Bideford vs Melksham Town
Southern League Division One South
Saturday 13h September 2025
3:00pm kick off
The Persimmon Homes Sports Ground, Bideford

Bideford return to Southern League action on Saturday as they take on Melksham Town at the Persimmon Homes Sports Ground in Division One South.

The Robins sit at the foot of the table after three defeats from three in the league so far this season. Westbury left the Sports Ground with all three points on the opening day of the league campaign, then came two defeats on the road at Shaftesbury and Mousehole. Bideford did however end their run of four straight defeats in all competitions with an excellent 3-1 win over Mousehole at the Sports Ground last Saturday in the FA Trophy.

Melksham are without a win in five games since their 2-0 home success against Inkberrow four weeks ago. Goalless draws against Willand and Exmouth were followed by three away defeats, all of which were played on artificial surfaces against Larkhall, Malvern and Portishead.

Town will be looking to get back to winning ways on grass at a ground where they won twice last season. Melksham knocked Bideford out of the FA Cup last August 2-1, the repeated the feat in October in the league. The third meeting between the sides last season ended in a 1-1 draw at Oakfield Stadium.

Bideford’s last six (WLLLLW) Pos 22nd Pld3 W0 D0 L3 Pts0
06/09/25 Bideford 3 Mousehole 1 (FA Trophy Q1)
25/08/25 Mousehole 3 Bideford 0 (League)
16/08/25 Falmouth Town 2 Bideford 1 (FA Cup PR)
12/08/25 Shaftesbury 4 Bideford 0 (League)
09/08/25 Bideford 1 Westbury United 2 (League)
02/08/25 Bideford 4 Wellington 1 (FA Cup EPR)

Melksham’s last six (WDDLLL) Pos 12th Pld3 W1 D2 L2 Pts5
06/09/25 Portishead 4 Melksham Town 0 (FA Trophy Q1)
30/08/25 Malvern Town 2 Melksham Town 0 (League)
25/08/25 Larkhall Athletic 3 Melksham Town 2 (League)
23/08/25 Melksham Town 0 Exmouth Town 0 (League)
13/08/25 Willand Rovers 0 Melksham Town 0 (League)
09/08/25 Melksham Town 2 Sporting Club Inkberrow 0 (League)

A Brief History of Melksham Town FC
Melksham Town were formed back in 1876 as Melksham FC and were founding members of the Wiltshire League in 1894. The club changed their name to Melksham & Avon FC in 1920 but reverted back to Melksham FC in 1926. They adopted the name Melksham Town in 1951 and have remained that way ever since. Town joined the Western League in 1974 becoming Division One champions in 1979/80 meaning promotion to the Premier Division. The club were relegated back to Division One in 1987/88 and in 1992/93 were relegated back to the Wiltshire League. Melksham bounced straight back though in 1993/94 by winning the Wiltshire League title and promotion back to the Western League. A second Division One title followed in 1996/97 with a third place finish in the Premier Division a season later. In 2009/10 Town suffered another relegation to Division One but a second place finish in 2011/12 saw them quickly return to the top flight. Thatcham were then crowned Western League champions in 2014/15 but were denied promotion due to ground issues. However the club finished runners-up in 2017/18 and this time were able to be promoted to the Southern League for the first time in their history. Town also reached the quarter finals of the FA Vase that season, narrowly losing out to eventual winners Thatcham Town. In their first season in Southern League Division One South Melksham finished a respectable 12th and were going well in 5th place in 2019/20 when the season was abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021/22, Melksham would have a decent campaign and finish in 8th position, in 2022/23 they were 12th and 16th in 2023/24.

Melksham Town FC
Oakfield Stadium
Eastern Way
Melksham
Wiltshire
SN12 7GU
Tel: 01225 302977
Website: https://www.melkshamtownfc.com
Twitter: @MelkshamTownFC

Most recent meetings:
01/02/25 Melksham Town 1 Bideford 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)
26/10/24 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 2 (Southern League Div 1 South)
31/08/24 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 2 (FA Cup Q1)
16/04/24 Melksham Town 2 Bideford 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)
18/04/23 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)
04/02/23 Melksham Town 1 Bideford 0 (Southern League Div 1 South)
05/03/22 Melksham Town 2 Bideford 2 (Southern League Div 1 South)
04/12/21 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 2 (Southern League Div 1 South)
07/03/20 Melksham Town 2 Bideford 3 (Southern League Div 1 South)
17/12/19 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 3 (Southern League Div 1 South)
25/02/19 Melksham Town 2 Bideford 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)
29/09/18 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)