Frome Town consolidated their position at the top of Divison 1 in the Southern League with a hard fought win against Slimbridge. Slimbridge has been the first team to beat Frome this season in the reverse fixture and again provided a tough test. Frome began kicking against a very strong wind and, in truth, the first half was a pretty flat affair and it was 32 minutes before the first meaningful attack on goal with a shot from in form Jon Davies going just wide after the hosts had a lot of possession without really creating much and the half time interval arrived with neither goalkeeper called on to make a save.
With the benefit of the wind at their back in the second half Frome began positively with the opportunity to get in behind the Slimbridge defence. Just after the restart Lenihan drove a low cross along the 6 yard box but no one was on hand to convert and then, in the 52nd minute Jon Davies rounded the goalkeeper only to be brought down for a certain penalty which he duly dispatched low to the goalkeepers left to give the visitors the lead with his 7th goal in 3 games. This spurred Slimbridge into action in search of an equaliser and they created several chances with some skill full attacking play at pace, only the acrobatics of Phillips in the Frome goal and the crossbar keeping the score level. The game continued in much the same vein with Frome defending resolutely and attacking on the counter whilst Slimbridge pressed for the equaliser until 3 minutes from time when a clever flick on found Rex Mannings free in the penalty area with only the goalkeeper to beat which he achieved with a deft chip to make it 2-0. Due reward for his efforts after having an earlier effort somehow hooked of the line by a defender. The game wasn’t quite over as Slimbridge scored a great goal in the 90th to set up a nervous few minutes of injury time but the visiting defence held firm.
MoM: Rob Hobbs
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