Two goals from Jon Davies, the second coming in the last move of the match, gave Town a 2-1 victory over a hard working, industrious Bedworth side who were a little unlucky not to have gained a share of the points.
With new signing Davies starting at number 7, Liam Monelle’s suspension allowed both Tyler Sibbick and Lewis Haldane to start up front and with Jake Hutchings unavailable, Kris Miller reverted to right back. Stuart Dickin partnered Jordy Nkunga following Ollie Knowles’ move to Truro City during the week.
The match started with Davies showing why he is so important a signing for Frome as he seemed to be at the heart of every attack by the home side. After winning and taking a corner in the 2nd minute, Sibbick headed into the body of Denham Hinds, and after Darren Jefferies had made a great run on the right, he pulled the ball back to Davies who managed to get underneath it and clear the bar from 10 yards out.
A beautifully worked triple 1-2 on the left led to Davies only just having his shot blocked in the 11th minute and a corner two minutes later saw a Jordan Walker header somehow saved by the body of Hinds as made himself as big as possible.
Frome continued to torment the Bedworth defence and after chances for Miller, Sibbick and Jefferies somehow being kept out, the home crowd were beginning to wonder if it was just going to be one of those days, but the opening goal finally arrived in the 36th minute as Davies “nutmegged” Chard Degville-Cross on the left, swept into the box and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top far corner.
Despite Frome having more and better chances, Bedworth equalised against the run of play in the 36th minute as Paul White came out to claim a left wing cross, only to collide with Jordan Archer, and as White went to ground and dropped the ball, Archer was able to carry on and force the ball over the line from close range despite the attentions of two Frome defenders.
The second half started with Haldane clearing the bar in the first minute, but then a stoppage for a head wound to Sam Teale resulted in debutant Connor Roberts coming on to play at right back with Miller moving to left back, and with the balance of the team slightly changed, Bedworth moved into a period of domination, with Frome struggling to string moved together.
However, it didn’t last long and in the 57th Frome went close as Roberts hit a shot from range that Haldane flicked just past the post and four minutes later Haldane had the ball in the net after being found in space by Davies, only for the goal to be ruled out by an offside flag.
The match had now turned into an end to end affair, and Miller did well in the 70th to win the ball and run the length of the pitch before just being denied by a last ditch tackle as he shot, and another last ditch tackle by Edward Appleton denied him again six minutes later as he carved his way into the box.
As the match moved towards the final whistle, Frome moved into the ascendency and they went very close to scoring in the 86th as substitute Ricky Hulbert broke into the box only to be foiled by the attentions of three defenders which very nearly resulted in an own goal, and when a free kick for shirt pulling was driven into the Bedworth defensive wall in the 92nd minute, most of the crowd thought that the chance of three points had gone.
Luckily the Frome players had other ideas, and in the fourth minute of injury time, Rob Hobbs found a perfect ball out to substitute Ricky Hulbert, who looked up and picked out Davies on the far post and the home crowd went into raptures as he dived to head past Denham Hinds for the winning goal.
This win saw Frome climb out of the relegation zone for the first time since the middle of August, and as manager Nick Bunyard (who seemed to have been shown a red card in this match) continues to assemble a very useful squad that promises great things for the future.
With two goals on a very impressive debut Jon Davies was awarded the H&B Tyres man of the match award, and it was probably the first of many.
Frome Scorers: Davies (28), (90+4). Biggleswade Scorers:Archer (36). Crowd: 207. Star Man: Jon Davies. Entertainment Value: 4/5.
