Paulton Rovers were founded in 1881 and joined the Western League way back in 1900. They competed in Division One and Division Two for 60 years before moving to the Somerset County League when Division Two was disbanded. Paulton rejoined the Western League in 1974 when it expanded back to two divisions (Premier Dvision and Division One) and spent all but three of the next 30 seasons in the Premier Division. After finishing runners-up in 2003/04, Paulton were promoted to the Southern League. They achieved a second place finish in Division One South & West and were promoted in 2013/14 after winning the play-offs beating Merthyr in the final. Paulton achieved their highest ever league finish of 10th in the Southern Premier Division in 2014/15 but finished bottom in 2015/16 and were relegated back to Division One South & West. Arguably Paulton's finest achievement was reaching the first round proper of the FA Cup in 2009/10 where they hosted Norwich City live on ITV. The match drew a record crowd of 2,070 to the Athletic Field and Norwich ran out 7-0 winners.

Most recent clashes
26/12/15 Bideford 0 Paulton Rovers 1 Southern Premier
31/08/15 Paulton Rovers 0 Bideford 0 Southern Premier
06/04/15 Paulton Rovers 2 Bideford 1 (Groves pen) Southern Premier
01/01/15 Bideford 3 Paulton Rovers 0 (Groves, Downing, Squire) Southern Premier
31/03/12 Bideford 0 Paulton Rovers 0 Southern Div 1 S&W
10/12/11 Paulton Rovers 1 Bideford 2 (Squire, Downing) Southern Div 1 S&W

Paulton have not had a good start to the league season losing eight of their first eleven games. Their more recent form in all competitions has improved however. A 2-0 win over Bishops Cleeve last Saturday ended a run of seven straight league defeats and they've also enjoyed cup wins over Bridgwater Town and Bishops Lydeard. Rovers were unfortunate not to get a great point at Hereford going down to a very late winning goal and also lost narrowly at second placed Mangotsfield United. They were however beaten 6-1 at home to Tiverton Town in the FA Trophy two weeks ago. Paulton currently lie in 19th position in the table (W3 D0 L8).

Bideford's form continues to be erratic. A disappointing defeat at Fleet Town in the FA Trophy was followed by a good away win at Yate Town. Monday night's draw with Larkhall Athletic saw a confident first half performance tempered by a poor second half showing that allowed Larkhall back into the game. Bideford will need to be much more consistent in their performances if they wish to stay in touch with the teams around the play-off positions.

Bideford's last six (WLWLWD)
17/10/16 Bideford 1 Larkhall Athletic 1 (League)
15/10/16 Yate Town 1 Bideford 2 (League)
08/10/16 Fleet Town 2 Bideford 1 (FA Trophy PR)
03/10/16 Bideford 4 Taunton Town 0 (League Cup R1)
01/10/16 Bideford 1 Shortwood United 3 (League)
26/09/16 Bideford 3 Torquay United 1 (Devon St Luke's Bowl R1)

Paulton Rovers' last six (WLWLLW)
15/10/16 Paulton Rovers 2 Bishops Cleeve 0 (League)
11/10/16 Hereford 2 Paulton Rovers 1 (League)
08/10/16 Paulton Rovers 1 Tiverton Town 6 (FA Trophy PR)
04/10/16 Bridgwater Town 1 Paulton Rovers 3 (League Cup R1)
01/10/16 Mangotsfield United 2 Paulton Rovers 1 (League)
27/09/16 Bishops Lydeard 0 Paulton Rovers 2 (Somerset Senior Cup R1)

Bideford vs Paulton Rovers
Southern League Division One South & West
Saturday 22nd October 2016
3:00pm Kick off
The Sports Ground, Bideford

Admission Prices
£8 - Adults
£5 - Concessions
£2 - Under 16s
FREE - Under 12s (Accompanied by an adult)