Match Report
Yate Town 1 Poole Town 2
Taylor 73 | Slade 76, Diaz 86
FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round
Saturday 4th October 2025
Yate Town were knocked out of the FA Trophy when an impressive Poole Town scored a late winner to progress further in the competition, after the Bluebells had taken the lead.
Yate Town manager, Darren Mullings, was forced into one change from the Bluebells 2-1 home win against Plymouth Parkway the previous Saturday, with Omar Taylor-Clarke replacing captain Joe Guest, who had become a father hours before kick-off.
Poole Town applied early pressure on the home goal and James Taylor made a couple of important interventions and with the swirling wind Will Larvin misjudged a header allowing Henry Spalding the first real opportunity of the game but his shot went straight at Yate Town goalkeeper, Aaron Sainsbury, who saved comfortably. After Ik Hill had shot over from 25 yards, on 16 minutes Selim Saied’s shot from the edge of the penalty area crashed onto the crossbar and over the goal.
This appeared to spur Yate Town into action and for the remainder of the first half they dominated play and created a number of chances. Two minutes after Poole had hit the woodwork it was the turn of Yate Town’s Rex Mannings. He was set up by Marlon Jackson and his shot was tipped onto the post by the excellent Adam Parkes in the visitor’s goal, only for Oli Jenkins to put the rebound wide.
This Rex Mannings effort came back off the woodwork.
An excellent cross from the left by Aaron Evans-Harriot evaded everyone in the Poole six-yard box and a penalty appealed was waved aside by referee Matthew Uren, when Marlon Jackson went to ground.
Just before the half hour mark Oli Jenkins’ fine turn and shot saw his effort come back off the woodwork and Aaron Evans-Harriott had an angled shot saved by Parkes, the ball going out for a corner.
The opening period of the second half started in a similar way to the first half, as Poole Town, this time having the wind at their backs, and shots from Selim Saied, Billy Lowes and Henry Spalding all going close with their efforts just off target.
Yate Town did cause some confusion in the Poole defence when Joshua McCormick nearly headed into his own goal, with Parkes coming to his rescue, and the ball going out for a corner and an excellent cross from Aaron Evans-Harriott was headed over by Marlon Jackson.
Marlon Jackson’s header goes just over the bar.
Yate Town made a number of substitutions and within a minute of coming on, Corey Evans floated a corner into the Poole penalty area and the ball ricocheted about before James Taylor got his head to it to send the ball past Parkes to put Yate Town in from after 73 minutes.
James Taylor (2) heads Yate Town into the lead.
But this lead lasted only three minutes when Poole Town won possession of the ball and Harvey Slade sent a speculative shot from distance which levelled the scores. Poole Town now looked for the winner and took control of the game and after substitute Antonio Diaz had shot straight at Aaron Sainsbury when well placed, he scored the winner four minutes from time when he headed Ryan Campbell’s left wing cross past Sainsbury.
Yate looked for the equaliser but the only real chance they had was with the last kick of the game, at the end of five minutes added time, when Oli Jenkins fired over from just inside the penalty area.
Oli Jenkins shoots over the bar with the final kick of the game.
With Yate Town going out at the first hurdle in the major cup completions this season, it will be back to League action next Saturday when Berkhamsted are the visitors to the South West Interiors Stadium as they look to maintain their hard-earned Step 3 status during the coming months.
Yate Town: Sainsbury, Taylor, Ball, Larvin, White (Felix 90), James (Britton 72), Taylor-Clarke (Grubb (90), Jackson, Jenkins, Mannings (Tomlinson 56), Evans- Harriott (Evans 72)
Unused subs: None
Bookings: None
Poole Town: Parkes, McCormick Davis (65), Campbell R, Lowes (Staunton 89), Campbell K (Diaz 65), Hill, Saied, Slade, Jordan, Dore, Spalding (Faniyan 77)
Unused sub: Rowles
Bookings: Campbell K (4)
Referee: Michael Uren
Attendance: 259
Photographs by Aaron Norman.
Yate Town Player of the Match: James Taylor.