Bishops Cleeve 1 Marine 1

Match Report from Pete Crockett

MARINE MATCH THE MITRES

There are autumn evenings that seem to seep from the damp earth itself - mist curling low over Cotswold hedgerows, the air faint with chimney smoke, and floodlights cutting through the gloom like theatre lamps on a rural stage.

It was on just such a night that Swindon Supermarine strode into Kayte Lane and came away with an excellent point against the league leaders Bishops Cleeve - a Mitres side hitherto unbeaten, prolific, and confident, their statistics impressive: nineteen points from a possible twenty-one, more than two goals a game, and a defence tighter than Scrooge’s wallet.

Yet by the end it was those self same Mitres who were puffing and labouring, retreating ever deeper as the visitors pressed forward with boldness and belief. Marine, under the watchful eye of Bobby Wilkinson, were not content to merely survive; they sought to impose themselves, to test the mettle of the division’s best.

When the final whistle sounded, Marine players and supporters saluted one another - the applause of mutual pride, a shared understanding that something had shifted. Marine had crossed a Rubicon of their own: no longer a side to be admired only for promise, but one capable of matching, stride for stride, the front-runners of their division.

The opening exchanges were cautious, each side probing for weakness. The hosts moved the ball neatly from the back, looking to spring their front men into action. Marine, more circumspect, set up their defence well and passed through the thirds with unhurried assurance.

The first true moment of peril came in the eleventh minute with Bishops Cleeve’s Ross Langworthy striking a fierce drive from distance, only to be denied by the ever-reliable Luke Purnell, whose firm wrists turned danger into routine.

From the save the counter: swift, elegant, and devastating. A midfield needle-threader released Sal Abubakar, who tore down the right touchline with all the momentum of the famous Gloucestershire cheese tumbling down Cooper’s Hill - though this time the pursuers never caught their quarry.

Reaching the by-line, he flashed a low cross to the near post. *SID GBLA, predator’s instinct intact, ghosted ahead of his marker to clip home his fourth goal in two games.

It was a goal of craft and confidence, and it stung the hosts into life. A period of pressure followed - the clever footwork of Joe Jeremiah fashioning one dangerous cross, before Jack Watts was felled on the edge of the box. Toby Holland’s free kick dipped and swerved alarmingly, but Purnell, diving full stretch, pushed it aside in a save of the highest order.

Cruelly, the reprieve lasted seconds. From the ensuing corner - devilishly whipped by Holland - chaos reigned and JOSH NELMES bundled the ball home at the far post. Seventeen minutes gone and honours even.

Cleeve, buoyed, pressed on, and Marine’s mettle was tested from a succession of corners. Then came the first controversy of the evening. In the 25th minute, the hosts claimed to have forced the ball over the line; the officials, unmoved, waved play on.

Those stationed nearest swore it was a goal, rebounding, they insisted, from the inner wheel of the post. Kayte Lane, not for the first time, was haunted by the ghost goal - a recurring phantasm born not of imagination but of questionable goal frame design. A design that needs rapid exorcising by the game’s regulators.

Back to earthly matters: Langworthy again tested Purnell with a crisp drive that the keeper smothered with assurance. But the visitors began to reassert themselves, knitting passes through midfield with growing fluency.

One such move found Abubakar once more marauding down the right; his cross met by Frankie Monk, whose header struck the upright with the keeper stranded. The home fans exhaled in relief.

The half closed with a touch of fire - Sid Gbla booked for a challenge on the keeper, and Sam Turl scythed down in return, earning parity in the referee’s notebook.

If the second half was less dramatic it was no less absorbing - a contest of grit and discipline, a chess match under floodlights. Bishops Cleeve sought to break Marine’s defensive wall but found it unyielding.

Around the hour, Jack Watts slipped Toby Holland through, only for a robust Marine tackle to halt him in his tracks, appeals for a penalty waved away. Cleeve’s other efforts were more speculative: Curtis Jemmet-Hutson blazed over; Jay Malshanskyj fired wide. The sting had gone from their attack.

Marine, by contrast, grew bolder. Substitute George Alston tested Lewis Clayton with a well-struck drive; George Alston, linking neatly with Gbla, drew another save from the keeper. Abubakar, ever the menace, went close again. The momentum, and the spirit, were all with the visitors.

Indeed, a heat map of the final fifteen minutes would have glowed emerald in the half Marine attacked - their pressure incessant, their ambition unbowed. Then, in stoppage time, came the night’s second controversy. From a corner, Josh Blyth laid the ball back to Abubakar, whose cross shot appeared to strike the arm of a Cleeve defender and former Marine skipper Matt Liddiard in an unnatural position.

The travelling supporters erupted, the officials remained unmoved, and justice - like the autumn fog - hung thick and uncertain. Even the home club’s own social media, admirably honest, murmured sympathy: “Penalty shout for Marine… not unfounded. A massive let off.” After the earlier alleged ghost goal, the fates simply decreed that honours in controversy, too, should end level.

Whilst Bishops Cleeve showed why they lead the league - with Liddiard and Nelmes commanding in defence, Holland inventive in midfield, and the lively duo of Watts and Langworthy ever dangerous - then Swindon Supermarine showed precisely why they are rising fast.

Luke Purnell was immense, saving brilliantly and organising his back line with calm authority. The defence, too, was formidable: Sam Turl as always tough and unyielding; Olly Case and Josh Blyth resolute and tenacious; Tawana Changa tireless at left back, his work rate a testament to quiet excellence.

In midfield, Max Hemmings anchored play with poise, reading the game as if he had been handed the script in advance. Zach Rugman, full of energy and purpose, tackled hard, passed crisply, and covered ground with admirable intensity. Dayo Sonoiki, facing seasoned opposition, impressed with his composure and glimpses of real promise.

Out wide Sal Abubakar and Frankie Monk combined relentless defensive work with moments of thrilling incision troubling their markers and stretching the play. Whilst up front, Sid Gbla was again the fulcrum: a goal, a presence, and a performance that spoke of a striker brimming with confidence.

Creditably the substitutes - asked to enter a match of high tempo and fierce physicality - rose to the challenge with maturity and effort.

In a match laced with moments of controversy it would be all too easy to overlook the positive contribution of the man in the middle. Referee Ryan Price handled a testing encounter with commendable calm and allowed the game to flow. Although the evening’s debates will no doubt linger, his overall stewardship did much to enhance a fine football match.

When the final whistle came, the scoreboard read 1–1, but the measure of the evening was richer than mere numerals could convey. Marine had gone toe-to-toe with the league leaders and, in the process, revealed themselves as capable of competing with a table topping opponent.

Manager Bobby Wilkinson, speaking afterwards, distilled the night succinctly:

“We were outstanding tonight.”

Indeed they were!

And so to the next chapter - the journey to the Devon Riviera and Brixham’s sunlit shores - where, if Marine can carry forward the same steel and style they displayed beneath the misty Cotswold lights, they may find the season’s tide turning truly in their favour.

Come on Marine!

Attendance: 256

Manager:	Paul Collicutt
Line-up:	Colours: All Green
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1.	Lewis Clayton [GK]
2.	Luke Payne
5.	Josh Nelmes	17’	42’
6.	Matt Liddiard
7.	Toby Holland			16.	Steve Davis 72’		81’
8.	Ben McLean
9.	Jack Watts
10.	Ross Langworthy (c)			21.	Curtis-Jemmett 54’
11.	Jay Malshanskyj
17.	Joe Jerimiah
20.	Lewis Spurrier

Editors Star Man: Josh Nelmes
Subs not used: 13. Will Turner [GK], 4. Jake Lee, 15. Harry Leeson

Manager:	Bobby Wilkinson
Line-up:	Colours: All Yellow
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1	Luke Purnell [GK]
2	Sam Turl
3	Tawana Changa
4	Olly Case		61’
5	Josh Blythe
6	Zach Rugman
7	Sal Abubakar
8	Max Hemmings (c)
9	Frankie Monk			16	George Alston 67’
10	Sid Gbla	12’	41’	12	Joe Beardwell 72’
11	Dayo Sonoiki		60’	17	Josh Grant 67’

Editors Star Man: Zach Rugman
Subs not used: 14.Joe Selman, 15. Owen Foye,