Damage in the Box!: YATE TOWN (Lodge Road)

The plan was to finish the year with a cheeky double, but an early pitch inspection resulted in my 11am game at Tividale being called off due to waterlogging. So bang went the double.

Nonetheless I decided to press ahead with what would have been the second game and head down the M5 to South Gloucestershire for the Southern League Division One South & West clash between Yate Town and Bideford, at Lodge Road, and boy did that turn out to be a good call!

Bideford were top of the table at the start of play and having an excellent season thus far, whilst Yate, despite still being in the lower half of table were in good form, having won four of their last five games. They produced an absolute belter of a game.

Yate were quickest out of the blocks and Jordan Greenwood headed them into the lead after 8 minutes. The homesters had much the better of the play but somehow found themselves down at the break when Kevin Squire equalised after 27 minutes and then Sean Downing headed Bideford in front on 40 minutes.

In a real end-to-end second half, Yate levelled the game at 2-2 when Hector Mackie fired home before a goalkeeping blunder allowed Biddy to restore their lead after 65 minutes, Downing claiming his second goal but he knew nothing about it as Josh Dempsey let a cross slip through his grasp. Yate refused to lie down and with ten minutes remaining Robin Nicholls drove home a second equaliser.

That was the end of the scoring and a draw was a fair result. What a great game on which to end 2011.

May I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very happy and healthy new year.