After last week’s FA Trophy heroics, it’s back to the bread and butter of the Southern League for Bideford as they head to Gloucestershire to take on in-form Bishop’s Cleeve.

The Robins have won their last three games, including the penalty shootout victory against Swindon Supermarine last Saturday. Prior to that were back-to-back home wins against Mousehole and Melksham. However, Bideford only have one win from their opening four league games and sit just above the bottom four going into Saturday’s fixture.

Bishop’s Cleeve had a great season in 2024/25, finishing 3rd which was a club record before losing out in the play-off semi final to Malvern. The Mitres have continued their excellent form into this campaign, winning four out of four in the league, and seven out of eight in all competitions. The only blotch on their record this season was a defeat to Premier Division Wimborne in the FA Cup.

Despite operating at different ends of the table last season, Bideford did the double over their South Gloucestershire opponents, winning both games by a goal to nil. In fact, the Robins have won the last four fixtures between the clubs, so will hope to keep that record going heading into Saturday’s encounter.

Bideford’s last six (LLLWWW) Pos 18th Pld 4 W1 D0 L3 Pts 3
20/09/25 Swindon Supermarine 1 Bideford 1 (FA Trophy Q2) – Bideford won 5-4 on pens
13/09/25 Bideford 2 Melksham Town 0 (League)
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)

Bishop’s Cleeve’s last six (WWLWWW) Pos 2nd Pld 4 W4 D0 L0 Pts 12
23/09/25 Fairford Town 2 Bishop’s Cleeve 5 (Gloucestershite Cup)
20/09/25 Fareham Town 2 Bishop’s Cleeve 4 (FA Trophy Q2)
06/09/25 Willand Rovers 1 Bishop’s Cleeve 1 (FA Trophy Q1) – Cleeve won 5-4 on pens
30/08/25 Bishop’s Cleeve 2 Wimborne Town 5 (FA Cup Q1)
25/08/25 Sporting Club Inkberrow 0 Bishop’s Cleeve 2 (League)
23/08/25 Bishop’s Cleeve 3 Tavistock 0 (League)

A Brief History of Bishop’s Cleeve FC
Formed in 1905, Bishop's Cleeve played in the Cheltenham League where they were champions on six occasions before joining the Gloucester Northern Senior League in 1967. There the Mitres were league champions three times, in 1968/69, 1969/70 and 1972/73. Their next move was to the Hellenic League where they were Division One Champions in 1986/87. After finishing 2nd in the Hellenic Premier Division in 2005/06 Bishop's Cleeve joined Southern League Division One Midlands before switching to Division One South & West in 2008. Cleeve achieved their highest league finish of 11th in 2009/10 and again in 2011/12. After three years of bottom three finishes they achieved a more respectable 12th position in 2015/16 and in 2016/17 they finished 16th. In 2017/18 the Mitres were relegated after finishing bottom of Division One West and started the 2018/19 campaign back in the Hellenic League. They finished in 4th place before both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons were abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021/22, Bishop’s Cleeve were crowned Hellenic League champions for the first time and gained promotion back to the Southern League. The Mitres finished in 9th position in both 2022/23 and 2023/24, then a club record of 3rd place in 2024/25.

Bishop's Cleeve FC
Kayte Lane
Bishop's Cleeve
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL52 3PD
Tel: 01242 676166
Website: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/bishopscleevefc
Twitter: @BishopsCleeveFC

Previous meetings:
19/10/25 Bideford 1 Bishop’s Cleeve 0 (SL Div 1 South)
10/08/24 Bishop’s Cleeve 0 Bideford 1 (SL Div 1 South)
06/04/24 Bishop’s Cleeve 0 Bideford 1 (SL Div 1 South)
02/12/23 Bideford 4 Bishop’s Cleeve 1 (SL Div 1 South)
20/04/23 Bideford 1 Bishop’s Cleeve 2 (SL Div 1 South)
15/10/22 Bishop’s Cleeve 1 Bideford 2 (SL Div 1 South)
06/01/18 Bideford 1 Bishop’s Cleeve 0 (SL Div 1 West)
17/10/17 Bishop’s Cleeve 1 Bideford 2 (SL Div 1 West)
02/09/17 Bideford 5 Bishop’s Cleeve 1 (FA Cup Q1)
07/01/17 Bishop’s Cleeve 3 Bideford 3 (SL Div 1 S&W)
17/09/16 Bideford 2 Bishop's Cleeve 1 (SL Div 1 S&W)