The dust has settled, the football has sadly finished and it’s now time for a well-earned rest, as we reflect on Hartpury FC’s debut season in the Southern League Div South.
This season saw the Acorns compete at their highest ever level, in a brand new cup competition and put in some remarkable performances.
So, let’s now take some time to see what went on this season for the Acorns.
THE NUMBERS
Games: 47 | Won: 22 | Drawn: 8 | Lost: 17 | Scored: 90 | Conceded: 62 | Points: 67 | Clean Sheets: 14
TRICKY START
The Acorns had a tough start to the campaign, exciting the FA Cup at the Extra Preliminary round to Tuffley Rovers in the first game of the season.
Renato Prifti’s late strike wasn’t enough to mount a comeback at the 4ED Hartpury Stadium, during a 2-1 defeat.
The following weekend saw the start of our Step Four journey, as we travelled to a recently relegated Winchester City, on a sunny August afternoon.
Winchester had suffered relegation from the Southern Premier South and were put to the sword in a tightly contested battle with the Acorns.
Akai Bonnick scored right on half time, to mark our first ever goal at the level, but two second strikes from Oliver Balmer saw Winchester walk away 2-1 winners.
GRABBING THAT FIRST WIN
It didn’t take long for the Acorns to pick up their first win at a new level, when they brushed past Bristol Manor Farm 3-1 during their first home game of the season.
Goals from Nathan Jenkins, Vanylson Silva and Noah Coates secured the three points, which saw the Acorns begin a run of six games with defeat.
BIGGEST WIN OF THE SEASON
Just five games into the season is all it took for the Acorns to record their largest victory of the season, when cruised past Willand Rovers 8-0 at the 4ED.
The Acorns rounded off August with this resounding victory, despite the game not kicking off until 4pm, due to the visitors delayed arrival.
The scoring started early with Prifti opening the tally inside two minutes before Billy Osborn grabbed a second on 10 minutes.
Jesse Aldridge, Silva, Bonnick and a second from Osborn saw the Acorns take a 6-0 lead into the break.
Osborn completed his hat-trick moments after the break before Tomos Shyamapant netted late in the game to round off the afternoon’s scoring.
FA TROPHY DEBUT
September saw the Acorns enter the FA Trophy, for the first time in the club’s history, when we travelled to Didcot Town.
It was cagey affair at the Loop Meadow Stadium but a match winning brace from second half substitute, Tomos Shyamapant, secured a 2-1 victory setting up a tie with Portishead Town next.
The 4ED hosted its first FA Trophy game two weeks later and it was a memorable one, as the Acorns ran out 4-2 winners, placing them in the hat for one of the biggest game in the clubs history.
The Acorns welcomed step three side, Gloucester City, to the 4ED for a highly anticipated third qualifying round tie.
A bumper crowd witnessed a tightly contested match-up which saw the Acorns force the Tigers to penalties, following a goalless draw.
But the Acorns debut Trophy campaign was ended during the shootout with the Tigers win 5-4, from the spot.
FAR FROM HOME
Following the exit from the FA Trophy, the Acorns took a short 452-mile round trip to face Mousehole AFC, looking to get back to winning ways in the league.
Injuries had struck down the Acorns over recent weeks which allowed for two debuts on the day and two academy players the chance to make step four debuts.
Ethan Vaughn and Connor Callow were handed debuts off bench whilst academy products, Vaughan and O’Rian Reid made first starts at step four.
And, to bolster an already positive day for the Acorns, the trip was made worthwhile when the Acorns recorded a huge 3-0 victory on the road.
Drew Robinson started the scoring before half time, whilst Osborn doubled the tally moments after the break with a solo finish.
To cap off a fantastic afternoon, Vaughan grabbed himself a debut goal to secure all three points down in the depths of Cornwall.
HITTING A BLIP
Following our trip to Mousehole, the Acorns hit a rocky patch winning just one of their next seven games.
Defeats to Portishead, Exmouth Town, Willand Rovers, Manor Farm and Westbury United saw the Acorns slip down the table.
But during that dark, the Acorns mustered a defensively sound performance at eventual champions, Frome Town, with a goalless draw before cruising past Brixham AFC 7-1.
PURPLE PATCH
That dark patch didn’t last for long, as the Acorns hit their stride not long after suffering just one defeat in their next sixteen games.
The Acorns spent the entirety of December unbeaten, in the league, and went on to pick up vital wins against play-off rivals.
The Acorns defeated Bishops Cleeve 3-0 just after Christmas before picking up victories against Portishead, Shaftesbury, Exmouth and Larkhall Athletic, putting the Acorns right back in the play-off picture.
During this period, Nathan Jenkins hit a rich vein of form picking up 12 goals in 12 games for the Acorns, including a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Larkhall.
THE FINAL STRETCH
That form set up a tense finish to the season, with the play-offs a possibility for many teams including the Acorns.
The run-in started with a dramatic 4-2 win over Sporting Club Inkberrow, sandwiched between defeats to Didcot and Falmouth Town.
Vanylson Silva scored a superb brace, in between goals from Louis Manning and Jesse Aldridge to wrap up three points at Inkberrow.
A nine-men Hartpury then secured an important three points on the road at Swindon Supermarine, with Manning’s brace snapping up a 2-1 win.
But four successive defeats followed, as the Acorns fell narrowly to Bideford AFC, Melksham Town, Mousehole and Cleeve, ending the Acorns play-off hopes.
Now it was about ending the season on a high, which the Acorns managed going unbeaten in their final two games.
Osborn and Manning made sure of a 2-1 victory in our final away game at Tavistock AFC, before playing out a goalless draw with an already relegated Bashley, on the final day of the season.
The Acorns ended the season in seventh and with the dust settled, completed what was a very proud debut season in the Southern League, with much more to come next season!
