Week ending the16th November by Mason Norton

Before we start this weeks Ramble Round, the Everards Leicestershire Senior League, wishes to send their condolences to Sileby Town, and the family and friends of David "Charlie" Hoyes, who died on Friday after a long illness. Charlie was a long-serving member of Sileby's committee, and a genuine one-club man, having played, managed, and been chairman of the club, one of the stalwarts who made Sileby one of the longest-serving clubs of the LSL, and of those who took Sileby on the journey from being a team playing on a council pitch in the middle of the village to being LSL champions, playing on a purpose-built facility at the top of the village overlooking the Leicestershire countryside. 


There have been many tributes paid to Charlie this weekend just gone on the Sileby Town FC Facebook page, most of them from those who knew him far, far better than I did. On a personal note, I remember him as a 'firm but fair' man- a few years ago, I made a mistake whilst organising the referee fees on a Hathern-Sileby pre-season friendly. The next day, I got a call from Charlie, who put his point across firmly and fairly, and made sure that I didn't make the mistake again. Another memory dates from 20 years ago, when our clubs played in a Loughborough Charity Cup game, the aftermath of which ended up at Holmes Park, and I recall that Charlie, and several others, spoke up for Hathern on that occasion. He was always eager to talk about Sileby, and football in general, over a pie and a pint in the clubhouse at Sileby, or on the sidelines at any other club, or on the margins of an AGM and he called the game- and the goings-on around it- as he saw it, no more and no less. An honest embodiment of what is good about grassroots football. He will be missed. RIP, sir.  


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It was a strange Saturday in the Everards Brewery Premier Division. Out of the morning's top 5, only one side won, which was leaders Desford. They blew away visitors Cottesmore in a game which was topsy-turvy in the first half, and a one-sided torrent in the second. Tom Vyce, Louis Rood and Jamie York put Desford 3-0 up after 20 minutes, but James Lewis and Leon Kavanagh hit back for Cotts, and it was 3-2 with 10 minutes of the first half remaining. Connor McGahan restored the two-goal cushion before the break, and after the turnround, Rood and Vyce both scored again to end the game as a contest, before three goals in the final 15 minutes saw Vyce secure his hat-trick and sub Mac Parnell score a brace, final score 9-2 to Desford. 


That came as a riposte to last week's defeat at home to Anstey Town, who saw some of their advantage eroded away this weekend with a surprise result at home to Ellistown. Zak Harris and Casey Richardson gave Anstey a 2-0 lead, and the hosts looked set for an easy win, but Ellistown hit back after the break, and goals from Kieran Thackeray and Jack Bonell saw Ellistown snatch a point. Anstey stay second with two games in hand on Desford, but will need to win both of those games to overhaul them. 


The dropped points continued at AFC North Kilworth, who took the lead at home to Aylestone Park Reserves through Jake Smith, but Park battled back in the second half, and goals from Josh Brodella, Evan Kane and sub Gerard Pami gave Aylestone a 3-1 win which nudged them into the top four, after Hathern also dropped points, slumping to a 3-1 defeat at Thurnby Rangers, Lewis Edwards scoring for Hathern, Alfie Mansell scoring a goal either side of half-time for the hosts, and sub Emanuel Jal rounding off the win two minutes from time, easing any relegation jitters that Thurnby might have had. Magna 73 moved up to third, but also dropped points at Sileby. Carlton Beardmore gave Magna an early lead, but Conner Packwood equalised in the first half, and 1-1 was how it finished on a day where football was understandably not foremost in everyone's thoughts at Sileby, a minute's silence being observed before kick-off for Charlie.


There were also changes at the bottom of the table, after Burbage & Huncote won 2-1 at home to Khalsa. Cameron Atkinson and Maverick Martin scored for B&H, Garwinder Bangh for Khalsa. The relegation spot is now occupied by Friar Lane & Epworth, who lost 6-0 at Highfield Rangers, Yankuba Rumpuwarch with a hat-trick, Evan Mansfield, Raijaun Morris-Laing and Kyron Stabana with the other goals. Lane are a point behind B&H, who are in their turn a point behind Ellistown, with a five-point gap after that to Cottesmore and Khalsa.