Tuesday 20th Sept. – Toolstation Premier Div.
Hallen 1-2 Melksham Town
Friday 23rd Sept. – FA Vase 2nd Round
Melksham Town 4-0 New College Swindon
Sat. 1st October – Toolstation Premier Div.
Shepton Mallet 3- 1 Melksham Town
MELKSHAM Town month-long unbeaten streak came to an end on Saturday when they lost 3-1 to Shepton Mallet.
A Town side ravaged by injuries were handed their second loss of the season last weekend when a hat-trick from Shepton Mallet’s Tyson Pollard proved too much for Melksham.
Town had attacked early and worked the Shepton keeper hard to fend off crosses and a dangerous shot from Melksham’s – and the league’s – top scorer Luke Ballinger.
But Town couldn’t find the net and Shepton Mallet put their first chance away after 28 minutes of play. The home team made it two soon after the break on 54 minutes, then sealed the deal with a third mere minutes before the final whistle. A stoppage time own goal from a Shepton Mallet defender was too little, too late for Town.
Melksham manager Darren Perrin said, “Shepton Mallet deserved to win this one. We had some fantastic chances but the goalkeeper was in inspired form and they proved just too much for us.
“The side is decimated with injuries at the moment. Eight starting players are injured and it’s hurting us big time; I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“Of course we can’t use that as an excuse to not perform and we’ve got to keep going. It could well get worse before it gets better but we’ll get over it. The injuries are limiting how much we can train at the moment because we need to be so careful – the squad is down to its bare bones.”
Warren Maidment, Matt Sharp, Ian Jeffery, Joe Stradling, Keiran Baggs, David Thompson, Dan Kovacs, Gary Higdon and Ricky Hulbert have all been affected by injuries in recent games.
Keiran Baggs was taken by ambulance to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital when he dislocated his shoulder during the Hallen game.
“We won the Hallen game comfortably but gave away a sloppy goal in the last five minutes,” Darren added. “We won the fixture with two goals in two minutes after the break, with Gary Higdon scoring a penalty on 50 minutes, then Luke Ballinger scoring a minute later.
Town dominated New College Swindon for a 4-0 win in the second round of the FA Vase.
Next up they play two more league fixtures – against Willand Rovers and Buckland Athletic – and then kick off against a team of Manchester United legends in a special fixture on 16th October.
Darren said, “I’m delighted we made it through to the next round of the FA Vase, though I felt like we could have won by more goals on the day.
“We didn’t do very well in the tournament last year – we lost in the first round so we’re already over that hurdle so I’m hoping we can do better this time around.
“We’re all very excited about the Manchester United game. Myself and the players are disappointed and frustrated that we can’t play the match at the new facility, but I’m sure the Conigre will look brilliant for the occasion and it’ll be a day to remember for the whole community.”
