A late, late goal from George Miller pinched all three points for Frome in a strength-sapping encounter, which had seen Frome have the better of the first half and Redditch looking the most likely to win it in the second.
Frome were unchanged from last Saturday, apart from the notable absence of Jon Davies who was unavailable, and with Kris Miller possibly still carrying an injury but on the bench and Sam Teale still suspended, George Miller returned to side after injury.
With the last two games between the two sides having resulted in an 8-1 home win for Frome last year and a 4-1 home win for Redditch earlier in the season, this match could well have been any result – even a 0-0 draw!
As one of the few games in the local area to have survived the weather, the pitch was predictably heavy but Frome created the first chance in the 6th as a sweeping ball from Chas Hemmings set Darren Jefferies free on the right, but as his cross was cleared, Redditch counter-attacked and Edjuda Mbunga shot well over.
Two minutes later, Frome went close as Jefferies produced a cross from the right that Mitchell Page flicked just wide, and it was clear that Jefferies was continuing his form of the previous week, showing a willingness to run at defenders and take them on in the difficult conditions.
This showed itself again shortly afterwards as a crisp interchange led to a shooting chance for Page, and Jefferies himself went very close in the 18th as he burst in from the right, rode two challenges and thumped the ball against the near post.
With the return of Connor Roberts having greatly improved the speed and effectiveness of the Frome defence, Redditch’s ploy of looking to loft the ball over the last line for fast running forwards was really failing to cause any problems. In the 29th, Frome went close again as Ollie Knight beat the offside trap to bring a sharp save from Ethan Ross, who got down well to push the ball round the post.
Redditch’s Ashley Sammons blazed a free kick well over the bar in the 33rd and with Jefferies blazing a right foot shot well wide in the 36th, the first half ended on an even note, with neither side really able to gain the upper hand.
Redditch looked a bit sharper at the start of the second half and in the 48th, a sweeping move out to the left allowed the ball to be pulled back for Danny Jackman to blaze over the bar. In the 53rd, the visitors should really have taken the lead as a curling free kick found Tristan Dunkley in acres of space, but his header from ten yards missed the target when everyone in the crowd was expecting to see the net bulge.
As Redditch looked the more pro-active of the two sides, Kyle Phillips made his first real save of the match with a regulation stop from a free kick. Frome were struggling to make much impression on the Redditch defence as the conditions started to sap the energy from tired legs in the midfield battle.
Ben Withey did well to block a goalbound shot in the 77th as Redditch almost found a way through the tight home defence, and with Phillips making another easy save from a header in the 80th and with Joe Raynes managing a saved shot from a tight angle shortly afterwards, it seemed likely that the 0-0 result was going to be acceptable to both sides.
It seemed like Redditch had wasted their last chance of the match in the 88th as Stuart Fleetwood chipped a shot just over the far corner after a clever move that had opened up the home defence, and with the referee signalling four minutes of stoppage time, a neutral would have said that the draw would be the fair result.
However, with the fat lady just about to hit the final note, Frome were awarded a free kick five yards outside the Redditch box, and as George Miller hit a swinging free kick to the far post, the Redditch seemed to have cleared the danger. But the ball squirted back across the edge of the area and the unmarked Miller was able to take a few paces forward and hammer a low, skidding shot into the corner of the goal, to start great celebrations of the home team and fans.
Frome managed to preserve their lead for the final thirty seconds or so, and the result saw them move up into ninth place in the league, having conceded only one goal in their last three matches against decent sides, and that goal was a late consolation for St Neots in a 6-1 home defeat.
Chas Hemmings was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match award by supporter Wilf Willis who sponsored both the match and the ball, and it must have been a hard decision as, once again, there were numerous candidates in this match in what is proving to be a very good spell for a very small squad.
