Melksham Town 8-1 Bournemouth – FA Vase 2nd Qualifying Round, Sat. 4th Oct.

MELKSHAM progressed to first round proper of the FA Vase after hitting Bournemouth Poppies for eight. 

The success over their Wessex League opponents sets up a home tie with Highmoor Ibis on Saturday 1st November.

The game was all but over long before the half hour mark- and the score could have been a lot more emphatic with the hosts squandering a number of good chances and hitting the framework on three occasions.

Gary Higdon opened his account for the day on four minutes having already hit the bar in an earlier move, sliding home a Griffiths cross. Melksham doubled their advantage on 15 when Ash Barnett took the ball into the penalty area, riding several challenges before firing home beyond the visiting keeper. Higdon added a third on 22 minutes shrugging off a challenge and rounded off his solo run. Rogers made it four when tapping home from close range inside a crowded Poppies six yard box. Higdon was denied his hat trick on 40 minutes by a clearance off the line.

The only bright spot in the game for Bournemouth was a delightful free kick on 42 that proved to be a mere consolation.

After the interval Melksham continued to press home the advantage and Higdon did complete his hat trick with a simple tap in just three minutes in. He then continued his personal goal scoring achievements by adding a fourth on 56 and a fifth on 65 to make the score 7-1.

However, the abacus wasn’t required in the end as Melksham only added one more- their eighth- with about seven minutes left when Barnett had a simple strike for his brace to round off a great performance