The Bluebells' fifth pre-season fixture saw them make the trip to Southern League Division One side Melksham Town. The match was arranged with just over 48 hours' notice, replacing the scheduled home fixture against Bristol Rovers.
Melksham came into the game having recently faced fellow Southern League Premier Division side Chippenham Town and Hellenic League outfit Devizes Town, while Yate were looking to build on encouraging performances against Briton Ferry and Derby County Under-21s.
Despite a bright start, the Bluebells were narrowly beaten 2-1, with experienced striker Chris Zebroski scoring Yate's only goal inside the opening two minutes.
Yate could hardly have wished for a better start. After just two minutes, Trialist A delivered an excellent cross into the six-yard box, where Chris Zebroski was perfectly positioned to guide a header beyond the goalkeeper, wrong-footing him to give the visitors an early lead.
However, Melksham responded almost immediately. In the sixth minute, a defensive error allowed a home player to win possession before firing a superb strike from 20 yards beyond Aaron Sainsbury, who had no chance of making the save.
Following the frantic opening six minutes, the game became increasingly stop-start, with neither side able to establish sustained momentum.
Yate threatened again in the 27th minute when Sam Hendy unleashed a powerful effort from 25 yards. His strike had the Melksham goalkeeper scrambling across goal but drifted narrowly wide of the post.
Aaron Sainsbury was called into action eight minutes later, producing an excellent save to tip a header over the crossbar after a dangerous free kick was delivered into the penalty area.
Melksham completed the turnaround in the 37th minute. A misplaced touch from Nat Williams allowed the home side to regain possession before threading a through ball into the path of their striker, who clinically fired past Sainsbury to put the hosts 2-1 ahead.
Meklsham town 2-1 Yate Town
The second half began with Melksham threatening to extend their advantage. A well-worked one-two released their striker clean through on goal, but Sainsbury stood tall to produce an excellent one-on-one save and keep Yate within touching distance.
From that point on, the Bluebells enjoyed most of the possession and controlled much of the second half. They patiently probed the Melksham defence and searched for an equaliser, but despite their territorial dominance and attacking intent, they were unable to find the breakthrough their second half performance arguably deserved.
Yate will take positives from another pre-season display, despite the narrow defeat, as preparations continue ahead of the new campaign.
You can see the Bluebells next in action on Tuesday night as we welcome Bristol Rovers U18’s with a 19.45 ko.
Yate Town Line Up:
Sainsbury, Trialist A, Morcom, Jenkins, Williams, Hendy, Moody, Monks, Zebroski, Trialist B, Mannings.
Subs:
Trialist C, Guest, Trialist E, Taylor-Clarke, Trialist F, Duffus, Trialist G, Higgins, Trialist D.