Page 4 - Yate Town FC v Dorchester Town 290822

WELCOME

Good afternoon and welcome to this bank holiday afternoon fixture against our friends from
Dorchester Town who have made the lengthy (in time not so much miles) trip from Dorset.
As is the way with league fixtures it will be our turn to travel south for the New Year bank
holiday on Monday 2nd January. We would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to
Glenn Howes and his squad, the supporters and officials and wish them a safe journey home.
Our last home fixture wasn’t the performance we hoped for, nor are capable of, especially
on the back of such a strong outing at Weston Super Mare. The Bluebells once again
conceded a goal within the first five minutes, something the management team will be
working hard to address. Despite strengthening the squad with debuts for new signings Jack
Stanley and Ioan Richards, the match was a fairly one-sided affair and it was deep into
stoppage time before we really tested the visitor’s keeper. A harsh result to take for the
players and supporters alike and plenty to work on. We must not forget the fact that, Joe
Tumelty and Olly Mehew apart, this is a completely fresh squad coming together to play in
a fiercely competitive division. The Salisbury match was one of those games that all clubs at
every level experience, however the ability of the players recruited by the Manager will
ensure that performances will improve as the season progresses. On the subject of players
we bid farewell to City loanee Omar Taylor-Clarke who has been recalled by his parent club.
We thank him for his time with us and wish him well for the next stage of his footballing
career.

At the time of writing these notes we were still to play new side North Leigh who gained
promotion from Central Division 1 via the play offs in manager Eddie Odhiambo's first season
in charge and hopefully the talk will be about a second victory on the road.
Monday’s FA Cup draw starts what we hope will be another successful campaign. We enter
the competition at the the first qualifying round and will face Aylesbury Vale Dynamos of the
Spartan South Midlands League - Premier Division. With one win from the opening three
matches their league campaign is starting slowly, however in the FA Cup they have knocked
out Longlevens (2-3) and fellow Southern League rivals Bristol Manor Farm (3-1). The tie will
be played at home on Saturday 3rd September with the usual 3pm KO. All support welcome
as we get behind the Bluebells and ensure Beads and his players benefit from home
advantage.

And so to today’s visitors who are very well established in the division and we played each
other three times last season. The first occasion was away in the FA Cup, the first tie in what
turned out to be a very successful campaign. On that occasion we won 1-3 relatively
comfortably. With a change in management the subsequent league matches were a lot
closer. On the first day of the New Year the Bluebells trailed 0-1 at the South West Interiors
stadium before a 71st minute Luke Hopper penalty and a 77th minute winner from James
Harding turned things round. The away fixture, on Easter Monday was just as close but once
again Luke Hopper was the difference scoring the only goal of the match on 87 minutes. This
season [at the time of writing] Dorchester have won three of four matches with the only
defeat being an away visit to promotion contenders Truro. Although it is early in the season
the Magpies have made a very confident start.

C’mon you #Bluebells………….

Regards,
Iain