Oldland Abbotonians 1-2 Frome Town

The third friendly in just seven days for Danny Greaves’ men as they travelled to South Gloucestershire to face Oldland Abbotonians.

It was a first start for the No.1, Kyle Phillips, after an injury at the tail-end of last season kept him on the sidelines for the start of pre-season.

Seb Tylek (left), Danny Greaves (middle) and Neil "Simmo" Simons (right)

The first ten minutes of the evening were not as entertaining as Saturday’s “three goals in a thirteen-minutes extravaganza”. A much more composed Oldland back line kept the Robins forwards on hold.

It was the hosts who broke the deadlock in the 20th minute. It would have been a goal of the season contender, if this fixture had been a league tie. The O’s midfielder controlled the ball with ease and took aim from 25 yards out, which led to the ball floating into the top right corner. Kyle Phillips had no chance, his clean sheet stripped early on.

From there on, this Frome side started to grow, with various shots in the box, but nothing to convert. Pick of the bunch came from Albie Hopkins. He was given a golden opportunity when put through on goal, but, out of nowhere, a slight bobble and the Oldland captain came to the rescue, keeping the score at bay.

It did not take much longer for the Dodge to score their first of the evening. A forward run on the flanks by Archie Ferris - he fizzed the ball into Zak Drew who slotted home his effort into the bottom-left corner. This gave the breakthrough the Robins needed, heading into half-time.

Three changes were made at the break, with Seb Tylek, David Duru and a Trialist coming on to replace Phillips, Charlie Holliday and Harry Lucas.

These chances made an impact straight away, especially Duru. He was placing his body in some great positions to try and get some shots at the keeper, but nothing to change the scoreline.

Another great chance came for Frome through Sam Heal and an amazing effort from 25 yards out. The ball was lofted over his head, and he struck as soon as the ball hit the ground, looping over everyone. The keeper was able to parry out the shot onto the left post, saving a certain goal.

Frome were piling on the pressure towards the Oldland defence, and it paid off. Another goal came from the left flank through Heal, who put in a driven cross into the danger area, for Albie Hopkins to slot home his effort into the bottom-right corner - a great team-worked goal.

The second half was not short of action. Another effort from Charlie Holliday, after just coming back on the pitch, hit the crossbar from a curling effort from the right flank roughly 20 yards from the goal.

Another chance came from Albie Hopkins. The goalscorer had another golden opportunity to add another to his tally. He was put through on goal on the left side of the 18-yard box, but, with the keeper rushing out, he had to choose where to put the ball. The Frome-born forward chose the right way, but it was just too wide of the post to change the scoreline.

The full-time whistle was blown, and it was another victory for Danny Greaves and his squad, a much more challenging test compared to the previous two opponents, giving the defensive line a lot more work to do than expected. There is a chance to bring the team together this upcoming Saturday, as Frome travel down to Dorset, where Bournemouth Poppies host the next test. The Robins’ squad is staying overnight in Hampshire, an opportunity for the team to gel and a chance to get to know the new recruits better.

Match report and live updates provided by Thomas Groves.

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Listen to the latest episode of the Dodge The Question podcast!

Steve & Zeb with their usual chit-chat and featuring a catch up with First Team Coach, Kurt James.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3285hNNKGD5jR2keO0pBuB?si=aec06a2b8d214814

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s02-e03/id1751186747?i=1000717408451

You can also listen on Frome.FM radio every Friday at 5pm (repeated on Saturday 3pm)

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Secure your entry, purchase your season tickets and make the most of the sponsorship and hospitality packages for all of our games at Badgers Hill this season via the link below!

https://www.intix.co.uk/org/frome-town-fc