FALMOUTH TOWN 0-1 MELKSHAM TOWN
Falmouth Town turned in an impressive first 45 minutes in this game against promotion play-off hopefuls Melksham Town, but ultimately could not deliver a result, as they fell victim to the dreaded late goal once more, from a 90th minute Melksham free kick. With captain Tom Annear starting from the bench, Tom Fisher was given his first start since sustaining an injury early on in the season. He took his place in his preferred central midfield role which allowed Andreas Calleja-Stayne to deputise for Annear, not only at centre-back but also as Captain for the day.
Falmouth started very strongly and maintained their dominance for the majority of the first half, with Melksham looking to shake off the effects of their early morning travel . Falmouth putting together a number of promising moves and forcing free-kicks and corners without necessarily threatening the Melksham goal. Luke Barner had an opportunity with a far post effort on 9 minutes and after 23 minutes, after a good period of pressure, with Cam Hutchison at the fore, troubling the Melksham defenders from the off as he ran at them and forced them to back off, the ball broke to Barner in the 6-yard box who forced a great one-handed save from young Melksham keeper Lucas Myers.
However, the best chance of the game came on the 30 minute mark. A speculative forward ball forced an error in the centre of Melksham’s defence which let in Luke Barner. Racing towards the goal, having outpaced the chasing defenders, he bore down on Myers from a central position. Myers stood up well and Barner went with a lofted shot which comfortably cleared the crossbar and Melksham had survived.
Falmouth Keeper Morgan Coxhead survived a scare of his own soon after as he was adjudged to have handled the ball outside of the area as he tried to deal with a long ball over the top. With the Melksham bench baying for blood, having maintained a high level of noise throughout the half, with neither the ref, the linesman or even the Falmouth fans being spared, Coxhead received a booking only and the resulting free-kick was dealt with. Falmouth remained marginally on top as half-time was reached but it finished at 0-0.
The 2nd half was a slightly different story to the first. Similar to what happened at Westbury on the previous Saturday, Falmouth could not maintain their dominance after the break, and Melksham slowly started to take charge. Coxhead, who had been kept busy in the first half but not been overly troubled, was involved more and more, and in an accomplished performance, he was equal to everything Melksham could throw at him. The pick of the bunch for Melksham was No:10 Henry Sady, whose pace and trickery, proved difficult to deal with all game. Melksham were starting to win corners and free kicks around Falmouth’s penalty area and it was from one such kick that they had the ball in the back of the net 19 minutes into the half, only to see their headed effort ruled out for offside, much to the relief of most of the healthy crowd of 408. Another Melksham break after 30 minutes forced a great save from Morgan as he dived low to his left to keep out a powerful goal-bound shot. Falmouth were now hanging on for what would have been a creditable draw, but the last five minutes were all Melksham with further free kicks and corners having to be dealt with. Right on 90 minutes, possession was lost on the edge of the box which forced a foul to be conceded. The resulting free kick from Jake Andrews was hit powerfully into the top-right corner of Coxhead’s goal. Despite Coxhead getting a hand to it, the ball found its way into the net and Falmouth were one down. Falmouth laid siege to Melksham’s goal for the majority of stoppage time but could not force any further chances, and the visitors saw the game out for a win which, given Falmouth’s dominance in the first half was not fully deserved. A draw being the fairer result. Man of the match for Falmouth was Tom Fisher, who belied his lengthy injury lay-off with an assured performance in central midfield. His presence will be a timely boost to the squad as they negotiate this busy end to the season.
Looking ahead, it will now be important for Falmouth to take their chances as always but also to find a way to reach the levels of their first half performances when tiredness hits late into the game. They have a chance on Tuesday to put things right when they entertain Westbury United, as they look to avenge their recent 2-1 defeat. With other teams picking up points around them it will be important for them to take something from this game to help ensure another season in this league next year, after the great news on Saturday that they had passed the ground grading inspection. Well done to the loyal team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly through the Winter to make this happen.
GOALS:
Melksham Town: Jake Andrews 90′
Att:408
Falmouth Town: Morgan Coxhead, Bradley Leivers, Harrison Jewell, Fred Walter, Cam Hutchison, Luke Barner, Luke Brabyn. Andreas Calleja-Stayne©, Tom Fisher, Jared Sims, Rubin Wilson. Subs: Leeyan Gallas, Evan Tresidder, Ned Symons, Ryan Townson, Tom Annear.
Melksham Town: Lucas Myers, Jake Wilson, Dave Thompson, Jake Andrews, AlexHallett, Mark Cooper, Ralph Graham, Sam Hendy©, Elliott Haffenden, Henry Sady, Theo Linden. Subs: Luke Ballinger, Louis Millard, Jack Carter, David Regula, Ashton Arlow.
Referee: Ryan Cornelius.