Frome edge past Newquay

Saturday 14th August

FA Cup Preliminary Round 

Frome Town 2-1 Newquay 

Both sides went down to ten men, but the Robins prevailed in the first-round qualifier of the FA Cup. 

Danny Greaves made two changes with Sam Meakes making his first start back since his return and with Harry Lucas out, Mike Baker came back into the starting 11.

There was a 20-minute delay to the start of the action due to the traffic on route to Badgers Hill for the visitors.

A bright start for the Dodge, a few chances, but the standout opportunity came from Gould on the right flank, who first had eyes on the goal; his effort was driven on the floor but was too wide and ended up for a goal kick.

William Wright, the referee, made a controversial sending-off in the 21st minute. Simmonds was fouled just outside the box with both Gould and Heal trying to get the ball. The referee gave Sam Heal a red card, resulting in Frome being down to ten men for the rest of the 70 minutes of play.

There was little to no action from here on out for the first half. Greaves made a change at the brink of half-time to ensure cover in the midfield.

The second half started with another substitution for the hosts; Baker could only play 45 minutes to not bring back any strains to his legs.

Simmonds, for Newquay, was through on goal, but Maidment’s tackle from the right awarded a corner for the visitors. The set piece was punched away from Phillips.

Zac Drew only scored one goal in 37 games last season but the No.10 has put away three in three games in all competitions so far this season. The assist for this goal came from Archie Ferris, who waited for the former Yate forward to make his run into the box and fed Zac who slotted home past the goalkeeper.

Simmonds got the equaliser for the Peppermints. His strike from outside the box put them back level pegging. A reality check for the Robins.

Albie Hopkins scored the winner with his tricky feet dribbling past the away side’s defence with ease, putting himself one-on-one with Holman, and his expertise in front of goal gave Dan no chance.

The second red card of the game came from a high tackle by Moxham, which put the game to bed for the home side.

The full-time whistle blown by Wright meant that happy Dodge supporters would see their team in the first qualifying round draw.

Attendance: 355

Report by Thomas Groves

Pictured: Zac Drew’s finish past the goalkeeper Dan Holman