Frome Town 0 – 3 Sholing

Sholing simply outclass Frome in their own backyard in Somerset to claim all three points.

Dressed in their golden away kit, Sholing entered the field to start a performance that would be as bright as their kit, although it was a different story in the sky but nevertheless there were still a few brave fans that were not afraid to show their colours.

In the seconds before Byron Mason and Harry Taylor were very vocal in letting the rest of the Boatmen know what was expected of them. An early foul on Michael Folivi allowed a free kick to be taken quickly which gave space to Romeo Akinola but the linesman flag put a stop to the offence. Folivi broke free from the man pulling shirt to meet Fabio Lopes’ pass, the ensuing cross from Folivi looked to have struck a hand but nothing was given.Sholing then exploited a huge gap that the home side had left in defence which Akinola chased but it was scrambled  clear.

Frome attacker James Ollis skilled his way into box to Pat Nash’s right side, the striker got round Harry Taylor but as standard he comes a cropper when faced with Byron Mason. Blaise Riley Snow put through Folivi, down the spine of the midfield, who crossed from the left wing which the keeper was stretching to parry which caused a collision with Akinola, who was arriving from the other side and calls for penalty were ignored and the ball went loose once more. Ollis and Mason provided an entertaining sideshow, constantly trying to one up each other.

From a Frome free kick, the home side sent their whole team up which then threatened to backfire as the ball came to Benny Read and eventually found Folivi who faked the Frome defender to slide play to the feet of Akinola,who makes the keeper work to get a chance to scupper. Ollis and Albie Hopkins worked together down the right wing to create an off chance for the home side, but the eventual strike was cut out by the chest of Brad Targett. Frome were relying a lot on dead ball situations, most of which were punched out by Nash.

After a period of balanced play and intense tackles, Sholing continued to have the more meaningful chances. That was until a Frome forward looked to break, although he hadn’t accounted for Read to be there before he could. Fabio Lopes then managed to read a Frome tackle better than defender himself, proceeding to run into box to the keepers left, the delivery just had a bit much on it and it ended up behind Akinola. Joseph Rabbets and Ethan Vaughan then came together which caused Vaughan to take a tumble onto the rough area outside the Sholing dugout which earned Rabbets a booking.

Any opportunity that did come Frome’s way were taken in the spur of the moment with not much time given by the Boatmen to let them think what to do next. Frome man, Rex Mannings hit a dropping ball with plenty of power, Nash dived quickly and firmly to his left to stop momentum of the ball taking it over the line. A pristine through ball from Reece Wylie led to confusion in the home defence and that is the ultimate sin when Michael Folivi’s around and Michael proved that fact once again, the keeper did the best anyone could expect when presented with a one on one with Sholing’s star, but the Boatmen took the lead before the whistle blew. HT 0-1.

 

It was more of the same in the early part of the second half with Frome having to attempt from outside the box, one of which had more chance of threatening to destroy the hot dogs then it did the Sholing net. The boys in yellow were more upbeat after the ultras arrived and started drumming away at the Frome morale. Vaughan was in space, restricted to having to cut in under pressure from Rabbets, the shot was completely spooned and only the fence stops it from landing in someone’s garden. The Boatmen went up the other end, ready to show the home side how it’s done, Folivi and Lopes took on the Frome defence, who can thank a gutsy block from their defender for making it an easy grab for the keeper.

Frome, thanks to another set piece, provided their best challenge up to that point with several of their boys having taken a swing at it but still only found the roof of the net. Frome were again punished for their numerous missed chances, this time a 1-2 between Read and Akinola made the defence unsure as to which one to lock onto which allowed Benny to give Akinola an open goal, which Romeo dually put in. One thing Frome can claim is that they probably had at least created the same number of chances but to their detriment could never find the end product. Frome began rushing their chances, desperate to try and get some momentum going, but found everything but the goal. Some quick play between Rabbets, Folivi and Hesketh threatened to add to the tally. It could be argued that Frome had the easier chances. Missing an open goal and finding Nash’s feet instead summed up their afternoon.

Max Bustamante made himself known to the Robins, providing Folivi with two more chances from the right, but it was obvious the away side had learnt from their mistakes and elected to swarm the man who had been a thorn in their side all game as a means to stop the onslaught. Frome were all out of ideas and team spirit and this time it was Hesketh who sent the Sholing contingent behind the goal wild and Jake did not hesitate to rush into the open arms of the ultras. FT 0-3