30th April 2008 - League campaign ends on a wet note

Royals finished their league campaign tonight amidst a torrential sleet and hail storm at Clee Hill. After 20 minutes the game had to abandoned due to the weather conditions and the flooded pitch.

Coreley started superbly gaining a 2 goal lead within the first 7 minutes, as the Royals looked shell-shocked and not ready for the onslaught that was against them.

However they recovered to draw level at 2 goals each after Carless-Turland and then Smith scored one each. Shortly after Smith's equaliser the game was abandoned.

A match report can be found here.

28th  April 2008 - Coreley match preview

Royals travel to Clee Hill on Wednesday evening to take on Coreley in their last league game of the 2007-08 campaign. Coreley have finished strongly, after having a backlog of fixtures, and a run of good results have seen them climb to 2nd place in the table.

The game will be a warm up for the cup semi-final which takes place this Sunday, again at Clee Hill, the winners of which will meet Onny Eagles in the final.

The game takes place on Wednesday with a 6:30pm kick off.
Royals will be playing in red.

25th April 2008 - Interleague friendly arranged for this weekend

With no league game for the Royals this weekend, a hastily arranged friendly has been arranged for the SSJFL interleague squad, against Waterloo Rovers, winners of the Mid and North Powys JFL.

It will not be the final squad though, as Coreley and Onny Eagles have a league fixture on the same day and will be unable to attend.

The game kicks off at 10:30am on Sunday morning at Russell's Meadow.

24th April 2008 - Royals battle to earn point

Royals were held to a 0-0 draw last night by Presteigne, in an entertaining game at John Beddoes school. Royals travelled to the game with only 9 fit players, plus midfielder Miles who was not yet fully fit after his recent injury. Injuries to Agnew, Weynberg and Carless-Turland prevented them from taking any part in the match.

As expected Royals were on the back foot for a lot of the time, but they also came close to winning on 2 occasions, when Fowden saved superbly at the near post from Miles, and again in the dying moments, in a one on one situation with Smith.

A great battling performance by the team, who played with a lot of spirit and passion from the start of the game.

A full match report can be found here.

22nd April 2008 - Presteigne match preview

Royals will be keen to maintain their 100% record in all competitions tomorrow night, against in form team Presteigne. When the teams met 2 weeks ago Royals were lucky to come away victors after a Robinson penalty gave them the 3 points. Since then Presteigne have beaten both Coreley and Onny Eagles, to give themselves a real chance of finishing runners up in the league.

Royals could be without defender Sam Green who is playing cricket for his school, and will also be without Luke Miles, who is still injured.

The game takes place at John Beddoes School, Presteigne with a 6:30pm kick off.

21st April 2008 - Weekend results round up

With the Royals not having a game yesterday, it was a chance to sit back and see what the other teams did in their games. The surprise of the weekend must have been Tenbury South's point at 2nd place club Onny Eagles.

This means that Onny Eagles will have to get at least a point away to Coreley, and hope that Royals beat both Coreley and Presteigne, if they are to get the runner-up spot.

One thing is for sure - this is one of the most exciting finishes for a while, with any of three teams still in the reckoning for the runners up spot.

Coreley 6-0 Tenbury South
Onny Tigers 1-10 Presteigne Colts
Onny Eagles 5-5 Tenbury South

17th  April 2008 - Royals hit 11 in Tenbury

Royals turned on the style again in Tenbury last night and refused to be complacent, despite the pressure of the league title now being off them. They came away after securing an emphatic 11-2 win against the Worcestershire side, increasing their lead at the top of the table to 15 points.

Josh Cochrane now fully fit after a long injury netted 4 times, while the other goals came from Hearle (2), Grinker (2), Lock (2) and an own goal.

A full match report can be found here.

16th April 2008 - Battle for 2nd place intensifies

Royals may have won the league, but the battle for 2nd place has hotted up over the past few days. Presteigne, Coreley and Onny Tigers are all in with a shout of claiming the runners up spot, after recent results.

Presteigne have had two good wins in their last 2 games, against Onny Eagles and Coreley, which has brought them back into contention.

Presteigne Colts 4-2 Coreley
Church Stretton Royals 7-3 Onny Eagles
Tenbury North 11-2 Onny Tigers
Presteigne Colts 2-0 Onny Eagles

15th April 2008 - Presteigne game date changed

Presteigne have moved the date of their home game against the Royals to Wednesday 23rd April 2008 at 6:30pm. The game was originally scheduled for this Sunday, but Presteigne have to honour a previously arranged fixture.

15th April 2008 - Tenbury North match preview

Royals travel to Worcestershire tomorrow night for their mid-week fixture against Tenbury North. Although the result is academic, Royals will be kin to extend their unbeaten run to 21 games, and to use their remaining 3 league fixtures as preparation for their cup semi-final against Coreley and their final against Onny Eagles.

The game kicks off at 6:30pm on Wednesday at Tenbury Leisure Centre.
Royals will be playing in red.

14th April 2008 - Royals achieve Charter Standard status

Church Stretton Royals FC have been awarded Charter Standard status by the Football Association. This award is made to clubs that have met or exceeded the Charter Standard Scheme's best practice guide, that sets standards of coaching, administration and child protection for clubs working with young people.

This is a great achievement for the club, especially as it is in its first year of operation.

13th April 2008 - Super Royals - League Champions

Royals were crowned league champions today at Russell's Meadow, after beating 2nd place rivals Onny Eagles 7-3, in the most entertaining game of the season so far. Two great footballing sides, both playing attacking football, led to end to end excitement for most of the game.

The result puts them 12 points clear at the top of the table and means that they cannot now be caught.

The football played was a complete contrast to the game of 3 days ago against Presteigne. Royals showed confidence and determination from the minute the game kicked off. Onny came to Stretton to play football and this added to what was an excellent game for the spectators.

Goals from Lewis (2), Carless-Turland (2), Smith, Grinker, and Hearle made sure of the result.

A full match report can be found here.

11th April 2008 - Royals could lift the title this weekend

Royals could become league champions this weekend, if they beat Onny Eagles on Sunday. A win would put them 12 points clear, with 2nd place Onny having just 3 games left, after Sundays clash.

If the game is a draw, it would leave the Royals just needing a point in their game against Tenbury North next Wednesday.

If however the Royals were to lose this weekend, they would still need 4 points from their remaining 3 games, assuming that Onny win the remainder of their games.

One thing is for sure, they will need to play a lot better against Onny than they did in their game against Presteigne if they are to beat their 2nd place rivals.

The match kicks off at 10:30am on Sunday at Russell's Meadow, with the Royals wearing blue.

11th April 2008 - Just four league fixtures left

Royals have just four more league fixtures remaining before the end of the season. The dates for these games and the re-arranged Corve Bridge Cup semi final against Coreley.

The dates for the remaining games are as follows:

Sunday - 13/04/2008 - Onny Eagles - League - Home  -10:30am - BLUE KIT
Wednesday - 16/04/2008 Tenbury North - League - Away - 6:30pm - RED KIT
Sunday - 20/04/2008 Presteigne Colts - League - Away - 10:30am - BLUE KIT
Wednesday - 30/04/2008 Coreley - League - Away - 6:30am - RED KIT
Sunday - 04/05/2008 Coreley - League Cup Semi Final - Away - 10:30am - RED KIT

10th April 2008 - Cochrane set to return

Royals' striker Josh Cochrane is set to make a return to the squad this weekend after being given the all clear to resume training, after a six week absence through injury. He is expected to make an appearance in the top of the table clash against Onny Eagles this Sunday.

10th April 2008 - Miles out for several weeks

Royals' midfielder Luke Miles is likely to be sidelined for several weeks after hospital treatment found him to have torn a muscle in his side. The injury came when the player was taking a throw on early in the second half. He had to be taken to hospital by ambulance which came to the pitch side to collect him.

The injury comes at a critical part of the season and Royals already small squad will be fully stretched for the remaining games.

10th April 2008 - Tired Royals almost made to pay

Presteigne came to Stretton last night on a mission, and nearly spoilt Royals' 100% record of straight wins for the season. Whilst Royals came out eventual winners by a 3-2 margin, Presteigne were by far the better of the two sides and did not deserve to go away empty handed.

Royals midfielder Miles, was stretchered off in the second half into an ambulance, after collapsing in agony after taking a throw on.

Goals from Smith, Lewis and a penalty from Robinson made sure of the points.

A full report can be found here.

9th April 2008 - Coreley fixture changed

Royals away league fixture against Coreley has been moved to Wednesday 30th April 2008. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday 17th April but with Coreley having so many games to catch up, it is not possible to play on this date.

The match will kick off at 6:30pm at Coreley's Clee Hill ground.

8th April 2008 - Presteigne match preview

Royals entertain Presteigne tomorrow, in their first midweek match of the season. With the lighter evenings now upon us, the team will hopefully be able to catch up on the 5 previously postponed games.

Royals have traditionally had exciting games against tomorrow's opponents, with most of their games being closely fought.

Rory Smith will back available after suspension, but Josh Cochrane will be missing again due to his long term injury.

The game kicks off at 6:30pm at Russell's Meadow. Royals will play in blue.

6th April 2008 - Royals maintain lead with Tenbury win

Royals maintained their lead at the top of the table today with a convincing 7-0 victory over Tenbury South. Royals were without the suspended Rory Smith and the injured Josh Cochrane, but never looked in danger of slipping up after Lewis put them ahead in the first minute.

Tenbury did get stronger and threatened on several occasions but the acrobatics of Keugler in the Royals goal made sure they kept a clean sheet.

A one minute's silence was held at the start of the game to pay respect to Stretton Old Boys' player Nathan Chard, who sadly died last week.

Goals from Lewis (3), Green, Miles, Hearle and Lock made sure of the result.

4th April 2008 - Tenbury South match preview

Royals are back in action this weekend, after an enforced 4 week layoff, due to inclement weather and the Easter holidays. This Sunday sees them take on Tenbury South, at Russell's Meadow, a game in which they will be looking to take the points to strengthen their position at the top of the table. Tenbury, although currently bottom of the table, have made improvements and recently gained their first points of the season against Onny Tigers.

The game takes place at Russell's Meadow on Sunday with a 10:30am kick off.
Royals will be playing in Red.

3rd April 2008 - Finals Day

SSJFL Finals Day has been arranged for Sunday, 11th May 2008. This means that the Royals will be playing on this day against Onny Eagles, in either the Challenge Cup final, or if they beat Coreley on 27th April, the League Cup final.

If the team do reach both finals, one of them will have to be played midweek, probably the week before or the week after finals day.

3rd April 2008 - Remaining Fixtures

All the remaining games for the Royals have now been re-scheduled. The team has 7 more games to play, which now includes 2 games to be played on Wednesday evenings. The remaining fixtures are as follows:

2nd April 2008 - Training to remain on Saturdays

Royals' training is to remain on Saturday mornings for the next four weeks. The team has 5 rescheduled games to fit in between now and the end of the season, and some of these are likely to be on Wednesdays.

1st April 2008 - Weekend Results Roundup

With Royals game against Tenbury North postponed this last weekend, it was a chance for the second and third place clubs to gain some ground. The match of the weekend was between Onny Eagles and Coreley, second place against third. Coreley came away with the points after winning a closely contested game 3-2.

In the other game Presteigne beat Tenbury South 5-0, keeping their pressure on the top of the table.