Frome Town 3
Cirencester 2
Salter (20) pen
Reid (21)
Salter (90)
Hoskin (72)
Salter (90+3)
Crowd: 174
Man of the Match: Jamie Cheeseman
Two goals in the last three minutes from hat trick hero Mark Salter enabled Frome
Town to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in an intriguing and thoroughly
entertaining match against high flying Cirencester Town.
With Dafyyd Jones still recovering from a knock received at Bridgwater on Saturday,
manager Darren Perrin was able to call on Forest Green Rovers goalkeeper Tom Pass
as an able replacement, and with Ricky Hulbert starting in place of Matt Minnis, the
side had a very familiar look to it.
On a superb pitch, which was remarkable given the heavy rain of the day, Cirencester
were the first to show as a long range shot skidded past the post in the 2nd minute,
but then Frome went close in the 7th minute as a right wing free kick led to a
shooting chance for Ballinger. This was followed by a flowing Frome move in the 16th
minute where Hulbert was fouled as he turned, but the referee waved play on and
Lapham hit a 25 yard screamer that just failed to dip underneath the crossbar.
Another flowing Frome move in the 20th minute led to the first goal as Ballinger
pushed the ball past his marker, made 10 yards on him and produced an out swinging
cross from the right wing that was handled by Griffiths as attempted to reach the
ball, earning him a yellow card and Frome a penalty. Mark Salter calmly placed a
perfect spot kick into the top right corner of the goal for his first goal since his return
from injury, to send the Clubhouse end wild with delight.
However, the delight was short lived, and almost from the re-start,Cirencester were
level as Reid latched onto a ball 30 yards from goal and hit a stinging half volley, hit
with the outside of his foot, that swerved and dipped into the far bottom corner of
the goal, with Pass routed to the spot, convinced that the ball was going well wide of
the post.
The 30th minute saw controversy as Frome broke quickly with Ballinger on the right
wing, the ball finding its way to Hulbert who who ran into the area, cut inside a
defender and went sprawling on the floor. With the home support convinced it was a
penalty, the referee decided that Hulbert had dived, gave the free kick to Cirencester
and produced a yellow card for Hulbert.
The 38th minute twice saw the introduction of Cirencester’s secret weapon, as two
long throws from the right wing landed inside the Frome 6 yard box, but both were
defended successfully, and a minute later, Hulbert just failed to get on the end of a
perfect in-swinging cross from Peters that invited a diving header. Cirencester had
the last chance of the half as Fullam and Cheeseman collided, allowing Hoskin a clean
run on goal , but Pass came off his line well to deal with the danger.
At half time, once again it was a finely balanced match, with either side capable of
winning it, but Frome proving once again that they can live with the best in this
division.
The second half proved to be very even indeed, with both sides looking dangerous
but neither side dominating possession or territory. Thomson did well on the left wing
in the 53rd minute, and his low cross found Hulbert whose scooped shot landed in the
arms of Bath in the visitor’s goal, but with both defences ably coping with anything
thrown at them, real chances were few and far between.
Cirencester’s second goal arrived in the 72nd minute and came as a result of their
long throw expert, who once again landed a throw in the heart of the Frome defence,
creating temporary mayhem, the ball eventually squirting out of the crowd of players
to Hoskin who poked the ball home cleanly at the far post from 10 yards out.
The 74th minute saw a 25 yard Salter effort crash against the Cirencester cross bar,
the ball bouncing down to Minnis who just managed to head the ball the wrong side
of the post as he dived to head the ball. At the other end, Frome were grateful to
Peters who produced a spectacular overhead kick to clear the ball and just rob Hoskin
who would surely have increased the visitor’s lead.
As the match wore on, it looked as if Frome were going to be unlucky in the night,
but then suddenly the match turned around in an amazing few minutes.
A left wing cross from Thomson in the 88th minute led to a Salter header at the far
post that was just scrambled off the Cirencester line. One minute later and they
repeated the feat, but this time it was a Ballinger shot that was scrambled for a right
wing corner. As the corner came in, Cheeseman rose above everyone to win the
header, the ball ricocheted around a bit, but then Salter produced a 15 yard right foot
shot that flew into the net for the equaliser on the 90th minute.
The crowd celebrated and prayed for the final whistle, but Salter had other ideas, and
in the third minute of injury time, he picked up a ball from the left wing, ran at pace
into the penalty area, only to be brought down from behind by Cirencester’s Matt
Sysum. The whistle blew, nobody in the crowd knew what the decision was, but as
the dust cleared and after consultation with the linesman, the referee showed the red
card to Sysum and awarded Frome a penalty.
After several minutes, with Darren Perrin not daring to watch, Mark Salter showed his
ultimate class and composure by producing a carbon copy spot kick that gave Bath
no chance as it soared into the top corner of the goal.
What a finish!! What a result !! What a match!! The crowd went home happy after
this one, that’s for sure.
Jamie Cheeseman was chosen as Man of the Match by Mike Fido, the match sponsor,
for another outstanding display at centre back.
Frome Town
Players
Tom Pass
Matt Peters
Greg Lake
Craig Fullam
Jamie Cheeseman
Iain Carr (76)
Alex Lapham
Luke Ballinger
Mark Salter (c)
Ricky Hulbert (69)
Ben Thomson
Matt Minnis (69)
Ashley Clarke
Joe Gomes (76)
Mike Reaney
Simon Millard
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
Cirencester
Players
Matt Bath
Matt Sysum
Tom Etheridge
Neil Griffiths
Chris Thompson
Lyndon Tompkins
Jamie Reid
Edward Ward
Jody Bevan
Scott Griffin
Rob Hoskin
Jason Welsh
Mark Pritchett
Dan Wallington
Ryan Parker
Lee Stevens
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
Frome Town
Management
Darren Perrin
Derek Graham
Mike Clarke
Shaun Baker
Mike Kilgour
M
A
P
K
C
Match
Officials
B Huxtable
M Edworthy
I Loader
R
A
A
Zamaretto League
Match Reports
Abingdon (H)
AFC Totton (A)
Mangotsfield Utd (A)
Thatcham Town (H)
VTFC (A)
North Leigh (H)
Andover (A)
Bracknell (A)
AFC Hayes (H)
Bridgwater (A)
Cirencester (H)
Andover (H)
Bishops Cleeve (H)
Windsor & Eton (A)
Uxbridge (A)
Yate Town (H)
Hungerford Town (A)
Cinderford Town (H)
Gosport Borough (A)
Bedfont Green (A)
Paulton Rovers (H)
AFC Hayes (A)
Bracknell Town (H)
Uxbridge (H)
Cirencester (A)
Taunton Town (A)
Bridgwater (H)
Windsor&Eton (H)
Abingdon (A)
AFC Totton (H)
North Leigh (A)
Thatcham Town (A)
VTFC (H)
Mangotsfield (H)
Bedfont Green (H)
Bishops Cleeve (A)
Paulton Rovers (A)
Cinderford (A)
Hungerford Town (H)
Taunton Town (H)
Yate Town (A)
Gosport Borough (H)
FA Cup
Hamworthy (A)
FA Trophy
Chippenham (A)
Red Insure Cup
Clevedon Town (A)
Som Prem Cup
Weston s Mare (H)
Bridgwater (H)
Mike Fido presents Jamie Cheeseman with
the Man of the Match Award
