Barely does the second month of 2009 seem to have started than it is all over before anyone has really noticed that it has begun and the last weekend of  February, which has brought us virtually every meteorological computation other than bright, warm sunshine, sees the club with two away games and a single home match.

The first team will travel down the motorway to Dursley in the hope of reversing the 2-0 defeat suffered at the hands of the same opposition way back in November.  At that stage, newly promoted Dursley Town had been top of the League for a significant proportion of the season that had elapsed and a two goal loss didn’t seem like the end of the world. Since those heady days, though – the win against the first team on November 8^th was Dursley’s sixth in seven league outings – life has got a bit tougher for last season’s Division Two runners-up.   Indeed, they have only won three of the ten League matches that they have played since their visit to Cheltenham Road and, last week, ended up on the wrong end of a 5-0 reverse at Broadwell Amateurs.  As a consequence, Dursley now occupy fifth spot, which is still a very respectable return following promotion last year, but the first team could actually overhaul their hosts this coming Saturday if they win both of the games that they currently have in hand.   However, each of Dursley’s three wins, since taking all the points from the first team last autumn, have been gained by single goal victories at home – 3-2 against both Brockworth and Gala Wilton, just two weeks ago, and 1-0 against Lydbrook Athletic at the end of January – so there will be no room for over-confidence this coming Saturday.   For the trip to Dursley, the firsts welcome back Chris Peach, following injury, whilst Shaun Gluyas is also available to a squad who name 15.

The Reserves head off on their journey to play Dowty Dynamos in the knowledge that their carbon footprint will remain intact and the hole in the ozone layer will stay pretty much as it is once they have made their way home afterwards.  This is because Dowty Dynamos now play at The Newlands and, as a consequence, the match will take place just 200 yards away from the pitch that the Reserves normally play on.  That the authorities at The Newlands – which used to be Smiths- and Dowty Rotol, the two major private providers of football pitches to teams engaged in the Cheltenham League, should preside over a situation which now sees Smiths Athletic playing at Dowty Rotol and Dowty Dynamos playing at Smiths can only make one wonder but that is the world that we find ourselves in, so the Reserves just have to nip around the corner this coming weekend.  Nearly four months ago, the Reserves gained all three points from the home fixture against the same opposition courtesy of a 5-0 win that was propelled into folklore thanks to the wonder goal that Dan Robinson provided to break the deadlock.  That defeat was Dowty Dynamos’ fourth on the trot in the league and, in the immediate aftermath of their loss at Cheltenham Road, the Dynamos failed to win any of the next 6 games, making it 9 matches between their first win of the season, on September 13^th against Cheltenham Saracens, and their next, which was away to Cheltenham Civil Service on 31^st January.  Since that second triumph, they have gained a noteworthy point, away to Northway, and then beat Gala Wilton last weekend, 3-1 at home, so the side can genuinely hope that its form has picked up over the course of the last month.  Meanwhile, the Reserves welcome back Shaun Piper to the squad that won at Northway last weekend whilst Ben Norman returns from First team duty and last weekend's Man of the Match, Guy Tyrrell, retains his place.

The Third team is the only team to be playing at home this weekend and will welcome one of the sides to have been affected less by the recent weather conditions than any other team in the League.  FC Electrics Reserves will only have five games left to play this season following the match on Saturday and currently lie in mid table in Division Five following what must have been a slightly disappointing campaign.  The side was long held to be a genuine contender for promotion last year but never seems to have got going this time round, with crushing defeats and substantial victories seemingly co-existing quite happily, often with one following another with little apparent reason.  This inconsistency was best exemplified as November became December last autumn.  An unexpectedly heavy League defeat, 6-0 away to Gala Wilton, came just a week before Apperley & Tewkesbury Dynamos were dispatched at home 5-2, which in turn was followed, in the next game a fortnight later, by a 9-2 thumping at the hands of Division Six leaders R.S.G. as the side took its leave of the Charity Cup.  The first game between the two sides this season came at the tail end of the Third Team’s month of draws and the 3-3 scoreline that day represented the fifth time in a row – but last time up until now – that the side finished a League match deadlocked.  That day, the thirds dominated the first half, which they ended with a 3-1 lead thanks to an own goal and strikes from Kevin McCrea and Rob Vaughan but their hosts then came back strongly to leave the game all square.  The thirds welcome back Mark Cottell to their defence for the visit of FC Electrics, along with Adam Slade who will have gained invaluable experience with the Reserves last weekend.