Saturday will be the first ever league encounter between Frome Town and Tavistock. As we have only met three times before. All in cups and only once at Badgers Hill.
That was back in 2008 in the First Round of the FA Vase when Dean Caslake came off the bench to despatch the winner deep into extra time.....final score,,,,,Frome Town 2 Tavistock 1. Here's Colin Carpenter's match report as he describes the action.....
Frome Town 2 Tavistock 1
Frome Town progressed to the 2nd round of the FA Vase with a hard fought 2-1 win over a determined Tavistock side thanks to a Caslake goal deep into the second half of extra time.
Frome were first out of the blocks, as Mark Salter broke through in the first 20 seconds, only for his left foot shot to be saved by Andy Meeds in the visitor's goal, and when Jon Crowley headed just over the bar in the 3rd minute it seemed as if early goals were sure to come. However, it didn't turn out that way, and Tavistock settled down and proved themselves to be the equal of Frome in midfield, resulting in a generally quiet first half. In fact, it took until the 40th minute for the next real chance, as Mark Salter put Toby Colbourne clean through on goal, but Andy Meeds was up to the task and saved well, to ensure that the score remained 0-0 at half time.
Frome started brightly, but it was Tavistock who took the lead in the 51st minute as three missed tackles allowed Tavistock's Mark Conday a clear shot on goal, and he made no mistake from 10 yards, putting the ball cleanly into the corner of the net.
The goal spurred Frome into action, and equaliser came in the 67th minute as Sam Duggan cleverly chipped the ball over the defence, and Toby Colbourne's back header was blasted home from close range by Jamie Cheeseman to the relief of the home crowd.
The rest of the half was a fairly tame affair, with both sides finding it difficult to retain possession and keen not to give away a goal. Richard Fey did well to tip over a 30 yard shot in the 78th minute, but Frome came closest to winning it in the 96th minute as a downward header from Jon Crowley was only just saved on the line.
The 5th minute of extra time saw Sam Duggan create chaos in the Tavistock defence with a shot that led to an extraordinary passage of play that saw the ball saved by the keeper, cleared off the line and hitting the post all in a few seconds, but the goal refused to come. The 12th minute of extra time saw another Duggan shot cleared off the Tavistock line, and it seemed that the fates were decreeing a replay in Devon on Tuesday night, but it wasn't to be, and in the 114th minute of the match, the deadlock was broken as substitute Dean Caslake made ground on the right wing, looked up and saw Mark Salter attacking the far post, and Caslake's cross (shot?) drifted over Meeds and into the far top corner of the goal to be greeted by a roar from the home fans.
This stung Tavistock into action, and the last 6 minutes of the match were probably the best of the match, as the game opened up and Frome could well have added to the final scoreline, with chances falling to Burke and Gomes. Alex Lapham was chosen as Man of the Match by Gary Collinson on behalf of Clive Lewis Financial Ltd who sponsored the match, and was presented with the award by Theresa Graham
Our last meeting with Tavistock was a disappointing FA Cup Preliminary Round exit in 2019 when a Will Hailstone goal was just a consolation in a 2-1 defeat at Langsford Park.
Two years prior to that, same venue, same competition, it was a different story as Frome, then three levels higher than their South West Peninsula League opponents, were made to fight tooth and nail for a 2-1 victory in front of 410 which earned a Third Qualifying Round tie at Heybridge Swifts.
First half strikes from Jake Jackson and Darren Jefferies proved to be enough in a tough contest played in monsoon conditions and in the line-up that September day just over five years ago were current squad members Kyle Phillips, Ben Withey and Jon Davies.
Tavistock 2 Frome Town 1 Two years prior to that, same venue, same competition, it was a different story as Frome, then three levels higher than their South West Peninsula League opponents, were made to fight tooth and nail for a 2-1 victory in front of 410 which earned a Third Qualifying Round tie at Heybridge Swifts. First half strikes from Jake Jackson and Darren Jefferies proved to be enough in a tough contest played in monsoon conditions and in the line-up that September day just over five years ago were current squad members Kyle Phillips, Ben Withey and Jon Davies.
Frome Town progressed to the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup thanks to first half goals from Jake Jackson and Darren Jefferies, and despite Tavistock pulling a late goal back from the penalty spot, they held on in torrential rain and gloom until the final whistle.
With Frome playing their third away game in a row and looking to make it a hat trick of wins, the side had a familiar look to it and, as progress in the FA Cup is a valuable source of revenue to Non League Clubs, this was one that Frome really wanted to win.
With the storm clouds gathering and the distinct possibility of thunderstorms, the match started evenly with Frome the first to show as George Miller hit a shot way over the bar, and on a decent surface with both teams playing a passing game the match looked like it could be a good one. Miller had a second chance in the 15th as Jackson set him up for a shot, but again the ball flew over the bar from just outside the penalty area, but Frome did take the lead in the 23rd as Mitchell Page flicked the ball on for Jackson to prove stronger than his defender and score with a low shot. Tavistock went looking for the equaliser and Frome defended well against several corners and free kicks, and with Crago shooting just wide in the 32nd, Frome needed to start pressing a little more, and they duly obliged as Jon Davies had a shot saved well By Oak in the home goal, but then they made it a 2-0 lead in the 43rd as Jefferies cut in from the left to rifle a shot into the far corner just as the threatened rain became torrential.
The rain continued as the second half started making conditions difficult for both sides and despite the flood lights coming on, the heavy shower was making the conditions gloomy to say the least. Grant could well have pulled one back for the hosts in the 55th as he somehow manged to shoot wide from inside the 6 yard box and Kyle Phillips had to be very alert to save shortly afterwards, but the threatened goal did arrive in the 68th as Grant slotted home from the spot as the referee gave a penalty for an unclear reason.
With an Ollie Knight shot going just wide and a Tavistock raid immediately afterwards being cleared by the head of Kris MIller, Tavistock failed to carve out a clear a clear cut opportunity and Frome go into the hat on Monday.
Captain George Miller was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match Award for another tireless performance in midfield.
Who knows what's in store this fireworks night at the Hill, there's only one way to find out...
Remember our NovemBA11 offer for all three home games this November.