Hellenic League Premier Division
27 Sept 2025 at The Recreation Ground, Lydney
Lydney Castle. Not in Lydney.
Imagine our disappointment after travelling many miles through the night, to arrive in Lydney only to discover that the main reason for our travels was just a sham; a cheap ruse to boost tourism in one of the prettiest areas of rural England I’ve visited this week.
Fortunately, all was not lost as the Saltmen were playing local heroes Lydney Town at the recreation ground. This turned out to be good news because the ground is very nice. The large, comfortable clubhouse bar has a beer garden with a raised outlook over the immaculate playing surface…a bit like the view from the ramparts of a castle.The weather was dry and all we needed was a good game of football to put medieval building anxiety to the back of our minds. Sadly, instead of a real firecracker we got a bit of a damp squib.
Spa started brightly with a number of chances in the opening minutes. Most notably Nathan Binner had a good headed attempt cleared off the line. It took until the 25th minute for the Saltmen to open the scoring when Reiss Taylor-Randle converted an excellent Jack Brighton cross to make it three from three for this summer’s new signing.
With Cory Rudd and Ben Tilbury both unavailable Spa manager Andy Crowther was forced to play one of his most potent attacking weapons at centre back. Making his 200th appearance for Droitwich, Alex Dugmore returned to his former role of stopper rather than converter. In his double century, Duggers has played in virtually every position for the team, including a cameo appearance in goal. No repeat of the customary four goal haul for Duggers but he played an important role in the rear guard.
Droitwich could and probably should have extended their lead but Lydney defended stoutly and halftime arrived with the score still at 0-1.
It didn’t take long for that to change. Within three minutes of the restart Perry Moss did what Perry Moss does best, bamboozling opponents before curling a goalkeeper deceiving shot inside the far post. At 0-2 the Saltmen were in cruise control but that wouldn’t last past the sixtieth minute. A Charlie Tilley challenge was judged to be a foul and the referee pointed to the spot. It looked very harsh from my vantage point only 90 yards away – which makes me wonder why the officials don’t just stand on the terraces rather than all that running around the field. Nevertheless, my advice was ignored and the penalty stood. The only thing between Lydney and halving the lead was Dom Rogerson in the Droitwich goal. No need to worry as Big Dom correctly read Hunt’s intentions, making an excellent save low to his right side to repel the attack….much like castle dwellers might have poured boiling oil on aggressors.
Lydney brought out the heavy arms and on 75 minutes it paid dividends. Dom Rogerson made another good save but the resulting loose ball fell to Symonds who dispatched the chance efficiently.
The final 15 minutes saw the Spa goal under siege but the valiant Spa rear guard held firm and the Saltmen managed to hang on to all three points.
It was a far from vintage performance from Spa but credit must go to the hosts at Lydney Town who will feel disappointed not to take at least a point from the game. Their second half efforts were made even more difficult after being reduced to ten men for the last half hour.
Sometimes it is necessary to win ugly and grind out a win. This was one of those days.
There were a number of good performances among the Droitwich ranks but this week’s Following The Saltmen man of the match award goes to Nathan Binner. The tireless midfielder was at the heart of most of the positive play, particularly in the first half.
A big thank you to all at Lydney Town for the warm welcome and their good humour. We look forward to returning the favour when they visit Kingys. They can even visit ….
The Castle
Next up, we are visited by Royal Wootton Bassett (no relation to Bertie) on Saturday afternoon with a 3pm kick off at Kingys.
Can they extend their unbeaten run? Come down and find out for yourself.
See you there.
Cheers
FTS
FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN 
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