FROME Town produced an excellent, hard working team performance that frustrated table topping Kings Lynn Town and with a little more luck, the hosts might just have snatched the victory late on, though the draw was warmly applauded by the home supporters at the final whistle.
Frome were still just about managing to put together a side, and with George Miller, Sam Teale, Chas Hemmings and Kyle Phillips unavailable, Andy Crabtree’s son Karl Crabtree was brought in for his third game for the club and his first game of the season. He had a record to protect, having never been on the losing side and also winning the man of the match award in his previous two games. Strangely, one of those games was in the game at Kings Lynn last season when he brought off one of the “saves of the season” when he saved a point blank shot with his face and suffered a broken nose.
As the match started, Frome certainly looked the more pro-active of the two sides and they had a chance to open the scoring in the 10th as Darren Jefferies accelerated into space hotly pursued by two defenders and only just lost control at the last moment, allowing Alex Street to clear the ball with a slide tackle.
There was a brief stoppage in the 12th as Lynn defender Ryan Fryatt managed to get his face to the ball just as Mitchell Page attempted an overhead kick as Frome applied the pressure. But a measure of the game was that Crabtree had to wait until the 13th minute before making his first save, a regulation pick up of a long distance effort.
Despite the visitors starting to get into the game a bit more, Frome were benefiting from the pairing of Marcus Mapstone and Connor Roberts at the heart of their defence, and this partnership and the pace that Roberts brings to the side was to frustrate the table toppers for the whole game.
Kings Lynn were a little lucky in the 21st as keeper Alex Street mis-hit a clearance straight to Ollie Knight, but the winger was just driven wide by a defender and the chance went. In the 25th, a lovely sweeping move on the right led to Jefferies pulling the ball back to Jon Davies whose shot looked to be going into the corner until a defender just stretched out a leg and blocked it.
Any chances that Kings Lynn were creating tended to be as a result of corners and free kicks and using their height advantage to win headers. Crabtree was taking no chances and tipped a header over the bar in the 26th and punched well a minute later, though Frome were a little fortunate in the 33rd as a long ball was headed upwards by Mapstone and as Crabtree came out for the ball, Mike Clunan nipped in but shot well wide of the post.
A Jon Davies volley in the 33rd brought a good save from Street as Frome again opened up the visitors’ defence, but probably the best chance of the half fell to Kings Lynn’s Mike Gash, who headed a left wing cross well wide just before the interval, when he should really have hit the target.
Kings Lynn had the ball in the net at the start of the half as Leon Mettam shot home from close range after a downward header from a free kick had found him. But the flag went up for offside, and it became clear that the visitors must have had a stern talking to at half time, because they looked much livelier and started to dominate territory and possession.
However, the Frome defence failed to buckle under the pressure, closed down well and backed each other up. After Roberts had produced a superb last ditch tackle, he set a move going that led to Ollie Knight almost finding a way through as Frome showed that they were always going to be dangerous on the counter attack.
After a quarter of an hour, Frome seemed to have weathered the storm and the game became a tasty “end to end affair” with quarter being neither asked nor given. Mapstone carved out a chance in the 61st as a Davies free kick was headed back to him, but he failed to keep the volley down and the shot sailed over the bar.
Kings Lynn went close in the 73rd as a debatable free kick on the right was swung in and Mike Gash headed against the base of the post. But then Frome could have pinched it in the 83rd as Jefferies went on a run that took him into the box and his shot just went the wrong side of the post. But in fairness, Kings Lynn probably finished the stronger of the two sides and Crabtree did well three times in the last ten minutes to parry away and save bravely at the feet of an onrushing forward, and ensure another clean sheet and keep his undefeated record.
Joe Raynes was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match Award, his third in a row, however there were a lot of candidates for the award in this match which could be described as a very good team effort.
