Melksham Town stumble but still top of the table

Sat. 27th August – Toolstation Premier Div.
Bristol Manor Farm 3-1 Melksham Town

Weds. 30th August – Toolstation Premier Div.
Cadbury Heath 1-1 Melksham Town

Sat. 3rd September – Toolstation Premier Div.
Sherborne Town 2-4 Melksham Town

CRACKS are beginning to show in Melksham Town’s formidable run of away results, as the team’s five-game unbeaten streak came to an end last week.

Town still have six more  league games to play on the road before they can enjoy their first home game at the new Woolmore Farm ground.

Their record so far this season stands at five wins, two draws and one loss. On Monday this week they were at the top of the Toolstation Premier League after eight games.

Manager Darren Perrin is happy the team is averaging two points per game and hanging in at the top end of the table.

He told Melksham News, “I think the only fair result of the last three has been the Manor Farm game. They are the team to beat this season and they deserved to win.

“The other games have been sloppy. We gave away a very late equaliser against Cadbury Heath in a game that we should have won.

“I was happy to get back to winning ways against Sherborne last weekend, and we came away with a good result thanks to goals from Luke Ballinger, Dave Thompson, Lee Davidson and Gary Higdon.

“However, I was not happy with the performance in the game. We were sloppy and the players’ concentration wasn’t where it should be.”

At the game on 3rd September, striker Luke Ballinger opened the scoring after 20 minutes with his 11th league goal of the season. Sherborne quickly drew level and the half ended at 1-1. Town came out guns blazing in the second half with Thomson, Davidson and Higdon all getting on the score sheet, bringing a crucial three points for Melksham.

Perrin hopes the squad can stay strong for the next month as they see off the rest of the long run of away games before settling into Woolmore Farm, where they will be looking to really make a dent in the division when they play 15 home games in a row from November to February.

The manager said, “I’d  like us to keep up this form so that by the time we start playing back in Melksham we’ll be in a good position to really achieve something this season.

“We’ll have nearly half the season to play back-to-back games at home and I’d like to see us turn Woolmore Farm into a fortress. As in every season, our aim is to finish higher than we did the last year, and this time is no different.”

Town finished fifth in the league last year, and won it the year before.

• Town’s next fixture is this Sat, 10th Sept, away at Brislington. KO at 3pm.