EVO-STIK LEAGUE SOUTHERN PREMIER DIVISION: Frome Town 1 Bashley 1
11:00am Sunday 6th January 2013 in Sport
MATCHES between Frome and Bashley always tend to be tight, and this one was no exception, with a well-taken goal by Frome’s Dave Gilroy being cancelled out by a Mark Gamble penalty.
Frome almost shot themselves in the foot early on as only an excellent save from Darren Chitty foiled Gamble as Tom Evans was caught in possession.
But as the half progressed, the match settled into a pattern of Frome attempting to launch counter attacks, but Bashley seemingly more comfortable on the ball and capable of playing football in their opponent’s half.
Half-chances came and went for both sides, with Dean Evans and Dave Gilroy both shooting wide, and Bashley’s Rob Gradwell blazing a shot across the goalmouth, but the first real chance arrived in the 32nd minute when a crisp left volley from Matt Smith brought an excellent save from Stuart Moore in the visitors' goal.
Bashley almost equalised in the 39th minute as Aaron Ledgister was caught in possession on the halfway line, allowing two Bashley midfielders to run at pace into the Frome box, with only a desperate tackle from Mike Reaney poking the ball out for a corner.
Frome were slow to start the second half, with Bashley camped in the Frome half for long periods, but then the 50th minute saw a fine break on the right by Matt Smith which saw him advance into the box and pull the ball back to Darren Jefferies who completely mis-hit the ball and it ballooned over the bar.
However, the 53rd minute did see them take the lead as Mike Perrott slipped a good through ball into the path of Gilroy and the striker coolly slotted the ball under Moore to give Frome the lead in a home league match for the first time since November 3.
Frome looked quite good at this point and numerous half-chances were cropping up from corners and long throws, but they couldn’t make any of them tell, and Bashley equalised in the 70th minute.
Tom Evans' header did not have enough pace to go out of play and as he tried to retrieve the situation,his challenge brought down Rob Gradwell in the box and Gamble had no problems beating Chitty from the penalty spot.
Both sides went hunting for the winner in the time remaining, with Bashley probably having more possession, but the final quality ball was never quite there and with no real further incidents, the match finished quietly in a 1-1 draw.
The H&B Tyres Man of the Match award was awarded to Gilroy for a hard-working perfomance ploughing a lone furrow up front for long periods of the match.
MORE FOOTBALL REPORTS, REACTION & PICTURES IN FRIDAY'S WILTSHIRE TIMES
