Plymouth Parkway 0 - 3 Frome Town

Frome Town ended their six-game losing run, with a commanding victory over Plymouth Parkway in their final away outing of the season.

An early own goal followed by a composed finish from Albie Hopkins and a clinical strike from Archie Ferris, sealed the points for Danny Greaves side on a sunny afternoon in Devon.

After relegation was confirmed last Saturday, following Winchester City’s win over Chertsey Town, the pressure was completely off for the Robins - and it showed. They played with freedom and confidence, producing on of their most assured displays of the campaign.

Greaves’ shuffled the pack today, with the likes of Joe Budd, Zak Drew and Matt Wood all returning to the starting XI and they made the perfect start. Joe O’Loughlin floated a ball to the back post that Hopkins divert across to Wood at the far post, but before he could even get a touch, it was inadvertently turned home by a Parkway defender.

The defence the had to be alert in the 5th minute as the ever reliable Sam Teale made a last ditch challenge to deny the hosts a shot on goal.

The Robins kept the early intensity up, and their high press soon paid off again. A defensive error allowed Ferris to pounce and tee up Hopkins, who had the simplest of tasks of passing into an empty net to put his side two up.

He then almost bagged his second and Frome’s third 11 minutes later, after exceptional play from Rex Mannings down the left, he delivered a cross that reached Hopkins, but he mishit his shot and Alex Rutter gathered with ease.

The hosts then had a chance to respond before the break, after Warren Maidment sliced the ball to Callum Hall, but he blazed over from just eight yards out.

Frome’s dominance continued into the second half. Hopkins pulled a pass back for Drew, whose shot deflected onto the bar, with Hopkins then somehow also seeing his follow up header bounce off of the post.

It felt inevitable that with all the chances heading the Robins way, that a third goal would come, and that’s exactly what happened in the 55th minute. Hopkins, again at the heart of the move, dribbled past four Parkway defenders, before picking Ferris out in the box, with the forward taking a touch before smashing into the roof of the net.

Despite boasting a comfortable lead, Parkway didn’t give up.The match remained open and Phillips had to react smartly to push Rio Garside’s long range effort over in the 77th minute.

There was even a chance for a fourth, just before the 90th minute, O’Loughlin delivered another dangerous cross to James Ollis at the back-post, he brought the ball down well, but couldn’t keep his shot on target.

It was a fantastic performance from the lads today, proof that the issue throughout the season wasn’t ability, as they showed their class throughout the 90 minutes today.

Our season concludes on the 26th of April as we host AFC Totton at Badgers Hill. The Stags can no longer mathematically win the title, so there’s potential for some players to be rested in their camp, giving Frome a strong chance to finish a tough campaign on a positive note.

Match report and live updates, for one last time, by Harrison Richards

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Listen to the latest episode of the Dodge The Question podcast!

Steve & Zeb chat to friend of the show, and Frome Town FC finance director, David Parry.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5EM8d8IxZsRFUzR6IBb29q?si=65da2a85cb924059

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-46/id1751186747?i=1000703790824

You can also listen on Frome.FM radio every Friday at 5pm (repeated on Saturday 3pm)

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