GYTFC v Parson Drove. Wednesday 13th March 2024. Report by Martin Baxter.
On a very mild early spring evening Yarmouth played hosts to Parson Drove who currently sit in a lower mid table position in the league after having a very mixed season of results.
This game was planned originally for a week earlier, but was called off very late owing to fog coming in off of the North sea and covering the entire Wellesley ground and surrounding area.
The Bloaters made only 1 change from Saturday’s dramatic victory over Framlingham with Sanders coming back into the starting eleven.
The match started in a totally different fashion to Saturday’s top of the table clash with Framlingham which was very cagey early on, and this was the opposite with both sides looking to attack each other straight from kick off and the early signs were that we were hopefully going to get plenty of goals to enjoy.
The 1st came in the 12th minute when following a collusion on the edge of the box between Drove striker Perkins and Yarmouth keeper Ling the ball fell kindly to Prentice who made no mistake slotting the ball into an empty net to put the visitors 1-0 up.
5 minutes later 1-0 became 2-0 when following a corner Prentice was left unmarked at the back post and he had a free header putting the ball into the top left hand corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Jack Prentice was a very recent signing from Holbeach United and with his height and physical presence he was certainly making his mark for his new club with 2 very well taken goals.
Yarmouth then rallied and started to create chances of their own despite having to play into a strong head wind and Sanders had a golden opportunity to pull a goal back for his side, however he skied his effort high over the bar from 18 yards out and the chance went begging and this looked like now being a real challenging test for this young side to come back from being 2-0 down.
In the 25th minute Couzens somehow managed to get his shot off when surrounded by Drove defenders on the right hand side of the box and his effort just missed the target and 2 minutes later he went even closer with a close range strike that went less than a foot wide of the goal.
This theme continued for the rest of the first period with the home side creating several more decent chances but not being able to find the net and they almost paid the price in the 37th minute when Bilicz found himself through one on one with Ling, however the young keeper did very well to close him down and make the save which was crucial in the context of this match as at 3-0 down Yarmouth would then have had the proverbial mountain to climb.
Half time: Great Yarmouth Town 0 Parson Drove 2.
The 2nd period started with the home side now having the strong wind blowing in their favour and in the 48th minute a pinpoint Belmar cross from the left flank found the head of Duffield at the back post and the inform winger made no mistake heading the ball home to make it 1-2 and then 2 minutes later Belmar cut in from the left and unleashed a fierce strike that only missed by a whisker and the Wellesley faithful were now getting fully behind their team with roars of encouragement.
Just 5 minutes later they pulled level when a Yarmouth free kick in their own half was sent into the box and somehow took a deflection off of Adams and went into the net to make it 2-2.
It was now all Yarmouth and 2 minutes later Duffiled hit the bar with a pile driver from 25 yards out and it looked only a matter of time before they would turn this match completely around and indeed they did just that in the 57th minute when Sanders struck a superb free kick on the edge of the box which sailed into the top right and corner of the net, giving the keeper no chance of stopping.
This was an incredible comeback by the Bloaters with 3 goals in a 9 minute spell that left their opponents totally stunned and once again this young side delivered when it really mattered.
At 3-2 and with the threat up front that Drove still posed Yarmouth went looking for a 4th goal to give them a 2 goal cushion and in the 63rd minute Couzens flicked a header narrowly wide of the target from close range following a cross from Belmar and Duffiled then tried to lob the ball over the keeper from 15 yards out but his effort went high over the bar.
With another very important match on Saturday in mind Yarmouth then made the changes with Thompson, Fenn, Wilson-Towns Spooner and Melo all coming on in the last 15 minutes and things got a little edgy in the final stages as Parson Drove tried to push for an equalizer, however they were kept at bay and this match ended for the Bloaters with another hard fought and very important win under their belts in this extraordinary season.
Full Time: Great Yarmouth Town 3 Parson Drove 2. Attendance: 107.
GYTFC: Ling, Halliday, Jacobs, Cantwell, Philpott, Adams, Duffiled, Barber, Couzens, Sanders, Belmar. Subs: Thompson, Spooner, Wilson-Towns, Fenn, Melo.
Joint man of the match: Louie Duffield & Mitchell Belmar.
