| United
became the second victims of Southern League Western
Division giantkillers Yate in the F.A.Trophy,
following fellow Premier side Banbury United out
of the cup in the 2nd round of the competition
on Saturday at Butlin Road.
Steve Campbell finally secured the tie for a well-organised,
focused Yate side on 82 minutes, when he slid
the ball past the advancing Rugby keeper Mike
Payne. Had it not been for a string of heroic
saves from Payne earlier in the game, the margin
would have been much wider in what was a disappointing,
one-dimensional performance from United.
Manager Tony Dobson recalled midfielder Rory Squire
to the side in place of the ineligible Ian King,
and also included long-term injury victims Neil
Melvin, Danny Hall and Andy Rutherford on the
substitutes' bench.
The game had started slowly, with the first serious
shot on goal not coming until the 30th minute
when Yate striker Justin Pritchard got the better
of Adam Hart on the break, only to see his shot
saved by Payne.
With both sides relying on long-ball tactics as
their prime form of attack, the first half lacked
any real quality. Payne's fine pair of acrobatic
saves from close range headers from Pritchard
and Andy Neal on 39 and 44 minutes respectively
represented the most incisive moments of the half,
with a Steve Evans blocked long range shot shortly
before the break providing a rare moment of hope
for the United fans.
The first fifteen minutes of the second half saw
United have their best spell of the match.
On 46 minutes, Tony Court produced a fine save
from Justin Marsden, and a minute later Robbie
Beard's goal-bound effort picked up a deflection
which took the pace off the ball and in turn made
it easy for Court to gather.
Beard forced another Court save on 59 minutes,
and shortly after, in what turned out to be United's
best chance of the match, Marsden dragged the
ball wide of the far post, after having been put
clear by a clever pass from Jamie Williams.
However United were unable to build on this more-encouraging
section of the match, and Payne was called into
action once more with a point blank range save
at the feet of Pritchard, and a well-timed punch
from a dangerous inswinging corner from Campbell.
The United keeper was finally beaten when Pritchard
slotted the ball through to an unmarked Campbell,
who drilled the ball past his left hand, sparking
joyous celebrations from the Yate players and
officials - scenes which were replicated on the
final whistle less then ten minutes later.
Whilst Payne's performance was by far the most
encouraging aspect of the game from a United perspective,
the second half return to first team action after
a fifteen month absence from a sharp-looking Melvin,
and the prospect of a similar return for Hall
in the very near future will hopefully help provide
the much needed impact and invention to the United
cause in coming weeks.
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