Marine 1 Melksham Town 1

Match Report from Pete Crockett

POINTS SHARED IN LOCAL DERBY

Local derbies at this level seldom offer refinement. More often they are contests of nerve, sweat and stubborn resolve, and so it proved as Swindon Supermarine and Melksham Town shared the spoils in a match rich in effort but rather lean in footballing elegance.

For Melksham it was the first outing of the season under newly appointed manager Kieran Baggs, and the visitors began with a sense of purpose. Yet the first moment of note belonged to Marine. Inside the opening minute Brad Hooper, spotting the goalkeeper off his line, attempted an audacious effort from distance which drifted just wide of the Melksham goal.

Melksham responded quickly. In the seventh minute Levi Irving surged past Sam Turl down the left and squared invitingly for Jamal Lawrence, who, from close range, contrived to lift his effort over the crossbar. It was a chance that hinted at the approach the visitors would favour: direct, purposeful and designed to unsettle.

Indeed, that method began to trouble Marine as the half progressed. Melksham were winning the greater share of loose balls and enjoying the better of the territory. A defensive slip allowed Lawrence to break clear but Luke Purnell reacted sharply to make an excellent save, and the Marine goalkeeper was soon called into action again with a fine stop from a far-post header.

Marine themselves threatened shortly before the interval. On 41 minutes Sal Abubakar met a cross from Sam Turl but could only guide his header over the visitors’ bar. The contest simmered rather than sparkled, and the referee, Ashley Foster, was kept busy as the physical nature of the derby began to show.

Ten minutes after the restart Irving went down in the Marine area amid visiting appeals, but Foster was unmoved. Two minutes later there was a brief bout of pushing between Abubakar and Melksham’s Nathan Davis, the latter going to ground with a theatrical flourish. Such theatrical displays do little for the game and remain a regrettable feature of modern football.

Marine had emerged after the break with a noticeably wider shape following half-time substitutions, and the changes brought improved attacking intent. A delightful cross from Piotr Petrynski was flicked narrowly wide by a fully stretched Sid Gbla.

The penalty claims continued to arrive in quick succession. On 66 minutes Marine’s Miles Ferguson and Irving tangled in the box to loud appeals from the visitors, again waved away by referee Ashley Foster. Two minutes later Gbla went down under a robust challenge at the other end, with Marine’s protests similarly dismissed.

By now the balance of play had shifted. Marine were enjoying the better of the second half and came close when Max Hemmings sent an effort narrowly beyond the far post. Moments later Gbla’s diving header forced an excellent save from Melksham goalkeeper Ben Mitchell at the far post.

The breakthrough eventually arrived for Marine from a moment of quality. A delectable in-swinging corner from Piotr Petrynski deceived everyone and curled straight into the net to give the hosts the lead.

With time ebbing away Melksham threw caution aside and pressed forward desperately. A succession of corners arrived in the dying moments. From the third of them Alex Hallett rose highest to power a header into the net and rescue a point for the visitors in the 94th minute of the game.

It was not a match that will linger long in the memory as a footballing spectacle. Both sides may reflect that three points were within reach. Marine will rue conceding so late after appearing to have done enough, while Melksham might point to their first-half opportunities and feel they could have gone into the interval ahead.

In the end the draw changes little in the broader picture. Melksham remain 19th and inside the relegation places, while Marine stay 13th and still eight points clear of their Wiltshire neighbours.

With many of the teams around them also failing to win, all that industry and endeavour leaves matters much as they were before kick-off. As the old saying wisely states: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” On an afternoon of honest effort from both sides the league table looks almost exactly as it did before a ball was kicked.

Come on Marine!

Attendance: 262

Manager:	Bobby Wilkinson
Line-up:	Colours: Blue & White Hoops
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1	Luke Purnell [GK]
2	Sam Turl			16.	Frankie Monk 46’
3	Piotr Petrynski	90’
4	Miles Ferguson
5	Olly Case
6	Tawana Changa
7	Zach Rugman			14.	Sid Gbla 46’
8	Jamie Edge			17.	Max Hemmings 77’
9	Conor McDonagh			12.	Jonathan Asamoah 69’
10	Brad Hooper
11	Sal Abubakar		59’

Editors Star Man: 1. Luke Purnell
Subs not used: 15. Joe Owiti

Manager:	Kieran Baggs
Line-up:	Colours: Yellow & Black
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1.	Ben Mitchell [GK]
2.	Jack Carter
3.	Ryan King			18.
4.	Leon Greenland
5.	Alex Hallett	94’
6.	Mark Cooper (c)
7.	Ralph Graham			17.	Dave Thompson 70’
8.	Nathan Davis		59’	18.
9.	Jamal Lawrence			14.	Elliott Anderson 62’
10.	Levi Irving			16.	Stan Wyatt 77’
11.	Kyle Witt			16.

Editors Star Man: 2. Jack Carter
Subs not used: 12. Jake Andrews, 15. Finn Bell