The winner of the April £100 lottery draw prize was Dot Leitch. Congratulations Dot.

A full list of monthly lottery winners and details of how to join can be found under the lottery section or at https://stratfordtownisa.com/stisa-lottery/

from main club site

Paul McCone won our Supporters Player of the Year award at the end of season awards

A fun and enjoyable evening was had by all.

Other award winners – here

The winning ticket worth £67.50 was claimed for the 1-0 win over leaders Coalville. Other prize draws are on the 50/50 tab here

BARDS SAFE AFTER ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE WIN

Another splendid performance from the Bards saw Stratford regain their place in step 3 of non-league football. In the end Kings Langley losing made us safe anyway but it’s always more satisfying to secure safety ourselves

7 points ahead of Kings Langley who had 3 to play, Bards fans were regularly accessing ‘flash scores’ to see how Kings Langley were getting on – news came through they were 1-0 down after 27 minutes so The Bards were currently safe.

In front of the largest crowd of the season with many visiting fans from leaders Coalville, it was scoreless at half time despite both sides having chances in this end to end tussle. Bards defence held firm and when it was breached, the woodwork came to the rescue twice.

Five minutes into the second half Bards hit the post twice too but luck was on our side as when Ebanks hit the post, the ball fell to Kyle Bennett who teed up his shot from a tight angle and drilled the ball into the net off the far post. The score remained 1-0 right to the end with Bards sitting deep and Coalville not really troubling Liam in goal despite needing the win themselves. 7 minutes of added time led to more tension before another excellent match official blew the final whistle.

The win saw Bards sit in 16th place on 49 points having displayed some impressive form over the last 13 games W7 D4 L2, 10 clear of Kings Langley who lost and who having only 2 left to play were subsequently relegated

Then it was onto a fun and enjoyable awards evening

DW – any views are those of the author

The winning ticket worth £68 was claimed and kindly donated back for projects for the 2-1 win v Mickleover. Other prize draws are on the 50/50 tab here

BARDS PULL 7 CLEAR OF RELEGATION ZONE AFTER IMPRESSIVE WIN

Another splendid performance from the Bards saw Stratford rise to 14^th place, 7 points clear of the relegation zone. One more victory from the remaining three fixtures and step 3 status is secure.

Bards started on the front foot and went ahead after 13 minutes when Kyle Bennett fired in after a cross/shot was parried after good work by Molyneux down the wing. Bards continued to dominate the first half and again the defence held firm restricting the visitors to 1 effort off target

Mickleover came into it after half time and equalised after an hour with a low shot into the corner. Bards had 2 efforts cleared off the line including a lob from Kyle Bennett when clean through but did manage to go back into the lead after 80 when Dan Lafferty, moved into midfield, slotted home from a tight angle after the referee played advantage.

Bards then held out for the last 10 minutes with the defence in excellent form again. A special mention to the match official who was consistent and allowed the game to flow aiding another fine match to watch

We‘ll see you for the home game against current leaders Coalville on Saturday – followed by the Player of the Season awards.

At home games, we’ll be in our usual spot by the Tuck Shop selling our 50 / 50 tickets (average prize this year around £70), the excellent revamped programme, hats and scarves and will have membership forms with us if supporters would like to join on the day – it only costs £10 for adults a year. This year purchasers of 50 / 50 tickets are able to claim 10% off Car Servicing and have MOT’s for just £40 at Arden Garages when they present their ticket. Arden Garages have also helped to fund the cost of printing the tickets saving the The Supporters Association money.

DW – any views are those of the author

The winning ticket worth £59.50 was claimed for the fairly comfortable 2-0 win over Redditch Utd. The winner kindly donated £49.50 back to us for future projects. Other prize draws are on the 50/50 tab here

2 FOR EBANKS AS BARDS PULL 5 CLEAR OF RELEGATION ZONE

Another midfield dogfight with little goalmouth action, Bards won this local derby fairly comfortably to go 5 clear of the relegation zone with 4 left to play. Bards defended in numbers, waiting for the breakaways, while Redditch played out from the back. In a rare moment of quality, Bards went ahead after 32 minutes with a fine move – Charlie Williams racing down the left and crossing perfectly for Callum Ebanks to thunder a header into the top corner of the net.

Redditch upped it in the 2nd half but only had 1 shot on target (out of 4) the whole game. Bards made the game safe on 83 after a scramble with Ebanks scoring his 2nd of the night poking home from close range to win the man-of-the-match.

We‘ll see you for the home game against Mickleover on Saturday – we will have voting forms with us for your votes for Player of the Season. In the reverse fixture it was a 7 goal thriller with Mickleover’s winner coming right at the end.

At home games, we’ll be in our usual spot by the Tuck Shop selling our 50 / 50 tickets (average prize this year around £70), the excellent revamped programme, hats and scarves and will have membership forms with us if supporters would like to join on the day – it only costs £10 for adults a year. This year purchasers of 50 / 50 tickets are able to claim 10% off Car Servicing and have MOT’s for just £40 at Arden Garages when they present their ticket. Arden Garages have also helped to fund the cost of printing the tickets saving the The Supporters Association money.

DW – any views are those of the author

The winning ticket worth £82 was claimed for the 1-1 draw with Barwell. Other prize draws are on the 50/50 tab here

10 MAN BARDS PAY THE PENALTY

Although a draw was a fair result, Bards will be kicking themselves after spurning a golden chance to beat Barwell with 15 to go when Grocott’s weak penalty was saved by the opposition keeper and in desperation to get to the rebound, ending up being sent off after colliding with the keeper. Maybe Barwell felt justice had been done after it seemed a harsh award with the keeper punching the ball away before colliding with Charlie Williams.

Some of us found it strange Barwell wore their red kit against us causing a bit of a colour clash and the team in red took the lead after 9 minutes when a through ball was converted by the away team. Charlie Williams drew the Bards level from 20 yards with a low shot into the corner just before half time. On 45 Barwell were through but the attacker over-ran the ball. It was a tough game with few chances and Bards are now 2 points above the safety line.

We’ll see you for the home game against Redditch Utd on Tuesday night for a local derby under the lights. Bards have a good record against The Reds including winning the last 2 games 2-1. In the reverse fixture, 2 late goals saw Bards snatch a draw from the jaws of victory.

At home games, we’ll be in our usual spot by the Tuck Shop selling our 50 / 50 tickets (average prize this year around £70), the excellent revamped programme, hats and scarves and will have membership forms with us if supporters would like to join on the day – it only costs £10 for adults a year. This year purchasers of 50 / 50 tickets are able to claim 10% off Car Servicing and have MOT’s for just £40 at Arden Garages when they present their ticket. Arden Garages have also helped to fund the cost of printing the tickets saving the The Supporters Association money.

DW – any views are those of the author