Western Rebels Walking Football

18/06/2026

Mixed weather - and mixed results - but lots of positives to take as the Rebels 60s played the second round of matches in the Summer League at Portishead yesterday.

We included two players making their Rebels debuts, John Davies and Paul Moody.

Five matches were played and the results were:.

Rebels 1 Bristol United 0 (John Anderson)
Rebels 1 Cwmbran Celtic 4 (John Anderson
Rebels 0 Cirencester 2
Rebels 0 Clevedon 1
Rebels 0 Cardiff 1

We were very competitive in all games, gelling well, enjoying ourselves. Three of our goals conceded were from errors and a penalty conceded by a helping hand from Cwmbran, forcing our defender into the box.

As a summary, we are finding our right positions, linking well, passing better and becoming a match for our experienced rivals.

We rotated the squad as needed, giving us all a good run out. The marking and passing was much better this time. Graham only had 1 one-on-one to deal with. We were unlucky not to draw with Clevedon and Cardiff and will continue to identify areas where we need to improve.
Highlights were our first win, two lovely goals from John Anderson and great assists, and the excellent debuts of Paul Moody and John Davies.

Onwards and upwards to the final round three in July.

SQUAD: Graham Thompson, Paul Smith, Paul Mears, Paul Moody, John Anderson, Adie Wheeler, Darren Mobley, John Davies

04/06/2026

Gifts and tributes poured in at the Hornets RFC yesterday as Rebels held our annual Awards and Celebration Day.

As always it was a great opportunity to socialise with our fellow Rebels over a pint and a fish and chip meal, and to hand out richly-deserved accolades to those who have made a particularly significant contribution in 2025-26.

We began the presentations with a very special award, the Nigel Sherston Memorial. given annually to someone who continues to play for the Rebels despite serious adversity in their life, as Nigel himself did until his sad passing in 2024. This year’s very worthy winner is Andy Patch, who turns out every Wednesday and excels both outfield and in goal while battling a health condition.

Most Improved Player was Phil Fisher who has progressed from the Monday group and acquitted himself superbly in Wednesday and Friday sessions.

Joint Clubmen of the Year were David Mitchell and Graham Thompson for their work with team selections, media/comms in David’s case including our You Tube channel, and Graham overseeing the competitive and development side of the club.

We’re fortunate at the Rebels to be able to have a laugh at each other’s expense without offence and just as well because for his regular casual back-heels in dangerous defensive areas, Phil Watt proudly claimed the coveted Donkey of the Year award!

This year’s event was particularly poignant as we gave our thanks and tributes to our founder Doug Hill as he steps down as chairman after five years.

Doug’s energy and drive have shaped the Rebels into a very special and unique club, fully inclusive of all players regardless of ability or mobility provided they respect the ethos and standards of conduct set by the club. Several of our members mentioned how joining the Rebels has been life-changing and the inclusive environment has made them feel able to express themselves and in many cases improve their game. This has all happened thanks to Doug bringing his vision to fruition.

We will continue to enjoy Doug’s contributions on the pitch and will greatly miss his leadership off it; however we look forward to a bright new future with a strong committee led by new co-chairs Nigel Cross and Paul Smith and vice chair Chris Newsome .

There are some further awards to be announced at a later date as the recipients were unable to attend.

Our thanks to Hornets RFC for their excellent hospitality and to Mike Richards for his tireless work to make this event happen.

01/06/2026

It was a day of fine margins for Rebels 65s in the opening round of Hutton Moor Summer League matches on Thursday; a case of the what ifs...possible maybe or maybe nots, and don't mind if I do's....

Or in plain English, we were a bit unlucky.

Under the cruel Weston-super-Mare sunshine, game one was a tight affair v Taunton Town and the Rebels had the upper hand in the first half with Paul ‘Skippy’ Mears finishing off a move to give Rebels the advantage.

The second half saw Taunton up their efforts but found Rebels in obstinate form restricting the men from down the M5 to few sights of goal to finish 1-0 victors.

Game 2 v Abbeymead saw Rebels fly out of the traps like a scolded cat with Rich Thomas firing home following a flowing passing move to give Rebels the advantage in the first minute.

Rebels’ domination should have seen the game done and dusted in the first half as chances came and went.

The second period saw Rebels manage to sn**ch defeat from the jaws of victory as a couple of errors gifted Abbeymead two goals with their only two efforts of the match. Rebels continued to dominate but the damage was done for a 1-2 loss.

Game 3 v Clevedon started much the same way as the previous game with Rebels well on top.
George Davis saw his thunderbolt shot strike both uprights before bouncing to safety while other chances were not converted during a one-sided first half.

As the old saying goes, goals change matches and when a long range free kick by Clevedon nicked off Skippy Mears and then an upright to finish in the net the whole dynamic changed.

Clevedon were suddenly the side on top and when another shot also found Rebels net for 0-2 the game was up.

So despite a win and two losses it could and probably should have been three wins as for the most part Rebels were the better side in all their matches.

That said, there is room for improvement, especially with passing and movement and not switching off at key moments. Overall though, a much better display.

Well done to Pete Wilbraham for standing in as keeper on the day and Rich Thomas on his goalscoring return to the Rebels line up.

Not forgetting the Rebels Ultras and their fanatical support ably led by chief ultra Phil Watt..😜

Squad

P Wilbraham
D Waterhouse
M Organ
P Mears
D Lumsden
R Thomas
G Davis

REPORT - Dave Waterhouse
PHOTOS - Oliver Mitchell, Phil Watt

14/05/2026

Rebels got our summer campaign underway in the first round of the Mini League for over 60s.

We were welcomed by the hosts on a mainly sunny but blustery morning. Matches got under way on time after a group photo and sad news of a Bristol United player who passed away last week, our thoughts are with his friends, family and the club.

CIRENCESTER 1 REBELS 0
First game was a tough match against Cirencester, the reigning champions. We settled and had the first real chance in the first half, with the goalkeeper saving well from a shot from Kevin Day-McDonnell. In the 2nd half a mish*t toe-poke in the corner managed to beat Graham and although we tried, just couldn't get level. A promising start.

CLEVEDON 4 REBELS 0
Although we started well, as a new team we struggled to cope with a well-organised, experienced team. We kept our work rate up to the end but we were outplayed and reflected on it as a positive experience and workout.

CARDIFF 2 REBELS 0
We started very brightly and closed down Cardiff possession and actually were unlucky not to score a couple of goals. One curling shot from a free kick was well saved then Paul Smith hit the crossbar with a firm strike. In the second half Cardiff, who were physical, broke away with a run and scored, but the referee wasn't interested in our protests. The second goal was a soft goal to concede but we regrouped and kept going.

PORTISHEAD 0 REBELS 0
A match in which on reflection we played some great passing football and had a couple of half chances that were saved. Much credit to GrahamThompson👏 for saving three one on one chances as we began to push forward in search of a goal. A fair result and a first point for both teams

EXETER 2 REBELS 0
This match was frustrating as we dominated early possession before a breakaway goal put us one down. Again, we tried to push forward in the second half in search of our first goal but it wasn't to be and although we made a change, Exeter scored a second when a player was left unmarked. Again Graham made some important saves. The match played out with no further action, but we kept pressing.

There are some strong experienced teams in the league and the fact that we played very well in most games, being competitive was a great learning curve for us.

We had two players who made their competitive debuts and a new line-up. We all enjoyed our matches today and felt it was better to play open football than to defend for draws. We are exploring the best formation to take us forward in the competition.

SQUAD: Graham Thompson, Paul Smith, Paul Mears, Kevin Day-McDonnell, Adie Wheeler, Darren Mobley, Lee Skipper

12/05/2026

30/04/2026

Rebels supported the Hutton Moor Leisure Centre open day and raised funds for the Weston-super-Mare branch of Parkinson’s UK on a glorious Sunday morning (26 April).

We promoted Walking Football by providing four teams of players to play a two-hour session so visitors to the open day could view walking football and perhaps be inspired to take it up themselves.

The weather was gloriously warm and sunny and Rebels played on behalf of our current nominated charity, the local Weston Super Mare branch of Parkinson’s UK which directly supports some of the club’s players who have the disease.

It was a tremendous morning enjoyed by all participants and family members and significant funds were raised for the charity. We are continuing to boost the total by raising funds during our regular Monday, Wednesday and Friday sessions this week.

Our club thanks the management of the Leisure Centre, all participants and their families and everyone who donated.

Many thanks to Justine at Just Shoots Photography for the fantastic photos!

24/04/2026

We were delighted to welcome a team from Bristol United Walking Football Club to join our regular Friday morning Rebels session today, playing a friendly six-a-side tournament against three Rebels sides.

The guys were a pleasure to host and were unlucky not to score more goals on the day, putting together some great moves and seeing at least a couple disallowed for running offences.

Rebels’ Black team completed a rare clean sweep on the day, winning all six of their matches with Damon Smith top-scoring with 6 of their 8 goals, and none conceded by keepers Graham Thompson and Mike O’Shea.

In all a very successful morning in glorious sunshine following on from the equally enjoyable session with Taunton Town Walking Football Club last month, and we hope to host more of these in the coming months.

24/04/2026

A disappointing Hutton Moor Winter League campaign for Rebels 65s drew to a close on Monday with three defeats and one win in the final round.

An unfamiliar line-up for the day started badly with a 0-2 defeat Vs Taunton Town, errors proving fatal.
Next up a 0-3 defeat to Abbeymead with a similar story.

Then a very good display against Portishead resulting in a 1-0 win courtesy of some good passing and movement culminating in Micky Organ bulging the net.

Finally, a 0-1 defeat to Clevedon with an error proving fatal....back to the original theme..🙄

So all in all a bad day at the office to finish the campaign.

Thanks to Mike Oshea for stepping into the firing line and saving a penalty on the day, and to a jetlagged Pete Wilbraham for stepping off a long haul flight from the USA to rush down to Hutton Moor to play for the Rebels.

Onwards and upwards as we hope for better fortunes in the summer.

Squad

Mike O'Shea
Phil Watt
Dave Lumsden
Lee Skipper
Paul Mears
Pete Wilbraham
Adie Wheeler
Mick Organ
Dave Waterhouse.

22/04/2026

Just a few days to go now until Hutton Moor Leisure Centre's Open Day this Sunday, 26 April, at which the Rebels will raise funds for the Weston-Super-Mare branch of Parkinson’s UK when we hold a two-hour walking football session from 10am.

All of the £5 match fee per player will go to the charity, and Rebels members will be taking part plus any friends, relatives or neighbours aged 50 or over who wish to try walking football, provided they have the correct footwear for the 3G pitches as required by Hutton Moor.

The WSM branch of Parkinson’s UK is our chosen charity this year -
the branch directly supports members of our club who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease as well as many other local residents in the town.

They offer support and advice in their group meetings, as well as a weekly Tai Chi exercise class for those with the disease. Rebels offer Walking Football at these special Monday sessions at Hutton Moor Leisure Centre and this will be a great partnership over the year ahead.

If you’re over the age of 50 and wish to try walking football or support us at the open day please get in touch via direct message.

19/04/2026

Rebels 60s faced a tough draw against a good, experienced Clevedon Walking Footballers side on Saturday in the first round of the National Cup.

Clevedon made a strong and steady start but we handled the pressure well and had our own chances; it was a fairly even game until a deflected shot beat Graham towards the end of the first half.

Rebels made an early change in the second half to try to improve our possession and composure and it was a well-balanced game, but a turn and snapshot from a Clevedon forward was well placed, putting them 2-0 up.

We showed good spirit, continuing to create chances and make the game competitive, but there were no further goals and Clevedon advance to the next round, congratulations to them.

Thanks to the squad of Graham Thompson, Dave Waterhouse, John Anderson, Paul Mears, Mick Organ, Adie Wheeler and Paul Smith. Thanks also to our wonderful supporters who turned out in good numbers, and to Phil Watt for all his assistance.

Our cup hopes are over but we move onwards and upwards to the forthcoming league matches.