It was almost a case of deja vu as, for the second Saturday in a row, Frome beat a top six side with a single goal (this time from Jake Jackson), kept a clean sheet, goalkeeper Kyle Phillips was man of the match and Leamington missed a penalty as Phillips saved in the 94th minute.
With Leamington on an unbeaten run of ten successive games and pushing Chippenham hard for the automatic promotion slot, this game was always going to be difficult for Frome.
However, Town have a very good record against top six sides this year, having lost only once in ten games before this one and with the big home game against Chippenham to come on Easter Monday at the Special Effect Stadium.
The squad included the welcome return of Marcus Mapstone, though with Connor Roberts suspended after his red card at Cinderford, Sam Teale moved to centre back with Chris Gregan maintaining the left back position.
With Jon Davies not travelling, it appears that his knee injury will take longer to recover than was initially thought, but hopes of an Easter Monday return are high.
In front of a crowd of 508 that was expecting a win, the match kicked off with Leamington the first to show in the 2nd minute as Jack Edwards flicked on a long throw and, as Ahmed Obeng turned his marker, his shot was well saved by the alert Kyle Phillips.
As the match settled, it turned into a good game of football, with the play from end to end but both defences dealing with anything thrown at them.
Frome had a half chance in the 27th as Richard Taundry missed a clearance, but Jamie Hood was on hand to block Darren Jefferies’ shot and, a minute later, a throw from Gregan was headed on by Jackson and Mike Bryant’s header was saved by Tony Breeden.
At the other end, Leamington want close as Obeng knocked the ball back to Thompson-Brown and his left wing cross was headed wide by Edwards, and a minute later, Callum Gittings skipped past two challenges in midfield to set up Obeng with a run on goal, but Phillips again did well to narrow the angle and save.
In the 36th, Mapstone produced a brilliant header from a corner to head against the post, and two minutes later Ollie Knight brought a good save from Breeden low to his right as both sides looked for the opening goal.
However, neither could break the deadlock and the scorer remained untroubled at half time.
Leamington started the brighter of the two sides in the second half and they went close in the 50th as Baker-Richardson did well on the right and slipped the ball to Obeng, who set up Gittings for a free shot from 12 yards that the Frome defence did well to block.
Seven minutes later, Sam Teale did really well to get back and produce a saving tackle as substitute Stefan Moore was set clean through on goal.
Phillips again did well in the 61st as he bravely came out to save at the feet of Moore but, three minutes later, Frome defied the odds and took the lead as Jake Jackson produced a superb turn and a twenty yard shot low into the far corner to give him his 19th goal of season, 15 of which have been scored away from home.
Leamington had a big chance to equalise four minutes later, but Phillips again saved superbly from Baker-Richardson after he had been set up by Edwards.
Straight from the resulting throw, Jamie Hood blasted over from eight yards when he should have hit the target.
Despite the home pressure, Frome had a chance in the 81st as a cross from George Miller led to a header by Knight that brushed the post. Leamington again went close three minutes later as a cross from Moore just evaded the head Kurtis Revan, when the slightest touch would have seen it in the net.
As the match moved into the fourth minute of stoppage time, Leamington threw their captain and goalkeeper Tony Breeden up for a corner kick, and his presence in the box led to the penalty as he was taken down in the area, much to the delight of the home crowd. But Phillips crowned another superb performance by diving to his left and saving, with the final whistle blowing immediately.
For the second match in a row, goalkeeper Kyle Phillips was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match Award. He has proved a huge influence on the fortunes of Frome this season as he replaced Darren Chitty, who most people thought was irreplaceable.Crowd: 508. Entertainment Value: 5/5.
