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That's it then. The Southern Region League season has drawn to a close. Congratulations to Wycombe Wanderers, Denham United and Farnham Town. Champions of their respective divisions. In this last edition of the season there are just two games to round-up, Southampton's SDFA Cup Final defeat and Portchester's thumping final victory. In place of the usual preview of fixtures there's a complete season review of the live games covered by BotP this season. ResultsSDFA Cup Final AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Southampton Women's The Sirens took the lead in this game through Ella Wright's goal on the half-hour. However, Bournemouth were level seven minutes before half-time and then struck the winning goal with eight minutes remaining of second-half normal time.  AFC Portchester 11-0 Woodley United Portchester signed off the season with a big win against Woodley. Layla Morgan, who was later to make her England Beach Soccer debut (congratulations Layla), ended her league season with five of the goals. Sophie Bell added a hat-trick, Lola Meyer struck twice and Lauren Aitken added to her season tally.  Kidlington Youth P-P Tilehurst Panthers  That's the season done, and what a fantastic season it was! One team in each division stood out from the start, Wycombe Wanderers in the Premier, Denham United in Division One North and Farnham Town in Division One South. Ultimately, the starts they had got all three of them over the line, but credit to the chasing pack in each division for keeping them all honest until the end. This was especially true in the top flight where AFC Portchester, Southampton Women and, in particular Winchester City Flyers, had The Chairgirls chewing their fingernails into early May On a personal basis, I enjoyed every minute of the season. A season that saw me get to more games involving SoReg teams than ever before.
The season began for me with a first ever trip to The Den. Newcomers Denham United, who had moved laterally into Division One North from The London & South-East League, were taking on Oxford City's Development team, also in their first season in D1N after coming up from the Thames Valley League. Match blog - Goal Den Girls
Next up was the FA Cup and another new team to add to my list, Manorcroft United. The hosts were newly promoted into the South-East Counties Surrey League and were taking their place in the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Match blog - Lemons Squeezed Out By Royals
My longest round trip of the season came next. A first visit to Chapel Gate for Bournemouth Sports Reserves versus AFC Varsity. A tight game ensued, settled by a single Kayleigh Mackay goal for the second consecutive season. Match blog - Sports Suffer From Kayjà Vu
Following on from my longest journey of the season, I took the opportunity to visit the closest club to home for my next match. Kidlington Youth, who had been struggling for points taking on an Abingdon Development side who were following up last season's Chairman's Cup win with some good league form. Match blog - United Getting The Winning Habit
My first chance to see the attacking power of Wycombe Wanderers came next. They faced up to an Oxford City team that were not shy of a goal or two themselves. However, on the day, it was The Chairgirls who came out on top, making an emphatic statement. Match blog - Dominant Wanderers Sink City
Next on the agenda was a first trip of the season to Hillier Way for a very tasty looking clash between two of Wycombe's chasing pack, Winchester City Flyers and Southampton Women. The Sirens took a 1-0 lead into the break, but Flyers hit them with there second half strikes to take the points. Match blog - Flyers Ignore Siren's Call
As the end of November approached it was time for a first visit of the season to Marsh Lane. A tough ask for Oxford City as they took on a high-flying Swindon Town team in the FA Cup. Already one step above The Hoops and pushing for another promotion, The Robins were always going to be difficult opponents. Swindon hot-shot and captain, Annie Colston, hit a hat-trick in front of over 750 supporters. Match blog - Annie Gets It Done
December began with a long overdue first ever trip to AFC Portchester. Their FA Cup tie with a Worthing side in the step above them, but struggling for points, was just too good to miss. The home side did not disappoint, coming back from an early setback to win 4-1 in front of a stadium record, for women's football, of 332 spectators. Match blog - Royals Give Worthing The 2nd Half Blues
Next up was a re-visit to Holloways Park on a sopping wet afternoon. Beaconsfield Town's game with Oxford City was also part of the club's charity weekend supporting OneCan Food Bank & Trust (www.onecantrust.org.uk) with spectators being encouraged to bring along cans of food instead of an admission fee. A great idea that I was more than happy to support. The charity ran even deeper for the home side, who succumbed to a heavy 6-1 defeat to The Hoops. Match blog - Charitable Rams
The following weekend I was back on the long road south for a quick re-visit to AFC Portchester as they faced their toughest test yet, an FA Cup tie with WSL 2 side, Ipswich Town. Although the Tractor Girls were bottom of the league when this match happened, the three step gap between the sides was always going to be difficult to bridge for Portchy. Ipswich produced a throughly professional performance, taking control early on and never letting Portchester establish themselves. Match blog - End Of The Road For The Royals
My first game of 2026 was another first visit, and one a little closer to home. Newcomers Larkspur Rovers had been performing very well and were had only lost once, to leaders Denham United. Their visitors, Slough Town, had also been in good form recently, so it promised to be a good game. Match blog - A Double At The Rovers
Next up was an eagerly awaited south versus north FA Capital Cup clash. The leaders of Division One South, Farnham Town, facing off against the Division One North leaders, Denham United. Both teams came into the game with 100% league records. What a cracker it was too. Farnham came out on top and were already in front when Denham were reduced to 10. However, both sides gave it their all. Match blog - North South Divide
Next up was a trip to Arbour Park for Reading versus Beaconsfield Town. The previous weekend The Royals had ended Wycombe's long unbeaten run when Jasmine King's goal had given them a 1-0 victory. The Rams had won their previous two games after suffering a bit of a mauling at Wycombe a few weeks previously. Match blog - Making It Count
Another first visit was next on the agenda, a visit to Bemerton Heath Harlequins who were also playing at a different venue, having switched to a sports ground in Whitchurch to help defeat the awful weather, which had rained off many games on grass pitches. Consequently, although a home game for Bemmy, then venue was actually closer to their opponents, AFC Stoneham. The game itself was a cracker between two fully committed teams, decided by a single added-time goal for Quins. Match blog - Harlequins No Joke For Purps
Early February saw me heading back over to the MGroup Stadium where, just the previous week, I'd watched my daughter play for Brackley against Oxford City. The Hoops were at home to Woodley United, who were still looking for their first win of the season. On the outside pitch City's Dev. team were taking on Farnborough, so there was a chance to keep up to date with two games simultaneously. Match blog - Super Stalley's Goal Statistics Make Woodley So Vivacious
My next game was back in Division One North as two teams looking to hunt down Denham went head to head at Arbour Park. Both Slough Town and visitors Penn & Tylers Green had the opportunity to move into second spot with a win. In the end Penn took the points in a game that was much closer than the final score line suggested. Match blog - Rebels Felled
A clash between the current top two in the Premier League was next on the agenda. Back to Burnham for Wycombe Wanderers versus Southampton Women. The leaders were given a scare by a very good Sirens team that took a two goal lead before The Chairgirls showed great grit to level it up. Match blog - Wycombe Survive The Sirens Call
The last action of February was a North Hants Divisional Football Association Cup semi-final between Division One South Andover New Street and Premier League Winchester City Flyers, who were looking to win the trophy for the second year on the bounce after beating Andover in last season's final. After initially exchanging goals, it turned into the Chelsie Hay show as the Flyers striker hit a hat-trick to seal their passage to the final. Match blog - New Street Knocked Out By A Haymaker
With the end of the season in sight, attention swung to the bottom of Division One North and a clash between the bottom two, Kidlington Youth and Ascot United Reserves. Battling relegation they may be, but the teams still managed to produce a thrilling game of football. Ascot battling back from two goals down to level it up before going behind again and then equalising in added time. Stunning stuff. Match blog - Bottom Two Battle It Out
Having barely got my breath back from the Yarnton Road game, I was soon heading off to Whitchurch for the NHDFA Cup Final between Winchester City Flyers and Division One North side Farnborough. Another Chelsie Hay hat-trick meant that Flyers retained the trophy, but they were given a run for their money by a plucky Farnborough team. Match blog - Back To Back Winners
Swapping from a cup final to a cup semi-final next, and another trip to Arbour Park for Reading versus AFC Portchester, battling it out for a place in the League Cup Final. Portchy had lost at this stage in the previous two seasons so had an increased incentive to stop the semi-final rot. They eventually did it but were pushed al the way by a Reading side who could count themselves a little unfortunate, especially in the second half. Match blog - Final. Finally
April dawned and the finishing line drew into sight across the divisions, the first title decider came in the North. Time to head down to French School Meadow where Denham United needed to beat their hosts, Penn & Tylers Green, to be crowned champions with a number of games still remaining. United did so, and in some style, maintaining their 100% record in the process. No mean feat against a Penn side that would go on to finish as runners-up. Match blog - Ruthless, Relentless, Clinical
My next game was decided more by my dog keeping me awake half the night. Deciding to keep it close to home, I made the short trip down the A34 to see how Kidlington Youth fared in their fight to avoid the drop, as they took on Abingdon United Development at The Northcourt. The game ended in another defeat for The Greens, but they did enough to show their was still fight left in them. Match blog - Yellows Give Greens The Blues
The annual cup final day was next on the list. Both the Chairman's Cup Final and the League Cup Final, played on the same day, this year at Reading City's Scours Lane stadium, and an opportunity to meet up with Dave Reed aka The Wandering Tractor. Dave and I agreed to cover a game each. I took the Chairman's Cup and Dave the League Cup. We were honoured to also be asked to pick the PotM for each game. Both were tight games on a bumpy, dusty pitch with Denham beating Oxford City in the Chairman's Cup and AFC Portchester edging out Wycombe Wanderers on penalties in the League Cup. Chairman's Cup match blog - Double Denham. Dave's League Cup Final blog here - SRWFL League Cup Final
May kicked off with another trip to The Charters Community Stadium for a crunch game between Winchester City Flyers and AFC Portchester. Both sides needed a win to stay in the hunt for the title. A draw would hand the title to Wycombe, who had already completed their league campaign. In the end, that was exactly what happened but, before the watching group of Chairgirls could celebrate, these two teams produced a football match of supreme quality, excitement and tension. Match blog - Everyone's A Winner
Having thought I'd seen the tensest and most nerve-racking game of football on Sunday, the following Saturday my daughter's team topped it with their 2-1 Oxfordshire Girls League Cup Final win. After being 2-0 up, they let a goal slip with 7 minutes remaining, leaving a heart-pumping, nail-biting few minutes in which their opponents hit the underside of the bar. I had to mention it because, not since Igor Balis smashed in a last-minute penalty at Bradford (if you know, you know), have I felt such emotion at a football match. We digress. Two more SoReg games to go, staring with the Oxfordshire FA Cup Final between Oxford City and Kidlington Youth, a repeat of last season's final which City won 4-0. I had the pleasure of watching this game with my (cup-winning) daughter, who spent a season and a half at Kidlington, a club that will always have a place in our hearts. I had always planned to just go as a spectator and not write a blog. After the result, I'm glad I didn't.
My SoReg season was also to end at the MGroup Stadium. The conclusion of 2628 miles on the road and 28 matches. There was noting really resting on this game and both teams had already lifted silverware. Oxford City the county cup (see above) and AFC Portchester the League Cup (see Wandering Tractor's blog). Nevertheless, both teams would have wanted to take a win into the summer break. Match blog - Hoops End On A High
If you got this far, well done. I know it's a bit of a long read.
I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of every game. My only regret is wasn't able to get to more games and didn't manage to see every team play, let alone get to every ground. I started the season with good intentions, including visiting Guernsey. Of course, life took over and it didn't quite happen. I'd really like to get to more games in 26/27 as well as expand the site to be the place to go for anything SoReg. So, if anyone out there wants to contribute articles, match blogs, photos or has any other ideas, let me know. The platform is definitely growing. This past season interactions on women's football posts have outweighed any of my men's football blogs. Let's keep the momentum going. I'd also like to say a big thank you to all the players, coaches, physios, referees, assistant referees, unpaid volunteers, photographers, bloggers, supporters and readers of this blog. Have a great summer. I for one, can't wait for the next season. Finally, for those players who picked up injuries this season (too many to mention, and I am always worried I may miss someone), rest up and come back stronger than ever. A speedy and full recovery to you all.
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