Yetminster Sports maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought 3-1 victory against a very physical Forton Rangers A team. Sports took the lead in the 4th minute when a right-wing corner flashed across the face of the goal to Tommy Martin who sent in an inch-perfect cross for Isaac Flynn to head home.

Forton’s only threat in the early stages came from speculative long balls which were comfortably dealt with by debutant centre back Martin Russell and 16-year-old Harry Chamberlain who put in a man of the match performance at left back. Yetminster found lots of space down both flanks where Hayden Watts and Isaac Flynn saw a lot of the ball, and only the lack of a final pass prevented the lead from being extended.

In the 19th minute Pete Ellingham won the ball in midfield and threaded a pass through to Isaac who advanced towards the goal before driving a right foot shot in off the upright.

The game became gradually more physical as Forton tried to get back into the game, playmaker Harry Herring coming in for more than his fair share of late tackles. With no further goals and the game becoming quite scrappy, both teams were relieved to hear the half time whistle.

Yetminster lost their shape in the early stages of the second half, and only a diving save from Daniel Clapp and a goal line clearance from Harry Chamberlain prevented Forton from getting on the score sheet. It looked like the game had been made safe in the 68th minute when Ross Walters prodded home after some good work by Tommy Martin. Despite there being no flag from the linesman, the referee disallowed the goal for offside. This proved to be only a short reprieve for Forton as four minutes later Isaac broke away down the right and squared the ball for Ross to make it 3-0.

The game changed again after both sides had used all of their substitutes as Sports seemed to be fading, allowing Forton to dominate. With fifteen minutes to go Forton got a foothold in the game when they scored from a direct free kick, and they should have reduced the arrears even further five minutes later when they were awarded a penalty. However, Dan Clapp dived to his left to push the ball away from goal and Alex Lewis was first to the rebound, thumping the ball away.

Tempers became flared in the final few minutes of the game when Sports did well to ride some crunching tackles and ignore the physical provocation. This was a great performance from a team which is growing in confidence and cohesion as well as developing a great team spirit. Yetminster Sports would like to thank Adam Chamberlain for running the line and the Forton Rangers member who stepped in to referee the game. It is never easy to referee a game featuring your own team especially when it becomes a bit feisty.