Toolstation/Hellenic Allen eyes cup success and big finish to league campaign
KEYNSHAM Town’s buoyant boss John Allen surveyed his team’s late-season status in league and cup activity and said: “It’s great there’s still so much to play for.”
Town travel to take on high-riding Bridgwater United tomorrow for a tasty Toolstation Premier game in positive vein once more.
They followed up a 2-0 weekend win over visiting local rivals Bitton with Tuesday night’s 5-1 AJN Stadium success over First Division Almondsbury in the last eight of the Les Phillips Cup.
Will Hailston hit a hat-trick in that one to go with his goal against Bitton, which took his tally to an impressive 32 for the season in all competitions.
Jordan Metters followed up his goal on Saturday with another against Almondsbury, while Matt Brown also scored to send Keynsham into the semi-finals of a tournament their manager would dearly like to keep progressing in.
Allen said: “This Les Phillips competition is keeping our season alive, but I’m also looking for us to finish strongly in the league.
“It was a good and deserved win for us on Saturday against what was still a strong Bitton side, and it was an important win, too, after three straight league defeats. Prior to that, we’d had a very successful February.
“Really we could have beaten Bitton by more goals, as their ‘keeper Matt Dunk made some excellent stops. It meant we completed the double over Bitton and lifted ourselves above them back into the top ten.” The Keynsham leader continued: “We originally had our eyes on a top-eight finish. I feel we should be two or three positions higher than we are, but we’re still looking to improve. It’s great Harley Purnell, our captain and talisman in central midfield, is back playing after being out since September with an ankle injury. He’s a very good player who has been a big loss to us.
“Our next priority is Bridgwater away. They beat us 3-0 early last month and on that evidence I’d rate them the best team we’ve played to date, very organised and strong at the back. Nevertheless, we’ll go into it relishing the challenge as we always do against top sides and see if we can reverse that last defeat they inflicted on us.”
Also involved in Toolstation Prem action tomorrow are Ashton
& Backwell United, who host Buckland Athletic, while Bitton face another tough away-day at Mousehole in Cornwall, and Clevedon Town go to sixth-placed Shepton Mallet who they would draw level with on 53 points with victory.
Meanwhile, Brislington No 2 Richard Ford says he knows the reasons behind his team’s Jekyll and Hyde showings in the Premier Division this season.
“We have a solid and stronglooking team one minute, yet in the blink of an eye we’re without several of those players for our next game,” said Ford. “It’s been the story of our season. Things – attitudes - have definitely changed since I was playing, and I feel that’s across all sports, not just football.
“There seems to be a lot more people working away now; there’s possibly more of a 24-hour vibe to life and work.
“The chopping and changing we’ve had to do throughout the season, and throughout games too, has definitely had a bearing on our very mixed results.
“A good recent example of that was at Helston, who we were holding 0-0 at half-time despite a string of key players unavailable to us. Our stand-in ‘keeper Liam May was sent off early in the second half for a reckless challenge, prompting our right midfielder Connor Bryant to go in goal and a complete reorganisation of personnel. We went on to lose 5-0.
“I know other teams will say the same, but the theme for our whole season seems to have been fighting fire, as we’re lacking that depth and adaptability when it comes to making necessary changes.”
Fifth-bottom Brislington, who host ninth-placed Ilfracombe Town tomorrow, do so after following up that Helston defeat with a 3-0 win over travelling Wellington and battling performance at home against table-topping Tavistock at the weekend before falling 1-0.
On Wednesday night there was more disappointment for Bris as they exited the Les Phillips Cup competition 8-7 on penalties at near-neighbours Cadbury Heath after a 2-2 regular-time Springfield stalemate.
Of their league commitments of late, Ford said: “Wellington outplayed us with their excellent movement over the first 20 minutes. Once we got to grips with that, there was only going to be one winner in the second half when we were clinical and our two centrehalves, Asa White and Lewis Dunn, were formidable.
“Against Tavistock, we competed well without influential lads to call on like Lewis Dunn and Connor McCormack, while Scott Lewis, our club captain, was still out with a groin injury. In the end, Tavistock had just that bit more cutting edge than us, something we’ve definitely been lacking a bit.
“I’d say for sure that had we had more players available more of the time, we’d definitely be in a better position than we are. It’s something our manager Lee (Perks) and the rest of us coaches are determined to address ahead of next season.”
In the First Division, secondplaced Welton Rovers strive to resurrect their fading title hopes when they visit Hengrove Athletic after going down 1-0 at home to thirdspot Warminster Town in a big midweek meeting.
AEK-Boco are at Radstock Town tomorrow buoyant having reached the final of the GFA Challenge Trophy against Brimscombe & Thrupp, who overcame Roman Glass St George 1-0 in Wednesday night’s second semi-final.
Boco had already progressed to the Oaklands Park showpiece occasion via Tuesday’s tense 4-2 penalty shootout win at Thornbury Town following a 2-2 draw.
Tytherington Rocks go to fourth-placed Wincanton Town all too aware their hosts have won ten league games on the spin.
In the Hellenic League, Thornbury aim to bounce back from their midweek county cup semis defeat when they hit the road to take on Malmesbury Victoria in the second round of the league’s Bluefin Challenge Cup competition.
Third-bottom Chipping Sodbury Town, whose Prem programme has finished, are at Division One strugglers Bourton Rovers for a Supplementary Cup opener.