Match Preview: Bemerton Heath Harlequins bs Tavistock AFC

Inform Lambs return to action as they take the long mid-week trip to Wiltshire to take on Bemerton Heath Harlequins!!

By Luca Sperti
Tavi were last in action on Saturday as they welcomed a physical Didcot Town side to Langsford Park, looking to keep up their good recent form. The Lambs took the lead in the encounter with just five minutes gone. Shots from Ben Steer and Liam Prynn were blocked before forward Luke Steer tapped home, into a empty net, for his fifth of the season. In the 27th minute the visitors in their green and white away kit equalise. A through ball by Owen Smith, found winger Connor Barrett who had plenty of time before unleashing a rocket of a strike into the left-corner, leaving Aaron Dearing, in the Tavistock goal, with no chance. Six minutes later the Lambs re-took the lead. A mix up in the back by Diddy keeper Leigh Bedwell and defender Adam Learoyd, led Ben Steer to capitalise rolling the ball into an empty net, for his third of the season and second at Langsford Park. The Railwaymen got their only four minutes later, once again equalising the game up. A freekick from the right was headed on by Luke Carnell into the path of Cameron McNeil. The left-back did excellent to stab his effort into the roof of the net, for his 1st goal of the season. Into the third minute of added time, the Lambs were given a golden chance to reestablish their lead. Good wing play by Ben Steer, saw the former Exmouth man pulled back by Smith, leaving the Referee no choice but to point to the spot. Talisman Liam Prynn stepped up smashing his penalty into the bottom right-corner, despite Bedwell diving the right way. The strike was the former Torquay United striker’s 13th of the season. In the 70th minute the away side equalised for the third time on the day, after a misjudged Charlie Elkington clearance was latched onto by Barrett who smashed a shot past Dearing for his brace. Despite chances for both sides, including substitute Tallan Burns hitting the post for the Lambs, this is how the scoring stayed with the Lambs picking up their first draw of the season.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins were also in action last Saturday, when they welcomed inform Helston Athletic to the A-Class Arena. The Black and White outfit took just six minutes to open the scoring against the Cornish outfit, with a Leighton Thomas knockdown curled into the corner from the edge of the box, by the inform Joe Smith. Only four minutes later in the encounter, Helston equalised after a Tyler Elliott powerful defected strike found the bottom corner after a pass from Jack Crago. In the 32nd minute the away side doubled their lead, after a long throw by Elliott wasn’t cleared by the Bemerton defence. Recce Thomason for Helston reacted quickest inside the box, poking the ball past Patrick Cresse for his 7th of the season after arriving from Plymouth Parkway in the summer. On the stroke of half-time, the home side were given a golden chance to equalise after young Will Sullivan was adjudged to have clipped Brandon Mundy in the penalty area. Inform Thomas stepped up from the spot and calmly slotted his penalty in the bottom right-corner with Kyle Moore diving the other way. The Harlequins were on-top in the second-half but took to the 88th minute to take the lead in the encounter after a long-ball by Olly Balmer once again found Thomas who chested the ball down to Smith. Just like the Black and White outfits first goal, Smith calmly slotted the ball home after a knockdown by Thomas to put Bemerton in the lead. The match was another which saw Thomas and Smith be the difference for the Harlequins this season. This was also shown in mid-week with the Sailsbury outfit putting six goals past Malmsbury Victoria in a 6-2 win, thanks to a four-goal haul from Thomas and goals from Smith and Balmer.

The Harlequins last defeated came on the 26th of October where they were defeated 3-2 at Mousehole, a side the Lambs beat only a few days later. In the encounter, The White and Green outfit took the lead in the encounter in the 12th minute, after Ollie Challinor was played in down the left. The winger took his time before opening his body and slotting the ball through the legs of Patrick Cresse. The Seagulls took to the 68th minute to double their lead, after great play by Torin Ntege saw the forward cut in from the left before skipping past a few challenges and making his way to the right of the box. From the right of the box, the youngster smashed a shot which deflected of Cresse and headed into the top right-corner, with the strike being the attackers fourth of the season. Five minutes later, the Cornish outfit had a third after Ntege became provider slipping in Hayden Turner who rounded Cresse and rolled the ball into the corner, for his fifth of an injury hit season. Despite the game nearing the close the visitors in Orange and Black pulled a goal back after a clinical finish from Joe Smith, which was the youngsters fifth goal in only four games. The away side added another very late on with Smith doing well to see the Seagulls put one into their own net.

Both sides come into this encounter in their best form of the season, with Bemerton wining four of their last five matches and the Lambs unbeaten in their last three. James Ellis’ side from Wiltshire currently sit in 11th place with 18 points, after five wins, three draws and five defeats this season. Before the last five matches, the Black and White outfits only league win came in late September in a 4-3 win against Malvern Town. The Harlequins have also picked up the most points at home this season in 13 baring top of the table Yate Town, who have won all five of their home matches this season. The Wiltshire side have also scored the third highest number of goals this season but have also conceded the second most amount of goals this term with bottom of the table Cinderford Town only conceding more. Despite this Bemerton still have a positive goal difference this season. Stuart Henderson’s Lambs currently sit in 13th place on 16 points after five wins, one draw and six defeats out of their opening 12 games this year. Saturdays draw against Didcot Town, was the Lambs first draw of the season, with Thatcham the only side now yet to draw in the League this season. The Lambs still remain the side with the least amount of goals scored against them in the bottom 10 this season. A victory for the Lambs in this encounter by a fine margin could see the Lambs jump up to as high as 9th in the table. A win for the home side on Wednesday could see them leapfrog Mousehole and jump into an impressive seventh place in the League
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The last match between these two sides, occurred in December of 2023, with Bemerton coming out 2-1 winners at the A-Class Arena. The home side took the lead in the encounter in the 10th minute through Danny Young, before the Lambs equalised the game up in the 25th minute after a clinical strike from Ed Harrison. The home side then re-took the lead after a cross was bundled in by a Tavi player past a helpless Aaron Dearing to put the Harlequins back in front. The reverse fixture between these two sides occurred in August, in the first game of the 23/24 season. The visitors, who were playing their first match in the Southern League after promotion from the Wessex League took the lead in the 30th minute. Brendon Holmes picked up a stray ball in the midfield for the Harlequins before smashing a low shot past Aaron Dearing and into the corner. In the 72nd minute, substitute Muhammed Jatta made it 0-2 to the black and white outfit, after he smashed a powerful strike into the corner from 25-yards out. In the 80th minute the Lambs did pull a goal back and what a goal it was. A Speculative effort from Owen Pritchard caught the Bemmy goalkeeper Amadeusz Skrzyniarz in no-mans land, with the chip from 35-yards out going into the net. Despite this, the white and black outfit held on for their first win at Southern League Level.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins Key Players:

Leighton Thomas- One of the most inform strikers in all non-League footballer, Thomas have been on fire since joining the Black and White outfit in late September. Thomas has scored a remarkable 11 goals in eight games for the Harlequins before Wednesday’s fixture including a remarkable nine goals in his last three appearance, including back-to-back four goal hauls. Since arriving in Wiltshire in late September from Tiverton, the powerful striker has been on flames and has helped the Sailsbury outfit climb the table. The striker scored on his debut against Malvern before scoring the week later against Shaftesbury. However, on the 22nd of October was where Thomas really shone, scoring an impressive four goals in a 5-2 win at the A-Class Arena against Larkhall Atheltic. The striker followed this up with another four goals, this time in the Wiltshire Premier Shield against Malmsbury Victoria in a 6-2 win for Bemmy. The all-round striker, started his career at Dorchester Town in the 20/21 season, where the attacker made four appearances, with all of these appearances coming off the bench. The following season, saw Thomas drop down to the Southern Premier Division One South, where he a quite incredible season. At Paulton, Thomas scored 31 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions, including 27 in the League which saw the Cayman Islands international win the Golden Boot in the Southern League Division One South. The forward, who can also play as a right-winger, scored goals against the likes of Cirencester, Frome and Winchester that season, as well as scoring a hattrick against Lymington Town and all four against Mangotsfield United. The strikers fine form earned him a move to Hungerford Town, where the attacker scored five in 13 games. Whilst at the Crusaders, Thomas joined Step Three side Tiverton Town on loan, where the Cayman Island U20 international stuck twice in seven games. The strong striker’s goal for Tivy came against Winchester and Axminster Town. After January Thomas was back on loan, this time at Yate Town who were looking to save themselves from relegation out of step three. Whilst with the Bluebells, Thomas made eight appearances, without finding the back of the net, before the attacker moved back to Dorchester the following season. At Dorchester Town, Thomas played 22 times scoring four goals against the likes of Swindon Supermarine, Didcot Town, Hungerford Town and Merthyr. However, in February Thomas moved to Cribbs, who were looking to achieve promotion out of step-four. With Cribbs Thomas made six appearances, picking up a red card against Larkhall but not finding the back of the net. Thomas returned to Paulton Rovers. after his brief spell at Cribbs, looking to save the club from relegation into the Western League. In his second spell at Paulton, Thomas made seven appearances scoring twice against Malvern and Exmouth. However, the striker couldn’t help his side escape relegation from the Southern League, with Paulton finishing the season at the bottom of the table. In the summer of 24/25, Thomas rejoined another of his old clubs, this time being Tiverton. In yellow and black, Thomas found chances hard to come by, with the attacker only featuring five times for Tivy mostly of the bench. However, whilst at Bemerton, the striker has been electric and lethal in front of goal. The striker is a confident player and one when on his game could be a handful for any step three or four defender. Quick, strong and an excellent finisher, Thomas will be one to keep out for in this encounter.

Joe Smith- Another striker who has recently just joined the club, but is on quite ridiculous form, Smith join the Harlequins in October from Downton and has been lethal ever since. Whilst at Downton, Smith scored a remarkable fifty goals last season, helping the red and white outfit reach the Wessex Premier Division. Smith announced himself to the Southern Premier Division One South stage in style scoring a brace in an important 1-3 win at Cinderford Town. One of these goals included a 25-yard screamer into the bottom corner to round up the victory. The week later saw Smith opening the scoring with an excellent curling shot in an important 2-1 win against Willand Rovers before the forward added another goal to his tally in the 5-2 win of Larkhall. The quick and very mature Smith then added a goal on his travels against Mousehole in a 3-2 loss, which was another well taken goal. The striker, who can also play out wide is calm on the ball and has experience and know how in the area way above his years. A few of his strikes already this term, have showed the forward knows what to do at the right time, with what finish to take and when to take it, which was shown with his outside of the boot effort against Willand. Smith also grabbed a goal in the Wiltshire Premier Shield, before stealing the show against Helston on Saturday grabbing a brace in a 3-2 win. Smith first goal saw the striker finish into the top corner after a Thomas knockdown before the striker calmly slotted the ball into the corner for his second in the second half after another knockdown by Thomas. Smith has scored a remarkable eight goals in six games this season and the striker will be looking to add to his great start in this encounter.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins- Last Five Results:
Saturday 2nd November- Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3-2 Helston Athletic- Southern League
Tuesday 29th October- Bemerton Heath Harlequins 6-2 Malmsbury Victoria- Wiltshire Premier Shield
Saturday 26th October- Mousehole AFC 3-2 Bemerton Heath Harlequins- Southern League
Tuesday 22nd October- Bemerton Heath Harlequins 5-2 Larkhall Athletic- Southern League
Saturday 19th October- Bemerton Heath Harlequins 2-1 Willand Rovers- Southern League

Tavistock AFC Last Five Results:
Saturday 2nd November- Tavistoc
k AFC 3-3 Didcot Town- Southern League
Saturday 26th October- Tavistock AFC 0-4 Winchester City- Fa Trophy
Saturday 19th October- Yate Town 2-0 Tavistock AFC- Southern League
Tuesday 15th October- Bishop’s Cleeve 3-0 Tavistock AFC- Southern League
Saturday 12th October- Tavistock AFC 2-0 Thatcham Town- Southern League

Match Information:
Wednesday 6th November – Kick-off 7;45pm
Ticket Information: From BHH official club Twitter
Ground: A-Class Arena, Bemerton Heath, Western Way, Sailsbury SP2 9DR
Adults: £10
Concessions: £7