Category: First team

Match Report
Malvern Town v Willand Rovers

The final game of the season took Rovers up the M5 and across a bit. Matchday 42 saw a matchup between Malvern Town and Willand. The hosts needed a win to cement their playoff space, while Rovers were here to play out one last fixture to place themselves around the mid-table point.

A couple of changes were brought in as George Burton missed out due to an injury which occurred against Bideford on Monday where he had to come off early and Josh Searle was also not in the squad this week. 18-year-old Thomas Seymour who has been training with the club all season was given his debut in between the sticks.

The players emerged out of the tunnel and the ball got rolling when in the very early stages Rovers would have a chance to go in front. The ref whistled and pointed to the spot. Up steps Douglas Camilo and nestles it in the left corner to get his third of the campaign. Willand is in front on a crucial day for the hosts.

The Hillsiders had a mini mountain to climb of their own throughout the first half as they continued to barrage Seymour who stepped up to the plate and produced some fantastic saves. Reece Shanley also decided to do a bit of keeping of his own as on several occasions in the first half he was required to clear shots off the line.

The mission was set though for Malvern, make it to the playoffs they would not give Willand a moment to catch their breath with even more shots on target and near misses firing our way but it would all add up in the end for them with Jack Watts finding the back of the net to level the scoring up.

Then came the revenge from the early penalty as up the other end another point to the spot was ordered. Watts required once again to make it count and so he did with Seymour going left whilst the striker going right to have Malvern in front.

Before the break, the hosts would be at it again with Clark rifling it down the middle of the goal where Seymour just couldn’t quite see as it travelled at pace. Their playoff hopes edging just closer with 15 minutes to compose and cool down.

The second half wouldn’t go in Rover’s favour either as the hosts were still hot on our heels to find a fourth as they carved out chance after chance, you could be mistaken for them attempting about 20 times before the hour mark at goal.

Rovers did have a corner or two in the earlier parts of the first half, Allen aiming mostly towards the back post but the backline was well drilled and cleared when needed and would not let Willand slip in whatsoever as the scores in other places were still on their mind.

Willand could’ve had another penalty in the second half with Wellington pulled down just inside the area needed to point to the spot but the ref dismissed his claims but did not leave the youngster empty-handed with a yellow brandished for his troubles.

A fourth then did arrive for the hosts, MacDonald worked his way into the box from a corner and the right place at, the right time to deliver a header past Seymour which would secure the game for the hosts in the afternoon.

Subs were needed to add a bit of energy back in and so Harvey Dorothy & Jack Kennell both made way for Gene Price & Ollie Crisp to get things cooking again on the pitch. A couple of chances did fall our way but nothing as concrete as before.

One last player to use on the bench and Nathan Byrne made his way onto the 3G for River Allen. The rest of the second half went a bit flat with one chance coming our way as Byrne looked to squeeze a shot in from a tight angle with the keeper not being overly phased as it didn’t reach the target this time.

Added time was not needed and the curtain was lowered on another season in the Southern League for Willand Rovers, not quite on the highest note but we go back into battle once again in the magic league itself next season for another swing which is what matters.

Good luck to Malvern Town next week as they will take on Bishops Cleeve in the playoffs to put them one game further to step 4. Full-time at the HDAnywhere Stadium, Malvern Town 4-1 Willand Rovers.

#WeAreRovers

Malvern Town v Willand Rovers

There is just one last game for Willand this season and it is a trip right back up the M5 to the rolling hills of Malvern Town for Matchday 42 of the Pitching In Southern Football League Division One South with a 3 pm KO at the HDanywhere Stadium!

Last time out for Rovers we welcomed fellow Devon side Bideford AFC to Silver Street where a bumper crowd saw Rovers fall to defeat with the visitors sending 4 past Willand on the afternoon with 2 consolation goals rolling in from Harvey Dorothy & Ollie Crisp in added time to deny the visitors a clean sheet.

The attention now turns to one last trip and The Hillsiders have a tall order to fulfil with a playoff place at stake in the afternoon. Stephen Cleal & Lee Hooper’s men have in their 2 season stretch at the helm of Malvern brought excitement to Worcestershire and will now be looking to push the side one step further this season.

Last weekend saw the hosts travel to Cinderford where they asserted dominance and relegated the Foresters with a 4-0 win at The Causeway thanks to goals from Harry Clark, Jack Watts & Joseph Bullock.

One to look out for in the opposition this weekend would have to be former EFL striker Ryan Brunt who joined Malvern at the beginning of the year from Bath City as he starts to enter the final chapter of his career.

Brunt has previously played for Stoke, Luton, Tranmere, Leyton Orient, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City where he brought experience and goals and now brings it to the eighth tier with a plethora of talent.

The last time out between both sides was a 1-1 draw at the street with Rovers scoring through Ryan Guppy but the points had to be shared on a cold October afternoon in Mid Devon.

The Fun Bus is in operation for one last time this campaign with the usual fare of £15 and a departure time of 11 am from the Street, do contact Mike Hawkins or our club’s social media channels to book your place.

Whether you’re making the trip to Malvern or not, there is plenty on in the village on Saturday with the Exeter City RTC sides in action from midday and Hundred Faces will be entertaining in the clubhouse from 8 pm.

Another season is nearly complete for the Rovers, just 90 more minutes to carve out one last dent in the league table. This fixture is certainly one not to miss with no more action in place until July so get yourselves on the bus, make the trip and get behind the local boys from the village green.

#WeAreRovers

Willand vs Bideford

“There is no real ending. It’s just a place where you stop the story.”
– Frank Herbert

Football has always been one of the constants in my life, albeit in an ever-changing form.

Some of my earliest memories involve kicking a tennis ball around the mean streets of South Warwickshire and telling the occasional tall tale to get picked for the school team. When my friends trialled for the local Sunday U14s side—inclusion wasn’t exactly a buzzword in the 1980s—I tagged along with more hope than skill, somehow making the squad for what turned out to be the worst team in the league’s history.

While I was always more interested in playing than spectating, that changed when I moved to Crewe pursuing the dream of higher education — my destination decided more for the football club than the quality of the courses. Standing on the Popular Side, I fell in love—not just with the club, but with the game itself. Trips to Stoke, Stockport, West Ham, and even Wembley followed. A lifetime love affair was born.

When I moved to Devon years later, those pilgrimages to Cheshire became rarer. Ironically, I found a footballing substitute watching Crewe play Cheltenham Town, in the unlikely but likeable form of Steve Book. The Robins legend later signed for Tiverton Town, and I found myself at my first non-league game on December 23rd, 2008. I gained new friends, new routines—but things changed during the club’s centenary year. Many fans stepped back for reasons now well-documented. For me, things never quite felt the same, though I’ll say this: Tivvy is much improved since those dark days, and I genuinely wish them victory in their crunch match on Saturday.

My early visits to Silver Street were in fact in support of their Mid Devon rivals, including a now-infamous game where both Tom Gardener and George Rogers had to don the gloves after a spate of injuries.

But after 2013, Willand became a regular feature in my footballing calendar. I watched Scott Rogers come heartbreakingly close to FA Cup glory, and Russell Jee lead the club to the FA Vase quarter-finals and then to the Toolstation Western League title. I’d found a new footballing home.

In 2022, the club tweeted asking for volunteers to help run the media side of the game — not for me I’m afraid. But I did like to write.

My early reports were standard issue — I stuck to a format that can be seen across all media outlets from national newspapers to non-league tweets – Who was playing (opposition and squad), what was at stake and what happened – it’s a recipe that has served football reporting since Preston played Bolton in 1888.

Though I was meeting my brief, I quickly learned two things — they were quite dull, and no-one really read them. So I changed it up a bit.

Over the next three seasons I managed topics on the evil undertones of Thomas the Tank Engine, the perfect joke and whether Batman was really a superhero —  and anything in between  (I also published two books, still available on Amazon!)

Sometimes I even talked about the football.

And now, as I hand over the match reporting duties to our capable media team and pursue another writing path, I thought I’d return to something I haven’t done for a while: an actual match report.

Willand Rovers 2 – 4 Bideford

Willand Rovers endured a frustrating afternoon at Silver Street as visitors Bideford left with all three points, claiming a 4–2 win in a game that showed few moments of promise from the home side until the dying minutes.

Set pieces offered Rovers some early opportunities in the early going —. a low delivery to Ryan Guppy almost connected, and Jamie Richards launched himself at a header moments later, but neither chance bore fruit.

Bideford, however, were far more clinical. A thunderous strike from Alex Moyse opened the scoring in the 24th minute, followed shortly by Wright, who beat three Willand defenders before calmly slotting into the bottom corner to double the visitors’ lead.

The away side extended their advantage early in the second half, with Roberts coolly converting from the spot after a penalty was awarded.

Willand were forced into a change in the 59th minute when George Burton received a knock to the head following a collision with Ewing. After a short stoppage where the Willand keeper was attended to by both physios, he was replaced in goal by Ryan Guppy.

Despite the scoreline, Willand continued to press. Free kicks from Camilo and a well-struck effort from Reece Shanley tested the Bideford keeper but failed to register on the scoreline.

Bideford added a fourth deep into stoppage time—an errant defensive header falling kindly to Robinson, who made no mistake from close range.

But Willand weren’t done yet. In a brief late surge, Dorothy pulled one back, followed almost immediately by substitute Oliver Crisp grabbing another to make it 2–4.

The comeback came too late to alter the result, and it was Bideford who left Silver Street with the Devon derby bragging rights.

And this is the place where I stop this particular story – for now.

With thanks to Tony, Mike, Finn, Leon. Even Brad.

Match Report
Larkhall Athletic v Willand Rovers

Willand went back on the road at Plain Ham hoping they could extend their winning streak after mathematical survival at Larkhall. Both sides pretty much had wrapped up their season so it was more of a friendlier affair and an honest game of football.

The game started well with Willand off to a strong start with Jacob Wellington breaking through the defences. Larkhall started to get back into the game but it would be Willand who would strike first with a Douglas Camilo penalty the keeper dived the right way but Dougie Camillo struck the ball in the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the Rovers going into the first half.

The second half started well for Larkhall they were desperate to get back into the game as they had a few shots denied by George Burton. Our first substitution saw Douglas Camilo come off for Gene Price in the 65th minute. The game evened out towards the middle of the second half both teams looking for possession and the Rovers looking to extend their lead. The hosts had a free kick and Burton did well and dived down to keep the ball out.

Harvey Dorothy has a good chance to extend our lead with a 1 on 1 shot on the keeper who went wide in the 86th minute. Just a minute later the hosts would equalize from 5 yards out with Burton unlucky to get caught out. The rest of the second half was back and forth with both teams scrambling for the decisive goal with Rookie having a good chance late on.

In the end, the points were shared which means we kept our place from our win against Thatcham last week we have the chance to enter the top half of the table on Monday as we play Bideford at the street for the final time meaning if the results go our way we can go up to 9th which will put us in good spirits for our final game away against Malvern.

Match Preview
Larkhall Athletic v Willand Rovers

This weekend, the Rovers will play their penultimate away game, which is a trip to the top of the hills of the Roman city of Bath to take on Larkhall Athletic in the latest Pitching In Southern Football League Division One South fixture.

The last time out was back at the street where relegation threatened Thatcham Town made the trip to Willand and with a point required, rovers stepped up massively and secured their Southern League status with goals coming from Brandon Bak & Bailey Kempster allotting potentially the most important three points of the season.

But the campaign wasn’t over last week as there are still three more to play out with the goal being to capture as many points in those remaining games. The first out of those three being Larkhall who find themselves at the wrong end of the table but with one relegation spot confirmed in the withdrawal of Shaftesbury, they might have a bit of breathing space.

The Larks were due to play midweek at Bickland Park, however, the fixture had to be forgone after the heavens opened in Cornwall so their midweek tie had been slashed and rescheduled for next week. Their last game however was at the weekend in which Bishops Cleeve took the maximum amount off the visitors to build on their own playoff push.

One to watch for the hosts this weekend would have to be Jake Hicks who has impressed in the Southern League this season from the midfield and has earnt himself a move to National League South side Weston Super-Mare but has been loaned back to Larkhall to continue his development in step 4.

The reverse fixture was on a relatively chilly Wednesday night but this did not come into force as a negative for Rovers as another historic Willand Wednesday was bestowed and blessed with three points with goals from Fin Rooke and Owen Howe helping the cause on the night.

The fun bus is once again in operation for this fixture with a departure time of Half 11 from Silver Street with the fare standing at £15, do let Mike Hawkins know or message our club social media channels to book your place on what will be quite the fun bus on Saturday.

As we get even closer to the summer, it is more important you support the lads than ever before the break with 3 months of no action to be seen on the horizon. So join us on the road for another great battle in The Southern League!

#WeAreRovers