Tues. 4th Feb. Southern League Div. One Frome Town 3 Thatcham Town 0 Sat. 8th Feb. Southern League Div. One Slimbridge 1 Frome Town 2
A second hat trick in two games for Jon Davies saw the Robins leap back into first place, with a fine performance over pace setters Thatcham.
They followed that up with a hard-fought win at Slimbridge to consolidate top spot.
Slimbridge has been the first team to beat Frome this season in the reverse fixture and again provided a tough test. Frome began kicking against a very strong wind and, in truth, the first half was a pretty flat affair. It was 32 minutes before the first meaningful attack on goal with a shot from in- form Jon Davies going just wide after the hosts had a lot of possession without really creating much. The half time interval arrived with neither goalkeeper called on to make a save.
With the benefit of the wind at their back in the second half, Frome began positively, with the opportunity to get in behind the Slimbridge defence. Just after the restart, Lenihan drove a low cross along the 6 yard box but no-one was on hand to convert and then, in the 52nd minute, Jon Davies rounded the goalkeeper, only to be brought down for a certain penalty. This he duly dispatched low to the goalkeeper’s left, to give the visitors the lead with his 7th goal in 3 games. This spurred Slimbridge into action in search of an equaliser and they created several chances with some skill and full attacking play at pace. Only the acrobatics of Phillips in the Frome goal and the crossbar kept the score level. The game continued in much the same vein, with Frome defending resolutely and attacking on the counter. Slimbridge pressed for the equaliser until 3 minutes from time when a clever flick-on found Rex Mannings free in the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat, which he achieved with a deft chip to make it 2-0. This was due reward for his efforts after having an earlier effort somehow hooked off the line by a defender. The game wasn’t quite over as Slimbridge scored a great goal in the 90th to set up a nervous few minutes of injury time, but the visiting defence held firm.
Man of the match Rob Hobbs. Attendance 102.
