By Harry Mottram: The young guns of Axbridge United’s first team have put the town back on the footballing map with a run of wins this season that’s seen them hit top spot in Division 2 of Weston Super Mare and District League. They’ve been involved in a season long battle with Haywood Village for dominance with the red and white players with the Lamb and Flag badge edging out their rivals together with the powerhouses of Berrow and St George Easton in Gordano Reserves.
Axbridge United FC News: Axbridge United have made history by becoming the champions of Division 2 of the Weston and District League. The Darren Draper from the club said: “Well we did it, first league title won for the club. Another piece of silverware for the BRIDGE!”
For football fans the lads have one final game on Tuesday 21st May at the Draycott Memorial Ground with a 6.30pm kick off. Darren said: “It would be great to see some local support to cheer them past the final game.”
The team’s coach Kev Attwood said: “It’s been an honour to manage Axbridge United this season and I would like to thank everyone connected to the club for your hard work, After a long season we definitely deserve to be champions and I’m already thinking of next season in Division 1.”
Axbridge also has the Axbridge Saxons Junior Football Club with more than 100 young players appearing in teams based on ages from the under 6s to the under 18s along with a girls’ team. Previously the town featured Axbridge Town FC who also played in red and white – the town’s colours – who inherited the name from a successful team that represented the town from the 1950s to the 1980s. The Axbridge Saxons were formed in the late 1990s which was initially a veterans team playing in the Bristol Casuals’ League and prompted the creation of the junior and girls’ teams. The Saxons still play five a side in Wedmore – with many of the squad drawn from the original team from the 1990s. That team were to represent the town in a series of fixtures with Houlgate in France along with friendly tours in Europe over the years.
On a personal level I played for the Saxons in 1997-98 in goal (mainly due to being rubbish as an outfield player) which inspired my acclaimed play Dodgy Keeper – which I plan to revive later this year. The current Axbridge United team has the advantage of youth with some highly talented players who have out played and out footballed their opponents this season. When I moved to the town in 1997 from Bristol, I had played for Henleaze Corinthians previously and together with Chris Carter of Bedminster Red Star founded the Casuals League (now the Bristol Corinthian League) with five teams in an era that has seen men stay fit for longer and able to continue to turn out for teams into their 50s, 60s and even early 70s.
The last 30 years has also seen the rise of the women’s game – once banned for decades by the male dominated FA. Female football is now seeing a popularity that has rivalled the male game in recent years with the game and its history celebrated in a number of plays, TV documentaries and books. In short the game has come of age with Axbridge very much a hotbed for football.
For more information on the Axbridge Saxons Junior Football Club visit http://www.axbridgesaxons.co.uk/index.html
For more on the United side visit https://www.facebook.com/p/Axbridge-United-FC-100057415330683/
There are some notes on the original Axbridge Saxon FC at https://football.fandom.com/wiki/Axbridge_Saxon_F.C.
For details of the Bristol Corinthian League see https://bristolcorinthiansleague.co.uk/
For more on the Weston Super Mare And District Football League see https://fulltime.thefa.com/index.html?league=8928175&selectedSeason=918749378&selectedDivision=353412235&selectedCompetition=0&selectedFixtureGroupKey=1_180359372
For more on the Weston Super Mare And District Football League see https://fulltime.thefa.com/index.html?league=8928175&selectedSeason=918749378&selectedDivision=353412235&selectedCompetition=0&selectedFixtureGroupKey=1_180359372
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