Clevedon United - Coleridge Vale

Clevedon United FC 

Coleridge Vale

Southey Road

Clevedon 

Somerset

BS21 6NY

FCHD Page

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Ground Number: 1545

Saturday 18th April 2026

Clevedon United 1-1 Clevedon AFC

Somerset County Premier

CLEVEDON UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Clevedon United was formed in 1974 as a merger between Clevedon Sports AFC and Tickenham United. They carried on in the Somerset Senior League Premier Division, enjoying some good finishes in the early 80s. They finished as runners-up to Robinsons DRG in 1988, Bridgwater Town in 1992, Long Sutton in 1993 & Portishead in 1998. They were finally champions in 1999, but could not take promotion due to ground grading. In 2003, a 3rd place finish and a groundsharing agreement with local rivals Clevedon Town allowed them to make the step up to the Western League D1. They generally finished in the lower half of the table, their best finish of 9th coming in 2005. The groundshare agreement came to an end in 2010, and United returned to Coleridge Vale and the Somerset County League. After a couple of seasons of struggle, they went down to Division 1 in 2013. Clevedon won the regionalised Division 1 West in 2015, returning to the Premier Division. They sailed close to the wind in 2017, finishing 3rd from the bottom, but had a good season in 2022, finishing 3rd.

The club played in both FA Competitions for a decade after the millennium. In the FA Cup, they reached the 2nd Qualifying Round in 2003, beating Dawlish Town and Frome Town before losing 8-2 at Lymington & New Milton. Clevedon United made their debut in the FA Vase in 2000, enjoying their best run. They beat Bristol Manor Farm and Torrington before losing 2-0 to Hallen in the 2nd Round. The club won the Somerset Senior Cup for the first and only time in 2021. Notable former players include Jack Butland, the current Rangers and former England goalkeeper, who was born in the town. Clevedon United were his first club as a youth.  The club is based in Clevedon, a town in North Somerset with a population of around 21,300.  The name derives from the Old English cleve, meaning "cleave" or "cleft" and don meaning "hill". Victorian Clevedon changed from a farming village into a popular seaside town. The Victorian craze for sea bathing was met in the late 19th century by saltwater baths next to the pier (since demolished, though foundations remain), and bathing machines on the main beach. The first large-scale production of penicillin took place in the town. Football-wise, Clevedon Town of the Western League and fellow Somerset League side Clevedon play in the town as well as  Swiss Valley Rangers FC, founded in 2000, a junior football club, based at Clevedon School, that has teams from ages under 6 to ages under 18.

MY VISIT

With this game being at 3, there were plenty of hoppers drifting to other games, especially amongst those who were experienced in this neck of the woods. A popular destination was Portishead. One Essex-based hopper, with the penalty-taking skills of Peter Devine, then continued to whine all afternoon about how rubbish the ground was. Colin had gone with the Essex lads too, so it was nice to get a bit of peace. It was an OK drive, but I arrived after many hoppers, and the roads around the ground were chocca. I got a space and went to the ground; entry was free for the only time on the hop. I headed to the bar. The cider selection had been disappointing so far, but Clevedon came up trumps with the rarely spotted Thatchers Dry. I'd last had that nine years ago at Ashton & Backwell, a ground I'd driven past earlier. It went down very nicely. There were club glasses, and the bar was a lovely place to sit, type my blog, and charge my phone on my laptop. There was a good number of people at the game, despite the competition. I was hungry, so I got a cheeseburger. Dull but delicious and a bargain at £3.50. Best of all, the club got the money.

 

Clevedon United were 8th in the league. They had won 12, drawn 2, and lost 9 so far. They'd won three of their last four, beating Stockwood Wanderers 5-0 last weekend. Clevedon AFC had previously been known as Uphill Castle, based in Uphill, a suburb of Weston-Super-Mare. Established in 2013, they moved to Clevedon Town FC and rebranded as Clevedon AFC at the start of the season. They were in 5th, having won fourteen, drawn five and lost six. They were unbeaten in three and had drawn 1-1 at Chard Town in their last game. Clevedon AFC took the lead on six minutes, Ollie Willcox on the end of a good break as he made a good run and finished into the corner of the net. The attendance was announced as 327, just as United had a series of chances to get back in the game. Half-time came and went quickly, with the second half starting at 15:57. United really pushed forward in the second half. On the hour, they got clean through, but the shot hit the post. On 68 minutes, it was all square. A home player was tripped in the area, and the resulting spot kick was scored. That was it, perhaps the hosts could have won it, but it was a fair result.

From the game, it was a short but difficult drive to Nailsea. More bad roads with passing places, a tractor decided that they had the right of way, but it was easy enough for a few cars to reverse back. Bad results filtered in from back home. Wycombe lost 1-0 to ten-man Blackpool to continue their bad run. Holmer Green ended their eleven-game winning streak with a loss at Westside, and Colin's Amersham Town side were relegated after losing at home to Holyport. Parking was easy for this one, and I was in place by 5.10. The club had a bog-standard BBQ, and so with time to kill, I went in search of food. Wetherspoons was one of the closest, so although it was a revisit,, I walked the 20 minutes there. It was still the cheapest and easiest way to get fed. Spice bag with Aspalls was £10.81. I went from starving to stuffed very quickly. I then walked the 20 minutes back to the ground, arriving bang on kickoff. Yet another red and black team, the 4th host in succession to don those colours. We were still waiting for the first home win, but Nailsea quickly went into a 2-0 lead, two well-taken goals around the ten-minute mark. They made it 3-0 on 19 minutes. Stockwood Wanderers had been poor, and their task was made harder on 33 minutes when they were reduced to ten men after a bad tackle. Nailsea continued to dominate and made it 4-0 on 62 minutes with a looping header. Two further goals made it 6-0 at the end.

 

THE GROUND

COLERIDGE VALE is another good step 7 ground. Fully railed but with no hard standing, there is also no cover. There is a great bar, though, with a decent range and club glasses. There was a BBQ outside selling burgers and hot dogs. Parking is quite limited, but there are lots of streets nearby to use. Buses also run close by.

Congresbury - Broadstones Park

Congresbury FC

Broadstones Park

Drove Road

Congresbury

Bristol 

BS49 5DN

FA Full Time

Twitter

Ground Number: 1544

Saturday 18th April 2026

Congresbury 0-0 Worle

Somerset County Premier

CONGRESBURY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1906. Like many village sides in North Somerset during this era, Congresbury played primarily in the Weston-super-Mare & District League. By the mid-80s, Congresbury was consistently finishing at the top of the Weston & District League Division 1. In 1988, they joined the Somerset County League. Starting in Division 3, they finished 3rd and earned promotion in their first season. A 3rd place finish in Division 2 in 1991 saw another promotion.  Clevedon found Division 1 tougher, though, and they were relegated back in 1995. However, they would bounce back as runners-up to Ilminster Town the following year. They managed a couple of decent seasons in this spell, finishing 6th and 7th before being relegated again in 2004. The club won its first title in 2011 as it won Division 2 West, went down straight away and won the title again in 2013. After another five seasons spent in Division 1, they finished bottom in 2018. Reorganisation saw the club placed in Division 3. In 2023, Congresbury were runners-up to Radstock Town Reserves, earning promotion to Division 2. A 3rd place finish saw another promotion in 2024 before they made it a hat trick of promotions last year by winning the Division 1 title.

Congresbury is a village on the northwestern slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset. It has a population of around 3,500. The Congresbury Yeo River flows through the village. The parish includes the hamlet of Brinsea. The nearest railway station is Yatton, with trains provided by Great Western Railway, but Congresbury once had its own railway station on the Cheddar Valley Line from Yatton to Wells. It was also the starting point for the Wrington Vale Light Railway, which went to nearby Wrington and Blagdon. It lies next to the Strawberry Line, an old railway line now converted to a pathway for walkers and cyclists to enjoy the countryside with views over the North Somerset Levels and reserves on the Congresbury Moors, which is maintained by the local conservation group, YACWAG. Congresbury is named after St Congar, who is said to have performed three miracles in the area. The second part of the name is thought to come from burh, meaning fortified place.

MY VISIT

From our game at Frys Club, it was a testing drive to Portishead. I've had issues with Bristol's road system before, and it was even worse in the dark. One error and you are forced to go around the entire poxy one-way system again. With junctions galore, that is easy, and it was even more congested by Bristol rugby fans coming out of Ashton Gate. A great city on foot, but I was glad to see the back of the place and be on my way to Portishead. The Go2 Portishead Marina Hotel was a decent place, with free parking at Lidl and an efficient check-in. A few drinks were very much needed, and I had these as I typed my blog and watched YouTube videos. It helped send me off to sleep, but not before I had ordered a Holmer Green FC training top off of the MJM Sports Combined Counties League site. I originally went for a coat, but this seemed a better option. £30 for the top itself, £4 for the badge and £7.95 for the postage. I eventually got to bed around half midnight, Colin fast asleep before then.

I didn't need much sleep and was up at 6 after around five hours' sleep, awoken by Colin talking to himself. I got up and watched YouTube for a bit before having a shower. We'd not yet been there, due to the dull cider selection, but it did for a breakfast muffin, black pudding and a pint of Cranberry juice for £4.14. The name Portishead (a town recorded in the Domesday Book and affectionately known as Posset) derives from the ‘port at the head of the river’. The town’s centuries-old history is chronicled in a series of booklets – the Posset Pieces. Shakespeare mentions Posset in several of his plays. Originally a dessert enriched by alcohol, it was used as a medicinal remedy, served in a two-handled cup. That gave its name to the pub, the Posset Cup. After that, we went to Lidl and back to the room, where Colin went back to sleep. We went out at 9.40, Colin in an annoying mood. He slept in the car on the way to a farm shop, Brockley Stores. There, I got some cider and a brownie for later. The roads were terrible, all single track with passing spaces and people out on their horses. Thankfully, it was fairly stress-free with everyone in a respectful mood. We got to the ground an hour before kickoff, and it had a nice buzz about the place. Entry was £4 with a souvenir ticket. I spent the hour before kickoff chatting and starting this blog.

Congresbury were in 12th place in the table, having won eight, drawn three and lost fifteen. They'd only lost one of their last five, a heavy 6-0 loss to Wells City Reserves.  In their last game, they beat Staplegrove 4-2. Worle were in 14th, sitting in the relegation zone. They had won three, drawn two and lost twenty-one. They'd lost five on the bounce, including a 3-1 reverse to Chilcompton Sports in their last game. It was a poor first half, but not as bad as PuffPuff's efforts in the penalty shootout, two penalties wide and one let in by purpose on the keeper. The second half wasn't much better. A simple chance for Congresbury was presented to them ten minutes from time, but they scuffed it wide. The same happened in the last minute and you knew this game was always destined to be 0-0. But a tick is a tick and the club made great efforts to make us feel welcome.

THE GROUND

BROADSTONES PARK is another great step 7 ground. Fully railed, the only cover is behind one goal, an overhang in from of the club building. This offers drinks and snacks as well as beer and cider cans. Further stalls offering merch and hot rolls were available. It's in a peaceful area but parking is quite decent.

Fry Club - Somerdale

Fry Club FC 

Somerdale

Trajectus Way

Keynsham

Bristol

BS31 2AU

0117 986 5787

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1543

Friday 17th April 2026

Frys Club 0-2 Stockwood Green

Somerset County Premier

FRY CLUB FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Fry Club FC were founded in 1916 as part of the J S Fry & Son Factory. As the football section flourished, in the early years, they played their home games at many different venues across Bristol. Somerdale was the established base of Fry Club FC until 2016, when they moved to a new ground. During the 50’s and 60’s, the club’s first and reserve teams won four district division titles between them. In 1988, they joined the Somerset County League and won the Division 3 title in their first season.  The following year saw another promotion as they finished as runners-up to local rivals Keynsham Town in their first season. A third promotion in a row came in 1991 after a third-place finish in Division 1.  They remained members of the Premier Division for many years, finishing as runners-up to Clevedon United in 1999. They were relegated to Division 1 in 2008, returning in 2013 after a 3rd-place finish. Another runners-up spot came in 2015, this time behind Shirehampton.

The club is located in Keynsham, a town located on the outskirts of Bristol. It has a population of around 20,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as Cainesham (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Saint Keyne. Keynsham developed into a medieval market town after Keynsham Abbey was founded around 1170. It is home to Memorial Park, which is used for the annual town festival and several nature reserves. The park is also the centre of the annual chicken race, held every October. The town is served by Keynsham railway station on the London-Bristol and Bristol-Southampton trunk routes and is close to the A4 road, which bypassed the town in 1964. Several notable people have been born or lived in Keynsham. The comedian Bill Bailey was raised in the town.  Marcus Trescothick, the Somerset and England cricketer, played for Keynsham cricket club. Football-wise, the town is represented by Keynsham Town, who play in the Western League Division 1, a level above Frys Club.

MY VISIT

I had been looking forward to the Somerset County Hop since it was announced at the end of last season and finalised in August this year. I had been to a few Somerset League games, and it was a lovely part of the world. Sadly, this hop would contain two revisits, but it wasn't a big issue. The first one was a newbie at Frys Club FC. It was sad that they had moved from their old ground in 2016, as it looked like a great place. Whilst not on the scale of the Cadbury Bourneville Pavilion, it did have a lovely ornate building and some retro signage. The factory once produced one of my favourite chocolate bars - Fry's Chocolate Cream, though I've not had one for years. I remember an American food reviewer hating it, and it's certainly an acquired taste. Now made by Cadburys, it has probably been ruined by American conglomerate Kraft and pumped full of palm oil, but the memories are great. All of the clubs were very proactive and friendly in making fans feel welcome when I announced I was attending, making me anticipate it even more.

From my game at Bromleians, I had at least one more pub in mind. To shorten the journey time, I walked 30 minutes to a bus stop, which meant that I cut out one and a half buses. I had the Wycombe game on my phone. They'd been 1-0 up at Huddersfield, but by the time I left, they were 2-1 down. It was a frenetic finish that saw Wycombe equalise, go behind in the sixth minute of injury time and then equalise in the tenth minute of injury time, sparking a fracas between the two dugouts in which Wycombe manager Mike Duff was sent off. Final score 3-3. My other local team also had a remarkable game, winning 4-3 at Spelthorne Sports to make it ten wins in a row. If Holmer carries on their form, they might even make the playoffs, as unlikely as that seemed when they started the run. I looked at my Skybet account to see a disappointing loss of £3.50 on today's football and Grand National bets, but then I probably only gamble once or twice per year. It was a good Spoons, even if the app wasn't working, but I had to start heading for home before the buses dried up. The first bus to East Croydon was delayed, and the time it was taking to get home, I'd have been OK taking my car. There was also a tempting Micropub, but I was cutting it fine as it was. My planned route bit the dust due to signalling issues, not an issue as far as getting back was concerned, but over an hour delay for any Peterborough-bound people. Changes at London Victoria and King's Cross got me on an Amersham train with both my watch and power bank dead. I was back around 8.30 and had around 15 minutes to wait for my bus home.

I was glad to get everything on charge and have a couple of Kriek beers before bed. As with every Sunday, it was manic, and I ended up staying for an extra hour. There was also the usual trick of the company forcing you to pick your whole year's holiday in advance. Very annoying, especially when I'd like to arrange it around Wycombe fixtures, but we shall see. I selected 22 out of my 28-day allowance and will have to hope that suffices. I'd prefer to keep some back to use once I know plans, but have a few days in mind if they force the issue. It didn't really feel like a Sunday evening, with a bonus episode of Corrie and steak and chips for dinner. Monday was another hard day at work, so I was glad for my day off on Tuesday. It was the usual walk to Wycombe and back, over ten miles in all. In the evening, I went to Holmer Green v Molesey. They battered Molesey in the first half, going ahead just before the break through Lloyd Ronald Majaya. Goals from Saunders and Peck made it 3-0 in the first ten minutes of the second half. Although Molesey pulled one back in the last ten minutes, it kept alive Holmer Green's faint playoff hopes. Sadly, these were quickly extinguished as Woodley United won one of their games in hand on Wednesday and made it mathematically impossible.  Still, eleven wins in a row is fantastic, just a little late.

Thursday was very busy at work, unusual as it is usually one of the quieter days. I came home and spent a couple of hours catching up and researching tonight. I left at 4.20 and I had a decent journey for the time of day. Google Maps was slightly off with its location for parking, a rather expensive £2.10 for the 30 minutes I needed. It was another architecturally barren new town, but a solid example of a Spoons with great range and service. Katsu Curry and a cranberry juice were an excellent £8.06. That was where the good news ended. I turned up at the ground to find no sign of an adult game, just a kids' training session. It was disappointing to have a wasted journey, but that's the risk you take with games at this level. With the Spoons ticked, I very much doubt I'll return. I was back home just after 7 and tried to get an early night. I found out the next morning that FC Bracknell had beaten Eton Wick 4-2, so the game must have been played at some top-secret location.

It was another busy day at work. Friday appears to have become a third day of the weekend for many, judging by how busy it was. I stayed on for a bit and got home around 2. It gave me time to have a bath, get changed and get a few things done before it came time to leave. I left at 3.50 to glorious blue skies and sunshine. I was in a great mood, but it took ages to get out of Wycombe. All was going well until we got to Swindon, and it was grey skies and drizzle for the rest of the journey. I stopped at Tesco for some cider; it was a rather disappointing small store, but I still picked up some stuff for the room. It was ten minutes drive to the Golden City Chinese takeaway. I got special Thai Green Curry for £9.50, it was delicious and with rice at £9.50, it was superb value. I drove five minutes to the ground before having my dinner. The friendly welcome was fantastic; we were told it was free parking and that the ANPR had been turned off. Considering the DVLA sell your details to any scumbag in return for the equivalent of a wank behind the bike sheds, I put my faith in them. I went and met Colin, Daniel and Richard, as ever with Colin, I heard him before I saw him. Entry was an excellent £5 with a souvenir ticket, and a league pin badge was £2.50, with the money going to charity. The bar was disappointing in terms that it was the same cider you get everywhere, albeit a decent range.

 

Fry Club were in 9th and had won eleven, drawn three and lost thirteen so far. They'd lost their last two, the last game being a 3-0 loss at Nailsea United. Stockwood Green were a few places above in 6th, having won thirteen, drawn five and lost six. They'd won their last two, including a 1-0 win at leaders Chilcompton Sports on Saturday. The game was end-to-end with Fry Club well on top. They hit the woodwork with one shot. The attendance was announced as 256. Stockwood Green piled on the pressure in the second half, and they took the lead on 62 minutes, Connor Westerside rifling into the roof of the net. Levi White added a second in the 79th minute, a great finish past the keeper.

THE GROUND

SOMERDALE is an excellent step 7 venue. A fully railed pitch with some hard standing, plus a small bit of cover behind one goal. There are also around ten uncovered seats next to this. Outside is a large bar with a good range of drinks, but nothing special. There was a food van when we went, and this was decent. Parking is plentiful, and it's not too far from Keynsham train station.