Welcome to the latest chapter of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this chapter, we headed to Mangotsfield United as they took on Longlevens AFC in the Hellenic League Premier Division. Cossham Street was our host for the day.
It's All In The Name:
Mangotsfield's nickname is the Mangos. It derives from a colloquial shorthand for Mangotsfield.
Some Notable Former Players
Steve Book
Lee Howells
Nick Tanner
Alfie Kilgour
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
The club was founded in 1951, following the closure of Mangotsfield Football Club's reserve squad. The new team joined Division Seven of the Bristol & District League, eventually winning the division and earning promotion to Division Six. In 1952-53, they won Division Six and were promoted to Division Four. After winning Division Four, Division Three, and Division Two in consecutive seasons, the team earned five consecutive promotions. After coming fourth in Division One in 1956-57, the club was promoted to the Bristol Premier Combination's Division One. Despite being relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1960-61 season, they were promoted to Division One the following year.
Mangotsfield finished second in Division One in 1964-65 before winning the league in 1968-69. They were promoted to the Western League in 1972 and went on to win the league's Challenge Cup in 1973-74. The team joined the Premier Division after the league added a second division in 1976. They were demoted to Division One in 1981-82, but finished second the following season, winning instant promotion back to the Premier League. In 1987-88, the club won the Somerset Premier Cup. In 1990-91, the club won the Premier Division. In 1995-96, the team reached the FA Vase semi-finals; despite beating Clitheroe 1-0 at home, the away game ended in a 2-0 defeat, sending Clitheroe to Wembley.
Mangotsfield were promoted to the Western Division of the Southern League after coming second in the Premier Division in 1999-2000. The next season, after winning the Gloucestershire Senior Cup in 2002-03, they won the Western Division, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They were demoted to Division One South & West after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2008-09. They qualified for the promotion play-offs after finishing third in 2010-11, but were defeated 3-1 by Frome Town in the semi-finals. The club won the Gloucestershire Senior Cup again in 2012-13, and the title was retained the following year.
Mangotsfield finished second-from-bottom in Division One South in 2021-22, resulting in relegation to the Hellenic League's Premier Division. The Hellenic League Floodlit Cup was won the following season, with a 2-0 victory over Pershore Town.
Honours
🏆 Southern League Division One West (Champions: 2004-05)
🏆 Hellenic League Floodlit Cup (Winners: 2022–23)
🏆 Western League Premier Division (Champions: 1990–91)
🏆 Western League Challenge Cup (Winners: 1973–74)
🏆 Bristol Premier Combination Division One (Champions: 1968–69)
🏆 Bristol & District League Division Two (Champions: 1955–56)
🏆 Bristol & District League Division Three (Champions: 1954–55)
🏆 Bristol & District League Division Four (Champions: 1953–54)
🏆 Bristol & District League Division Six (Champions: 1952–53)
🏆 Bristol & District League Division Seven (Champions: 1951–52)
🏆 Somerset Premier Cup (Winners: 1987–88)
🏆 Gloucestershire Senior Cup (Winners: 2002–03, 2012–13, 2013–14)
🏆 Gloucestershire Challenge Trophy (Winners: 1984–85, 1986–87, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1999–2000)
🏆 Gloucestershire FA (South) Senior Amateur Cup (Winners: 1968–69, 1975–76)
Matchday: Mangotsfield United 2-1 Longlevens AFC
We travelled to Mangotsfield on what was a wet and windy Saturday afternoon as we were looking to extend our run without a 0-0 draw. We arrived at the ground in good time, so we took advantage of the free parking there, and had a look around Mangotsfield. Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, we walked down Cossham Street, and back to the stadium, by which time the clubhouse was open.
In the clubhouse, they have a great bar, kitted out with various pieces of memorabilia and matchworn shirts. They were showing the early kickoff, which this time was Aston Villa vs Brighton and Hove Albion. At this time, I was joined by fellow groundhopper Gareth (also known as @groundhop1927 on Twitter- give him a follow). We chatted about our various groundhopping adventures, then headed into the ground.
The ground, for Hellenic League Premier Division level, is very very good. There's covered stands at every side of the pitch. There's signs of wear and tear around the ground, which as discussed with others on the day, I think adds character to the ground. When you go to the Premier League/Championship grounds, you get the sense of 'once you've been to one, you've been to them all' as they are all a little bit soulless. With Cossham Street, you can sense the history that has taken place in the ground within, so while it isn't the greatest ground in the world, it's certainly easy on the eye.
There is food and drink available at the ground. While I didn't try the food, there was a wide range of produce, such as burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches. There was also a large emphasis on chips: chips and cheese, chips and gravy, chips and curry sauce, chips and chips. The food stall is cash only, but somewhat refreshingly, the bar allows you to take cash back, which I think is a reasonable solution.
The ground is largely cash only, and there is a cashpoint at the nearby Tesco Express. The entry for the game was free as a result of the Community Day that was taking place, but it would usually cost £8 which is a reasonable price for a game of football.
Everyone at the ground was really friendly. When I asked about the pin badges, they were really helpful in directing me to the correct place. Promptly, someone actually returned with some pin badges to save me the hassle. I say this a lot, but a warm welcome does make a huge difference, and you'd be surprised about how unwelcome some clubs make you feel.
Teamsheet
Mangotsfield United
Manager: Glyn Ashton
Billy Taylor
Stuart Tovey
Jordan Anstey
Jake Hicks
Luke Bence
Kai Stenner
Harley Purnell (c)
Kyrese Morrison
Jayden Crosbie ⚽️ ⚽️
Ali Boyer
Will Ashton
Substitutes
Marcus Kelly
Jakob Glover
Louis Short
Keane Ashwood
Josh Pandolfino
Longlevens AFC
Manager: Craig Martin & Michael Palmer
Matty Wieczorek
Jack Beardsell
Luke Troke
Tim Ranken
Luke Kavanagh
Lee Llewelyn
Josh Aldridge
Shaun O'Connor ⚽️
Shiyak Sutherland
Brad Martin
Charlie Holliday
Substitutes
Josh Mason
Nathan Payne
Luke Finch
Jordan Alderman
Austin Parker
Mangotsfield dominated the early stages, with their fast play being too much for Longlevens at times. Longlevens' poor defending allowed Jaydn Crosbie to slip in and score easily past the Longlevens goalkeeper in the 11th minute.
Longlevens equalised just before halftime when some pinball in the box assisted the ball settle at the feet of Shaun O'Connor, who shot in to tie the game at 1-1.
The game was pretty level in the second half, but Mangotsfield scored in the 69th minute. Longlevens' poor defence allowed Crosbie to get through again, where the custodian wiped him out, leaving the referee with little choice but to award a penalty. Crosbie took a step forward and blasted low into the bottom left corner. That's how Mangotsfield won their fourth league game in a row.
Scores on the Doors
Atmosphere: 3/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 5.5/10
Welcome: 8/10
Overall Experience: 7/10
GG
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