Gloucestershire County League

Saturday 27th September 2025

Kick Off 15.00 Actual 15.03

Tewkesbury Town 1 Totterdown United 0, attendance 57 (official 78!)

14’ 1-0

@ Northway Playing Field

Northway Lane

Northway

GL20 8GL

No Admission

Programme available by pre-order.

It was just over twenty minutes drive from Cheltenham to my second game of the day at Tewkesbury Town. They don’t play in the town itself, but in the village of Northway, a couple of miles to the east, separated by the M5 motorway. It’s a very basic set up for Step 7. There’s a small car park, with a brick built changing room building on the right as you enter, which also housed a tea bar and toilets. The pitch is beyond, running lengthways. It’s only roped off, which is very poor for this level and has a pair of temporary dugouts on the right hand side. The pitch itself is in a dreadful state, due to failed efforts in improving the drainage and one that will probably suffer from postponements as the wetter weather kicks in. They’re due to be moving to a new sports hub venue, but not sure how far off that is. At least there were no problems today, as far as the weather was concerned, remaining dry throughout.

The game was 16th versus 8th (out of 17) in the league table. It certainly wasn’t one of the best games I’m likely to see this season and that couldn’t all be blamed on the pitch. There was plenty of effort and we should be grateful that it actually produced a goal. It went the way of the hosts, when a through ball saw a mix up between defender and goalkeeper and the ball was put into the net at the second attempt, after the ‘keeper kept the initial effort out. They had another effort hit the crossbar minutes later and also had a header bounce down off the crossbar, but not cross the line too, but that was about it. The hosts finished the game with ten men, having a player red carded six minutes into stoppage time, picking up his second yellow card.

The game surprisingly attracted a dozen hoppers and with no traffic problems I was home just after seven o’clock.

Cheltenham League

Premier Division

Saturday 27th September 2025

Kick Off 12.00 Actual 12.12

Montpellier 1 Bishops Cleeve ‘A’ 1, attendance 27

18’ 0-1

57’ 1-1

@ Priors Playing Fields

Imjin Road

Whaddon

Cheltenham

GL52 5JU

No Admission or Programme.

A noon kick off here meant an opportunity of a double today. Due to there already being two youth matches underway, the car park was full, but no problem finding a space in the road outside. There is a two storey brick built changing room building, set down on a lower level than the pitches, with a clubhouse/bar on the top floor, which apparently would be open after the game. The main pitch is nearest the building, running widthways in front and has the old style square posts, which I thought had been outlawed these days. It was roped along the near side for the youth game, but that was taken down once they’d finished, which was behind schedule, causing our game to kick off twelve minutes late.

The match was 2nd versus 1st in the league table, both unbeaten after their opening two games, with Bishops Cleeve holding a two point lead, having won both their games. There was little to choose between them. Bishops Cleeve played the better football, but Montpellier had a big No.9 up front and a long throw expert, which was a weapon they used from every throw in taken within 40 yards of the opposition goal. It was the visitors that went ahead after eighteen minutes, when a ball pulled back from the right was tapped in from six yards. Montpellier hit the crossbar shortly afterwards and Bishops Cleeve had a goal disallowed for offside late on, but it remained 0-1 at the break. Twelve minutes into the second half Montpellier equalised, when a knock down from yet another long throw was poked in from close range. Both teams had chances, but that was it as far as the scoring went and probably a result that the visitors will be more happy with.

Despite having kicked off late, a halftime interval where everyone stayed out on the pitch, meant the game was only running a couple of minutes behind schedule when it finished just before 13.50 and ample time for me to head off to a second game.