Town look for record-breaking goodbye to the Conigre

MELKSHAM Town will be saying an emotional farewell to their home ground on Saturday 30th April with the last ever game at the Conigre.

And they are aiming for a record-breaking crowd to say goodbye to the old stadium in style. Town will also be hoping to parade the Wiltshire Senior Cup; they face Salisbury FC next Wednesday, 27th April in the final.

The club, who had a bumpy start to the season, are now heading for a top five finish in the Toolstation Premier League and will win the Wiltshire Senior Cup if they can beat Salisbury next Wednesday in the final at Chippenham Town’s ground.

The following Saturday, 30th April, the team will play their last ever game at The Conigre, in the grounds of Melksham House, before moving to the new £7million facility at Woolmore Farm during the summer.

The game will be free to attend and the club is hoping for the biggest crowd ever, beating the previous highest of 800.

Melksham Town FC chairman Dave Wiltshire said, “We would really love for everyone to come out and help us set the league attendance record. The turnout at the final game last year was great but it was quite a way from the end of the season, so I think we can definitely beat it this time around.”

The club played their first ‘last game’ in 2015,  when they were hoping to move into the new ground for the 2015/16 season, but work was delayed. This time the club’s 96-year run at the ground looks to be truly over, as work at Woolmore Farm is nearing completion.

“The whole club’s excited about moving to the new ground in the summer,” Dave continued. “I think it’s really going to help with support on and off the pitch. Once people have seen the amazing new facilities I think more fans will want to come and watch, and more players will want to join the club at all levels.

“The Conigre has been fantastic and it holds a lot of memories for a lot of people, but it is very outdated now and Woolmore Farm is going to help the club move on to bigger and better things.

“The players have done brilliantly this season in spite of the disappointment of missing out on promotion last season. They deserve the support of the town and I urge everyone to back the team and say goodbye to the old ground in style.”

Manager Darren Perrin said, “We’re really looking forward to the last game at the Conigre; it’s going to be something special. For a lot of people it will be a big wrench to leave, but moving to the new ground is a massive positive for the whole community. It will be a new era for the club.”

Senior Cup final

Ahead of the final fixture, Town will be vying for the Senior Cup when they take on Salisbury FC at Hardenhuish Park in Chippenham next Wednesday – kick-off at 7.45pm. Salisbury FC have been promoted to the Southern League after winning the Sydenham’s Wessex League this season following 21 consecutive wins and only two losses all season.

Manager Darren Perrin is not fazed by the challenge, saying, “Everything points to a Salisbury win, but write Melksham off at your peril. This team is more than capable of beating Salisbury in one match and  it’s going to be much closer than a lot of people are expecting.”

Final game

Melksham Town is hoping to break the club’s  attendance record and reach over 800 supporters for the final game at home next Saturday, 30th April. Support your local team and be part of club history – match day is free! Kick off is at 3pm. Before the game, the club will be hosting a sponsored walk from 11am; people are invited to walk 20 laps of the pitch and help raise money for the club. Bring the whole family along and why not turn up in club colours, yellow and black?

• Melksham Rugby Club  will also play their last ever home games at Melksham House this weekend. Melksham 1st XV play Corsham and Melksham 3rd XV play Westbury 2nd on Saturday 23rd April.