Yate v MERTHYR

Mangoes 1 - 0 Taunton.
Wimborne 0 - 1 Swindon.

Kettering now 2-0 up at Barton

Kettering now 2-0 up so could still finish with more points than us.

Evesham score again. 5 - 1 up v Didcot.

Yate 0 - 0 Martyrs final score.

F/t 0-0. Another point. Could be "after the Lord Mayors show..."

Fourth clean sheet in a row.

Kettering won 2-0, so we still need another point to be at home to them on 2 May.

For the record, as CHAMPIONS I thought I'd check out our nearest challenges.

Very nervous display by Stratford against a spirited Fleet team now safe from the drop. Home side squeezing home 2-1 with a goal 10 mins or so from time, despite it the visitors playing an hour of the game with 10 men. in fact the sending off was the highlight of the game - with the Fleet midfielder giving his own colleague a brilliant Glasgow handshake that Phil Green would have been proud of! Think thats the first time I've seen a red card for lamping your own player!

That said, by my reckoning with Taunton losing I think Stratford have guaranteed themselves home advantage at least in the first round of play-offs.

Merthyr Imp wrote:Fourth clean sheet in a row.

Kettering won 2-0, so we still need another point to be at home to them on 2 May.

I believe it's our FIFTH clean sheet in a row

0-0 v Shortwood, 1-0 v Sholing, 4-0 v Mangos, 9-0 v Bishops Cleeve and 0-0 v Yate.

I thought a draw was a fair result today, both Keepers were excellent.

The highlight of the day was the magnificent away support, the teams in this league will be sorry to see us go up if only for their bar takings lol

let's hope we get that point (or three!) v Larkhall

It was a typical end of season game today played on a hard, dry, bumpy pitch with a strong breeze blowing from one end to the other.  Horsell, in the Yate goal was by far the busier keeper and we could easily have come away with more than one point.  Our team was unchanged from Monday and was –  
 
Bradley
Summerfield, Green, Wright & Davies
Leek, Harris (M) & Williams
Traylor, Prosser & McLaggon
 
Subs – Rewbury, Harris (J), Evans, Jenkins & Morgan
 
Merthyr kicked off playing into the wind and after about 2 seconds the ball went out of play for a throw to Yate in their half.  From the Yate throw, Merthyr won the ball back and the ball was sent right to Summerfield and he sent it forward and we gained a few throws deep in the Yate half after Prosser & subsequently Traylor had their crosses blocked by Hitchings.  Traylor did manage to latch onto a loose clearance by the Yate defence and broke into the area but again Hitchings cut out his cross but this time it went away for the first corner of the game after about 2 minutes.  Williams’s corner went high into the area and again it was Hitchings who headed it clear but only as far as Davies and he lobbed it back into the area and for a change it was Chandler who got it clear with help from Cox.  At this stage the only time Yate could get a foot or head on the ball was to clear it and one of those clearances got into the Merthyr half where it was headed back by Green and headed down by Prosser to Leek who sent a long ball forward for Traylor to run onto but he was flagged for offside.
 
Yate were struggling to get a foothold in the game but their defenders were resolute and were keeping us at bay but they did manage to get forward down their left through Cox and he went past Traylor and put the ball into our area and a Yate forward headed it towards goal but Summerfield hooked it clear and this did signal more defending for us.  The game was fairly scrappy, largely due to the conditions and they gained their first corner of the game when a Rogers cross deflected off Summerfield.  Wright headed the near post effort clear but only as far as Warren, who had taken the corner, and he put it back into the far post but even though a Yate attacker got to it, he could only head it behind for a goal kick.
 
Shortly afterwards a long ball by Leek found Traylor on the right and he ran into the area, got to the byline but his cross deflected off Cox and Horsell made a good save down to his right with McLaggon sliding in.  Then Rogers broke clear towards the Merthyr area but his 18 yard shot went well wide of Bradley’s left hand post.  The game was largely being played in the middle third but Horsell did well to punch away a free kick from Williams after he had been fouled on the halfway line.  After a period of largely indeterminate play Merthyr did gain a corner on the right which Horsell again punched away and Thomas completed the clearance which he sent up to the halfway line where it was picked up by Summerfield but his long ball forward towards Traylor was over hit and away for a goal kick.  Harris then broke into the Yate half and sent a ball out towards McLaggon near the left hand side of the Yate area but he rather scuffed his left foot shot across goal and Horsell got down and gathered it easily. 
 
Merthyr then got the best chance of the game when a Williams corner, gained after a Summerfield cross was deflected behind by Cox, was met by Prosser with his head just outside the 6 yard box but he sent it high over the bar.  A few minutes later a long Green ball into the Yate half found Prosser on the left.  He got past a couple of Yate defenders and into the area and slid it across to Leek but his right footed 18 yard shot went just wide of Horsell’s right hand post.
 
Yate gained a throw on their left which Williams headed behind for a corner.  Bradley did well to punch it away at his far post and away for a throw on the Yate right.  From the throw, Wright was adjudged to have fouled a Yate attacker just outside the 18 yard area on the right.  Evans took the kick which went high into our area and was missed by everyone and away for a goal kick. 
 
A disappointing half was brought to an end by Mr Whittingham with Merthyr having the best of the few half chances created although Yate, aided by the wind, probably had slightly more of the play but rarely threatened.
 
Yate kicked off the 2^nd half and a long ball forward was headed clear by Green.  McLaggon then sent a good ball across the pitch to Harris and he sent it wide right towards Summerfield who sent it forward towards Traylor on the touchline.  He sent it back to Summerfield who got to the byline on the right and sent it across where Cox got in a clearance but only as far as Williams who got it to Traylor on the right hand side of the area who turned and sent in a shot towards goal and Horsell made an excellent diving save to his right and he pushed it behind for a corner.  Williams’s corner went far post where it was headed back by Prosser towards Wright but a Yate defender got in and the ball was cleared.
 
Merthyr gained a succession of throws on the right, the last of which was taken long by Leek.  He hurled it high into the near post where it was cleared by Hitchings but only as far as Harris who sent in a superb right footed shot which Horsell did very well to get down to on his right and pushed it out but only as far as Traylor who headed the ball home but it was disallowed as Traylor was presumably offside when Harris had the initial shot.
 
A few long balls into the Yate half were overlong but one was aimed towards McLaggon & Traylor on the left.  Traylor, who was offside didn’t go for it but McLaggon who was clearly onside did and would have been through had not the linesman raised his flag, presumably against Traylor who was not interfering with play. 
 
Yate had been under pressure but did start to come into it a bit but Wright & Green were more than a match for the Yate forwards.  Wright broke up one attack and sent a great ball forward towards Traylor but he lost control on the bumpy pitch and the chance was lost as the ball ran through to Horsell.  Then Summerfield received a ball from Williams on the right.  He found Traylor who got past Cox and he put it inside to Harris but his shot went just wide of Horsell’s left hand post.  Traylor seemed to receive a knock when challenged by Cox but with Chubbsy hovering, he got up and carried on.
 
After about 20 minutes of the 2^nd half Prosser, who had been well marshalled by Hitchings & Chandler was replaced by Jenkins.
 
Merthyr gained another corner on the right when Cox tackled Summerfield close to the byline and put it out of play.  Williams’s corner went far post and McLaggon went for it but it went through to Davies on the left.  He got it back to Green on the halfway line who sent it long towards the Yate area and Cox got his head to it but it dropped to Wright but his volley from 18 yards screwed wide of the right hand post. 
 
With about 15 minutes left, Morgan replaced Traylor and 5 minutes later Harris, against his old club, replaced Mclaggon.
 
In the next 10 minutes neither side could create anything of note, other than a Leek shot, just before the end which went just wide of the Yate goal with Merthyr having more of the play and the game ended where we started at 0-0.
 
On the balance of play we deserved more than the point we gained today.  Bradley had a few crosses to deal with, which he did so well, either by the fist or catch and my Dickyphone did not record any serious save he had to make, whereas Horsell had to make several good saves and that indicates the flow of the game.  Yes, Yate did try to come forward but our back 4 did not allow them a sniff of goal whereas the Yate defenders were under pressure and did crack on occasions with only Horsell standing between them and defeat.  I was disappointed with Yate particularly after how well they played against us at the Park in the autumn.  For a team with a mathematical chance of reaching the play offs at the start of the game, as well as trying to impress their new manager, they did not threaten overly and only Horsell plus Felix looked any good although their centre backs didn’t do too badly.
 
One point needed from 2 home games on a pitch that will allow football to be played will give us a home game against Kettering in the Championship playoff on 2 May.  Neither will be easy as both are jockeying for play off positions but we should prevail should we show the endeavour we did today.
 
Onwards & Upwards!