Bideford bounced back from the horror show at Cirencester with an important win over Highworth Town on Saturday. Toby Down’s late winner keeps The Robins just about on the coat tails of the play off chasing pack. It’s an important week for Bideford with two big games against teams above them staring tonight with Melksham followed by Winchester on Saturday. Melksham are having a similar season to Bideford sitting one place higher in 10th. Like Bideford, Melksham’s recent form has been a bit mixed with three wins and three defeats in their last six games. Melksham bounced back from a couple of defeats against Moneyfields and Blackfield & Langley with a 2-1 win at Mangotsfield on Saturday.

Form Guide

Melksham Town’s last six (LWWLLW) Pos 10th W12 D5 L9 Pts 41
23/02/19 Mangotsfield Town 1 Melksham Town 2 (League)
16/02/19 Melksham Town 2 Blackfield & Langley 3 (League)
26/01/19 Melksham Town 1 Moneyfields 3 (League)
19/01/19 Bristol Manor Farm 2 Melksham Town 3 (League)
15/01/19 Thatcham Town 0 Melksham Town 3 (League)
12/01/19 Melksham Town 0 Paulton Rovers 4 (League)

Bideford’s last six (WLWLLW) Pos 11th W12 D4 L11 Pts 40
23/02/19 Bideford 1 Highworth Town 0 (League)
16/02/19 Cirencester Town 8 Bideford 2 (League)
09/02/19 Bideford 0 Street 1 (League)
26/01/19 Bideford 3 Bristol Manor Farm 1 (League)
19/01/19 Fleet Town 3 Bideford 2 (League)
12/01/19 Bideford 3 Yate Town 1 (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.

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

Most recent meetings:
29/09/18 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 1 (Southern League Div 1 South)
10/04/10 Bideford 3 Melksham Town 2 (Western League Premier)
12/12/09 Melksham Town 0 Bideford 3 (Western League Premier)
28/03/09 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 1 (Western League Premier)
25/10/08 Melksham Town 1 Bideford 0 (Western League Premier)
09/02/08 Melksham Town 0 Bideford 1 (Western League Premier)
13/10/07 Bideford 3 Melksham Town 1 (Western League Premier)
12/05/07 Melksham Town 0 Bideford 0 (Western League Premier)
06/01/07 Bideford 2 Melksham Town 2 (Western League Premier)
08/04/06 Melksham Town 0 Bideford 3 (Western League Premier)
11/02/06 Bideford 5 Melksham Town 0 (Western League Premier)