North Gloucester League Div 1
Bream 0, Ellwood Reserves 4
ELLWOOD'S Reserve team have toughed it out with the best this season. Often being written off as the team likely to finish in second or third spot, they have finished with a flourish and are now red hot favourites to be champions.
They need just one point from their remaining game against Aylburton to consign the long-time league favourites, Woolaston, to second place.
It has been a tense run-in for Ellwood. With the First X1 doing well in the County League and confident of a place in the top five, the Reserves always face the possibility of losing players.
But as other teams slipped Ellwood enjoyed a purple patch in March and April and proved why they have a reputation as the team with the meanest defence in the league.
Goalkeeper Chris Lewis has been superb and has a remarkable record of not conceding a goal in 18 games this season. Indeed, in 24 league games Ellwood have only let in 20 goals while scoring 94.
Cup runs meant they always had games in hand so for much of the season the league table was tilted against them.
But once the goal-scoring exploits of strikers Dean Baldwin, Rob Merry and Ady Haines, began to count they quickly became the championship chasers.
Haines and Baldwin have netted 25 each and Merry has slammed in 20.
In Saturday's crucial game at Bream Merry and Baldwin both scored but they had to share the honours with Matty Stephens who netted two to set up the league clinching match with Aylburton.
Ellwood will reflect on a great season which opened with success in the West Dean Charities competition when they defeated Blakeney to take the intermediate title. They won through to the League Cup and County Cup quarter finals and are now looking forward to the tough challenge of football in the premier league next season.