Match Report: Gloucester City 1-2 Evesham United
Monday 31st August 2026 Southern League Premier South
The Robins made it an August Bank Holiday to savour as they responded to successive league defeats with a welcome victory in an eventful local derby with Gloucester City at their KMM Energy Stadium home.
The game sprang into life in the second minute when Evesham very nearly took an early lead. After a Tigers defender gave the ball away on the edge of the area, Josh Barlow unleashed a powerful shot that goalkeeper Thompson did well to save low to his right. Conteh couldn’t convert the rebound, and the danger was cleared.
Gloucester responded well and began to get some joy on the left where the overlapping left back Morgan Lewis was supplying a succession of dangerous crosses and long throws. Tigers striker Joe Hanks forced Varney into a smart save in the 11th minute from one of these raids. The Robins stopper was again called into action in the 13th minute when he kept out an Ed Williams 25-yard free kick. Hanks then volleyed narrowly over from close range.
However, in the 19th minute, and after a failure to deal with a long ball into their box, the Gloucester keeper and his fellow defender left the ball to each other, allowing Robins striker Kai Churchley to nip in. As he was about to score, goalkeeper Jared Thompson hauled him down, resulting in a clear red card and penalty. The Tigers had no goalkeeper on the bench, so Joe Hanks had to don the green jersey, but he could do nothing to prevent Brandon Liggett converting the spot kick to register his fifth league goal of the campaign.
Going a goal down, and being reduced to ten men, appeared to inspire the Tigers. They took the game to Evesham for the remainder of the half, creating a host of opportunities. Dunbar, the former Robin, was a constant thorn in Evesham’s side and from one typical raid in the 26th minute he created an opening that Thomas and Waite very nearly converted had it not been for a Varney save and a crucial block from Barlow. Other half chances came and went too.
After a quiet opening to the second half, the Tigers suffered another self-inflicted calamity, conceding a comical own goal in the 53rd minute. Daniel Leadbitter back-headed a harmless long throw over his stranded keeper Hanks and into the net to gift Evesham a 2-0 lead.
Gloucester responded almost immediately and in the 58th minute skipper Keiran Thomas headed in a Lewis cross to reduce the arrears. From this point, ten-man Gloucester took over the game, and despite Conteh and Obieri trying to keep the Robins in it as an attacking force, it was all Gloucester. Only a succession of narrowly missed chances, good saves from Varney and brave defensive blocks and clearances by Robins defenders prevented the Tigers from equalising. How Tigers substitute Ben Nugent didn’t convert a close-range volleyed chance in the 96th minute, only he will ever know.
The Robins saw out the remainder of the game to claim their second win on the road and climb up the table to 10th place. They take a break from league action now and head to Derbyshire to face Belper Town on Saturday in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.
ROBINS STARTING X1:
13 Oscar Varney (GK), 2 Liam Hutt, 3 Owen Foye, 4 Josh Barlow, 6 Ioan Richards (C), 8 Josh McConnell (65′ 10 Amer Awadh), 9 Kai Churchley (57′ 20 Sopuru Obieri), 11 Brandon Liggett 22′ (76′ 14 MacKenzie Stretton), 12 Thomas Conteh (82′ 7 Aaron Heap), 15 Jyrel Bojang, 16 Rocco Sughayer
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES:
1 Brendan Beard (GK)
ATTENDANCE: 1212
Match Report: Nick Hadley
Photos: Emily Cook
