Sat. 28th Sept. Southern League Div.One Frome Town 1 Highworth Town 1
Frome Town and Highworth Town played out a tough contest at Badgers Hill, with both sides left thinking what could have been.
The game hinged on a few key chances where shots underhit or off target that could have seen the Robins pick up all three points. The match started at fast pace with some flowing moves from the Robins, with Matt Smith and Dan Cottle making headway down the left hand side of the pitch. But Highworth did well to block and intercept many passages of play, thwarting Frome to very few goalscoring opportunities in the opening exchanges.
The chances start to come and from a high press. Cottle’s closing down found Hailston in the box, who held the ball up beautifully showing great strength. Hailston teed up Mannings who blazed the ball high over the bar from 12 yards out. Most of the crowd were being entertained by a great battle between Mark Cooper and Corey King, both went in hard with two separate challenges. The referee had to speak to both of them to warn them that any more would be a booking.
Then on 20 minutes the deadlock was broken. Dan Cottle intercepted the ball on the right on the edge of Highworth’s box. The ball found Hailston on the penalty spot. Hailston held up the ball until Smith on the edge of the area was looking to strike. Smith fed Mannings who left foot curled into the bottom left corner.
In the nature of this match Highworth looked to fight back. Quickly getting the ball into Frome’s area, then after a pinball-style melee, three Frome defenders were on hand to block the shot. Moments later, a mistake by O’Loughlin saw Pryce break forward. Teale slid in perfectly to scoop the ball away with a piece of fantastic defending. Another breakaway saw Cottle and Hailston combine in the box to force the keeper to make a smart save at the near post. Then in the 44th minute Rob Brown stopped Highworth’s first shot on target in a comfortable manner.
The second half turned into a cagey affair, with the game becoming longer and with more direct passing from both teams. The introduction of Ryan Bath started to cause problems, with Frome coming forward more often now and the crowd now in good voice. However the crowd were silenced by a deep cross from the left that found Morrison free in the penalty area; his header hit the right post and nestled into the back of the net.
The match started to get stretched, with both sides nervous about conceding, however it was Frome that showed the final enthusiasm to seek out a winner in the last few minutes. A curled effort over the bar by Ryan Bath showed signs of promise. Then Mannings swung in a cross which found Hobbs, whose shot rolled wide of the post, as additional time came and went.
Man of the Match: Matt Smith. Frome: Brown, Oloughlin, Cooper, Teale, Maidment, Peck, Smith, Monks, Hailston, Cottle, Mannings Subs: Bath, Hobbs, Leniham, Greaves, Hallet.
