Tomorrow sees The Robins in the last four of the county cup for the FOURTEENTH time and the very first occasion they have achieved this in back-to-back seasons.
The record so far is WON FIVE, LOST EIGHT, making an appearance in the Premier Cup final a bit special and something to savour and listed below are the previous thirteen semi final struggles….
1956 Yeovil Town (away) Lost 3-5
Rising young star Tony Book had left for Bath City the previous month and was clearly missed as Frome’s form dipped and despite a brace from Bob Peart, they tasted defeat in an eight-goal thriller.
1959 Yeovil Town (away) Lost 1-6
Bottom of the league and in the midst of a financial crisis, The Robins forwent home advantage in a bid to get a better gate and got the tanking many expected.
1961 Minehead (away) Lost 1-6
On a run of seven straight wins in a tight Wilts Premier League title race, all Frome could muster was a Mervyn Perrett penalty effort as they were brought crashing down to earth.
1963 Bristol City (away) Lost 0-1
Title chasing again and unbeaten for four months, The Robins gave a good account of themselves at Ashton Gate but went down to the only goal of the game.
1967 Bridgwater Town (home) Won 3-0
Fifth time lucky as strikes from Barrie Simmons (front row, right) scored in the 1967 encounter v Bridgwater, Ron Curtis and Len Gunning secured a first appearance in the final in a thrilling last four contest against high-flying Bridgwater.
1969 Welton Rovers (home) Won 1-0
Having their best topflight Western League season to date, Frome were getting the taste for cup finals as well and it took a solitary Colin Kite goal to overcome one of their oldest rivals.
1972 Taunton Town (away) Lost 0-3
The Robins were looking to make two finals for the season (the Western League Subsidiary Cup being the other) but a hugely disappointing result against a side from the lower reaches of the Division put paid to a potential double.
1981 Yeovil Town (away) Lost 1-2
A daunting task at the old Huish home of the then Alliance Premier League side but Frome recovered from two down when Steve Gay struck mid-way through the second half before player manager Bob Boyd brought himself off the bench and very nearly forced a last-gasp replay.
1983 Weston-super-Mare (home) Won 1-0
The Seagulls had lost in the league at Badgers Hill by the only goal just three days previously and trailed with little threat to a Colin Dredge header in this contest but came to life in the final minute by rattling the woodwork and having one disallowed as The Robins made their third final.
2009 Brislington (away) Won 1-0 aet
Frome had to wait for over a quarter of a century for another crack at the final and, just for a change, home advantage did not prove decisive in this attritional encounter, but it took an absolute worldie from distance in extra time from Matt Peters to settle the outcome.
2014 Odd Down (home) Won 3-2 aet
This tie came to life midway through the second half when Jon Vance fired The Robins in front, but the plucky Western League side forced extra time where they themselves lead before late strikes from Ben Thomson and Vance again (penalty) snuffed out the prospect of a shock result.
2019 Taunton Town (home) Lost 1-2
Mired in a relegation struggle, Johnny Gorman gave the Badgers Hill faithful hope and an interval lead but a pair of second half strikes for the visitors turned the tide as The Peacocks progressed.
2022 Bath City (home) Lost 1-2
A quick-fire Cody Cooke double on the stroke of half time put The Romans firmly in control twelve months ago but, roared on by the majority of a near 600 crowd, Rex Mannings pulled one back on the hour mark as Frome’s battling response came close to forcing a penalty shoot-out.
With thanks to Kerry Miller’s history book ‘The Boys on the Hill’
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