Slimbridge made it six League wins from seven League games in 2024 with a convincing victory over Thornbury Town at The Mundy Playing Fields on Saturday. The result sees the Swans sitting in fourth place in the Hellenic Premier League. 

On a day when the bounce of the ball was effectively a lottery, it took until the fourth minute of First Half stoppage time before Marley Thomas put the visitors into a deserved lead. A second half brace from Rudi McKinnon, the second a penalty, and a further strike from Jack Smith gave the scoreline a more realistic tint. 

Slimbridge made a fast start, and with just forty seconds on the clock, Jack Smith was off target with a header following good work from Theo Clayson. 

A foul in the seventh minute on George Neill was to prove pivotal to how the game played out – After picking up a knock on his knee, Neill was unsuccessful in trying to run the injury off, and was replaced by Nathan Dennis. 

The Swans were forced into a reorganisation that saw Dennis take up a centre back position, with Myron Turner moving over to Right Back, and Marley Thomas moving from Right Back to Striker, in what was an incredibly scrappy game at that point. 

Slimbridge were creating all the chances – Thomas had a good effort blocked after good work by McKinnon, and then Clayson’s cross was just a few inches in front of Thomas who failed to connect as the game reached the half hour mark. 

It took until 38 minutes before Thornbury had their first effort, with Harry Brock off target with his effort as Slimbridge dominated, but were unable to turn their effort into goals. 

Thornbury had their second effort on 45 minutes, when a foul on brock saw Charlie Hitchings go into the book, but Jim Brock was way too high with his free kick. 

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Slimbridge finally got the breakthrough – a long throw in from Ben Hands made its way to Thomas in the Thornbury box. With his back to goal, he swivelled and turned to drill the ball past Adam Clark and put the visitors ahead. 

The second half saw more of the same, with both teams trying to deal with some comical bounces at times on the uneven surface, but Slimbridge always held the upper hand. 

Clark made a great stop from Thomas two minutes into the second period when he was put through on goal by McKinnon, but it only took five minutes for Slimbridge to double their lead. 

A superb break down the right saw Thomas set Clayson free, and although his cross took a deflection off the defender, McKinnon made no mistake as the ball reached him at the far post. 

Seven minutes later it was three – Dan Parry upended Sam Blackie in the Thornbury box, and McKinnon stuck his second away from the penalty spot.

After Matt Toghill had seen his effort deflected for a corner in a rare foray from the home side, Thomas was again unlucky for the Swans, curling an effort just the wrong side of the post. 

The fourth came goal came swiftly afterwards in the 73^rd minute. A neat ball from Blackie across the Thornbury box set up Smith, and he converted past Clark to notch the fourth. 

A 90^th minute effort from Rameim Henry that was wide of the target was the best the hosts could offer, as Slimbridge saw the game out comfortably to record the win, and a double this season over their opponents. 

Speaking after the game, Supporters Club Man of the Match Marley Thomas acknowledged how difficult the conditions were to conquer – ‘We knew it was going to be tough, we knew it was going to be a battle, there wasn’t going to be too much football played as the conditions were poor, but three points is three points.

We had to make some early changes, I went from Right Back to Striker, but we can adapt – we’ve got many versatile players who can play in different positions, so it wasn’t too difficult. ‘

The games continue to come thick and fast for Slimbridge, who have two League games at Thornhill Park this week – on Tuesday, they entertain Hereford Pegasus (7.45pm), before a crunch game against Royal Wootton Bassett Town, who currently sit a place above them in third place. 

Thomas is already looking forward to the next game – ‘We’re looking one game at a time, we’ll hopefully get another three points, that’s all we can try and do. It’ll be tough again, the pitches aren’t great this time of year, and we know they’ve got a lot of quality in the team, so we’ll look forward to that one. ‘

Team: Parker, Thomas, Coker, Turner, Hitchings, Hands (Prictor 78), McKinnon, Blackie, Neill (Dennis 21), Smith, Clayson (Hawes 74)

Goals: Thomas 45+4, McKinnon 50, 57 (Pen), Smith 73

Supporters Club Man of the Match; Marley Thomas

The Under 18s have advanced to the Semi Final of the County Cup with a 6-2 demolition this afternoon of Rockleaze Rangers Under 18s. They will meet Bristol Manor Farm Under 18s in the Semi Final at Thornhill Park, on a date to be agreed. 

Will Tainton scored a Hat Trick, Kieran Bennett notched a brace, and Shamar Thomas rounded off a superb performance from the side.