Sam’s Section: Best attack versus best defence and unbeaten start on the line as Stroud Division One summit tightly contested

It’s that time of the week again for another Sam’s Section and this time it’s about time I revisit the Stroud & District Football League Division One.

When I visited the league earlier in the season the division had five teams all separated by just a couple of points but after 10 to 11 games, just four teams are separated by three points.

And to go alongside that all four teams have been in impressive form in front of goal with all sitting with a 20+ goal difference.

So who are these four battling teams in this tightly contested Stroud Division One? Old Richians lead the way on 25 points, followed by an unbeaten Wickwar Wanders on 24 points with Tetbury Town (23 points) and Taveners (22 points) closely behind.

All four have huge games this weekend with all sides looking to claim that top spot come 4pm Saturday.

Old Richians v Tetbury Town (Old Richians RFC, Saturday November 9^th, kick off 14:00)

Let’s start with the box office game in the league as 1^st take on 3^rd when Old Richians host an inform Tetbury Town.

Both sides share very similar records which makes this fixture even more mouthwatering with Tetbury unbeaten in their last nine and Richians unbeaten in their last seven.

Tetbury have lost just once in the league this season right back at the start to Dursley Town Reserves whereas Richians have suffered just two defeats, but goals are what sees them on the summit.

Richians are the league’s top scorers on 36 goals in 11 games scoring 22 of those in their last four games but come up against a resilient Tetbury defence who have conceded just nine goals all season, the best in the league.

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Wickwar Wanderers v Shortwood United Reserves (King George V Playing Fields, Saturday November 9^th, kick off 14:00)

Wickwar will be hoping for a draw in the box office game between Richians and Tetbury as a fourth successive win would see Wanderers go top in their first home game in almost a month against a mid-table Shortwood United Reserves.

Wanderers remain the only unbeaten side in the league after their 10 games with three successive draws at the start of October the only thing keeping them off the top.

But Wickwar have been firing on all cylinders recently scoring five or more goals in all of their last three defeating Stroud United 6-2, Dursley Reserves 5-0 and Tuffley Rovers 3rds 6-1, all away from home.

And the visitors form against the top four sides may be on Wanderers side as Shortwood have failed to beat any of the top four sides so far this season.

Taverners v Minchinhampton (Snakey Lane, Saturday November 9^th, kick off 14:00)

Taverners may be the outsiders at this point sitting three points off the top and unable to reach the summit this weekend, but a win against Minchinhampton would keep them right in the picture.

The hosts will be looking to record a third straight win in the league following a contested 3-2 win over Shortwood and composed 5-0 victory over Tuffley saw Taverners regain pace at the top after a three game winless period prior.

But Minchinhampton arrive at Snakey Lane following back-to-back wins themselves hoping their turn in fortunes could cause an upset for the promotion chasers.

The two sides did meet back in September with Taverners confidently running out 3-1 winners at Stuart Playing Fields.

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Cover photo taken by and copyright to Brian Rossiter. Check out his Flickr account for all of his pictures by clicking here