Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division
Woodmarsh, Trowbridge
Admission: £4.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 92
After a blank Saturday last week, with all games at all levels throughout the weekend postponed by the FA as a mark of respect due to the sad passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II on the previous Thursday, it was a relief to get back out for a decent long distance groundhop today. Originally it looked like I would have to stay local or drive today, with another rail strike called for today, although that action was postponed by the unions as a mark of respect during the period of national mourning. My final choice would be to visit a step 7 club, but one which had quite intrigued me, it would mean a trip to a part of southern England that I hadn't been to for some time, and the club were advertising that not only would they be producing a printed programme, but one dedicated to the Queen's memory. All of that was enough to send me on my way down to the county town of Wiltshire.
Woodmarsh is about a one and a half mile walk southwards from Trowbridge train station, just beyond a retail park including McDonalds and KFC, and access is gained through a gate, where the admission fee is collected and a printed programme is offered, before walking through the car park heading towards a collection of portakabins, smartly painted in black, with the main entrance having a club sign above it, and each room labelled with signage. The first cabin hosts a tea bar and a small seated area, along with some trophies and shields on display, with a walkway leading into the adjacent cabin hosting the bar, serving cans and bottles of alcohol, a fair amount of tables and chairs are available. and there is some nice club decoration adorning the walls, including a team line-up board, which was completed for the home side only today. A covered area of wooden picnic tables is situated immediately outside, and a barbecue is in place for when required - not today. Next to these two cabins is another cabin hosting the changing rooms and toilet facilities, slightly elevated on a small grass bank, and situated behind a corner flag. There is hard standing along both ends and one length, with permanent dugouts painted in black along this side. On the opposite side, which has no hard standing, a smart black stand covers a flat standing area, and a similar stand is located behind the goal opposite to the clubhouse. Both stands have been painted in black to continue the smart apprearance theme. It is obvious and pleasing that the club takes great pride in their ground. For step 7, it is an excellent ground, but the most obvious roadblocks to being able to host National League System football in the future is a lack of seating and, what is presumably much more problematic, floodlights.
After finishing in third place last season, Trowbridge have made a perfect start to this season. winning all seven of their league games so far, scoring 35 goals in the process. scoring at least five goals on four occasions. So today looked a particularly tough assignment for Salisbury FC Development, who were winless from their opening four league games, drawing twice, and have not played since 23rd August due to four postponements, mainly due to player availability.
On a gloriously sunny afternoon, but one that had a definite autumnal nip in the air, it soon became clear that Salisbury FC Development were going to be in for a tough afternoon, and still struggling to field a team, as they took to the field with just nine players. And after a period of silence in respect of Queen Elizabeth II, they were behind within a minute, when the ball was pulled back from the byline and was rolled low inside the far post. And Trowbridge came so close to equalising within a minute, when a curling shot from the edge of the area came back off the crossbar, as again after the ball was recycled. They had a goalbound shot cleared by a defender on ten minutes, before scoring their second on 17 minutes, when the ball was passed low across the penalty area and was guided low beyond the keeper's dive. And Trowbridge made it three with 22 minutes on the clock when a perfectly judged ball forward set the forward running through on goal, but he unselfishly passed the ball across the area to an unmarked team mate, who took a couple of touches before firing the ball home. Somewhat surprisingly, no further goals were scored by the time half time arrived, but the game was already as good as won for the hosts.
But Trowbridge didn't take long to increase their lead to four following the restart, as one of their forwards surged towards the penalty area, ignored calls to pass, correctly as it turned out, when he proceeded to fire the ball across the keeper and into the net. They then had a goal disallowed a minute later when a tap in was ruled offside, but on 55 minutes, Trowbridge were awarded a penalty for a pull back in the area, which was duly converted into the bottom left corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. A minute later, a Trowbridge shot from the edge of the area came back off the post, but on 61 minutes, Trowbridge scored their sixth, when their player took a couple of touches before drilling the ball into the top right corner. On 69 minutes, Trowbridge hit the woodwork for the fourth time, when a curling shot came back off the underside of the bar, but four minutes later, Trowbridge scored their seventh when a low pass forward into the box found the run of a team mate, who clipped the ball past the keeper. And on 75 minutes, the hosts scored their eighth when a dink into the box found the run of a team mate, who struck the ball home in off the far post. With a quarter of an hour remaining, it seemed a racing certainty that Trowbridge would reach double figures, but in fact the game surprisingly rather petered out, and Trowbridge actually never looked likely to inflict further damage.
So, this was a thoroughly one sided encounter, as Trowbridge continue their 100% record this season, but Salisbury FC Development do deserve considerable credit for playing the fixture at all despite starting with two players down, and for continuing to battle throughout the game. Hopefully they can get a strong full compliment of players as soon as possible.
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