Cheltenham Civil Service Veterans are closing in on a significant achievement.

The in-form team are just one game away from winning the Gloucestershire Veterans' League North Division 1 title.

If they beat mid-table Tuffley Rovers at Tewkesbury School a week today (4pm) they will be crowned champions for the first time.

Current leaders Hardwicke are two points ahead of second-placed Service but have completed their league campaign.

Champions Shurdington, who are three points adrift of the leaders, could still retain their title if Service fail to win and they beat bottom-of-the table Leckhampton Rovers, but Service’s supporters aren’t thinking that way.

“It would mean a lot to win the title,” said 53-year-old Service player/manager Duncan Pardoe, who has been running the team since they were formed 11 years ago.

“Shurdington are a very good side, they’ve won it for the last four years so to beat them would be very nice.

“As a player I won the Cheltenham League and then the Northern Senior League Division Two and Division One titles with Warden Hill.

“We also won the County Cup when we won Division One, but winning this title would be up there with those achievements.”

Service’s veterans won the North Division 2 title in 2018/19 and finished runners-up to Shurdington last season so have made good progress over the past few years.

Striker Mike Symons, who used to play for Hereford, has been one of their main players this season  and Pardoe said: “He’s our leading goalscorer. We’ve also got ex-Gloucester City player Chris Knowles signed on.

“A lot of the players who play in this league have played at a decent standard, Northern Senior League and above. 

“There are some former semi-professional players and even some former professionals who have played.”

Pardoe, who doesn’t play too often in the vets’ league these days, has played against the likes of Lee Hendrie, Lee Carsley and Darren Byfield in years gone by.

Ex-Gloucester City player Jamie Reid is currently at Hardwicke while another former Gloucester player, Lee Smith, has played for Shurdington this season and Pardoe said: “They’ve all still got the ability, technically they’re still good but they’re not as fast as they used to be.”

Service have won eight and drawn one of their 10 league games this season while Tuffley have won four and lost six.

But Pardoe is taking nothing for granted at the weekend even though they have won their two most recent league games 9-0 and 8-0.

“They will be very good,” he said. “We’re under no illusions about the challenge we face.”