Page 4 - Yate Town FC v Swindon Supermarine 150423

From the Dugout

End of Year Message
End o f Y e a r M e s s a g e
Welcome to Swindon Supermarine FC players and officials for
today’s Southern League Premier South match here at Lodge
Road. Swindon are on the edge of the playoff positions and will
be looking for maximum points today to maintain their charge
to get into the top five. So, no easy final home game today
given our respective league positions.
But what an Easter we had!
After a depressing run of bad form and luck, we have back-to-
back wins within three days. The game against Met Police was
a cagy affair. We took the lead via an own goal from a great
free kick delivery from Lewis Hall. This after the Police had
already planted a header against their own crossbar from an
earlier Lewis Hall corner. Several half chances came our way,
and we generally kept the Police at arm’s length from our goal
for the remainder of the first half. The second half followed a
similar pattern, until Kyle Tooze’s tenacity saw him work his way to the by-line before
smashing the ball across goal and then seeing their goalkeeper somehow deflect the ball up
and over him into the net. We are two goals (own goals) up and 30 minutes to go.
It was never going to be a simple task for us to manage the game out given our recent run,
especially when the Police halved the deficit on 71 minutes with a stunning goal from a direct
free kick. However, that was a close as it came for the Police as we chased and tackled our
WELCOME
way to the final whistle.
We travelled to Merthyr on Easter Monday with more belief, and this was necessary as within
two minutes of the start we found ourselves a goal down. The playing conditions were not
helped by a strong wind which blew directly down the ground. Both teams struggled to
judge their passing and crossing as the wind played havoc but in one moment of magic,
Lucas Tomlinson took aim from 25 yards and his shot sailed into the top corner of the
Merthyr goal, and we were back on level terms. Merthyr increased the pressure on our goal
towards the end of the half but most of the attempts were wind affected as crosses were
too long or shots too high.
The Merthyr attacks were concentrated via their wide players getting into positions to cross
balls into our penalty area. There were several scares for us defensively, but the impact of
Saturday’s result seemed to have instilled renewed resilience and we maintained our
defensive discipline throughout. The decisive moment of the game came when we managed
to win the ball back in the Merthyr half and Kyle Tooze was put in on goal. His shot was saved
by the foot of the Merthyr goalkeeper, but the ball ran back to Calvin Dinsley who was
moving towards the edge of the area and his first time shot hit the back of the Merthyr net.
Merthyr pressed for an equaliser, but we held firm for our second consecutive win.
We go into our final home league game today knowing that a positive result is a must! We
will be doing everything to make this happen, but whilst we do not have control of our own
destiny, we need to make sure we can take advantage of any slip ups from our rivals.
As this is our last home game of the season, can I take the opportunity to thank everyone
who has supported us since Paul, and I came to Yate Town in late 2022. The squad was light,
inexperienced and unbalanced when we arrived, and we feel we have made improvements
slowly. That said I know the task in hand, to be able to stabilize the club as a whole and build
an infrastructure to ensure the club can grow and improve will take time and both Mark and
I have already started to make inroads implementing what is required.

We hope to finish with a good result today and then look forward to an improved 2023/24
season.
Come on you Bluebells!!