FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

UhlSport Hellenic League Premier Division

6th December 2025 at Cinders Lane, Fairford

Attendance: 85

The Saltmen returned to Droitwich on Saturday evening with three points from this away fixture. Any victory away from home is to be savoured but this one will last in the memory longer than many.

Today’s adventure started at 12.40 when I was picked up by Len Boyd opposite the Copcut. Already in the car were Don Judley and Jaddy G and an empty child’s booster seat belonging to Len’s daughter. It seems the booster seat had become stuck in place and Len had been unable to remove it. This made the short journey to the Cotswolds a little less comfortable than usual.

An hour later we arrived in the pretty Cotswolds town and repaired to the Railway Arms. The sudden presence of a car full of oiks from mid-Worcestershire was probably a little unsettling but we were made very welcome and Don was talked into buying a ticket by the most well spoken ‘chuggers’ I’ve ever met. But they were a decent bunch, and some of them may never have ritually placed anything in a dead pig’s mouth.

The pub itself was also really nice. Stone floors and a working log burner in the Ingle Nook. There was a good choice of drinks and a round of four drinks came to less than £20. Take note publicans of Thornbury and Almondsbury!

After our refreshing libations we squeezed back into the Len Mobile for the short drive to the highly inaccurately named Cinders Lane. Considering the other excellent facilities at the ground, the lane itself is in shocking condition and would certainly benefit from a few bucket loads of cinders to fill in the potholes. I wouldn’t say they’re bad but I’m pretty sure I saw the gun turret of a stranded tank protruding from one.

After paying to get into the ground we discovered that we had to leave again to get to the bar, which we did. The clubhouse bar was very pleasant and it was good to see a number of fellow Spa supporters had already arrived.

Making sure we were suitably hydrated for maximum performance, we ventured out and re-entered the ground just in time for kick off. If we’d left it a little longer we might have missed the opening goal of the game. The hosts started strongly and took that lead on 6 minutes when the Arrows skipper Luke Hitchman managed to turn the ball home after one of those epic goalmouth scrambles. Spa battled hard to restore parity but Jack Brighton came closest. The Spa full-back judged the blustery wind to perfection with a speculative effort from wide right. It took a very smart save from the backpedaling Connor Johns to deny JB a goal on his 200th appearance for the Saltmen. In truth both sides had chances and the hosts could have doubled their lead had it not been for a strong save from Joe Stockton in the Droitwich goal.

Halftime arrived and liquids were taken onboard. For the second half, we chose to seek shelter from the elements in one of the two stands located opposite the clubhouse, but before we could get that far, Fairford did extend their lead, as Adam Corcoran converted an early corner for 2-0.

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That’s it we thought. Probably concede 4 or 5. Fortunately, nobody told that to the high priest of the penalty area, Alex Dugmore. Immediately after the restart Duggers met a low far post Jack Brighton cross and neatly converted to halve the deficit. The Spa talisman almost registered a second goal after rounding Johns only to see his shot cleared off the line by that meddling kid Hitchman.

Never one to give up, Duggers met the resulting corner and his powerful header gave John no chance and the game was level with 25 minutes to play.

Some of the Spa faithful had their hearts in their mouth as Fairford strode up the field and saw a strong headed effort strike the post and safety. As the rain got harder, Spa looked the stronger of the two sides but the game appeared to be drifting towards a draw when an injury time slide rule pass from an impressive Cory Rudd put Nathan Binner through on goal. An equally clinical finish from Nathan put The Saltmen in front and around half of the crowd went mental.

In fairness, it was a good turnout from Saltmen Nation with around 40 or so making the trip to deepest Gloucestershire so close to Christmas and those who did make the trip will not forget it for a while! The final whistle went and the players congratulated each other to the strains of “We Love You Droitwich.” Everyone clapped someone else and then we went for a pint in the Spikes Diner side of the clubhouse. I can’t personally vouch for the food as I had a curry waiting for me back at Falsam Pitts but comments were very positive and judging by the number of delivery riders queuing to take takeaways, it must be good. Special mention to the other double centurion of the day, as gaffer Andy Crowther celebrated his 200th game in charge with a memorable second half performance.
The Following The Saltmen Man of the Match Award goes to Ben Tilbury for another imperious performance in the back four. He always looks like he has loads of time when others might look flustered and hurried.
The result keeps Spa in the top three. Perhaps the most pleasing thing was the way the lads responded to going two down demonstrating levels of determination and quality which is likely be needed in the rest of the season.

Finally, a big thank you to Fairford Town. Cracking club and some nice folk too. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Back to Cup action next Saturday as we return to Gloucestershire looking to beat Tuffley Rovers into the next round draw.

See you there!

Cheers

FTS