New season underway as first friendlies take place

PREPARATIONS for the 2025/26 campaign have gotten underway in earnest as Shepton Mallet and Cheddar both took to the field for the first time on Tuesday night.

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While the Cheesemen were playing out a goalless draw at Somerton Town, in a game where both teams missed good chances whilst getting good minutes into the legs of their players, Shepton were narrowly beaten 2-1 at Hellenic League side Corsham Town.

A good start to the game at Southbank saw the match played at a decent pace considering the heat and pre-season rustiness from both sides.

Shepton grew into the opening 15 minutes, with chances coming at a premium early on for both sides.

With neither goalkeeper having much to do, Corsham began to turn the screw a little bit just before the half hour mark with some patient play which was defended well by the visitors.

A couple of half-chances gave Shepton’s stopper a sight of the ball, however Corsham's pressure finally paid off in the 37th minute when they managed to break the deadlock.

Buoyed by the goal, Corsham quickly looked for a second before the break as they began to pin Shepton back. The visitors were definitely the happier to hear the half-time whistle.

Shepton made a better start to the second period and almost levelled with a shot from Jacob Sloggett which crashed back off the bar. They were ultimately left to rue their misses though as Corsham managed to make it 2-0 just before the hour when a cross wasn't dealt with by the goalkeeper and the loose ball was gleefully bundled home.

Although Shepton looked shell-shocked and were now having to deal with the pressure being thrown at them, the visitors did manage to pull a goal back with 15 minutes to play with a fantastic long-range strike.