Sat. 25th Mar. Southern League Div. One Westbury United 1 – 0 Frome Town
FROME Town finished a relentless week with defeat in the league at the hands of their nearest neighbours Westbury United.
A second-half goal from Jacob Hutchings, conceded from a set-piece, turned out to be the decisive moment as a Robins side who lacked ideas against an organised and pragmatic opposition lost again.
The game was a low-key from the outset, Westbury going close with a low shot from a corner. The possession and the upper hand was often with Frome, but they struggled to construct any viable chances.
Westbury’s Green Army were out in force but significant pockets of vocal Frome fans delivered several numbers from their wide repertoire.
Their side, however, failed to get the memo. Frome had the lion’s share of possession, but they were unable to make any meaningful inroads into Westbury’s area and neither side had lit the world on fire by half-time.
The White Horse Men who are ninth having played a couple of games have impressed in their first Southern League season and were looking for a promising top-half finish to boot.
The second half started with little incident until Joe O’Loughlin found himself in range of the goal and in space. His reluctance to shoot and instead pass wide to Humphries who could only give the ball back to the midfielder when the green barrier had had sufficient time to reassemble was symptomatic of the Robin’s hesitancy and indecision.
Kyle Phillips read a shot well but the keeper was unable to stave off the subsequent effort of Westbury’s Jacob Hutchings who emerged from a goalmouth jostle having swept the ball into the net for the winning goal.
As Westbury celebrated a laboured win to consolidate their position in the table, the frustration of the Frome players and staff was evident after a third defeat in a week. The results have deserted Danny Greaves’ side since November, but there is a notion that their performances in March have gone unrewarded. That idea might be dispelled by tonight’s result against a mid-table competitor and demonstrates just how quickly bravery in the previous game can transform into naivety and frustration. With the visit of a Bristol Manor Farm side that is hovering on the brink of the relegation zone, that precious sense of purpose will need to be quickly rediscovered.
Match report by Zeb Baker-Smith
