There was no lack of commitment and effort from Frome in this match, but once again, scoring goals was the main problem, and after more than matching Dorchester for an hour, they fell behind to a penalty and despite searching for an equaliser right up to the final whistle, it failed to materialise and Frome slipped into the relegation zone as Dorchester overtook them.
With the squad missing the suspended Sam Teale and Kane Simpson, Dan Whitly made his first home start and Frome started brightly as Tristan Plummer cut in from the right to deliver a searching low cross that was just cleared. With Plummer driving a shot just wide of the far post in the 10th after a period of Frome pressure, the home side were definitely in the driving seat at this point.
However, as the match settled, Dorchester came into their own and started to play the ball more in the Frome half, though with the Frome defence looking settled, the contest developed into an even, keenly contested one, with neither side able to carve out any real chances.
Frome had a shout for a penalty in the 34th as a ball seemed to bounce up and strike the hand of a defender, but the referee was in a good position to see things clearly and he immediately decided that there was no offence. After more midfield stalemate, Frome went close in the 40th as a dangerous free kick was whipped in by Plummer, only to be cleared by the head of a defender, and the score remained 0-0 at half time.
Frome again had the better of the first ten minutes after the restart, and with Ollie Knowles clipping a free kick just over and stinging the palms of Kingsley Latham with a left foot shot in the 54th, the home side were obviously still up for the challenge.
However, as the game opened up, Dorchester showed that they were a force to be reckoned with on the counter attack. They went very close a minute later as a shot from a tight angle on the right flew across the face of the Frome goal and out for a corner.
Dorchester’s free kicks left a bit to be desired as for the second time, the attempted shot on goal flew ten yards over the goal in the 59th, but they then took the lead in the 62nd as Frome lost possession in midfield. A quick break led to Cameron Murray cutting across the front of Kris Miller, only for Miller’s legs to tangle with Murray’s rear leg and the referee immediately pointed to the spot and booked Miller for the challenge. Ben Seymour took the kick and scored with ease with a spot kick that no keeper in the world would have saved.
Dorchester missed a huge chance to double their lead four minutes later as a Frome clearance was charged down, allowing the visitors to quickly work their way through the defence. After James Carey had made a very good save to deny Seymour, the ball ran free to Harry Kite, who somehow managed to put it wide from around five yards out.
The goal meant that Frome had to do something to get back into the match, and despite substitutions in the forwards, Connor Roberts started coming forward from defence and looked the most likely to create something. But Dorchester now looked composed with a three-man defence with two hard-working wing backs who were tracking Frome attackers when needed, but getting forward to support their attack on the counter.
No matter what Frome tried, the Dorchester defence always proved that little bit smarter and stronger, and as the minutes ticked away and legs tired, they always looked the more likely to score again on one of their counter attacks. Frome’s only real chance of an equaliser came in the 95th minute as a corner led to a volley crashing into the defensive wall just as the final whistle blew.
The result now means that Frome have lost their last four matches by a single goal to sides around them in the table, and with each match being effectively a “six pointer”, the lack of goals is becoming a serious issue, hopefully to be addressed on Saturday with the visit of old rivals Poole Town .
Man of the match was Ollie Knowles
