‘Frustrating’ start to new season for Town

Sat. 17th August. Southern League Div. One Melksham Town 6 Slimbridge 3 Tues. 20th August. Southern League Div. One Cirencester Town 5 Melksham Town 0 Sat. 24th August. FA Cup Preliminary Round Shepton Mallet 1 Melksham Town 1 Mon. 26th August. Southern League Div. One Melksham Town 2 Paulton Rovers 4

MELKSHAM Town manager, Richard Fey, says it has been a ‘frustrating’, start to the new season despite a fine opening day win.

Town started the new season in the Southern League with a bang with a convincing victory at home, hitting Slimbridge for six. However, plagued by injuries, holidays, and work commitments, the following games saw Town lose twice in the league to Cirencester Town and Paulton Rovers; and draw against Shepton Mallet in the FA Cup.

Speaking to Melksham News, Richard said, “It’s been a frustrating start. But this is a brand new team, with brand new management – people need to understand that we signed 16 new players over the summer, and this is only Town’s second year in Southern League football – it’s going to take time. But we do have a very good team.

“We need to stop making silly mistakes, get some luck on side, and keep working hard – this team has huge potential. We need to get some stability so we can go up against the big sides like Cirencester and Paulton, and really take them on.”

About the first game against Slimbridge, which saw Town win 6-3 at home, Richard said, “It was nice to start the season with a win in front of a home crowd that was just short of 500.

“It was the first time I had a full squad to select from – and they were all fit and raring to go. We scored some cracking goals and really entertained the crowd with some good football.

“We have worked hard during the pre-season and it really felt like it came together for us on the day. Although, to concede three goals was a disappointment.

“But for the first game with a brand new team, seven players making their debut, and six goals at home – you can’t ask for much more! The support from the home crowd was outstanding – the noise when we scored a goal was incredible. It was a really positive atmosphere.

“As the season goes on we will really need the help of the supporters – it makes a huge difference, and it is always nice to play in front of a supportive crowd.

Goals came from Luke Ballinger (2), Callum Demkiv, Jack Ball, Tom Warren, and Oscar Latas. “Luke Ballinger was fantastic,” added Richard. “He scored two great goals. And Leigh Bailey was brilliant – he is a strong defender and it is going to be good to get him out on the pitch more this season.”

Next up, Town was away to Cirencester, and their good start to the season faltered with a 5-0 loss. Richard said, “We were back with the same issue we faced at the end of the last season – player unavailability, injuries, and work commitment. And it showed.

“We put a young side out with Dan Dempsey, Sam Hedges and Oscar Latas making their debuts. And Will Thomson from the reserves stepped up to give us 90 minutes of excellent play. We had plenty of chances; we just weren’t able to finish them. The Cirencester goalkeeper was man of the match – that says a lot about how we played! On paper it looks like a hammering, but we played well. To lose 5-0 against last season’s league runner-up is still respectable.

“Moving forward we need to stabilise the side and improve our consistency. However, we are still in the holiday season and we will still face this problem for the next two to three weeks. I wish I could get my best team out on the pitch every time!”

The Cirencester game marked Luke Ballinger’s 200th appearance for the club. In this time Luke has scored 105 goals.

Richard said, “Luke has been fantastic, I’ve known him for years. He has been a great servant to the club and is Melksham through and through. He is brilliant with the young players and everyone behind the scenes. I’m sure he’ll see another 200 games with the club and score many more goals!”

In the FA Cup preliminary round, Town played away to Shepton Mallet, coming away with a 1-1 draw. “We put on a dominant display in this match and created many chances, but we didn’t have much luck,” said Richard. “We were a goal down at half-time, but came back strong in the second half – it was the best performance I have seen from the lads in a second half. We had lots of chances and were able to even the score with a penalty by Jack Ball, two minutes from the end.

“I was really pleased by their performance, we are not far off from being a really good side. We just need to keep a clean sheet and stop conceding silly goals.”

The FA Cup tie against Shepton Mallet will be replayed on Monday 2nd September at the InfiLED Arena at Oakfields. Kick off at 7.30pm.

Back playing in the Southern League, Town faced Paulton Rovers at home, losing 4-2. Richard said, “It was the same old story again – we played really well, had lots of chances and could have been 3-0 up before the end of the first half. But we got beaten by two excellent goals by Paulton.

“Before the end of the first half we managed to claw it back to make it 2-2 with goals from Luke Ballinger and Jack Ball. And in the second half we created enough chances, but individual mistakes at the back cost us.

“It’s been a tough start so far in the league. We are a good team, but we need to improve our defending, especially in the final third – which is something I need to sort out. We also had six players unavailable for this game, which really hurt us. Hopefully we will have a couple back in time for the game this weekend against Winchester (Saturday 31st August).”