Category: First Team

After the build up of a competitive pre-season Tuffley Rovers will begin the 2024/25 competitive season with an Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division fixture at newly promoted Sporting Club Inkberrow on Wednesday evening.

Inkberrow were promoted after Hereford Lads Club withdrew from the League, despite having lost the 2023/24 Division One play-off final, but they will be anything but making up the numbers as they compete at Step 5 for the first time in their history. The Worcestershire side won 20 out of their 36 league wins in their promotion season and will be hoping to start the season well.

Rovers finished the 2023/24 season on an impressive run of form, amongst the biggest points accumulators after Christmas and will be hoping for a bright start from this opening fixture. Rovers have not recorded a win on the opening day of the season since defeating Highworth Town 2-1 in 2016/17, and their last two opening fixtures have ended in 0-0 draws.

Neil Mustoe has been buoyed by some positive performances in pre-season but he will be acutely aware that the trip to Inkberrow will bring an entirely different challenge. His cause is not assisted by the unavailability of experienced defender Mark Pritchett, whilst Corey Warrington is still absent following a shoulder injury picked up in pre-season.

Several players are in line to mark Hellenic League debuts for Rovers, with new signings Eli Simpson and Dean Turner likely to be joined in the squad by Josh Stevens, Cole Clinton, Harley Mustoe and youngster Riley Bourne.

The game kicks-off at 7:45pm on Wednesday, 31 July at The Recreation Ground, Sands Road, Inkberrow, WR7 4HJ.

Tuffley Rovers concluded a pre-season schedule that had seen them play seven fixtures in total, with a 1-1 draw against Uhlsport Hellenic League side Clanfield 85 FC on Saturday.

Neil Mustoe’s side have recorded four victories, two defeats and the draw with Clanfield since returning to action on 9 July and the run of games has presented Mustoe with an opportunity to bed in a number of new signings, as well as some promising youngsters from the club’s Development Squad. Twelve goals were scored in those games, with just five conceded, but that is largely an academic statistic and Mustoe’s focus has been on bringing together a new group of players ahead of the competitive season.

Josh Stevens, Tyrel Roberts and Harley Mustoe have all progressed into the first team set-up during the preparations for the season, whilst the Rovers manager has also been able to add former Brimscombe & Thrupp duo Eli Simpson and Dean Turner into his squad, as well other new signings in Cole Clinton, Matt Lee, and Corey Warrington.

It was Roberts who scored Rovers’ final goal of pre-season on Saturday, heading home Karnell Chambers’ cross from close range, to earn a draw that was very much deserved against strong opposition from Oxfordshire.

With the new season set to begin with a flurry of games – a season opener at Sporting Club Inkberrow on Wednesday, will be followed by an FA Cup tie at home to Kidlington FC on Saturday, before a home league game against Slimbridge on Tuesday, 6 August – Mustoe will be hoping that it is a case preparation paying off, as his side look to continue the good form that they showed in the second half of 2023/24.

On Saturday 13 April, Tuffley Rovers’ first team squad will play their final fixture of the 2023/24 season, as they host Hereford Lads Club in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division. KO is 3pm.

Neil Mustoe’s squad had a difficult start to their league season, taking just two points from their opening seven league games, before an improving October (when they took nine points from a possible fifteen) was followed by a poor November.

Rovers’ fortunes started to improve in December and although a tough schedule in January meant results weren’t as hoped, the performances from Mustoe’s side showed plenty of promise and since then they have been amongst the form sides in the division.

Lads Club visited Glevum Park in early-February and Mustoe’s men were leading 3-0 when the game was abandoned at half-time, thanks to torrential rainfall.

Mustoe will be without several players for today’s fixture, with Mark Pritchett, Kieran Alder, Luke Merchant and Warren Mann all likely to be missing from the game due to injury, suspension or non-availability. Karnell Chambers returns after suspension, whilst Liam Smith should also be fit for selection following injury.

The official match-day programme for today’s fixture is now available online.

Tuffley Rovers will host Fairford Town at Glevum Park on Saturday afternoon, as they continue a run of home games that will see them through to the end of their Uhlsport Hellenic League season.

Jamie Reid’s Fairford squad will arrive at Rovers’ home in a play-off position, with just two games to play, so for the visitors this is a vital game in determining the course of their season, while Rovers’ recent form has been positive, meaning they come into the game looking to climb a little further up the Premier Division table.

Kick-off is at 3pm.

The official match-day programme is now available online, with printed copies available from the turnstiles.

Tuffley Rovers will begin a run of home fixtures to end their 2023/24 season, as they welcome Westfields to Glevum Park on Tuesday evening.

With both sides close in the league table, there is plenty to play for in terms of league positions and both have seen improved form of late, so it could be a really good game….although Rovers’ record at home to Westfields is not one to admire, with a 7-0 home defeat last season and a 1-0 reverse the previous year, which was the first time the two teams had met at Glevum Park.

The Fields won the reverse fixture 4-0 in early September, so it promises to be a tough evening for Neil Mustoe’s side.

Tonight’s Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division will kick-off at 7:45pm and the official match-day programme is now available online, with printed copies available at the turnstiles.

Tuffley Rovers’ Neil Mustoe is expecting a difficult evening, as his side look to extend their good run of form (just one defeat in eight) against Brimscombe & Thrupp on Tuesday evening, knowing that the visiting manager, Sam Prior, will be looking for a huge improvement on the performance and result when the two sides last faced each other in the league, at Brimscombe, on 30 December.

On that occasion, Rovers ran out 5-1 winners but that was an unusual result, given that recent history between the two sides is very much in favour of Prior’s team, so Mustoe is expecting a tough evening.

“I have been in the game long enough to know how this feels both ways, and I’m sure Sam and his team will be looking to make their mark on tonight’s game, so we need to be right on it from the first whistle to the last”, said Mustoe.

The game will kick-off at 7:45pm. The official match-day programme is now available online and printed copies will be available at the turnstiles.

Tuffley Rovers will begin a run of home fixtures in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division tonight, as they host fellow Gloucestershire side Lydney Town in a Friday night fixture at Glevum Park.

After a recent win at play-off chasing Fairford Town, Lydney will hope that they’ve all but extinguished any concerns of relegation (even after bottom placed club Wantage Town won against Longlevens in the week) and with Rovers all but safe, too, there is a risk that the game might be something of a ‘dead-rubber’.

However, it is a local derby and Rovers manager Neil Mustoe has been open in his comments in relation to what he expects from his squad during the remainder of the season, and he has also confirmed that he expects James Morse’s side to be as competitive as ever, with the sides having some great battles over the last few seasons, with wins going to both clubs.

Tonight’s match kicks-off at 7:45pm and the official match-day programme is now available online.

Tuffley Rovers will play their first home league Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division fixture since New Years’ Day and their first home league game on a Saturday since 16 December 2023, when they host Roman Glass St George in a 3pm kick-off at Glevum Park. In returning to their home, Rovers will probably be hoping for an upturn in form, as they look to build on a valuable point gained at Mangtosfield United last weekend, following three consecutive defeats.

Neil Mustoe’s side will be up against a strong Roman Glass St George side, who sit 6th in the league table and who defeated Rovers 3-2 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, despite the Glevum Park side having led 2-0.

There is hope for Rovers, as Roman Glass come into the game off a run of four consecutive defeats in all competitions, and without a win in January. Their last victory came on 30 December, when they won 3-1 at home against Hereford Lads Club, although that was at the end of a five game winning streak in the league.

What lies ahead is a game between two teams looking to improve their results as they move into the ‘business end’ of the 2023/24 season. Rovers will be hoping that home is where their improved form begins.