Chippenham West End Club on revenge mission

From the Wiltshire Times, first published Friday 14th Dec 2007.

Leaders Biddestone White Horse should remain one point clear of AFC Melksham and a few points ahead of the rest of the chasing pack after Sunday's matches.

But despite being on a 10 game unbeaten league run, which includes seven victories, Biddestone White Horse face no easy task when they entertain midtable Chippenham West End Club who have not won in four games and suffered a 4-0 loss in the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season when goals from Tamlyn Goodrich (2), Mark Coles and Chris Andrews got Matt Unwin's side off to the perfect start.

Biddestone White Horse should be confident they can cement their number one spot, but the West End Club will want to avenge the defeat from the start of the season and even though they aren't having the best of times at the moment they are more than capable of beating their hosts and could well do so if they get off to a good start and tighten things up at the back.

AFC Melksham v Corsham Park Rangers

AFC MELKSHAM will be hoping the leaders slip up as they are just laying in wait for the chance to take over at the summit.

AFC Melksham welcome Corsham Park Rangers to Christie Miller and are seem certain to claim their eighth win of the campaign.

Rangers, who have registered just two wins from their 11 matches, already faced an uphill task against Mike Rogers' side, but their chances of victory has been made even harder by the return of Mark James and Chris Dore who will give AFC Melksham more options in front of goal.

This will be the first ever meeting of the sides and although AFC Melksham should romp home they could come unstuck if they underestimate Rangers , who have a habit of taking points from sides who they really shouldn't stand a chance against as they proved last term with a victory over the then rampant Cooper-Avon side.

Corsham Park manager Martin Perrett will hopefully give a debut to new signing Clive Parsons but he is going to have to be something special if he is going to help Rangers stop Melksham from stretching their unbeaten run to five matches.

White Horse FC v Churchill Arms

THERE should be an interesting match at the cement works, Westbury, where basement side White Horse FC host second from bottom Churchill Arms.

Both missed out on a game last weekend due to the weather conditions but both teams go into the match brimming with confidence and the result is too close to call.

White Horse ended a run of 22 defeats when they beat Corsham Park Rangers 2-1 in their last outing.

Churchill Arms' run of poor results might not be as bad as their opponents but their 7-3 triumph over Blue Circle (Sunday) saw them end a six match winless run.

Both sides will be looking forward to the game and if the hosts can claim maximum points for a second successive match they will have the self-belief they can climb up the table. But should Churchill Arms win then White Horse's days in the division could be numbered.

White Horse will welcome back manager Clive Black, who missed the win over Corsham Park, and would have missed last weekend's game against Pack Horse Rangers due to a Christmas shopping trip.

With Black back his team might just raise their game even further and with home advantage they might just nick back-to-back victories for the first time since May 2005.

AFC Bell v Westbury Rangers B

AFC BELL manager Craig Townsend will be attempting to equal Antony Dowell's hat-trick record when his side entertain Westbury Rangers B at their Green Lane pitch.

Townsend has hit three or more goals in his last seven matches, but with only league hat-tricks counting towards the record he will draw level with Dowell if he can put three past a resurgent Rangers side who could well spoil his bid to rewrite the record books.

AFC Bell, who have yet to lose a home match since they joined the league last season, will be odds-on to take the spoils, but Townsend might find Rangers a tough nut to crack and could fall short in his quest.

Even if Townsend fails he will be happy as long as his team chalk up another victory to keep the pressure on the sides above them.

AFC Bell will be without the suspended Jon Scoffield but in his absence Jonathan Couch has proved to be a capable strike partner for Townsend, who between them have hit 28 goals in just eight matches.

Westbury Rangers have won their last three matches and over the same period have a better record than their hosts so should AFC Bell take the game for granted they might end up with egg on their faces and fall to what would be a surprise and embarrassing defeat loss for the team who won the Division Four title last term.

Bromham v The Crown

ADY Kember's Bromham side have played Mark Adamson's Crown FC outfit twice in the past and on both occasions Bromham claimed success, thanks to 4-1 and 4-2 scorelines.

The first meeting of the sides this season should be a lot closer than last term's encounters as the Crown are unbeaten in their last seven matches while Bromham haven't won a game since the end of October.

The Crown, who are level on 12 points with Bromham, will be favourites for two points when they journey to Jubilee Playing Fields but even with Bromham being out of sorts they won't be push over material and might even return to form in style with a win which would kick start their season.

It wouldn't take a lot for Bromham to get it back on track and if they can pick up at least five points from the six available until the end of the year they will be in a good position for the start of 2008, when they could mount a push for a promotion spot.

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