bashley v mousehole - 21st december 2024

---

AFTER a blank Saturday, Bashley get back to business in a big way over the Christmas and New Year period, with four games in 12 days - three of them at home, starting with a visit from Mousehole this weekend.

The Bash only met up with Mousehole for the first time at the start of last season - but already it seems like we’ve known our new friends from the far reaches of Cornwall for a lifetime!

This will be the sixth time we’ve met in one-and-a-half seasons - with a seventh one yet to come. And always one or other of us seems to end up with the rough end of a travel headache.

It’s just shy of 250 miles from Bashley to Mousehole (say it Mowzel) a fishing village which sits in a picturesque corner just short of Land’s End - it’s atmospheric Trungle Parc Stadium, up the road at the nearby village of Paul, is at best a five-hour run to or from the New Forest.

And the vagaries of the Southern League fixture computer have not been especially kind to either club. Last season Bashley were scheduled there on an August Bank Holiday Saturday - just what you need for a trip to Cornwall! Even worse, and unluckily, we had to go there again the following Saturday for an FA Cup-tie!

This season Mousehole have already been here for an FA Trophy match which Bashley won on penalties - only for us to be forced into a replay at Mousehole the following Wednesday on the back of a debatable disciplinary decision regarding the registration status of goalkeeper Mack Allan. 

Not surprisingly, with work and college commitments, Bashley could only muster half of the regular squad for the replay and lost out, not only of the FA Trophy, but a hugely-significant amount of money over the whole unfortunate chapter.

Now it’s Mousehole’s turn to have a travel headache, being scheduled to make the long drive to and from Cornwall immediately pre-Christmas, on what is always the busiest traffic weekend of the year.

And they come here in good shape, their 4-0 defeat of Willard Rovers last Saturday having nudged us out of fifth place in the table. In-form Tallan Mitchell netted two of their goals, as he did in a 5-0 defeat of Didcot at the end of last month. Their other main marksman is Mark Goldsworthy, sitting eighth in the league’s top scorer table with eight goals.

While they had a blip in losing 2-0 to Westbury recently, Mousehole are usually very reliable at home, and consistent, if not so spectacular, away - they have drawn their last four on the road, at Exmouth, Cinderford, Bishops Cleeve and, perhaps, significantly, at league leaders Yate.

In fact it was a draw, 1-1, when we played Mousehole here back in September in that fateful FA Trophy match, Mack Allan’s penalty shoot-out heroics being cancelled out so cruelly - ironic, because it was a tiny technicality regarding Mack’s registration for a Cup game rather than League, which caused the best-forgotten replay.

Although they only came to regional Step 4 significance last season, Mousehole, as a club, are the envy of many. Well organised on and off the field, they almost made it up again at the first attempt.

Last season they finished fifth, losing out in the play-offs to Frome, and they come to Bashley again sitting in fifth place. The Bash dropped down to eighth after last Saturday’s blank date.

Kick-off is at 3pm and all the usual facilities will be available - including covered seating free within the admission price. The licensed clubhouse with its tempting range of food and drinks will be open as usual, as will the new club shop with its super range of Adidas kit and other merchandise by Veho. 

Admission, as usual, is £10 adults, £7 OAPs, £3 Under-16s and free for Under 8’s either on the turnstile or in advance.

Up The Bash!!

AFTER taking four points from their last two games - including a hard-earned draw at “Fortress Helston” last weekend - Bashley return to the Veho Community Stadium this Saturday to face surprise-specialists Malvern Town.

Few things in football can be considered a certainty, but there’s one thing that can be said for sure this season... in Division One (South) of the Southern League you wouldn’t bet your house - or even the back garden - on the outcome of any particular game.

Such a thing as “the form-book” doesn’t seem to exist - with one string of completely unpredictable results after another. Bashley and Malvern are decent examples. Take a glance at the stats on the right of this page to the recent results of the respective teams.

Bash, last four at home… W- W- L- L… Last four away… D- L- W- D.

Malvern last four at home… W- D- L- D… Last four away… D- W- W- D.

However, one key thing sticks out of Malvern’s inconsistency. Whilst they have won only once recently at home - although 5-1 against Cribbs - they have not lost in the last four away. And among those are some significant “upset” scores for a team which started the season poorly but who are rapidly rising up through mid-table.

One significant achievement is that Malvern are the only visiting team to have won at Helston this season. Also they are one of the few to have taken a point at Exmouth, and one of even fewer who have won at Evesham. 

So they have been collecting “top five” scalps, which means there’s no doubt that Bash will have to be at their best. Even so, there are reasons to be cheerful, not least that Dave Lewis’s side is beginning to get into a settled line-up pattern after an irritating string of enforced changes virtually every week.

As for the history of Saturday's opponents, the Malvern club is one year older than The Bash, having been founded in 1946, as Barnard’s Green Football Club. They joined the Worcester League, where they played until moving up to the Worcestershire Combination in 1955, going on to win the league at the first attempt.

In 1967 that was re-named the Midland Combination, widening the scope geographically. In 1979 Malvern transferred into the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League, where they stayed until 2004, when they won promotion to the Midland Alliance.

After just two seasons they won promotion again to the Southern League Division One Midland. They lasted only two seasons there before another spell at the lower level, eventually being moved to the Hellenic League Division One West in 2019.

It took only two seasons for them to reach the Hellenic Premier and the rise up the pyramid quickly continued from there. Another two seasons and at the end of 2022/23 promotion to the Southern Division One South was achieved via a 4-1 play-off final victory over Highworth Town.

So last season we met Malvern for the first time - with disastrous results! In November we thought we would help solve any future fixture congestion by offering to switch our home/away from schedule by going to Malvern when the GlenMex pitch was unfit.

Wrong decision! We were hit for six, without reply, on the 3G pitch which Malvern had acquired in 2020. We also lost the return match here later in the season (see the sorry details on the right!) 

Kick-off this Saturday is at 3pm and all the usual facilities will be available - including covered seating (first come, first served) free within the admission price. 

The licensed clubhouse with its tempting range of food and drinks will be open as usual, as will the new club shop with its super range of Adidas kit and other merchandise by Veho. 

Admission, as usual, is £10 adults, £7 OAPs, £3 Under-16s and free for Under 8’s either on the turnstile or in advance via https://bashley-fc.com/tickets-1.

BASHLEY have already been to the southernmost tip of Cornwall twice this season to face Mousehole and then Falmouth - this weekend they complete the long-distance treble with a first-ever visit to Helston Athletic.

The Blues, as they are known, have a long and illustrious history, having been established in 1896. However, since then they have competed entirely in more localised regional football - first in the Cornwall Senior League, then the South Western League, the Cornwall Combination, the South West Peninsular League and ultimately the Western League where they finished as Premier champions last season.  

So, after 128 years, this is their first-ever season at Step Four level, and they are determined that this is just “part of their journey” up the pyramid - and not their destination.

They were comfortable winners of the Western League last season, losing only four of 34 games, scoring 104 goals, to just 30 against - Falmouth came up with them via the play-offs after finishing second.

And Helston have quickly made an impact in the Southern League, currently sitting comfortably in the play-off positions, having lost only three of their 15 matches so far.

So despite the confidence from their exciting 3-2 defeat of Tavistock at the Veho Community Stadium on Tuesday, Bashley will have to be at their best to bring home anything from this game. They will aim to win, of course, but in the circumstances, a point would be regarded as a worthwhile result.

On a travel note, it might have been handy for this game if Bash had planned to travel by helicopter, rather than coach - Helston is home to the Royal Navy Air Station, Culdrose, one of Europe’s largest military chopper bases.

It is the home of the Royal Navy's maritime Merlin Helicopter Force and is also famous for it’s intensive air-sea rescue activity - and the fact that their Merlins are the Royal Navy’s “anti-submarine warfare helicopter fleet.” 

Culdrose is also a major training establishment for the Fleet Air Arm and for naval air fleet engineering. It employs 3,000 people and is a major contributor to Cornwall's economy, injecting £100m annually.

Another bit of local knowledge, on a considerably less serious note (!) - with all these trips to the “Wild West”, Bash fans might be advised to swot up about cream tea etiquette… in Devon and Cornwall there has long been a heartfelt dispute over how to administer the topping to scones! 

In one county the cream goes on the scone first, then the jam - in the other it’s the jam, then the cream. Wars have been fought about less and locally feelings run high.

So just to clarify for the Black and Gold clan heading down west - if you’re in Devon it’s strictly cream first - down in “Kernow” (historic name for Cornwall) it’s definitely the jam which takes priority.

Swot up here… https://devonlakelodge.co.uk/cream-tea-jam-or-cream-first/ 

SATURDAY’S weather-bomb “Storm Bert” washed out - and blew away! - our hopes of playing the scheduled match against Bishops Cleeve.

However, there’s an immediate chance to get your Big Bash football fix with Tuesday’s re-arranged date against Tavistock at the Veho Community Stadium.

After the disappointment of a 2-0 loss away to Bristol Manor Farm last time out, Bashley manager Dave Lewis was keen to get his men back into the play-off mix - but nobody can have a doubt that it was right to postpone Saturday’s game. At what would have been kick-off time it was blowing an absolute gale and hammering down with rain.

Both teams were inactive on Saturday and consequently both lost ground in the table, Bash slipping down to 9th, with Bristol Manor and Mousehole edging above them, while Tavistock dropped to 17th. 

Like just about every team in what is a crazy, topsy-turvy division, Tavistock are totally unpredictable - and it could be worth us noting that they are one of those who sometimes fare better away than at home.

In recent games (see stats on the right) they have had a terrific win at Mousehole - where very few others succeed - and also got a good draw at Malvern in their last away trip. However, in their last two home games they were held to a draw by Didcot and lost to Willand.

Like many clubs in Division One South of the Southern League - including Bashley, of course! -Tavistock have ambitions to go at least one step higher, and on again beyond that “if feasible financially.” 

They are now playing at the highest level in their amazing 136-year history and have recruited players who share that ambition to move on higher - so this game, like all others in this division, will be keenly competitive. 

In Aaron Dearing they have a highly-experienced keeper, and a defence which is also packed with players who are ever-reliable such as Ben Cross, Jack Endacott and Iestyn Harris.

Their midfield revolves around men like Tallan Burns, Charlie Elkington, Ben Steer, Ed Harrison and Reuben Kane - and up front they have recognised hot-shots at this level, including Liam Prynn and Alex Battle.

The Tavistock club had a fascinating - and highly unusual - start to life. They started out in the 1870s playing “Adhoc Football” a cross between Football, Rugby Union - “and perhaps a few other games as well” - with matches played between Tavistock and a similar set-up from Plymouth.

Legend has it that a letter to the Tavistock Gazette from a follower of the mixed sport, suggested sticking to Football - and that attracted interest from two local businessmen, brothers Herbert and Wilfred Spencer.

In 1888 they called a meeting at Tavistock Guildhall, and there was sufficient interest for them to go ahead and form the present club, which played then at Tavistock Grammar School and won its first-ever match, 1-0 - against the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry!

Their first season playing record was… Played 17, won 13, lost 3, drawn 1. There’s no doubt the present-day Tavvy would love that sort of pro-rata percentage this season! 

Back in the “real world”, Tavistock are not going quite as well as hoped so far, hovering down in the lower mid-table. However, such is the closeness of the season, they are only five points adrift of Bash, with a game in hand.

This match has been re-arranged from a Saturday earlier in the season when Tavvy were involved in a cup game, and it has landed them with a long 280-mile round trip for a Tuesday night. 

However such things go with the territory in this division, and it’s not necessarily such a big handicap - almost exactly a year ago we went to Tavistock on a Tuesday night - and won 3-2!

BASHLEY return to the Veho Community Stadium this Saturday for a date with a club they have much in common with - Bishops Cleeve.

The teams have similarity in that both arrived back in the Southern League Division One (South) in the 2022/23 season, Bash having been runners-up in the Wessex Premier while Bishops Cleeve won the Hellenic Premier League title.

In our first season together, Bash finished 7th, Bishops 9th, just three points apart after 38 games - last season Bishops were again 9th while we slipped to 15th with a six-point gap.

And there is an immediate form guide - because the last fixture for both clubs has been away to Bristol Manor Farm. 

Bash lost there 2-0 last Saturday, while on Tuesday the Bishops made hay at the Farmers’ expense with a 2-0 win of their own. A goal in each half from Aaron Evans-Harriott and Ben McLean baled it up neatly.

In the process Bishops leapfrogged Bash in the table, taking over our sixth place on equal points but with a hefty goal difference and a game in hand. Last Saturday they beat the ever-impressive Mousehole 2-1, so clearly a team in form that Dave Lewis’s side will have to be at their best to contain.

As for their history, the Bishops Cleeve club was formed in 1905, since when they have bounced around from the Cheltenham League and Gloucestershire Senior League, until more recent times bouncing between the Hellenic and Southern.

The club played at its original ground in Stoke Road until Hellenic League ground stipulations meant it had to move. After several seasons ground sharing at Moreton, Evesham and Forest Green the club moved to it present home, the 1,500-capacity Kayte Lane, in 2002.

Those without too deep a knowledge of geography often ask our travelling fans: “Where exactly IS Bashley?” The same folks probably also ask… “Where exactly IS Bishop’s Cleeve?”

We Black and Gold New Foresters all know the answer to the first of those - the second is… a village in the Borough of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds. 

It had a population of 10,612 in 2011, which increased to 14,068 in the 2021 Census, making it one of the biggest “villages” in the UK. It is 99 miles from London, 57 miles from Birmingham, 13 miles from Gloucester, six miles north of Cheltenham - and 113 miles from Bashley.

The Bash and The Bish (!) also have in common that they are both in the Domesday Book, the first geographical record of England in 1086. Bashley was listed as “a settlement in the hundred of Edgegate in the county of Hampshire - with 4 households." That made it among the smallest in the country.

As for Bishops Cleeve, the earliest known origins date back to the 8th Century, although Iron Age and Roman remains had also been found locally. The name derives from the 9th Century when a monastery and surrounding land at the foot of what is now named Cleeve Hill was given to the Bishop of Worcester, and the village became the Bishop’s Cliffe.

The Domesday Book recorded that: "There are 30 hides, 3 ploughs an demesne, 16 villagers and 19 smallholders with 16 ploughs. There are 8 slaves and 1 horse. A priest has 1 hide and 2 ploughs. A radknight with 1 hide and 2 ploughs. There is a very small wood." 

Bashley’s four households would probably have not wanted to argue with that selection of hardware!

And finally… if you are not interested in the finer points of grammar look away now and head straight for the facts and figures on the right! 

However, if oddball facts - and fiction - interest you then you will maybe have noticed sometimes our opponents’ home is known as Bishop’s Cleeve, sometimes Bishops Cleeve and occasionally even Bishops’ Cleeve. 

It would seem obvious that it SHOULD have the apostrophe, however the club badge does not and nor do some of the village signs.

The discrepancy dates back to that Domesday Book mention of a monastery and the surrounding land at what was “Cliffe Hill” now Cleeve Hill, being given to the Bishop of Worcester. 

That should logically make it Bishop’s Cleeve - but then the good old Bishop of Worcester shared it among other local Bishops, so technically Bishops’ Cleeve. 

Maybe along the years people - including the football club! - have said: “What the heck, let’s do without the apostrophe!”

AFTER an eventful week, in which an excellent win took them up to fourth place in the League and a not-so-good defeat saw them exit the Hampshire Senior Cup, Bashley head for Bristol Manor Farm this weekend aiming to take another stride up the table.

It will certainly not be easy, because although the Farm sit mid-table, they have played two games less than the Bash, and they have a well-earned reputation for being unpredictable.

For example, as the chart alongside shows, they went from the last week of September through October, scoring a spectacular 19 goals in five games - going 5-5-4-3-2.

In contrast, this month they have scored just once in three games - however, the fire power is certainly in there somewhere so Bashley are likely to need some defensive nous.

One of the men to watch closely could be Louis Britton, who scored all four goals in a last-minute 5-4 defeat at Malvern. He was also on the scoresheet in a crazy 5-5 home draw with Helston, where the Farm had all their goals by 52 minutes!

Louis also scored twice, including the 94th minute winner at Melksham, and also hit two in the 5-1 defeat of Falmouth. 

Dylan Tate is another to watch for. He also scored against Falmouth and scored both goals in the 2-2 draw at Willand, including the 93rd minute saver.

Josh Bissett was also a regular scorer during that hot spell, so Bash have to hope that these guys don’t suddenly rediscover the way to goal! 

Last season Bristol Manor Farm made it through to the play-offs and until the last 20 minutes of the play-off final they were still in with a chance of promotion.

Their semi-final opponents were Cribbs and an early goal by Owen Brain and a late one by Harry Lucas eased them past Cribbs 2-1. 

In the final they were away to Frome, and an amazing crowd of 2235 was silenced when Ben Bament put the Farm ahead after three minutes. Frome soon equalised, but time was running out when two goals by Roy Simpson took Frome to the higher level.

Add in the wind factor, with the stadium - on the far side of Bristol - alongside the River Avon estuary, and, like virtually any game in Southern League Division One South this one is completely unpredictable!

NEXT up at the Veho Community Stadium is an intriguing Tuesday night clash with National League Aldershot in the third round of the Servio Hampshire Senior Cup.

For veteran Bashley fans this is a night which will bring back one of the happiest - and also one of the most frustrating - memories in Bashley’s club history.

In 2002/03, The Bash went all the way to the Hampshire Cup final at was then a sparkly new St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton. Their opponents that day were… Aldershot.

It ended 2-1 to the Shots, whose ex-Leyton Orient striker Aaron McLean scored both goals, but Bash gave the Conference side a mighty scare in front of a 4,092 crowd.

Fast-forward to 2016 and Bashley faced Aldershot again in the Hampshire Senior Cup, this time here at Bash HQ. Not long to go, and some people were leaving the stadium with Aldershot 5-2 ahead - as a famous commentary line goes... they thought it was all over - but it wasn't, in fact, far from it.

Bashley vice-chairman Iain Roberts takes up the story. He said: "It was well into the second half, and clearly Aldershot thought they had done enough to stroll into the next round - so they took off the three first team players who had been prominent.

"Wrong! We came storming back at them, and when the final whistle went, the scoreline read Bashley 6, Aldershot 5! As you can imagine, the clubhouse did a roaring trade that night!"

Iain was also at the St Mary's final - as was one of Bashley’s current Boardroom hosts, David Jenner, and both remember it as a night to be proud of, despite the result.

David  said: “It was an exciting match with the respective fans at opposite ends of the stadium. We took the lead and even though Aldershot were the defending Cup champions and on a high after winning promotion to the Conference, we gave them a really good game. 

“In fact I thought we were unlucky to lose, having given a really good account of ourselves.”

The Southern Daily Echo agreed. This is how they reported the match…

“Any doubts about Bashley’s potential were swept away by a thoroughly professional performance. 

“Nineteen-year-old Aaron McLean emerged as the Shots' two-goal hero, but it was Bash who had grabbed the tie by the scruff of the neck with a cracking right-foot shot from Craig Anstey on ten minutes after Paul Sales had headed down Aaron Cook's free-kick.

“The Foresters, who narrowly missed the promotion boat from the Dr Martens Eastern Division, could easily have scored more in an absorbing encounter which manager Barry Blankley - four times a county cup winner with Saints (twice), Aldershot and Basingstoke - described as: ‘One of the best finals I've ever been involved with.'

“With Sales a colossus in the air and his sidekick Richard Gillespie chasing down every ball, Bash had the Shots defence on the ropes at times.

“While McLean was officially named man-of-the-match, Bash produced a superhero of their own in the shape of 20-year-old reserve goalkeeper Mike Hookway.

“Drafted in to replace car accident victim David Elm, the former Bemerton stopper showed remarkable coolness under pressure as Shots upped the second-half tempo.

“Hookway had blocked well from non-League international Roscoe D'Sane in the 24th minute, but with the dependable Aaron Cook frantically trying to clear the loose ball, McLean pounced to slide the rebound home.

“But if that goal had an air of fortune about it, McLean's 70th-minute winner was pure quality as he silkily finished D'Sane's byline pull-back.

“By rights it should have been Bash who had poked their noses in front but, having been played in by Sales's clever flick-on, 18-year-old Gillespie scampered clear only to hit a tame 54th-minute shot straight at 'keeper Nikki Bull.

“Town's second goal inspired them and McLean would have had a hat-trick but for Hookway's brave double save in the 80th minute and Gary Connolly's goal-line clearance in stoppage-time.

“Bashley may be tucked away in a quiet corner of the New Forest, but they provided a good proportion of a sporting 4,092 crowd. The night's star guest was Saints striker James Beattie, who presented the trophy.”

So having dipped out of both the FA Cup and FA Trophy early this season, Bash are keen to continue their Hampshire Cup run.

Round One sent us up the M3 to Combined Counties Division One side Yateley United, where we came home with a solid 3-0 victory. That was followed by a battling 3-1 come-from-behind victory against a classy young Portsmouth side at the Veho.

Part of the intrigue of the Hampshire Senior Cup is that the county’s “big” teams - and historic "Hampshire" guests Bournemouth - are in it. The Saints, Cherries and Pompey are unlikely to field many, if any of their first team stars - however, even their reserve sides are well worth watching and an interesting test for clubs of Bashley’s status. 

Even though we have disposed of Portsmouth - and even if we can beat Aldershot - any path to the final would be tough, with Southampton, Bournemouth, Eastleigh, Basingstoke and Winchester all still involved.

BASHLEY will be back at the Veho Community Stadium this Saturday on a mission to bring back the smiles for their loyal fans after what can best be described as “an unfortunate night” in the last home match.

Bideford are the visitors this time, completing a trio of Devon opponents in a span of ten days, following on from Exmouth and the trip to Willand. 

Exmouth’s visit was certainly a painful one, even though everyone realised the outcome was seriously distorted by sequences of pure bad luck. However Bash showed their character by bouncing back in style for a 1-0 win four days later at Willand.

With no first team midweek game this time, Bashley have the chance to come into the Bideford challenge with some bumps and bruises repaired - and with the choice of several of the players who have been missing, particularly in defence.

Full-backs Jamie Webber and Josh Bertie are approaching full fitness having missed out since pre-season injuries - Josh got a welcome half-hour of game time as a sub at Willand and is available now to start. 

The unlucky Callum Baughan, a defender who was a fan favourite last season, has spent the entire summer and early season recovering from a knee operation and is on the brink of full fitness - likewise popular young striker Scott Bungay who is on the way back from knee damage after a crunching foul tackle a month ago.

Saturday’s win lifted Bashley back into the top five - a position they are aiming to finish in this season. Bideford have - so far - not done quite as well as last season, but they came close to a win at Malvern on Saturday, eventually being pegged back to 2-2. 

That was still a very handy result against a team hovering just under the play-off places, so there will be no room for complacency when Sean Joyce’s men come to the New Forest.

Joyce is one of the more amazing managers in football - not just Southern League or Non-League - but in football generally. A former pro with Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City and Torquay, playing more than 200 Football League games, he finished his career as a midfielder at Bideford and has managed the club since since 1998/99, making this his 27th season!

The Bideford club has an intriguing history. It was first formed in 1883 and was then called “Bideford Town”. They were nicknamed "The Robins" due to their red shirts and remain so to this day. Until entering hibernation for the duration of World War Two it was a highly successful club, albeit one that played the majority of it's football in the West Country.

Following it's re-formation in 1947/48, the club was reborn as “Bideford Association Football Club” and entered the Exeter and East Devon League. Bideford have won the Western League ten times, as well as lifting silverware in the Devon St Luke's Bowl (5 times), Devon Professional Cup (8 times) and Western League Cup (4 times). 

They have also won the Western League Alan Young Cup (twice), Western League Subsidiary Cup and the Westward Ho! cup. In FA competitions, Bideford AFC’s record is impressive, reaching the First Round proper of the FA Cup on four occasions and reaching the Semi Final of the FA Vase in 2003/04. The 2009/10 FA Vase campaign saw Bideford reach the quarter-final where they were knocked out by Lowestoft. 

Several Bideford players have progressed to Football League status, the most recent of them being Tony Dennis (Plymouth and Exeter City) and Shaun Taylor (Bristol City, Swindon and Exeter). Two former internationals have played for the club at the end of their careers, Welshman Leighton Phillips (Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Swansea, Charlton, Exeter), as well as Dermot Curtis (Ipswich, Bristol City, Exeter, Torquay) from the Republic of Ireland.

Kick-off for Bashley v Bideford is 3pm and all the usual facilities will be available - including covered seating free within the admission price. The clubhouse with its tempting range of food and drinks will be open as usual, as will the new club shop with its super range of Adidas kit and other merchandise by Veho.  

BASHLEY hit the road again this weekend for another trip way out west. After recent visits to Moushole and Falmouth, this time Devon is the destination and Willand, just north of Exeter.

The clubs have much in common, being “village” teams playing above what is probably their expected status in the football pyramid.

They also had “much in common” last season, finishing 14th and 15th in the Southern League Division 1 (South) table with identical records of wins, draws and losses, Willand having the edge on positions because of a slightly better goal difference.

When the teams met early in that season at Bashley, Ollie Cherrett was newly in the Black and Gold hot-seat, having taken over after Matt Tubbs’ unexpected departure.

Willand came as league leaders that day and Bash came in off the back of two cup defeats, in the Hants Cup at home to Portchester, and the FA Trophy, away to Cribbs. So a 3-2 win, in an impressive performance, was more than welcome.

By the time of the reverse fixture, Willand had slipped down the table and Bash came away with a comfortable 2-0 win. Even so, 14th was the highest placing Willand had achieved in their impressive history, going right back to 1907.

This time around Bashley have made a slightly better start than Rovers - although Willand’s 4-0 win at Evesham last Saturday was one of the standout results anywhere of the season so far. However on Tuesday they were beaten 1-0 at Shaftesbury, while Bash had that night to forget against Exmouth.

Willand’s current manager is David Steele, a former Rovers player who is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 150 goals - and that from midfield! After retiring and joining the club’s coaching staff as Assistant to Russell Jee, he took over the hot seat in June 2022.

Willand’s recently-improved Silver Street Stadium is situated on the B3181, the main road that runs through the centre of the mid-Devon village.

Their stadium has seen plenty of improvements and developments in recent years. The clubhouse has been overhauled and expanded, purpose-made new changing rooms installed, and a new seated grandstand erected.

Further development has seen more covered terracing erected, installation of a borehole for pitch irrigation and installation of LED floodlights giving the club and local community a stadium they are rightly proud of.

One thing to note for travelling fans - Bashley’s club photographer Les Chase was in Devon this week and checked out parking at the ground, which he says is street-only, first-come, first-served.

NEXT up for Bashley after that morale-boosting 3-0 win at Falmouth on Saturday is another road trip, slightly nearer this time, at Westbury, 90 minutes away in the heart of Wiltshire on Tuesday (7.45).

With manager Dave Lewis back in the dugout after his enforced Covid break, The Bash made light work of comprehensively beating a very useful mid-table side, despite the long trek down to the southern edge of Cornwall.

New signing Mitchell Speechley-Price, back at the club where he started his career ten years ago, revitalised the front line, and skipper Steve Walker, back from suspension led the way with two trademark headed goals.

A repeat of that sparkling team performance is the obvious target, but Westbury, despite hovering fourth from bottom, are in decent form themselves.

While Bash were bashing Falmouth, a few miles away down the Cornish lanes at Helston, Westbury were within a whisker of a cracking away win themselves. Against a team firmly in the top four, it took a 94th minute goal to prevent them taking all three points from what ended a 3-3 draw. 

It was a game for the statisticians - 2-0 down early on, Westbury scored twice in the last two minutes of first half added time, and scored their third two minutes into the second half, making an impressive stat of three goals in four minutes. 

Hopefully they will not have ambitions for a repeat of that, especially their in-form danger-man, Bevan Cross, who scored two of those goals! He has “previous” against us, having scored one of their goals in a 2-0 win at the end of last season, so is one for Walks and Co to keep an eye on.

Overall, United have not had the best start to the season, and currently sit fourth bottom, but all their recent defeats (see Results list below) have been by the odd goal, and since a shock loss at home to struggling Cinderford, their form has been the right side of respectable.

Westbury - known as the White Horse Men - are in only their third season in the Southern League, which they reached for the first time in their history in the same season that Bashley returned to that level, at the end of 2021/22. They came up from the Western League on a points per game basis.

The Westbury stadium has two small stands, one being along the length of the pitch, and the other in one corner behind the goal. Trees that surround the ground make it look enclosed. There is a café on match days and a licensed bar which is open to the public.

UP THE BASH!!!