Great Yarmouth Town FC v Haverhill Rovers.
Saturday 7th October 2023. Report by Martin Baxter.
On yet another very mild autumn Saturday the Bloaters entertained Haverhill Rovers at the Wellesley.
Rovers like Yarmouth have had a really busy schedule over the last couple of weeks with games coming thick and fast and after being relegated from the Premier division last season they currently sit in 14th position in the league.
The home side started with the same eleven who started in the mid-week win over D&H Rovers.
The Bloaters once again came out of the blocks flying and they took the lead in only the 2nd minute when Sanders firstly chested the ball down and then volleyed home clinically from close range to beat the keeper and make it 1-0 and just 5 minutes later it was 2-0 when Couzens beat the off-side trap to run through the middle and shoot from 10 yards out and the ball sailed into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Then 5 minutes later the visitors pulled a goal back when a defensive lapse allowed Greenslade-Cross to react first to a save from Keeper Ling from a strike by Enaro and slot the ball into the net to make it 3 goals in the opening 10 minutes and this goal seemed to install confidence into the visitors and they started to push forward in numbers looking for an equalizer. They were getting plenty of joy down the right flank and Yarmouth were looking very exposed in this area and were not closing down quickly enough and to counter this they switched Fenn over to the left to try and help stem the flow of attacks.
In the 25th minute Twinn was alleged to have been pushed in the back inside the area and Haverhill were awarded a penalty which Greenslade-Cross converted to make it all level at 2-2 and it was now very much game on. However 3 minutes later Belmar had a flick at goal from the edge of the 6 yard box that missed the target by a couple of inches and this was now an excellent first half of football. However it was Rovers who finished the half the stronger of the 2 sides and they should really have taken the lead just before half-time when Clarke sent a glancing header from a right wing cross narrowly wide of the target and 2 minutes later in first half stoppage time the same player came even closer with a shot that just skimmed the cross bar before going out of play.
Half-Time: Great Yarmouth Town 2 Haverhill Rovers 2.
The 2nd period started and with Belmar complaining of feeling unwell during the interval he was replaced by Spooner and the first opportunity of the 2nd half fell to Fenn who failed to connect with a cross that was in all fairness only a half-chance at very best.
Both sides were now a lot more cautious after a very open 4 goal first 45 minutes and goal scoring chances were now very much at a premium.
On the hour mark Halliday put in a cross from the right which sailed over Rovers keeper Hardy and rattled against the cross-bar before bouncing clear and 5 minutes Sanders met with a cross into the box from the very impressive Spooner to score from 4 yards out and put his side 3-2 up and Yarmouth then made changes as Cantwell and Cork were introduced to try and make their mark for the last 20 minutes or so, as this match was still very much on a knife-edge.
In the 75th minute Sanders came very close to getting his hat-trick but was denied by a point blank save from keeper Hardy and then late on Couzens was replaced by McAra and the substitute should have sealed the match in injury time, but after winning possession on the edge of the box he somehow put his shot from 12 yards wide when he should really have found the target.
Haverhill then had a couple of sniffs at goal deep into injury time , however the Bloaters held on for the 3 points that keeps them in the top 4.
Before the match I had a few words with Aaron Sanders who told me he needed 2 more goals to join Jesse Fenn on double figures for the season, so the competition for top scorer this season is now truly on!
Full Time: Great Yarmouth Town 3 Haverhill Rovers 2.
GYTFC: Ling, Halliday, Duffield, Wison-Towns, Philpott, Adams, Barber, Fenn, Couzens, Sanders, Belmar. Subs: Spooner, Cantwell, French, Cork, McAra.
Man of the match: Aaron Sanders.
