TWO Forest football clubs, returning from the wilderness, took each other on this week, with Aylburton Rovers seeing off Hilldene Athletic by 4-0.

Hilldene Athletic were reformed by Will Baldwin during the summer and now play at Cinderford Town's Causeway Ground. It's the first time they've ever been based in Hilldene.

The club won North Gloucestershire and Northern Senior League titles in the 1960s and 1970s before folding in the 1990s.

Aylburton Rovers were arguably victims of their own success.

They won a fantastic treble in 2008/09, earning promotion as North Gloucestershire League champions. However, their demise was swift and after a single season in the more demanding Northern Senior League they found themselves with just a handful of players, as other clubs lured their top talents away.

Aylburton's new chairman Rob Bendall said: "When we got promoted to the Senior League we had around 40 players signed on, but by the end we were down to five.

"We've had quite a lot of support from the village in order to come back.

"We've not got any big expectations anymore.

"We just want to reestablish the club and anything else is a bonus."