Page 4 - Yate Town FC v Dorchester Town 010122

I hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and what better way
to see in the year than by taking in some local football?
It’s great to be back at home after a long run of away fixtures. A succession of
postponements following waterlogged pitches and COVID cases mean that Yate Town have
played six consecutive away matches in the league, which have yielded an impressive 11
points.
A 3-1 win over Swindon Supermarine was followed by late heartbreak against Hartley
Wintney, who equalised in the dying embers of the match to earn a late point in a 2-2 draw.
Next up was a very tough test in Surrey as the Bluebells fought valiantly before losing 1-0
to high-flying Metropolitan Police.
December started with the scoring prowess of Paul Michael’s side coming to the fore in a
second half dismantling of Beaconsfield Town. Two goals apiece for Olly Mehew and James
Harding sealed a stunning 4-0 victory in Buckinghamshire. The next game saw Yate earn a
decent 1-1 draw away at Salisbury, which included an outrageous strike from Jamie Adams
to level the match.
The most recent of the six road trips was a journey to Merthyr Tydfil, where the team was
greeted by the eeriness of an empty stadium due to newly imposed restrictions in Wales.
Struggling Merthyr Town managed to keep the scores level by half time, but the second half
saw a flurry of Yate goals akin to the Beaconsfield trip.
A delightful long diagonal ball from Will Tunncliff from the halfway line found Olly Mehew in
acres of space on the right wing. Mehew beat a defender before squaring to James Harding,
who let fly with a beautiful curling effort that found the top corner to give the Bluebells the
lead five minutes into the second half.
Four minutes later, Joe Tumelty found Luke Hopper in the box with his back to goal. Excellent
footwork saw Hopper lose his defender and fire in to double the lead.
Not to be outdone by his fellow forwards, Mehew put the game to bed with an incredible
solo effort. Receiving the ball on the left-hand touchline, he powered past one defender into
the box before dazzling his way through another two Merthyr players and coolly slotting into
the bottom corner.
The form of the strikers has been a source of delight to Paul Michael – losing Dave Sims-
Burgess to Bath City has not seen the goals dry up as some may have feared would happen.
To bring in the New Year, we welcome Dorchester Town, who Yate most recently beat back
in September to progress in the FA Cup. We extend a very warm welcome to the players,
directors and supporters of Dorchester – we hope you enjoy your stay here and have a safe
journey home.
The Magpies come into today’s fixture in 18 place in the league with a seven-point buffer
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on the relegation play-off spot. The disrupted football calendar meant they only played three
games in December, picking up four points courtesy of a win at home to Harrow and a
decent draw away at Gosport Borough. Most recently, however, they suffered a heavy 4-1
loss at the hands of local rivals Poole Town.
The next game at the SWI Stadium will be against Harrow Borough on January 15 (3pm
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KO), with a trip to bottom of the table Wimborne Town before on January 8 (3pm KO). All
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of your support was a massive boost to the club in 2021 and we would love to see you all
(as well as any extra fans you can bring along) both at home and on the road in 2022.
C’mon you Bluebells!

Lewiss Smith