With our pre-season schedule now in full swing, attentions turn to Town’s next fixture where they’ll make the short trip to the Webbswood Stadium to face Swindon Supermarine on Saturday (9 July).
Scott Lindsey’s side began their warm-up campaign with a 3-2 victory away at Southern League Division One South outfit Melksham Town last weekend, where the recently-appointed First-Team Head Coach used the tie to take a look at a number of trialists and get minutes into the legs of some of his fringe players.
With another full week of pre-season training under their belts, Lindsey may look to include a few more familiar faces against Marine as he seeks to slowly re-introduce some of his big hitters and assess their fitness levels.
Supermarine, who play in the Southern League Premier Division South, will provide another stern test for Town. They also made a winning start to their pre-season campaign by defeating Cirencester 3-0 last weekend.
Town met Marine at the same venue around this time last year, with 856 fans witnessing a 3-2 victory for Swindon thanks to goals from Harry Parsons and Harry McKirdy (two).
The game has been a regular pre-season fixture in the town since 1993 with 26 previous meetings between the pair, with us winning the last 16.
A brief history of our opponents…
Supermarine were formed back in 1992 from the amalgamation of two established Hellenic League clubs – Swindon Athletic and Supermarine.
In 1994, under managers Alan Dyton and Leo Colucci, the club entered the Wiltshire Premier Shield for the first time and went all the way to the final, only to lose out to Trowbridge Town. They did bounce back during the 1996/97 season to win the trophy - their first silverware - beating Devizes Town.
They also claimed the Premier Division Challenge Cup in the same season, defeating Kintbury Rangers in the final.
Their first league title arrived in 2000/01, winning the Hellenic League Premier Division Championship, and subsequently gaining promotion into the Dr Martens Southern League.
After five successive seasons in the division, the club recorded their highest ever finish in 2005/06 claiming fifth place, narrowly missing out on another promotion via the play offs.
The club suffered one of it’s toughest years in 2010 when they almost went out of business due to a lack of funding, however thanks to their devoted fanbase and the formation of a new committee, the club survived and re-entered the Southern League.
Unfortunately, Marine were to suffer a first relegation in 2011/12 as they went down on goal difference.
Dave Webb subsequently took the helm and managed to lead the team to two play-off finishes, but they lost out in the semi-finals to Merthyr Tydfil on both occasions.
The 2016/17 season saw a team shake up with a few experienced players released and the club showing faith in youth. Although they narrowly missed out on another play-off finish, ending the campaign in sixth, they went on to lift the Wiltshire Senior Cup, beating Highworth 2-1.
With young players still the focus, the club recorded an 11th place finish in 2018/19 before two COVID ravaged seasons halted steps three to seven of the English football league pyramid.
The 2020/21 season started late in September 2020 due to the pandemic with fewer league fixtures played, before a further lockdown struck in final week of October. They did play four further games in the FA Trophy before losing 4-0 to Bath City in the Third Round Proper.
Last season under current boss Lee Spalding, Marine recorded a mid-table finish claiming 16 wins from the 42-match campaign, recording their biggest win of the season back in January with a 6-1 victory over Walton Casuals, courtesy of a Henry Spalding hat-trick.
Kick off at the Webbswood Stadium this Saturday (9 July) is 3pm.
Pre-match admission tickets bought online are £11 for adults and £8 for concessions with a free programme while stocks last.
Tickets purchased at the turnstiles are £12 for adults and £9 for concessions.
You can also purchase tickets online via www.ticketsource.co.uk/swindon-supermarine-fc-ltd.
