Dunstable Town 0-4 Frome Town – Southern Premier League, Sat. 28th Feb.

An excellent Frome Town team performance saw them return with a deserved three points after a comprehensive 4-0 win at Dunstable that will go a long way to helping them break away from the relegation zone.

A slight change in personnel and formation certainly did the trick for Adrian Foster as he moved Anthony Tonkin to centre half with the returning Dylan Bonella slotting back in at left back.  This allowed Rhys Baggridge to move forward into midfield who performed superbly in front of the back two. There was also a welcome return to action of striker Ben Thompson after a long spell out through injury.

The Robins started brightly and took the lead in the 5th minute as Matt Smith let fly from 25 yards, and with the aid of a slight deflection took the ball past the keeper.

The advantage was doubled for Frome in the 22nd minute as a patient buildup eventually saw Smith fire a ball down the right wing, Mark Cooper won the ball in the air and after shrugging off a challenge sent a shot into the net at the near post. After the half-time interval the Robins came out looking to extend their lead, and after Jon Vance controlled well on the edge of the area he set up Lewis Haldane whose shot flew just past the post with keeper Charlie May well beaten.

The third goal arrived on 52 minutes as Frome burst forward and Cooper found himself in the unusual role as being the furthest forward and unleashed a cool shot that beat May comfortably.

Thompson’s work for the day was done, and was withdrawn as a precaution following his long spell out, and was replaced by Ricky Hulbert although it wasn’t long until the Robins would be on the score sheet again.

The fourth goal arrived to the delight of the travelling support as a Jon Vance free kick wasn’t punched far enough by May, and Smith was on hand to volley home from 15 yards through the crowded area.

With 20 minutes left Terry Dixon found himself in space on the edge of the area for the hosts and his low shot beat Darren Chitty but not the post, and eight minutes later the same player found the exact same part of the post with an identical effort which landed back in the hands of Chitty.

In the closing stages Chitty was determined to keep the Robins first clean sheet on their travels this season and pulled off a stunning save to deny Gary Wharton, arching his back and tipping over superbly at full stretch.