Willand Rovers vs. Malvern Town
Rovers are back at home this Saturday as Malvern Town make the long trek from the hills of Worcestershire to fly down the M5 towards Silver Street in our latest Southern League Division One South fixture.
Last week was a game to forget for David Steele’s men as our awayday luck in the league came to an end in the hands of Thatcham Town, who secured a 4-1 victory on the afternoon at Waterside Park. Despite defeat, Rovers did not leave Berkshire empty-handed, as a lovely strike from Ryan Guppy sealed a consolation in added time to deny the hosts a clean sheet on the afternoon.
Steele spoke to the club’s media after the fixture and stated his frustration with the result, that it was a difficult opponent this time round, and that we’d be looking to get things right this week at home, where Malvern themselves are trying to get a result.
Malvern Town are currently 20th in the division, with Stephen Cleal and Lee Hooper leading the Hillsiders at the moment. It’s been a difficult first few months to the 24/25 campaign for Town as they have suffered three consecutive defeats in a row at the hands of Bideford AFC, Bemerton Heath Harlequins, and most recently Westbury United.
They did make it to the first round qualifying of the FA Cup but suffered defeat to Cleethorpes Town to deny them a chance of progressing in the competition. Home or away, Malvern haven’t established a consistency in their game, which is something they’ll want to try and work on this weekend.
One player to look out for in the opposition is Levi Francis, who is a hungry youngster looking to kick on in the Southern League. Coming through the ranks at League Two Swindon Town, Francis had loan spells with Highworth Town and Chippenham Town, where he pushed his development further, and despite leaving the Robins, he made his comeback with Slimbridge, where he put himself on the map for the Swans, with Malvern picking him up last summer for their debut campaign in the eighth tier.
The last time both sides met in the Southern League was on the final game of the season for Willand, as Josh Searle earned us a point in that fixture through a 1-1 draw with Malvern. As for the visitors, it would be Jack Watts who scored for them, denying us three points in the final countdown of the 23/24 season.
With Rovers looking to get back on track again in the playoff bid and Malvern attempting to flee the relegation zone, this will be one of the highlight fixtures of the match week and one you can’t miss. It all kicks off at 3pm on the 12th of October.
