Match Preview

Melksham Town vs Bideford
Southern League Division One South
Saturday 7th March 2020
3:00pm kick off
Oakfield Stadium, Melksham

Bideford’s recent run of good form will be put to the test on Saturday as they travel to Melksham Town who have been in excellent form. The Wiltshire side have won 13 of their last 15 games and sit in fourth place in Division One South. Melksham had won ten games on the trot before a suffering a surprise home defeat to Sholing in January. Following a 1-0 loss at Evesham, Town bounced back with wins over Bristol Manor Farm and Basingstoke. Bideford are on their best run of the season having gone six games without a loss. The Robins have drawn three (Thatcham, Totton, Evesham) and won three (Cinderford, Slimbridge, Mangotsfield) of their last six. Bideford however remain with just two away win to their name this season, at Cinderford and at Cribbs in the FA Cup.

Form Guide

Melksham Town’s last six (WLWLWW) Pos 4th W14 D5 L8 Pts 47
24/02/20 Melksham Town 3 Basingstoke 1 (League)
22/02/20 Bristol Manor Farm 0 Melksham Town 1 (League)
08/02/20 Evesham United 1 Melksham Town 0 (League)
01/02/20 Melksham Town 3 Cinderford Town 1 (League)
27/01/20 Melksham Town 1 Sholing 4 (League)
25/01/20 Melksham Town 1 Highworth Town 0 (League)

Bideford’s last six (DWWDDW) Pos 12th W9 D7 L11 Pts 34
29/02/20 Bideford 3 Mangotsfield United 0 (League)
22/02/20 Evesham United 2 Bideford 2 (League)
08/02/20 AFC Totton 2 Bideford 2 (League)
01/02/20 Bideford 4 Slimbridge 1 (League)
28/01/20 Cinderford Town 1 Bideford 2 (League)
25/01/20 Bideford 1 Thatcham 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. In their first season in Southern League Division One South Melksham finished a respectable 12th.

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

Most recent meetings:
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)
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)