Match Information
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Wincanton Town 4-3 Bristol Telephones
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When: Saturday 13th April 2024
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: Wincanton Sports Ground. Moor Lane, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9RB,
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Competition: Western League Division One
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Attendance: 62
For me, this completed all the grounds in the Western League’s two divisions within our National League System at Steps 5 and 6. A milestone popularly called “Champagne Job” in bygone groundhopping parlance.
The idea was that if a groundhopper concluded visits to every venue in a particular league, they would march into the clubhouse at full-time and buy a bottle of champagne.
Everybody around the bar would subsequently be offered a glass of bubbly in celebration. I am not sure if anyone actually carried out the generous undertaking although it seems a nice concept!
As for the Western League, it is a great competition spanning nearly 200 miles from Bristol right down into Cornwall. Therefore it has represented a long old personal adventure having ticked my first Western League club at Exmouth Town FC on the Devon coast way back in March 1985.
Bringing the story up to date, Wincanton Town had sat firmly on my groundhopping radar for quite some time. However ongoing and seemingly never-ending rainy weather kept putting me off whereby I didn’t want to risk driving to Somerset for a possible late postponement.
Then finally decent weather was forecast so I embarked in earnest on the 300 mile round trip via the M25, M3 and A303. My wife and five year old daughter joined me for a day out.
Wincanton itself houses 5,300 residents and is best known in sport betting terms for the Wincanton Racecourse.
Ground Description
Wincanton Sports Ground is located a mile south east of the town centre. There is good car parking provision and access to the football pitch is through The Maddocks Pavilion.
This building was opened by tennis legend Pat Cash on 13th September 2001. It incorporates changing room facilities plus the homely Wasps Nest bar named in recognition of Wincanton Town’s yellow and black colours.
A path leads to their playing area where The Don Champion Stand contains 100 seats in five rows affording quality elevated matchday viewing from the top. Team line-ups were handwritten on a whiteboard near the entrance.
Floodlights have been in place since 2013 when Wincanton Town attained Western League status. In addition, the entire sports ground complex caters for tennis, bowls, rugby, petanque and kurling across more than 40 acres.
Programme Details
A pleasing homespun effort on sale for £1 at the entry gate.
Comprising 24 pages and appropriately entitled ‘The Yellow and Black’. Contents included manager’s notes, action photos, match reports, league table, fixtures & results, Bristol Telephones’ history, Western League round-up and the Non-League Paper column which made lengthy reference to one of my articles.
The People
Home team manager Chris Wise welcomed me with a warm handshake prior to kick-off. He set the tone because everyone else I met at Wincanton Town was very friendly.
The Match
Fourth versus 12th in the Western League Division One rankings. An exciting contest unfolded dishing up truly fantastic goals. I liked occasional “Come on Winky” cries from enthusiastic locals utilising the host club’s unique nickname.
Indeed, football odds would have favoured promotion chasing Wincanton Town. Their goalscorers were Connor Williams (11 minutes), Tom Jarvis (38 mins), Sam Hodges (40 mins) and Jakob Seviour (44 mins).
Meanwhile, Isaac Flynn (25 mins), Archie Dark (68 mins) and James Batchelor (74 mins) replied for Bristol Telephones. Exchanges were well refereed too by Mark Burrough.
I found it interesting to chat to several Wincanton fans who also support West Ham United and regularly travel up to London together for Premier League fixtures.
Post-Match
We went for a delicious family meal in Wincanton afterwards before stopping off at Stonehenge for photos on our way home.
My daughter loved the world famous prehistoric site but she innocently said: “Daddy, they really should move these old stones and put them in our back garden so we don't have to drive all this way again to see them...”
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
