Match Preview

It’s our final midweek home game of the season on Thursday as we entertain North Leigh at the Sports Ground in another must win game in the playoff chase.

Bideford vs North Leigh
Evo-Stik League South – West Division
Thursday 19th April 2018
7:45pm kick off
Sports Ground, Bideford

A Brief History of North Leigh FC
North Leigh FC were formed in 1908 and played at a local level for over 80 years winning the Witney & District League title seven times. They also competed in the Oxfordshire Senior League. It wasn't until the 1990/91 season when North Leigh stepped up to play in Hellenic League Division One. After two fourth place finishes they were runners-up in 1992/93 and were promoted to the Hellenic League Premier Division. An initial 14th place finish was followed by 14 consecutive top eight finishes. North Leigh were Hellenic League champions in 2001/02, 2002/03 and again in 2007/08 when they accepted promotion to the Southern League. In the nine seasons North Leigh have played in Southern League Division One South & West they have never finished outside of the top ten, finishing 6th in 2016/17.

North Leigh FC
Web: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/northleighfc
Twitter: @NorthLeigh_FC

Form Guide
2017/18 has been a struggle for North Leigh mainly due to their away form (W3 D4 L11) which is the second worst in the division. Their three wins on the road so far this season have come at Slimbridge, Paulton Rovers and most recently at Mangotsfield. On Tuesday night North Leigh beat Paulton at home in a high scoring encounter which was only their second win in 2018. North Leigh are 18th in the West Division (W9 D7 L20).

North Leigh’s last six (DWDLLW)
17/04/18 North Leigh 5 Paulton Rovers 3 (League)
14/04/18 North Leigh 1 Cirencester Town 2 (League)
12/04/18 North Leigh 0 Kidlington 5 (League)
07/04/18 Bishops Cleeve 1 North Leigh 1 (League)
27/03/18 Mangotsfield United 1 North Leigh 3 (League)
17/03/18 Yate Town 3 North Leigh 3 (League)

After losing three games in a row, Bideford are now on a run of three straight wins after beating Larkhall last week, Paulton on Saturday and Kidlington on Monday night. The Robins now have five games remaining in just ten days and need to win as many of them as possible to give themselves the best chance of a playoff place. Bideford are 10th in the West Division (W18 D9 L10), four points off the play-offs with between one and three games in hand.

Bideford's last six (LLLWWW)
16/04/18 Kidlington 1 Bideford 2 (League)
14/04/18 Bideford 2 Paulton Rovers 1 (League)
07/04/18 Larkhall Athletic 0 Bideford 1 (League)
02/04/18 Bideford 0 Taunton Town 1 (League)
31/03/18 Evesham United 3 Bideford 0 (League)
27/03/18 Bristol Manor Farm 1 Bideford 0 (League)

Previous meetings
04/11/17 North Leigh 4 Bideford 3 (Southern Div 1 West)
25/03/17 Bideford 0 North Leigh 2 (Southern Div 1 S&W)
03/12/16 North Leigh 2 Bideford 1 (Southern Div 1 S&W)
10/03/12 North Leigh 1 Bideford 2 (Southern Div 1 S&W)
12/11/11 Bideford 3 North Leigh 2 (Southern Div 1 S&W)

Bideford do not have a good recent record against North Leigh having lost the last three encounters with the Oxfordshire side. Earlier this season Bideford led 2-1 at half time at Eynsham Park but went down 4-3 after conceding three goals in a crazy eight minute spell. Last season North Leigh did the double over The Robins with a 2-1 win at home and a 2-0 win at the Sports Ground.