WORDS BY SAM RATHBONE

Back at Yarnton Road once again this weekend as Kidlington welcome Highworth Town to OX5 this Saturday in their penultimate friendly before the league campaign begins in Step 5 Football 2025/26.

The Greens will look to improve on their shape and match performance as Kidlington prioritised on the number of minutes given out within the team in their last outing at Yarnton Road where they hosted Flackwell Heath in a 1-3 defeat, with the newly signed trialist, Kauan Oliveria, scoring a consolation to give the Green Army some optimism about their new signing as we approach the Opening Day of the season.

Brad Chalmers stated that there was a massive number of positives to take from the previous warm-up fixtures including Flackwell Heath last Saturday.

The squad is forming nicely, as in recent news, Joey Aust has been retained by Kidlington ahead of the 2025/26 campaign as Brad Chalmers may rely on him as he was prolifically dominant with Chalmers in the Reserves side last season.

Highworth Town FC, who participate in the Hellenic League premier Division will be a good test for the Greens this Saturday as they will face a similar standard to Kidlington ahead of the upcoming campaign.

A draw against the Highworth Town Reserves during pre-season is the only stand out results within their pre-season runout. Manager Paul Braithwaite will be expecting good minutes from throughout the squad ahead of the upcoming campaign and to test formations, tactics and styles for adapting to the challenge of the Hellenic League.

It’s sure to be an enthralling match-up between these two sides at Yarnton Road on Saturday, so get yourself to OX5.