Match Report
Yate Town 2 Bishops Cleeve 1
Christopher 22 Tomlinson 75 Dempsey o.g 60
Tuesday 13th August 2024 Southern League Division One South
Yate Town continued their excellent start to the season with a hard-fought victory against a very good Bishops Cleeve in a game that proved excellent entertainment for the fans, from start to finish.
Yate Town made 3 changes to the side that won at Tavistock on Saturday with Stan Wyatt being unavailable and Ewan McMillan injured. Will Larvin came into the defence with Ross Staley playing on the left in place of Wyatt and Lloyd James playing his first competitive game for the club following a 2-match suspension, with Ryan Hiller dropping to the bench.
Both sides won early corners before Joe Guest was fouled 25 yards from goal and Lucas Tomlinson fired the free kick straight at Lewis Clayton in the Bishops Cleeve goal. An Aaron Evans-Harriott corner was then headed just wide by Matthew Liddiard as the visitors responded but it was Yate Town who then started to take control of the game playing incisive and controlled football. Another free kick, after a foul on Marlon Jackson, saw Tomlinson fire just wide whilst Lloyd James’s free kick also just missed the target and Marlon Jackson’s shot was deflected for a corner as Yate Town went in search of an opening goal, which came after 22 minutes.
A good run by James Taylor led to a ball into the box to Will Christopher and he fired an accurate shot just inside the post from 15 yards to put the Bluebells in front.
Will Christopher puts Yate town 1-0 up.
Bishops Cleeve were stung by this and responded with great intensity and started to put Yate under considerable pressure in the closing minutes of the half. Jay Malshanskyj cut in from the left and brought a fine save from Aaron Sainsbury and Evans- Harriott’s shot was well blocked by Dan Dempsey and from the corner both Liddiard and Bower has headers before Sainsbury claimed possession of the ball. Ethan Dunbar missed a great chance to equalise, firing just past the post and then Dempsey nearly put through his own goal trying to block a shot but Aaron Sainsbury managed to turn the ball over the bar. A Matt Bower had a header pushed away by Sainsbury following another corner in stoppage time as an action packed 45 minutes came to a close.
Will Larvin in possession during the first half.
The second half started more evenly with a James Taylor cross being fired just wide by Tomlinson but on the hour mark Bishops Cleeve finally got the equaliser that they had been searching for as Malshanskyj crossed from the left and Dunbar’s shot spun off Dempsey and over Aaron Sainsbury into the net. Both sides made substitutions with James Bryne and Oli Jenkins coming on for Ross Staley and the hard-working Will Christopher for Yate. This added more life into their attack with a James Bryne header being well saved by Clayton. Bishops Cleeve, although having periods of possession, found the well organised Yate defence hard to break through.
It was a defensive lapse that let to Yate Town’s winning goal as 40 yards out Lucas Tomlinson nipped in to gain possession after hesitation in the visitor’s defence and as he drove into the penalty area, with coolness, calmness and precision he slotted the ball past Clayton.
Lucas Tomlinson scores the winner for Yate Town.
In the closing minutes James Taylor set up a glorious chance for Oli Jenkins but he shot wide when well-placed and then Tomlinson shot over when Oli Jenkins set him up. This was a really good advertisement for Southern League football with each side playing their part and, on this performance, both clubs will be hoping for a good season.
Yate Town, having now won their opening three fixtures, now head off to Kidlington for an FA Cup Preliminary Round game on Saturday, as they look to extend their good stat to the season.
Yate Town: Sainsbury, Taylor, Hall, Dempsey, Larvin, James, Christopher (Bryne 64), Guest, Jackson,
Tomlinson (Baker 89), Staley (Jenkins 64).
Unused subs: Stearn, Hillier
Bookings: Taylor (90+3), James (90+6)
Bishops Cleeve: Clayton, Turner (Emery 62), Bower, Turley, Nelmes (New 82), Liddiard, Evans- Harriott
(Stalley 56), Davies, Dunbar, Langworthy, Malshanshyj
Unused subs: Scott, Pearce
Bookings: Nelmes (10) Davies (55), Langworthy (82)
Referee: James Tewson
Attendance: 294
Yate Town Man of the Match: Dan Dempsey
