Tomorrow night's GFA Trophy tie has, as expected, been postponed and rearranged for next Wednesday (January 13th), Kick Off 7.45pm.

Chairman Keith Sparrow confirmed this evening that Wednesday's GFA Trophy Tie against Hanham Athletic is under threat due to the severe frost in the Wisloe Road pitch. A decision will be taken tomorrow on whether it is likely the pitch will recover by Wednesday night, and reported here as soon as possible.

Today's game has fallen foul of the icy conditions and been postponed. A new date will be anonunced in due course.

Slimbridge manager James Cole is hoping his players will come back refreshed for their Boxing Day trip to Lydney Town.

With the freezing weather wiping out the whole Hellenic League programme last Saturday, Slimbrige were unable to get back to winning ways against Launton Sports but Cole believes his side needed the break. Two successive draws and five points from a possible 12 has seen the Swans slip to second in Division One West, one point behind league leaders Purton, who have two games in hand.

“I think we needed a rest to be honest, we’ve played more than other teams,” said Cole (pictured). “We were going to Launton hoping to get back on the winning track, but I’m happy with the lads and what they have done in a new league. For a long time expectations have been high at Slimbridge and we want to get promoted but you need to give respect to teams who work hard. They’ve shown we have to break them down with skill, which is expected at Slimbridge. We’ve had four new players come in from Hardwicke, who won the league last year, so it will take time for them to settle in, but they’re quality players and we’ve got a good bunch. Hopefully we’ll come back refreshed, start on the winning trail, and that task starts at Lydney. We beat them at home but I felt they were a good side. They’re from the Forest, which is always a hard place to go, and it’s difficult to rack the players up on Boxing Day.”

Slimbridge are aiming for their third successive promotion since they pulled out of the Southern League and reformed through their reserves. Cole confirmed they have applied to play in the Hellenic Premier Division next season and he believes they are currently in a strong position to win another title. “You always need to be in the mix at Christmas,” he said.
“We’re second at the minute, some teams have got two games in hand but they need to win them. I would have taken this at the start of the season. We’ve got some hard games but that’s why we’ve got a good squad to handle it. I’m excited and I want to get Slimbridge back where we were before. We’ve also applied for the FA Vase and FA Cup next season, which are competitions we want to be in and we should be in.”

Assistant manager Leon Sterling will take charge for Saturday’s trip to Lydney as Cole is on holiday.

The postponed game at Lydney Town has now been rescheduled to this Saturday, 2nd January 2010, the Hellenic League announced this morning. Kick Off time to be confirmed.

Today's match in The Forest against Lydney Town has been postponed due to a frozen pitch. A rearranged date for the clash will be announced in due course.

For the second week running, the Swans were forced to come from behind to secure a draw, however the two points dropped allowed second placed Purton, who defeated Clanfield 2-1, to leapfrog Slimbridge and take over top spot, with two games in hand on their rivals. Goals scored 6 minutes either side of the half time interval resulted in the spoils being shared, the second time this season Tytherington have held The Swans to a 1-1 scoreline.

The Swans made one change from the side which drew with Purton last week, Will Wellon returning to the lineup in pace of Jamie Inch, who was nursing an injury picked up during the week, and Manager James Cole saw his side make a bright start. The game was barely a minute old when a cross from Tom Cole resulted in a Carter header being saved by Rocks' Keeper Dent. However, Rocks came back strongly, and two minutes later, Nathan Irwin's pass to Marcus Taylor produced a good block from Will Wellon, and the Swans easily cleared the resultant corner. Rocks continued to press, and, on 10 minutes, the Swans' wall needed to be solid to keep out a 25 yard free kick from Danny Thorpe.

The game never really settled down into a rhythm, and it was Slimbridge who forced the next attack on goal, Carter's run down the right wing resulted in a corner which was headed goalwards by Marvyn Roberts, forcing an instinctive save from Dent. The ball rebounded into the penalty box, but Lewis Wilton was hurried off the ball by the Rocks' defence, and the chance was lost. The end to end nature of the first half continued as the Swans missed two good chances - Wilton heading just wide from Ben Wood's cross, then Carter having a shot blocked on the edge of the box. Rocks' reply came from a good run and shot wide of the post from Luke Garbacz.

On 22 minutes, Rob Hine's edge of the box attempt was pushed over for a corner, and Tustain's subsequent header drifted just over the bar. Rocks again came back, and Taylor forced a good save from Dave Evans in the Swans goal, before a foul on Evans from the resulting corner brought the move to an end. As the game moved towards halftime, Slimbridge were forced onto the back foot, as Rocks took the first real sustained foothold in the game - following another good save from Evans, more Rocks pressure saw Will Wellon clear a goalbound shot off the line. Slimbridge were restricted for a while to attacking on the break, and Tom Cole had their best effort so far on goal - a 25 yarder which inches wide with Dent stranded 10 minutes before Half Time.

On 37 minutes, a Rocks corner was punched clear by Swans Keeper Dave Evans, but immediately crossed back in where Thorpe found himself in acres of space. He took advantage, sliding home a header past the helpless Evans to put the home side ahead. It was a fair reward for the sustained pressure, although Slimbridge certainly had enough chances themselves to feel aggrieved at beng behind.

As the second half started, Rocks made the early running - Taylor shot wide 2 minutes into the half, and then had another good effort turned for a corner by Evans, who pushed his shot over the bar. 5 minutes into the second half, the Swans were forced into their first change of the afternoon, with Jamie Inch replacing Richard Workman, who had picked up a knock in the first half. Following the substitution, a Carter pass to Roberts saw him bring a good save from Dent. The ball rebounded out to Rob Hine who fed Roberts again in space with the keeper in front of him. Rather than shooting, Roberts slipped the ball to Lewis Wilton who was free in space to his left, and Wilton gleefully netted past the defenders on the line to pull the Swans level.

The goal lifted Slimbridge's spitrits, and they took control as the second half progressed, but couldn't make their possession count, as chance after chance slipped from their grasp. Carter was becoming influential down the right wing, but his distribution was erratic at times, resulting in some good opportunities going astray for the visitors. On 62 minutes, a quick passing exchange between Carter and Tustain saw a Tustain effort slide past the Rocks' post, and the same combination set up Ben Wood a couple of minutes later, but again the shot failed to find the target.

Tustain was also involved in the next Slimbridge attack - his pass to Wilton, who was brought down outside the Rocks box. Tustain blasted the subsequent free kick over the bar from a good position. Referee Andrew Davies was having an erratic afternoon, and The Swans' frustration with his decision making saw both Roberts and Rob Hine booked within a minute as a result of their discussions with the officials regarding some of the decisions made on the pitch.

As the game moved into the final 15 minutes, it still looked as if the game was there for Slimbridge to win; Jamie Inch burst from defence and fed Roberts, whose shot drifted wide of the goal, before a move involving Carter, Tustain and Wilton saw Carter put the ball over the bar and another good chance went begging. Carter and Wood both missed further chances to snatch the win, but Rocks held their nerve to secure a point, and frustrate the Swans for the second time this season.

Next Saturday, Slimbridge travel to Launton Sports for another Hellenic League West fixture, with a 2pm Kick Off.

A 30 yard free kick from the Swans' Joe Tustain was the pick of the goals in a battle which rarely matched its 'Top of the table' billing. Although Slimbridge took the lead through Tustain, Purton hit back with a brace of goals from the dangerous looking Ashley Gooch, and it was only a late equaliser from Richard Workman which secured a point for the home side. The result certainly suited the visitors more than Slimbridge, who remain a point ahead of Purton, but having played two games more.

Purton made the livelier start, and served notice of their intent with two good chances in the first five minutes of the game - firstly, Tom Cadden had a good chance when heading across the Swans' goal, then Ashley Gooch shot wide when well placed. The Swans took a while to get into the game, and their first chance took nearly a quarter of an hour to arrive, Marvyn Roberts' offside bringing a promising move involving Lewis Wilton and Paul Carter to a halt.

As the first half progressed, the Swans took the upper hand and looked the more likely side to break the deadlock. Tom Cole's cross on 16 minutes was dropped by Purton Keeper Farrell under pressure from a challenge from Roberts, who then inexplicably lofted the ball over the bar from a couple of yards out with an open goal in front of him. Carter was involved in much of Slimbridge's effective midfield work, and it was his pass slipped to Roberts which gave the Swans their next chance, but his cross was too near Farrell and the move came to nothing.

On 21 minutes, a surging run by Tustain resulted in a free kick, which Carter lofted into the Purton penalty area. As Farrell punched the ball out under pressure, it fell to Carter who shot wide with the Keeper stranded. Roberts was beginning to cause problems for Purton Centre Half James Townsend, and it was as a result of a foul on Roberts that the Swans took the lead on 33 minutes. Joe Tustain curled a 30 yard free lick round the Purton wall, leaving Farrell stranded. Two minutes later, a Tustain cross was nearly turned into his own net by Farrell, and the Swans upped the tempo and began to look increasingly dangerous. By now, the rain was pouring onto the Wisloe Road pitch, and control became more difficult as the conditions worsened.

It was against the run of play when Purton equalised on 39 minutes with their first chance for over half an hour. Leon Sterling lost the ball in midfield, and the resulting through ball saw Ashley Gooch kept his cool to beat Keeper Evans easily when through on goal to put the visitors level. The Swans still had time to hit the bar before half time - a corner from Carter eluded everyone in the dying seconds of the first half, but it was all square at the break.

Bouyed by their equaliser, Purton again came out of the blocks quicker in the second period, and the Swans were rocked when the visitors took the lead on 51 minutes - A shot from Johnny Goole brought a great save from Evans, however the ball fell to Tom Cadden, who crossed for Gooch to notch his second of the game from close range.

As conditions worsened and the rain increased, chances became more and more limited for both sides, with Tustain ballooning the ball over the bar following a free kick for another foul on Roberts being the pick of a very scarce bunch for the home side. As the game moved into the last 15 minutes, the Swans began to press and create more chances again. Sterling shot over when well placed following a good spell of Slimbridge pressure, and Roberts saw his shot drift agonisingly past the post when through on goall. The Swans finally made the breakthrough with 7 minutes left following a series of corners - a scramble a couple of yards out saw Richard Workman slide the ball home from close in. Although Purton protested the ball had not crossed the line, Referee Cobby took the advice of his well placed Assistant and rightly awarded the goal.

The Swans had one last chance to nick the game, when Roberts curled a shot just over the bar from 20 yards out after a scramble on the edge of the box, but in the end, both teams had to settle for a point apiece.

On Saturday, the Swans make the short trip to play Tytherington Rocks for another Hellenic League West Fixture, Kick Off 2pm