Match Report
Westbury United v Willand Rovers
Rovers made the journey up towards North Somerset for a game against a Wiltshire opposition as Westbury United temporarily called Frome Town’s Badgers Hill home for the time being as another vital fixture for both sides was on the calendar on Saturday.
Going into the game both sides had played a midweek fixture with the hosts winning at Cinderford whilst Willand etched a late draw against Yate Town.
A win for Westbury would see them become more comfortable towards the playoff zone whilst Rovers needed to climb away from the perilous drop which had been lingering the last couple of weeks
Only one change was made before the game with the injured Bailey Kempster missing out on this fixture with youngster James Watts-Barciela being called upon for his starting debut for the Rovers.
The game got underway with a bit of battling for the ball as possession would remain an important factor in trying to fight in this fixture on neutral soil as both sides went in being the away side.
James Watts-Barciela’s call-up to the starting XI was a big sign of things to come with the loanee having the first big chance of the game as he approached the box from the right-hand side in which he could have repeated his goal from Tuesday but the angle just didn’t sharpen enough to roll past Brown as it went past the post.
Rovers continued to knock on the door with Brandon Bak aiming to get himself his second of his spell at the club but just as he wanted to get a shot at goal, the linesmen raised for offside. Ryan Guppy was up next to have a crack at goal which he sent well but just lacked the angle on it to nestle into the goal.
Westbury had a little bit of a series of opportunities of their own for around 5 minutes as rovers felt under pressure from the white horsemen’s attacking presence, a solid effort to deny them any of their advances.
The final stages of the first half were very quiet and with nothing to split either side, the break was well welcomed for both sides to regroup and think of the solution to goals.
With the second half up and going the hosts started strong getting a few shots off in the first 5 of the half, but that would be soon capitalised on as the hosts went up 1-0 from a free kick from Charlie Wooding which was driven low to the keeper’s side as Burton couldn’t quite get enough on the ball to keep it out.
Westbury had another free kick around the 65th minute as a cross came into the box which was cleared away by the Rovers backline and Westbury got the ball back to try to recycle the chance but was unsuccessful.
Chance after chance for the hosts and no more than one went for them, a then promising position for Willand as a River Allen free-kick found the head of Ross Edwards whose header was not quite powerful enough and a goal line scramble was not enough for the ball to go over the line.
Harvey Dorothy eagerly looked to try and whittle a chance out for rovers and with a heavy volley flying towards the top right it just didn’t land on time and went over and out for a goal kick.
A last-ditch corner saw George Burton up inside the opposition box and as River Allen went up for the header a foul was called on the Westbury goalkeeper.
Full-time in Frome and a disappointing but narrow defeat signalling the end of 3 away fixtures in a row seeing rovers travel all over the south, it’ll be back to the training ground on Tuesday with Bishops Cleeve making the journey to The Stan Robinson Stadium on Saturday.
