Defeats are never easy to take, and so it was on Saturday as we suffered our seventh reverse of the season at the hands of promotion chasing Gloucester City.
However, those who travelled to Tigerturf have reported that the scoreline flattered the home side a little and we were very unlucky no to equalise at 2-1, which could have made a significant difference to the outcome.
So, we move on, and next up is the visit of Frome Town FC on Saturday. We played The Robins in October at Badgers Hill and came away with all three points from a 3-2 win after a very frenetic last 15 minutes saw three goals. Our scorers on that day were Josh Staunton, Toby Holmes and Jamie Whisken. They are celebrating their 120th anniversary this year.
Frome were relegated in the 2018/19 season and after a couple of seasons in the Southern League South they won promotion back to this league by overcoming Bristol Manor Farm in the play-off final on May 6th in front of a bumper 2250 crowd.
They have not had the start that they would have liked, as they are currently in 22nd place (P18 W2 D5 L11 11 points) but come into this match on the back of a well deserved 2-0 win at Hanwell on Tuesday evening. This was just their second win of the season, the first being the opening day clash at Gosport Borough which they won 1-0. Their away form (P10 W2 D3 L5 9 points) is better than their Badgers Hill form which, as we have observed previously is not uncommon in this league.
Despite their lowly league position, they now sit above us in the form table (P6 W1 D2 L3) which goes to show that there are no easy games in this league.
The Robins are managed by long serving Danny Greaves who recently told their website, “When I first joined the club in 2018, myself and the board set out a vision and a long-term plan. We knew the first season was going to be extremely tough, and while getting relegated wasn’t part of that plan, we didn’t lose sight of what we were all trying to build long term”.
One of Danny’s first signing was a product of the very successful Bristol City academy, George Rigg, who went on to play for Exeter, Weymouth and Bath City before joining the Robins. Another exciting prospect is the striker James Ollis, who has gained league experience at Keynsham, Mangotsfield United and Yate Town before signing for Frome Town in 2020. He opened the scoring at Hanwell on Tuesday evening.
Most recently Greaves has moved to bolster his midfield by signing the promising Rex Mannings from Vanarama National League South outfit Chippenham Town. He progressed through the Bristol City and Oxford United academies and returns to Badgers Hill where, between 2018 and 2022, he became a firm favourite among the fans.
We go into the busy Christmas period with a great deal of hope and expectation that things are moving in the right direction. Although we would have liked to be higher than our current 10th position, we are still only four points off the play-off places so we have plenty to be thankful for.
We will need to keep improving as we have yet to play 6 of the current top ten at home and 7 of that top ten away from the Black Gold. Challenging times indeed.
With lots at stake for both sides this is bound to be a very keenly contested match so come along early to take in the special atmosphere that the Black Gold generates.
Enjoy the game,
Neil Wellington.
