Page 4 - Yate Town FC v Truro City 270922

WELCOME

Good afternoon and welcome to this evening's Southern League Premier Division South
fixture against Truro City. A very warm welcome to Paul Wotton and his management team,
the squad, club officials and supporters who have made the lengthy mid-week trip up the
M5 this evening. We hope you enjoy your visit and wish you a safe journey home.
In the weeks since our last home match there has been a few changes at the club on and
off the field. Mark Thorne our very successful Commercial Manager has taken the difficult
decision to stand down due to significant work commitments, not to mention finding family
time in a busy schedule. Since Mark joined us he has been ever busy behind the scenes
seeking out sponsorship opportunities and improving the club’s engagement with the local
business community. For those that attended the Good Times on the Pitch event they may
have noticed the ever-present Thorne litter picking duo hard at work, between them keeping
the pitch clear during and after every session. We thank Mark for his efforts and he will of
course remain involved at the club.

On the pitch we bid farewell to Ben Hammett and Charlie Johnson who have were released
last week and swiftly picked up by Slimbridge. We wish them both well and thank them for
the time they spent as Bluebells.

Today is the last League match before we head into cup competitions on three fronts. On
Saturday it is the FA Cup when we host newly promoted Bracknell Town. That is followed on
Tuesday 4th October when our defence of the GFA Senior Challenge Cup begins at home to
Slimbridge (and potentially a swift return to Lodge Road for Ben and Charlie). Then on
Saturday 8th October we enter the FA Trophy, the draw had not taken place at the time of
writing but we will now know who we face.

Due to the matches postponed in respect to the late HM Queen Elizabeth II and the FA Cup
we have had to make a couple of league re-arrangements. Winchester City postponed on
Saturday 10th September will now be on Tuesday 14th October at home. The visit to Hayes
& Yeading originally scheduled for Saturday has now been moved to Tuesday 8th November,
there will be a coach for this fixture time to be confirmed.

And so to this afternoon’s visitors. The White Tigers sit third in the table only two points
behind league leaders WSM. They are unbeaten in the League having won four of their
games and drawn the other three scoring 16 goals and conceding 5. They have been beaten,
but in the FA Cup where they lost 5-2 away at Merthyr. The games drawn have been against
WSM, Tivvy and Poole, the last team being most relevant for us having been beaten 5-0 by
the Dolphins on Saturday. With very little time between that fixture and tonight Beads and
his management team have been hard at work planning how to address the shortfalls. The
squad will be strengthened as we expect Alex Lambert to be available tonight and Brandon
Smalley is available following his one match suspension for the red card against Tivvy in the
FA Cup.
C’mon you #Bluebells………….