Its race night week and the first team are without a game so, hopefully, that will mean that, come the evening, they will be incapable of keeping hold of their money and will be only too willing to bet on a three legged nag that is on its way to the canning factory.

The Reserve team and third team are both in action, though, and, very unusually if not uniquely, both are at home on the same day. Due to the fact that the first team habitually pitch share with AC Olympia, the fixtures for the Reserve and third teams always alternate, meaning that only very rarely do they play at home together. This weekend provides us with one such Saturday, however, as the Reserves have a home league game and the third team entertain Stroud League opposition in the County Primary Cup.

For a team that started the season with a flourish, the Reserves will now, comparatively speaking, be desperate for a win and, if they can be choosy about it, a win in the style that they came to take for granted back in September. The two defeats in the last two weeks are not really sufficient to set the alarm bells ringing – the team is still on top of Division Two and getting knocked out of the Senior Charity Cup shouldn’t make them lose too much sleep – but coming so soon after a hard won, extra time victory in the County Cup over a Brockworth Albion side that AC Olympia thumped 5-0 last weekend, the side will be keen to get back to the form that brought them a plethora of emphatic victories in the opening month of the season. Their opponents this weekend are Bredon Reserves, who have had a decent start to the new campaign, as is evidenced by the fact that, in their first two games, they played both of the teams that have beaten the Reserves over the last fortnight and, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Northway and a 4-4 draw with Cheltenham Civil Service, they came away with 4 out of a possible 6 points. Their only defeat so far has been a 1-0 defeat at Gala Wilton, who are currently in second place, and, although they were dumped out of the Charity Cup themselves, 6-1 at home by Div One side Prestbury Rovers, last weekend, they preceded this with a 4-0 win over a Dowty Dynamos side that was good enough to overcome the first division’s current second placed side, Moreton Rangers, on penalties last weekend. The Reserves, meanwhile, will be delighted to welcome back Jordan Kontarines, who is available again after a lengthy lay off through injury, whilst John Marchant and Dan Wood are also added to a squad that will be hoping that leading scorer Jamie Roberts has recovered from the virus that laid him low last week.

Kicking off in the County Primary Cup an hour earlier, at 2.00 pm just in case someone decides to put the clocks back before Sunday morning, the third team will be taking on Wickwar Wanderers from Stroud League Division 7. This is a Division below the one in which Stroud Harriers, who provided the third team with their opposition in the last round of the County Cup, compete and, currently, Wickwar Wanderers Reserves have gleaned 4 points from the 4 League games they have played so far, leaving them in mid table. Their only League victory did come on their travels, however, when they triumphed 4-2 away to Quedgeley Wanderers III whilst they earned their place in the second round with a 3-2 home victory over North Gloucs League side Redbrook Rovers. The odds on this game have to be on extra time and penalties, however, as the third team have drawn each of their last three games, with the 1-1 home draw with Falcons Reserves two weeks ago neatly sandwiched between points sharing at Tewkesbury Town, 3-3, and Cleevonians, 2-2, last weekend. It is to be hoped that, in the rather more up tempo atmosphere of sudden death, cup football, the side will kick the drawing habit and get back to winning ways again. If they do, though, they will have to do so without the influence of team captain, Steve Paine, who damaged his ankle in the last minute of the match at Swindon Village last week and who will, therefore, be sidelined.  Kevin McCrea and Brian Watts, who are unavailable, will also be missing.