27th January 2006 - Knighton Game Postponed

Tomorrow's game against Knighton has been called off due to sickness in the Royals team. Four boys are away from school with the bug that has been sweeping South Shropshire over the last three weeks.

This means that the game will have to be re-arranged as a mid-week evening game, once the clocks go forward to British Summer Time.

25th January 2006 - Knighton Match Preview

Royals travel to Knighton this Saturday for a game that could certainly be a tricky one. Knighton are as yet undefeated in Division 1, having won one game and drawn two. They also managed to hold Presteigne to a 0-0 draw earlier in January.

Coach Martin Turland said, "It's vital we get a result here, to maintain the momentum that we have established. It will also stand us in good stead for the Presteigne game the following weekend."

Royals have an injury worry with Carless-Turland who suffered a relapse of his thigh strain against Ludlow North, and Riley is unavailable for selection.

The match takes place on Saturday 28th January 2006 with a 10:30 kick off.

25th January 2006 - Weekend Round Up

Whilst Royals may be sitting at the top of the table, Presteigne have moved up into 2nd place after a 4-1 victory over Craven Arms, showing that they still mean business and are going to be a serious threat.
Royals next opponents Knighton drew 2-2 with Onny Plus, moving them into fourth spot in the table.

In division 2 the Panthers were knocked off top spot due to their game against Ludlow South being postponed due to sickness.

Division 1 Results

Onny Tigers 1-4 Knighton
Church Stretton Royals 3-Ludlow North
Presteigne 4-1 Craven Arms
Ludlow West 2-2 Onny Plus

23rd January 2006 - Royals 3-0 Ludlow North

A stunning hat trick from Lewis ensured that the Royals kept top spot in Division 1 this weekend. However Royals were made to work, in what was their toughest match of 2006 so far. This time the only incidents occurred on the pitch, and the only controversial one, was when Smith was denied a goal by a fine diving save by a Ludlow defender. Lewis was unable to convert the penalty.

A full match report is here.

18th January 2006 - Ludlow North match preview

League leaders Royals take on Ludlow North this Saturday at Stretton School. Both teams will be aiming to protect their 100% record in Division 1, without the scenes that occurred when the teams last met in the cup, when the Ludlow manager and assistant manager persisted in arguing with the referee's decisions. The assistant manager was eventually sent from the field of play.

The match is bound to be fiercely competitive and kicks off at 10:30am.

17th January 2006 - Weekend results round up

Ludlow North continued their good form last weekend by defeating Craven Arms 4-0, giving them a 100% record in division 1 so far and puts them second in the table behind the Royals.
Presteigne managed to perform better this week as they defeated Onny Tigers 5-2.

Complete results from Division 1 were:

Knighton 2-2 Onny Plus
Ludlow North 4-0 Craven Arms
Ludlow West 0-6 Church Stretton Royals
Onny Tigers 2-5 Presteigne

15th January 2006 - Ludlow West 0-6  Royals

Injury hit Royals defeated Ludlow West by 6 goals to 0 this morning. Royals who had 2 key players missing, Carless-Turland (injured) and Robinson (unavailable), could not find their usual panache and looked scrappy at times. However it was encouraging that they kept a clean sheet for the second week in succession.

Goals by Lewis (3), Groom (2) and Smith secured the victory and had it not been for some excellent saves by the Ludlow keeper the score could have been greater.

A full report will appear here.

14th January 2006 - Panthers defeat Coreley.

Church Stretton Panthers defeated Coreley by a single goal today in an incident filled match. Kieran Adams slotted home the winner after being put clear by Jordan Wells. Referee Tim Lewis saw fit to send off one of the Coreley parents after a penalty shout was turned down, at a crucial time in the match. The Panthers maintain their 100% record in Division 2.

11th January 2006 - Ludlow West Match Preview

Royals travel to Ludlow West this Sunday to take on a team whom they defeated by 8 goals to 1, shortly before Christmas. On a different type of pitch, typically harder and with shorter grass than Royals home ground, it could be a different type of game altogether.

There are no injury worries in the squad and Rory Smith, who was taken off injured against Onny Tigers has made a complete recovery.

The match takes place at the Coors stadium with a 10:30 kick off.

11th January 2006 - Presteigne Held to Draw by Knighton

Title contenders Presteigne suffered an early set back on Saturday, when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Knighton.

Other results from last weekend were:-

Onny Plus 1-4 Ludlow North
Craven Arms 6-2 Ludlow West

Meanwhile in Division 2, Stretton Panthers got off to a good start when they defeated Tenbury North 2-1, with Kieran Adams  netting both goals.

8th January 2006 - Royals 7-0 Onny Tigers

Royals put in a good performance in what could have been a potential banana skin of a game, by beating Onny Tigers 7-0 today. It took just four minutes for Carless-Turland to put Royals one goal up. Thereafter constant pressure saw them 4-0 up at half time. Onny did have their moments though and Royals defence was caught napping on several occasions, but Onny were unable to make the most of their chances.

Scorers were Lewis 2, Hearle 2, Carless-Turland, Groom and Robinson.

A full report will appear here.

4th January 2006 - Onny Tigers match preview

Royals kick off the second half of the season this Sunday against Onny Tigers, the younger of the two Onny teams. In their previous meeting, Royals came away 7-1 victors, however the Tigers have had a run of recent good form and will not be a push over. With Royals runaway winners of the Southern Division, they will be the team that everyone will try to beat.

The game is at home on Sunday 8th January,  KO 9:30am.

4th January 2006 - Training

Training commences this Saturday, 7th January, at 9:00am.

4th January 2006 - The managers look forward.

With the season now half way through, and the teams split into Division 1 and 2 depending on their pre Christmas performance, the Royals have got to be reasonably confident that they will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.

With both the Royals and Presteigne winning their divisions by a comfortable margin, it is likely that the final run in will be between these two teams, possibly with the league being decided on the outcome of the matches against each other.

Therefore it is vital that every game is treated as a must win game, and although we have beaten every team in the Division 1 already, with the exception of Knighton, it is important not to get complacent, as any poor performance and any goal conceded could cost us dearly.

We are looking for the players to work hard and give maximum effort in training, more so than prior to Christmas. They will need to earn their place in the side and their effort will be rewarded in the overall outcome of this season.

Chris and Martin