Frome Town 3 Marine 0

Pitching In Southern League Premier South | Saturday 14th December 2024

Posted by Keith Yeomans on December 15th 2024

Match Report from Pete Crockett

Robins offer Marine little Christmas cheer

Frome Town entered this match bottom of the table and having not won at home this season. They ended the fixture comprehensive three-nil victors over an uncharacteristically lacklustre Swindon Supermarine.

The host’s victory was totally deserved – they defended resolutely; won most of the 50/50 battles; finished the more clinically; and were collectively hungrier for the win. This was a match that proved that in this league no team is a pushover and if you produce a performance well short of your best you will deservedly lose. Defeat can come in many forms.

There are honourable losses (like Marine’s recent defeat at AFC Totton); there are battling reverses; there are finest of margin setbacks; there are beatings when a stronger side is just too good for you; there are unlucky reversals; and there are capitulating defeats where the collective performance really did not deserve anything other than defeat. This was, from a Marine perspective, that last type of loss.

Against a side at the bottom of the table the one thing you do not want to offer them is an early lift. However, in the fourth minute the Robins got their dream start. Frome worked the ball down the right flank. The ball found its way to Rex Mannings who laid the ball off to ALEX MONKS. He took one touch and with no meaningful press fired a twenty-five-yard shot into the far bottom corner of the net.

Marine nearly got back into the match with a couple of chances. One saw Olly Mehew cut in from the right flank, he whipped a ball across the six-yard box, but Harry Williams back heel was blocked. Minutes later Michael Fernandes whipped in a low cross from the right but the effort from an advancing Marine player cleared the crossbar and clubhouse. Then on thirteen minutes Marine’s Olly Mehew picked up a half clearance on the edge of the box. He did well to create himself an opening but fired his effort wide.

On 16 minutes the home team created an opening. James Ollis cut inside from the left flank leaving defenders in his wake. He found Ethan Vaughan on the edge of the penalty area and his shot was well gathered by Dan Brabham in the Marine goal. The game was now ebbing and flowing. With 23 minutes elapsed Marine’s Michael Fernandes pulled a ball back from the left flank that found Anton Dworzak fifteen yards from goal. His well struck effort just cleared the crossbar.

With ten minutes of the half remaining Marine went close again. Michael Fernandes drove a ball into the box and Harry Williams deflected it towards goal, but home team keeper Kyle Phillips made an excellent save. Marine seemed to be building some momentum, but this turned out to be illusory as it was the hosts who finished the first half the stronger. They had three opportunities to score in the closing minutes of the half. Albie Hopkins forced a good diving save from Dan Brabham.

Then minutes later Rex Mannings miscued a cross that struck the top of the crossbar. On the cusp of half time a misplaced clearance from Marine’s keeper allowed James Ollis to run at goal, he rounded a defender, but Dan Brabham spared his own blushes making an excellent diving save at the feet of Frome’s number 18.

Although one down at half time Marine’s faithful devoured their half time refreshments hopeful their team would rally in the second half. Alas it proved to be the reverse with, to be candid, a pretty insipid second half performance. Marine barely registered a shot on target in the half, were comprehensively outfought all around the pitch, and the only matter of doubt was how many more goals the hosts would score.

In the 53rd minute Frome doubled their lead. Albie Hopkins whipped in an excellent free kick from the right flank which ARCHIE FERRIS, with his back to goal, nodded over Marine’s keeper into the top corner. Frome now had the game where they wanted it. They defensively got seven or eight players behind the ball and challenged Marine to break them down. It was a test the visitors rarely looked like meeting and it was the home team who posed the greater goal scoring threat with their swift counter attacks.

On 68 minutes Marine’s Dan Brabham was called upon to make a save from Frome’s Archie Ferris who got on the end of a Rex Mannings cross. Then with quarter of an hour of normal time remaining the home supporters howled loudly for a penalty when Ethan Vaughan went down in the box. The referee was impressively close to the action and allowed the game to continue. This was certainly not a defeat where Marine could bemoan refereeing decisions – Mr Bromham and his assistants handled the game well.

On 83 minutes the home team secured their comprehensive victory. Albie Hopkins won the ball in front of a square Marine defence. He fed in Archie Ferris who advanced towards goal. He in turn glanced upwards and played a return pass to ALBIE HOPKINS who sold a Marine defender a dummy and slotted home with composed poise.

At the final whistle Marine left the field of play heads down and knowing they had under performed. One can make excuses such as the heavy and bobbly surface not suiting Marine’s passing style and there is, of course, some truth in that. However, the cold reality is the home team were hungrier for the result, adapted better to the playing conditions, and collectively worked harder for their victory. This was, in brutal honesty, a decidedly sub-standard and slightly spiritless Marine performance that a focused Frome Town team very effectively took advantage of.

Victorian era Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once famously said “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” His argument was that statistics are often flawed. However, sometimes a look at data can be useful in identifying trends. If one looks at Marine’s away form they have in league and FA competitions played 12 away matches winning 2, drawing one and losing nine. In those games they have scored 14 goals and conceded 29. The brutal reality is if you concede approaching three goals a game you are destined to lose considerably more away games than you win.

Dissect the numbers even more deeply and other worrying trends emerge. Marine have a propensity for conceding early goals away from home. In the last six away matches Marine have conceded nine goals in the first twenty minutes. Even worse in those six games they have found themselves 2-0 down in this time span on three occasions. Then add to this pot pourri of statistics that Marine have only opened the scoring away from home in one of their twelve matches.

The reality is if in away games you concede too often too early you give yourself a mountain to climb. In terms of away fixtures the challenge for Marine is how to become more resilient and less defensively vulnerable in those crucial opening skirmishes. With Marine’s passing playing style occasional mistakes will happen and there is a need for supporter sanguineness about this. However, when those errors recur frequently they are no longer sporadic slipups but embedded bad habits that urgently need to be resolved.

Frome Star Man: Albie Hopkins
Marine Star Man: Liban Ibrahim
Attendance: 458

`Line Ups`

FROME TOWN
Manager: Danny Grieves
Colours: All Red
Line-up: 1. Kyle Philips 2. Matt Wood 5. Pierce Mitchell (c) 11. Albie Hopkins (6. Joe Budd 90+5’) 14. Jac Poffley 15. Ethan Vaughan 16. Rex Mannings (7. Callum Gould 80’) 17. Alex Monks 18. James Ollis 19. Archie Ferris (9. Curtis Jemmett-Hutson 85’) 20. Joe O’Loughlin
Subs not used: 8. George Rigg
Goalscorers: Alex Monks 4’ , Archie Ferris 53’ , Albi Hopkins 82’
Cards:
James Ollis 55’, Albi Hopkins 57’, Rex Mannings 75’, Pierce Mitchell 90’, Kyle Philips 90’ Yellow Card
None Red Card
None Yellow & Red Card