Ten man Town come from behind to clinch three points

Sat 5th Feb. Southern League Div. One. Att: 405 Melksham Town 2 Slimbridge AFC 1

SLIMBRIDGE travelled to Oakfield Stadium with hopes of avenging their 5-0 hammering by Melksham in the reverse fixture back in October.  

However, Town were looking to make it back-to-back wins following a tough start to 2022, following last week’s 4-2 win over Cinderford (29th January).  

A slow start to the game awaited the 400+ attending, before Town started to grow into the fixture and create a few chances; Malshanskyj, Tooze and Ballinger all saw opportunities go begging, however it was the visitors who struck first, opening the scoring through Ben McLean in the 22nd minute to stun the hosts.  

Town ramped up the pressure after conceding the opener, and Kyle Tooze even had the ball in the net, however the referee had blown for a foul on the ‘keeper as the forward tapped in.  

The intensity of the game was certainly increasing as Town went in search of an equaliser; but an already uphill battle became a mountain to climb as Kyle Tooze received a controversial red card five minutes before half-time. The referee judged Tooze to have lashed out off the ball, after the forward was himself being manhandled by a Slimbridge defender.  

However, this seemed to bring life into this electric Town side, as Albie Hopkins danced through the Slimbridge defence before being brought down in the box, and the referee pointed straight at the spot for a Melksham penalty. Luke Ballinger made no mistake from the spot to level the scores. 

Then a minute later, on the stroke of half-time, Jay Malshanskyj broke away down the left, found the dangerous Albie Hopkins in the box who slammed the ball home to give Town the lead. Two goals in two minutes turned the game on its head and the Town faithful were loving it, but there was still another half of football to be played. 

A gritty second half performance would be needed from ten-man-Town in order to come away with their second win of 2022, and luck wasn’t on their side when Dave Thompson was forced off with an injury early in the second-half, replaced by club hero Sayeed Ibrahim to fill in at the back.  

Despite being a man down, Town continued to apply pressure up in the Slimbridge’s end of the pitch – thanks to the running of Luke Ballinger and Jay Malshanskyj doing everything they could to cover the extra man. The home side were also creating the better chances in the second half, with Jay Malshanksyj going close a couple of times, again thanks to some brilliant solo play.  

More good news for Town was Sam Hendy coming on to get some minutes towards the end, after being out with a shoulder injury. He Helped Town see out the remainder of the game, turning out 2-1 winners and making it back-to-back wins for Rich Fey’s men.