Toolstation/Hellenic Boss Smith confident Welton are in good shape for play-offs
WELTON Rovers manager Tom Smith insists his promotion chasers can approach the Toolstation League First Division play-offs with momentum and optimism on their side.
Rovers’ West Clewes base provides the stage for their final game of the regular 40-match programme, in the happy knowledge they can finish up no lower than the fourth place position they hold heading into tomorrow’s encounter with Almondsbury.
Smith is unsurprisingly keen to ensure they enter those play-offs, which have been earmarked for Tuesday and Wednesday next week ahead of a proposed final showdown on Saturday, May 7 to establish who joins champions Sherborne Town in next season’s Premier Division competition, on a high note.
The Welton leader reasoned too: “We need to make sure we go into the play-offs with as many fit players as possible. So we may have to play it smart for the Almondsbury game.
“We also go into it knowing we can yet finish as high as second with a win and a bit of luck elsewhere involving the two teams above us, Wincanton (who host
Bishops Lydeard) and Warminster (who are at home to Gillingham).
“It really has been an excellent season in terms of the quality in this division. The four top teams, ourselves included, blew the rest away. We could end up fourth with 88 points, which is unheard of. Yet it still wouldn’t have been good enough to go up automatically, as we’d still be 11 points shy of Sherborne who ended up running away with it at the top.”
Of Rovers’ form and support leading up to tomorrow’s Almondsbury finale, Smith said: “We had a crowd of 407 watch our 4-1 derby win over Radstock on Good Friday, when our lads performed exceptionally well.
“I reckon that took it out of us a bit going to Sherborne and losing 1-0 on Easter Monday.
“Again, we bounced back well from that Sherborne loss to beat Lebeq 3-1 at home on Saturday, after initially taking the lead and getting a little sloppy before halftime to allow them to equalise from a corner. Lebeq had deservedly turned us over 2-0 at their place earlier in the year, so we did what we needed to do in the second half on Saturday to put that right.”
Smith reflected: “Over our past 12 league games we’ve won nine, drawn one and lost twice, both to the top two sides.
“That’s a pretty decent record; yet we’ve slid down from first place to fourth because the other sides around us just haven’t stopped winning. Look at Sherborne – they won their last 21 games to take the title, which is astonishing.”
Radstock Town’s 3-1 midweek defeat by Almondsbury means AEK-Boco, who were locking horns last night with Brimscombe & Thrupp in the final of the Gloucestershire Challenge Trophy at Oaklands Park, continue to hold on to a fifth-spot play-off place on the strength of a fine series of results.
Boco completed their 40-game programme with a 4-2 win at Odd Down on Monday knowing that with the way this weekend’s fixtures have been set up, they’ll not now be able to retain that coveted position with others in the play-off reckoning in action tomorrow.
There’s just the one game remaining with Bristol interest in the Premier Division, as Brislington make the long trip to Cornwall, for a date with Millbrook, hoping for three points that would ensure them a fourth-bottom finish, a rung above their current position.
Cadbury Heath’s season certainly isn’t finished. They booked a place in the final of the Les Phillips League Cup tournament for the first time in 11 years thanks to Will
Boyer and Ewan McMillan goals in a 2-1 Wednesday night Springfield success over local rivals Keynsham Town. They did so despite Ashley Kendall’s sending off on 65 minutes, although Keynsham also lost a man to a second yellow card as Jack Dancey was later dismissed.
Heath now await the outcome of tomorrow’s second semi-final between Bridgwater United and their visitors Helston Athletic to discover which of those they’ll face in the final.
Meanwhile, there’s been delight for both Cribbs and Roman Glass St George, who booked places in respective Hellenic League cup finals with Tuesday night triumphs.
Steve Murray’s unerring 70thminute strike across the goalkeeper sent fourth-place Premier Division
finishers Cribbs through to the league’s flagship Challenge Cup final courtesy of a hard-fought 1-0 semis success at Clanfield 85 in Oxfordshire.
Cribbs now face Division One play-off hopefuls Hereford Pegasus at Bishops Cleeve’s Kayte Lane ground this Bank Holiday Monday (3.30pm).
Roman Glass’ path to the final of the secondary Supplementary Cup competition was even more emphatic, as they powered past hosts Newent Town 5-1 via Lewis Leigh-Gilchrist’s brace, Lewis Ellington and Dawid Regular efforts, plus an own goal, to set up a final encounter with fifth-placed Division One side Pershore Town, from Worcestershire, at the same Kayte Lane venue on Monday, kicking off at noon.