CHEDDAR FC (Bowdens Park)

WESTERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE, CHEDDAR 2-2 WELLS CITY, ATTENDANCE: 127

Part two of my Good Friday trilogy took me back up the M5 to the village of Cheddar. The village is famous for it's gorge, which is the largest in the UK, and, of course, it's cheese.

It is the cheese that gives the local football club it's nickname. Founded in 1892, The Cheesemen were promoted from the Somerset County League to the Western League in 2012.

The club play their home games at Bowdens Park but they are looking to move at some point in the future. In 2013 Cheddar were hoping to sell their ground to a supermarket chain in order to fund a new ground with a clubhouse, changing rooms and seven pitches. However planning permission was refused.

Cheddar will be remaining at Bowdens Park for the foreseeable future. The clubhouse was doing a roaring trade. The football team are sponsored by a local brewery and the had one of their ales on sale in the club. It would have been incredibly rude not  to sample a drop!

The game was your cliched game of two halves as Wells found themselves 2-0 up at the break. However Cheddar stormed back and, courtesy of two penalties, took a share of the spoils.

Ross Padfield gave Wells the lead after 10 minutes before Ryan Pledger extended their lead. Wells had other opportunities to put the game to bed but failed to do so. How they would rue those missed chances.

Cheddar substitute Callum Ham was the hero for the home side, scoring from the penalty spot twice to earn his side a draw. The first penalty came about on 74 minutes when Olly Bryant handled on the line (and was shown a red card) and the second was after a foul on Ham himself with four minutes remaining. 

There was just enough time to call in at a local farm and pick up some cider before heading off to my final game of the day.

Callum Ham dispatches both his sides spot kicks

to earn the Cheesemen a point