Match Preview

Bideford vs Highworth Town
Southern League Division One South
Saturday 22nd January 2022
3:00pm kick off
The Sports Ground, Bideford

Bideford picked up a valuable point last weekend with a much improved performance against one of the division’s promotion candidates Sholing and will look to build on that result on Saturday as Highworth Town visit the Sports Ground. The Robins ended a run of four straight losses but are still without a win in their last eight games and remain in the bottom three of Division One South, two points behind Mangotsfield and seven behind Slimbridge.

Sean Joyce recognises his side are in for a tough battle to stay up this season but wants his players to believe in themselves a bit more. “We’ve got to go out there and be positive on Saturday, we have proven we can do it so now we have to really kick on. The really good point we earned at Sholing will mean less if can’t now go and follow it up against Highworth.”

Highworth sit much more comfortably in mid-table and last week ended a run of five league games without a win with an impressive 4-1 victory over Paulton Rovers. The Worthians are certainly a capable side having beaten Frome Town at the end of November and taking a point from Sholing just before Christmas. Back in September Highworth recorded a comfortable 4-1 win over Bideford at the Elms Recreation Ground.

Bideford’s last six (DLLLLD) Pos 17th Pld 19 W3 D4 L12 Pts 13
15/01/22 Sholing 1 Bideford 1 (League)
01/01/22 Bideford 0 Willand Rovers 4 (League)
27/12/21 Barnstaple Town 1 Bideford 0 (League)
04/12/21 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 2 (League)
27/11/21 Slimbridge 1 Bideford 0 (League)
23/11/21 Bideford 2 Frome Town 2 (League)

Highworth Town’s last six (LLDLLW) Pos 9th Pld 19 W9 D2 L8 Pts 29
15/01/22 Highworth Town 4 Paulton Rovers 1 (League)
11/01/22 Swindon Supermarine 5 Highworth Town 0 (Wiltshire Shield QF)
01/01/22 Highworth Town 1 Cirencester Town 3 (League)
18/12/21 Highworth Town 1 Sholing 1 (League)
11/12/21 Slimbridge 4 Highworth Town 2 (League)
04/12/21 Highworth Town 1 Lymington Town 2 (League)

A Brief History of Highworth Town FC
Highworth Town were formed in 1893 and played for a long time at local league level. They played in the Cirencester & District League in the early 1900s before joining the Swindon & District League. After working their way up the divisions, Highworth went on to win the Swindon & District Premier League title nine times in eleven seasons between 1958 and 1968. They then went on to play in the Wiltshire Combination League which later became the Wiltshire County League. In 1984 Highworth were accepted into the Hellenic League where they played in Division One for ten years before being promoted to the Premier Division in 1993/94. Highworth were crowned Hellenic League champions in 2004/05 and in 2011/12 were winners of the Hellenic League Challenge Cup. The club reached the semi finals of the FA Vase in 2014/15 before losing out to North Shields. In 2017/18 Highworth finished third in the Hellenic Premier Division which meant promotion to the Southern League for the first time. In their first season in Division One South Highworth finished in 14th position and were in 13th position when the 2019/20 season was abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Highworth Town FC
The Elms Recreation Ground
Highworth
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN6 7DD
Tel: 01793 766263
Website: http://www.highworthtownfc.com
Twitter: @HighworthTownFC

Previous meetings:
18/09/21 Highworth Town 4 Bideford 1 (Southern Div 1 South)
14/12/19 Bideford 0 Highworth Town 0 (Southern Div 1 South)
23/02/19 Bideford 1 Highworth Town 0 (Southern Div 1 South)
03/11/18 Highworth Town 3 Bideford 4 (Southern Div 1 South)