Didcot Town v Yate Town
Southern League Division One South
12th October - Kick-off 3.00pm
On Saturday Yate Town travel to Didcot Town with the teams having both played 8 League games and in those 16 games only 19 goals have been scored and just 15 conceded, with top of the table Yate Town only conceding 5 goals in that time – the best defence in the division – but only hitting the back of the net 10 times.
Yate Town manager, Darren Mullings, will have been thrilled by the fine 3-0 home win against an in-form Melksham last Saturday in the FA Trophy and will be looking for another performance of similar quality at Didcot. He will be hoping that Marlon Jackson will be fit to return after being out for 3 weeks but will not have Oli Jenkins available as the midfielder has been recalled from his loan from Weston-super-Mare. Ross Stearn got off the mark last Saturday after his first start and goal of the season and Mullings will be looking at adding another player to the squad, as the club have a very busy schedule over the coming weeks.
Our Opponents:
Didcot Town Football Club (also known as The Railwaymen and Diddy) are based in Didcot in Oxfordshire. One of the most significant events in the club’s 100 years was the move to the impressive new Loop Meadow Stadium. As part of the redevelopment of Didcot town centre, Didcot Town FC was forced to relocate from their old Station Road ground for the start of the 1999/2000 season. The club moved onto the ever-growing Ladygrove housing estate, the other side of the railway line that cuts the town in two. The club decided to spend the majority of the money raised from selling the Station Road site (land which is now underneath Sainsbury’s car park) on the club infrastructure, including a magnificent main pitch. Alongside a second full-size pitch, the new facility boasted a large function room, executive suite, a supporter’s bar (called Doddy’s, in memory of the late manager) and a state-of-the-art physio room.
Form Guide:
Didcot Town were relegated from the Southern League Premier Division South last season. They were well adrift at the bottom of the table for most of the season but made a spirited attempt to avoid relegation, but in the end finished bottom on 28 points. This season has seen them have little success in the Cup competitions going out 0-3 at Taunton in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, after beating Royal Wotton Bassett 2-0 away in the Preliminary Road. In the FA Trophy they fell at the first hurdle losing 1-3 at home to Helston.
Their League form has seen them fall to an early 1-5 defeat at Malvern in August but they now sit in7th position in the league with 14 points from 8 games and in those games, they have only scored 9 goals and conceded just 10 – half of those being conceded being in the loss at Malvern. Last Saturday they won 2-1 at home to Bemerton with Josh Davis and Patrick Osborne scoring second half goals after they had fallen behind in the first minute of the restart in front of a crowd of 183. Their last defeat was at Bashley on 28th September when they lost 1-2 but this season, they have won three games at home by the score 1-0, against Larkhall, Cribbs and Westbury.
Previous meetings:
The last time the two teams met was back in season 2017/18 when the game at Didcot ended with a 2-4 defeat for the Bluebells, with their goals being scored by Ben Brooks and Cameron Ebbutt on 30th September, whilst the game at Lodge Road on 24th February ended 2-2 with Adam Price and Steve Davies scoring for Yate in front of a crowd of 139.
Getting there:
If you are travelling by car to the game travel on the M4 towards London and exit at junction 13 towards Oxford and from the A34, take the A4130 towards Didcot. At the first roundabout, take the first exit. At the next roundabout, take the third exit, then straight across the next two roundabouts. At the fifth roundabout, turn right into Avon Way. Follow Avon Way for ½ mile, straight across a mini roundabout, and the ground, Loop Meadow, is on the left. The postcode is OX11 7GA. The 72 miles journey from Yate, should take about 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Next up:
Yate Town entertain Tavistock next Saturday 19th October for their Community Day when fans can PAY WHAT THEY WANT.