BLAST FROM THE PAST

Saturday 13th August 2016

For a first game of the season at St Neots this match had everything. A first minute goal, a last minute goal, a red card and six yellows and early season league leaders Frome knocked from their perch. As those details suggest it was a feisty encounter and having led with half an hour left St Neots looked to have blown it when they conceded a second equalizer two minutes into added time. But to the crowds delight they hit back with the latest of winning goals. Without three key players in Tom Ward (suspended) Ryan Hawkins (injured) and Dubi Ogbonna (unavailable), St Neots made two team changes with Peter Clark returning in midfield and teenager Jordan Brown coming in for his first home start in the Southern League. Frome had made a great recovery late last season to finish strongly and avoid what had looked like certain relegation and with maximum points from their two first games they had started this season where they had left off in April. They will feel hard done by to have surrendered that good start but in the final analysis their reduction to ten men early in the second half may have proved pivotal. However, credit to St Neots who showed exactly what it means to keep going right up to the final whistle. There was a really explosive start when Declan Rogers put St Neots ahead after just 29 seconds with visiting keeper Corey Harvey looking slow to get down to his 25 yards shot but the visitors roared back and three minutes later Peter Clark tripped Jon Davies who had burst past two defenders. The St Neots player was booked and had the referee judged the challenge deliberate rather than clumsy the punishment could have been greater. Frome maintained this early impetus with Darren Jefferies bringing a good save from Alex Archer and Mikey Bryant shooting wide when he had been left unmarked. The same player then headed over the bar after good work by Jefferies and Davies shot across the face of goal. The pressure paid off after 29 minutes when the speedy Jefferies was impeded by Dom Mason and the Referee pointed to the penalty spot. Jon Davies sent Archer the wrong way to level the scores – no less than Frome deserved at this stage of the match. St Neots late first half rally saw Taylor Parr head wide from a Rogers corner and James Hall denied by a good save from Harvey before seeing a second effort blocked.