IT’S BEEN a difficult couple of weeks for Town as the season nears its end. A good point at Malvern was followed by a 2-1 home defeat to title-chasing Frome in front of a bumper 1,100 Easter Monday crowd and another defeat on the road at Evesham.
The team travelled to Malvern on Good Friday, 29th March and were unfortunate not to come away with all three points, reports club chairman Darren Perrin. Malvern took the lead after 12 minutes when a long throw-in was headed in at the near post far too easily.
Town equalised just before half-time through Elliot Haffenden. In the second half, Town were the better side, created better chances and were unfortunate to only come away with one point instead of three.
On Easter Monday, 1st April, the Town hosted title-chasing Frome Town in front of a bumper crowd of 1,100. Town started the game awfully and after 12 minutes they found themselves 0 – 2 due to poor defending. Town should have pulled one back after 26 minutes through Benjani Jnr, whose point-blank header was well saved by the Frome keeper.
Great credit to the Town players in the second half, as they dominated the game and pushed a very good Frome side all the way. They pulled a goal back in the 74th minute from captain Sam Hendy and nearly equalized in the 86th minute when Albie Hopkins hit the bar.
Although Town probably deserved a point in the end, you cannot afford to give a very good Frome side a two-goal advantage so early on.
The week after, Town travelled to Evesham on Saturday 6th April. The game was played on a very bouncy and bobbly pitch and in extremely windy conditions from Storm Kathleen. Town had the wind to their advantage in the first half but fell behind after 10 minutes. We equalised within a minute from Haffendern, but two errors by the 30th minute meant we trailed 3 – 1.
Sam Hendy pulled one back in the 37th minute from 70 yards (yes, 70 yards!) and then three minutes later Hopkins scored a great goal to make it 3 – 3. Early in the second half, Town hit the bar through Hendy, but in the 81st minute, a defensive error led to us going 4 – 3 behind. In the last couple of minutes, Evesham number nine scored a wonderful finish to make the final score 5 – 3 to Evesham.
We host Bemerton on Saturday 16th April, with a 3pm kick-off (following a game on Tuesday this week at Mousehole) before we host Bideford on Tuesday 19th April with a 7.45pm kick-off.
The directors would like to thank the supporters who turned out in their numbers on Easter Monday and throughout the season in what has been a difficult one for the Town. We anticipate another big crowd on Saturday 27th April when Wimborne visit us, knowing they may well need a point or a win to win the league. Again, we urge people to arrive early for that game. Thank you for your continued support.