Hungerford Town v Yate Town
FA Trophy First Round
Saturday 26th October - Kick-off 3.00pm
Yate Town travel to Hungerford Town for their second meeting of the season, for this FA Trophy First Round tie, having already beaten Bemerton, Bideford and Melksham in the Qualifying rounds. The Bluebells go into this game following a hard-earned point at Malvern Town on Tuesday evening, with Lucas Tomlinson scoring a stoppage time equaliser.
Yate Town manager, Darren Mullings, will be hoping that he can include Bristol Rovers loanees Ollie Dewsbury and Jerry Lawrence after they were involved in an Under 21 game for their parent club in midweek but will still be without the injured Lewis Hall and Ewan McMillan. The winning club from Saturday’s game picks up £3000 in prize money with the losing club taking £775 in prize money. There will be no extra time and if the scores are level after 90 minutes the tie will be decided on penalties.
Previous meetings:
The clubs have met twice before in the FA Trophy. Firstly, in season 2009/10, in a second qualifying round tie, when the teams dew 1-1 at Lodge Road with Jake Cox scoring a 47th minute equaliser just after half-time in front of a crowd of 135. In the replay Hungerford won 3-0 with 127 in attendance. The second meeting was in 2011/12, in a preliminary round tie, when Yate won 2-1 at Lodge Road with goals from David Stone after 10 minutes and a last-minute winner from Russ Church with 105 at the game.
The clubs played each other in 4 consecutive seasons in the Southern League from 2009/10 to 20912/13 with Hungerford winning the first encounter 4-1 with Yate’s goal coming from Adie Adams and the last encounters, in season 2012/13, being a 1-1 draw at Hungerford with Scott Wilson scoring for the Bluebells and a 4-2 home win with Yate’s goals coming from Matt Groves (2), Ollie Barnes (pen) and Michael Meaker with an attendance of 167
Yate Town’s League record against Hungerford is as follows:
Won 2: Drawn 2: Lost 4: Goals scored 10: Goals conceded: 14
And of course, the clubs met just 8 weeks ago in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, when a first minute goal by Jacob Bancroft secured a 1-0 win for Hungerford, despite strong penalty appeals from the visitors just before the end of the game when James Taylor’s shot was blocked (pictured below).
Form Guide
Hungerford currently sit in 18th position in the Southern League Premier Division South table, with 3 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats having scored 23 and conceded 23 goals and this includes a 9-3 home win against Plymouth Parkway earlier in the season. On Tuesday evening they gained a very creditable draw at Basingstoke Town, with ex-Larkhall Athletic striker Dawid Regula putting then in front after 64 minutes only for Basingstoke, who are currently in 5th place, to equalise three minutes later.
Following Hungerford’s win in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup against Yate Town, they were knocked out by fellow Southern League Premier South side Winchester City in the next round.
Players to watch out for:
Hungerford have a well-known goalkeeper in the vastly experience Ryan Clarke who played for Bristol Rovers (and many other clubs including over 200 appearances for Oxford United) and was signed from Bath City in the summer of 2023.
Elis Watts played for Cambrian & Clydach and Cardiff City’s Academy before joining Newport County’s Academy in 2014. He went on to join Aldershot Town and had loan spells at Met. Police, Farnborough and Hayes & Yeading before joining Weston-Super-Mare where he played a part in their promotion back to National League South in 2023.
Getting there:
Directions to Hungerford Town F.C.
Town Ground, Bulpit Lane, Hungerford, RG17 0AY
Telephone – (01488) 682939
By Road
· Leave the M4 at Junction 14 and take the turning on to the A338 sign-posted Hungerford.
· Continue for 3 miles, passing through the village of Hungerford Newtown, until you reach a mini roundabout at the junction with the A4 Bath Road.
· Turn right onto the A4 and take the left fork at the next mini roundabout with a petrol station on the left.
· Turn left at the next mini roundabout in front of the Bear Hotel and re-join the A338 sign-posted Town Centre.
· Proceed up the High Street, over the Kennet & Avon Canal Bridge, under the Great Western Railway Bridge and straight over two more mini roundabouts.
· At the next mini roundabout, turn left into Priory Road, signposted Football Club, and take the second left after the Catholic Church (on the right) into Bulpit Lane.
· At the next T-junction, with the floodlights visible to your left, go straight over the crossroads and the ground is on your left.
Admission Prices 2024/25
Adults (18-64) £14.00
Concessions (65+ / Disabled / Armed Forces / Emergency Services / Students) £10.00
Young persons (11-17) £5.00
Children (aged 10 & under and accompanied by paying adult) Free
Carers (accompanying a disabled spectator) Free
Match day programme £3.00
Next up:
Yate Town entertain THATCHAM TOWN under the lights on Tuesday 29th October with a 7.45pm kick-off. It’s half term week and the club hopes that there will be a bigger than usual crowd for a mid-week game following the distribution of tickets to schools and that it gives the opportunity for children to experience a match under floodlights. Under 11’s can watch the match for free if accompanied by an adult.