Bristol Premier Combination February 15th 2025 edition
By Simon Parkinson
AARON Price and Robbie Tripp-Edwards were both at the double as they and Bedminster Down demonstrated once more why they’ve become a force to be reckoned with at the higher level.
Each netted twice as Bedminster, promoted last spring as clear winners of Bristol and District League Senior Division, overcame visiting Chipping Sodbury Town Reserves 4-0 to leapfrog Bendix, who were without a game due to the postponement of their away fixture with Patchway Town Reserves, into third position in Combination Division One.
Down, who have won nine, drawn three and lost only four of their 16 fixtures but had been looking to atone for two straight league losses, three in all competitions, heading into the Sodbury match, take a break from the action now until their Little Stoke Park encounter with Lion on Saturday week, March 1.
On a day affected by fixture postponements, fast-rising Oldland Abbotonians Reserves were only too glad their home fixture with Hambrook & Brimsham United went ahead as they emerged 6-3 victors to pitch up seventh in the First Division standings with Cribbs A next up for them at Castle Road this Saturday (2pm).
Cjay Summerlin, Ellis Clarke, George Passco, Rufus Davies, Sam Sousa and Buster Whittard shared the scoring as Oldland racked up a third straight win and fourth in their last five outings.
Hillside, meantime, are going well in sixth place and eyeing more points with struggling Patchway Town Reserves their next opponents at UWE on Saturday (2pm).
Lucas Groves’ first minute goal set Hillside on their way, and Jack Lewis and Dylan Hughes, with a late clincher, built on that early advantage, as their side bounce back from a 4-2 defeat at Oldland previous time out to see off hosts Old Sodbury, whose Josh Field netted, 3-1 in a competitive Badminton Road contest.
Hillside can head into the Patchway tussle in good heart having also celebrated back-to-back victories over Lion (2-0 home) and Bedminster Down (4-2 away) ahead of that Oldland setback.
Leaders Bristol Barcelona, whose away encounter with Henbury & Rockleaze A last weekend was among those to succumb to a waterlogged pitch, entertain Bendix on Saturday for a beefy top four bout (Oaklands Park, 3.30pm).
Winterbourne United sit pretty with a ten point lead at the top of the Premier Division thanks to a 4-2 victory over strong DRG Frenchay hosts who had lost only once until then at the hands of visiting Olveston United, 3-1, on November 2.
While Charlie Jones and Dean Preddie struck for DRG, Bourne had the edge with Craig Doyle, Dan Brown, Jordan Yeo and an own goal registering for them, prompting their manager Tim Minihane to say: “It was more about a workmanlike performance from our players rather than us playing particularly well.
“But we showed moments of quality and I was delighted with the win.”
While Winterbourne entertain fifth-placed Nicholas Wanderers on Saturday, Hallen Reserves go to Yate Town’s Lodge Road stadium to take on Iron Acton (both games 2pm) for a key top three duel knowing that yet reining in Minihane’s unrelenting team, however hard that could prove, is not beyond them should each make games in hand count.
Acton’s scheduled home fixture with Patchway Town was called off last Saturday as their bottom-placed opponents were unable to raise a side.
“It meant for another weekend off for us and it’s been frustrating, the stop-start stuff which is killing our momentum,” Acton boss Chris Sweet admitted.
In the one other Premier Division game on show, Scott Andoniou struck for Nicholas Wanderers although they had to settle for a point from a 1-1 draw with their Olveston United guests.