We move into 9th place in the all time league attendances overtaking a defeat to Hereford back in 2017 under the lights on a Monday night. Colin Carpenter was able to provide the match report from when we last had 531 supporters in for a league game.
We are on track to beat our target of 618 attendees for Saturday, but help us by claiming your free tickets for the match.
Wednesday 27th September 2017
Evo-Stik Southern Premier League
Frome Town 0 Hereford FC 3
Frome Scorers: None
Hereford Scorers: Preen (24), Mills (37), Reffell (41) Crowd: 531
Star Man: Kris Miller
In front of their largest crowd of the season thanks to a large travelling support, Frome were a little unfortunate to come up against one of the sides who will surely figure prominently in the title race this season, and with Hereford taking a 3-0 lead before half time, Frome never really managed to trouble the visitors defence in the second half.
With Kris Miller back from suspension, Ben Withey reverted to left back and Sam Teale slotted in alongside Marcus Mapstone at the heart of the defence, but once again the side had a very familiar look to the one that had just won five games on the trot.
Both teams were obviously well motivated and the opening exchanges were lively and even, with Frome probably carving out the best chances as a Teale header went just past the post in the opening minutes, Davies causing problems with a couple of swinging free kicks adn Chas Hemmings hitting a long range free kick just over the bar.
However, as is often the case, as Hereford started to come into the game more, they took the lead in the 24th minute as Garyn Preen found himself in space on the edge of the Frome area and though Phillips seemed to have the ball totally under control as he bent low to collect the low, swinging shot, the greasy ball slipped through his grasp and between his legs to trickle over the goal line.
Jon Davies nearly levelled the scores a minute later as he capped a fine run with a left foot shot that brought a good save from Martin Horsell, but then Hereford should really have increased their lead in the 33rd as Lance Smith rose at the far post and elected to head back across goal, when a header towards goal would probably have brought a result.
However they did make it 2-0 a couple of minutes later as a lofted through ball found John Mills in space, and a clever right foot shot with the outside of his foot found the inside of the far post and the ball came back across and into the net, giving Frome a bit of a mountain to climb.
Hereford effectively sealed the game in the 41st with their third goal, as Lance Smith powered down the left to the dead ball line, cut into the box and pulled the ball back perfectly for Keyton Reffell to rifle the ball home, and with Sam Teale having to be substituted in the 40th and Phillips bringing off a great save at the far post just before half time, it was looking a bit ominous for Frome at this point.
Hereford opened the second half with more of the same, and John MIlls could have scored in the first minute with a little more accuracy on the shot and with continuous pressure the Frome defence did well to hold out, with Phillips again producing a great save to push away a screaming free kick from Mike McGrath in the 54th.
However, the storm abated and Frome came back into it more, though equally it could be that Hereford had decided that they would hold onto their lead, and with one eye presumably on their away FA Cup match at Heybridge Swifts on Saturday, Frome rang all the changes with their substitutions to protect key players.
As the match settled down into a fast paced, but more even encounter, Ryan Bath brought a save from Horsell as he shot from outside the box in the 83rd and a minor melee in the 85th led to Mitchell Page and Mike Symons both picking up yellows, but chances were becoming few and far between, and with body of Chas Hemmings denying Hereford a fourth just before the end, on the whole, the final score was probably a fair reflection of the game as a whole.
Kris Miller was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match Award by representatives of the charity Time is Precious who had sponsored both the match and the match ball.
Help us beat the target of 618, claim your free ticket for Saturday.
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