THE WAIT was worth it for Tawny Owl as they returned to action after a week off and sealed the Swindon & District League Premier Division title on Saturday.

Tawny Owl have been imperious all season, winning every game in league and cup to date, and last weekend, they saw off their nearest challengers Avtar Construction 4-3 to cement top spot with two matches to go.

Lewis Waldon hit a hat-trick for Avtar to give the Tawny Owl a run for their money but braces from Jack Allan and Jamie Sheppard ensured they were crowned kings of the Premier Division.

“That is what we set out to do at the start of the season and it is nice to achieve it,” said Tawny Owl’s veteran Dave Slattery.

“The cups are lovely to win but I always think the best team over the course of the season will always win the league, so all the lads were buzzing.

“When we went 3-0 up after 20 minutes I thought we were cruising and could have won by 10.

“Fair play to them, they knuckled down and we had a poor period which saw them get back into the game.

“I never thought that we were going to lose the game, we always felt comfortable but we didn’t perform as well as we should have done but the league is still in the bag.”

The two teams also meet in the final of the Swindon Advertiser Cup on May 7, but Tawny Owl will be without Saturday’s two goal scorers with Allan and Sheppard both ineligible.

“It is difficult to judge going into the final because I think both teams were missing players,” he added.

“We had a season off, we used to run as Fratellos, and they won the cup and league double last year and we knew they would be our main rivals this term.

“Doing the double over them is nice and we will be confident going into the final but not over confident.

“We’ve had a few players injured and suspended and they should be sorted come the final in May.

“The unfortunate thing is our two main strikers are ineligible for the final, which is disappointing for them more than anything.

“Although it could be useful for us because they have been useless of late.”

Elsewhere, third-placed Shield & Dagger thumped DJC Marlborough 5-0 to keep the pressure on Avtar whilst KS Miltax beat Lower Stratton 3-2, with Jack Doult and Daniel Rutland goals proving in vain.

In Division One, Ramsbury moved up to third in the table with a 4-1 win at Core Construction whilst James Conde netted four times in Moredon’s 5-2 win over North Swindon WMC.

Steven Nicholls also notched for Moredon whilst Jason Hodson and Kray Dunn netting North Swindon’s consolation efforts.