Framlingham Town v Great Yarmouth Town. Tuesday 31st October 2023. Report by Martin Baxter.
On a damp Halloween evening the Bloaters visited high flying Framlingham Town in search of coming back to Norfolk with their treat in the form of 3 crucial points.
This was a 4th v 5th place clash with the winner climbing up to third, therefore potentially one of the most important away games of the season for Yarmouth.
The Bloaters included 2 new signings in their match day squad, with the returning Cam Barnes in the starting eleven and Adam Thompson named among the substitutes.
The game started and with the sloping pitch in their favour the home side went on the front foot and were keeping possession really well without creating any early clear opportunities, however Exworth did test keeper Ling with a shot in the 6th minute, which he dealt with comfortably. The visitors responded on 15 minutes when Couzens sent a speculative shot from 20 yards out high over the bar, however what would have been a concern to the Yarmouth coaching staff was how little of the ball their side were actually getting, with the Castlemen enjoying around 80% of the possession and it is clear that they are the best footballing side in the league with their excellent passing and movement.
Their dominance finally paid off in the 22nd minute when Willett connected perfectly with a curling volley from 18 yards out that sailed into the net to give the home side a deserved 1-0 lead on the night, however 7 minutes later Yarmouth responded when Sanders had a header from a corner that was well saved and tipped over for a corner by the Castlemen’s keeper Cummings.
Despite having the lions share of the ball the home side were finding it difficult to break down a well organised Bloaters defence and for the rest of the half keeper Ling was not really called into any further meaningful action, and in fact right on half-time Yarmouth almost pulled level when following a corner Barnes had a header cleared off of the line by a Framlingham defender.
Half-time: Framlingham Town 1 Great Yarmouth Town 0.
The 2nd period started and the visitors made a couple of tactical changes in order to gain more possession on the ball and to take the game to their opponents instead of being on the back foot and in the 48th minute Belmar stretched to connect with a cross which looked goal bound until keeper Cummings made an excellent point blank save and already this looked like it was now going to be a much more evenly contested 2nd half.
In the 55th minute Exworth went though the middle of the park and hit a strike from the edge of the 18 yard box that went just wide of the left hand post, however the away side were now also creating their own half chances as well without getting that one clear opportunity. In the 70th minute Duffield and Spooner were introduced to add some fresh legs into the battle and in the 79th minute a cross into the box from Belmar was headed into his own net by Ross to make it 1-1.
This was now anyone’s game to win going into the final 10 minutes and firstly Belmar found himself clear on the left, however as he rounded the keeper he slightly lost his balance and his effort went just wide and up the other end Yarmouth had Adams to thank for clearing a Willett effort off of the goal line and deep into injury time Adams had a header that just went over the bar and then with the last kick of the game the Castlemen’s Tysoe missed the target with a shot from 10 yards out by a matter of inches, however neither side could get that vital winner and the match finished all square at 1-1.
This was a very important point gained for Yarmouth which may prove crucial come the end of the season.
Full Time: Framlingham Town 1. Great Yarmouth Town 1. Attendance: 99.
GYTFC: Ling, Halliday, Belmar, Barnes, Philpott, Adams, Wilson-Towns, Barber, Couzens, Sanders, Fenn. Subs: French, Cantwell, Thompson, Spooner, Duffield.
Joint Man of the match: Tyler Halliday and Cam Barnes.
