which was too much for the Purton ‘keeper, who walked off the pitch, not to return. They’d already made two substitutions by then and continued playing with a man short, with their third substitute, another outfield player, taking over in goal. By halftime the dozen had been notched up and the half finished with a few questionable challenges and I feared the game may have been called to a halt. To their credit (sic) Purton came out for the second half and managed to complete the first six minutes without conceding, by which time a late arriving player then saw them back to the full compliment of eleven, but unfortunately goal number thirteen arrived within seconds of him joining the action. There was a brief respite, where they only conceded twice in the next fourteen minutes, but Down Ampney just never eased off. At 16-0 the hosts were awarded a penalty, but it was well saved by the stand-in ‘keeper, although a couple of minutes later it was indeed 17-0. Three goals in the last four minutes finally brought up the twenty….my record score, but sadly, a game that will only remain in the memory because of how farcical it all was, rather than a game of note to grace the occasion. Not sure if Purton will recover from this, after having lost their opening game 1-5….we will see.

Down Ampney are new in the Wiltshire Senior League this season, having finished mid table in the Swindon & District League Premier Division and had come into tonight’s game having won two of their first three games at the higher level. They play at ‘Broadleaze’, on the left hand side of the road heading north out of the village towards Poulton. There is a small car park and changing room building, whilst the pitch is through the hedge, (more parking around the perimeter) railed on three sides and backing onto open farmland behind the far goal end. There are a pair of dugouts with a very small section of cover adjacent (see below…can’t be many smaller than this?)