Sat. 1st Sept. Evo-Stik Southern Division One Winchester City 2 Melksham Town 2 Sat. 8th Sept. FA Cup First Round Qualifying Melksham Town 1 Merthyr Town 4

MELKSHAM Town FC have continued their unbeaten run in the Southern League, but there has been disappointment in the FA Cup, with a home loss, bringing the club’s dreams to an end.

In the Southern League, Town visited Winchester City – one of the favourites to top the league – drawing 2-2 after leading 2-0 early on in the game.

Melksham Town’s assistant manager and player, Luke Ballinger said, “It started really well, we got at them from the beginning and we had them concerned. We scored two early on (by Neikell Plummer), but then that old football saying, ‘score too early’, came into play. 

“Plummer went off injured, and we had no striker on the bench, so we played on with a false striker. Winchester quickly got back into the game – they are a good side and they passed the ball really well. Goalkeeper Kent Kauppinen made two fantastic saves – but Winchester scored from a corner before half-time.

“In the second half the game was fairly even and both sides had good chances, but Winchester was able to pull another one back – so a draw was a fair result.

“Winchester will be up there at the top of the league at the end of the season, so for us to draw with them, and to also beat favourites Evesham the other week, it shows that if we turn up and perform, we could be amongst it at the end of the season.”

Next up for Town was Merthyr Town at home in the FA Cup First Round Qualifying. Town lost 1-4, with the only Melksham goal coming from Jon Davies.

“The final scoreline does not represent the overall performance of the game,” said Luke, “although when we went down to 10 men, Merthyr ran away with the game. It was a very even first half. But in the second half, Merthyr scored after a mistake by us and then we were a man down when Warren Maidment was sent off for a tackle – he won the ball, but perhaps followed through too much, although I didn’t see what happened.

“We should have had two penalties, there’s no doubt about that, but the ref seemed to favour Merthyr, perhaps because they were the bigger side and they didn’t want to upset them – but that’s football!

“We competed against a team that is 5th or 6th in the league above – it wasn’t a fair result, but Merthyr went away with the game and it left us chasing the scoreline.

“We’ve not lost any points, and we’ll have to bounce back in time for Bristol Manor Farm this Saturday (15th September).

“Kieran (Baggs) and I said at the beginning of this season that this is a free hit for us and that we have no expectations – as long as we perform to the best of our abilities, we will do alright. Confidence in the team is high. The challenge will be when we get defeated and how we bounce back from that – like we have to do after Merthyr.

“Manor Farm have one of the biggest budgets in the league and it will be a good test for us. Andy Sandell, who is on loan from Chippenham Town, will add quality and experience to the team – so that will be a boost. 

“We have nothing to fear and nothing to lose – and if that continues, we might get a top five finish at the end of the season.”