Uplyme 1sts 2, Shepton Reserves 2

UPYLME 1sts remain unbeaten at home in Perry Street Division One, but it really should have been so much better than a draw.

Uplyme went behind in the first five minutes when young keeper Mikey Sayers raced out to smother an excellent through ball, only for it to bounce off him straight to the Shepton striker who finished well through a crowd of players.

That was the only attack Shepton had all half as Uplyme set about looking for an equaliser. Chance after chance went begging, with shots saved or wide and Alex Jones and Ben Prosser both striking the crossbar.

The second half was more of the same with Uplyme finding the Shepton keeper either in great form or their finishing wasteful for the second game running.

Golden chances fell for Oscar Sladen -   but it just wasn't his day. Manager Steve Gillan decided to push Daley Holmes up later into the game and the effect was immediate. From some brilliant interplay from the back, the ball reached Jones who threaded a cross field pass brilliantly onto the diagonal run of Holmes. He rounded the advancing keeper and dealt with a bobbling ball by cooly slotting home with the outside of the boot from the edge of the area.

Queue wild celebrations and, with 10 minutes remaining, it looked like all momentum was with Uplyme. However, Shepton - with their second and last attack - scored a wonder goal from 30 yards and thought they'd won it.

Even though Uplyme weren't at their best, with a midfield not quite as sharp as other weeks, the belief in how they play remained. With a minute to go, Sladen latched onto a 10-pass move, only to be bundled over in the box. Up stepped Wes Holmes to thunder in the spot kick and get Uplyme back on level terms.

In the last seconds, it could have been won but for another vital save from the keeper.

"How did you not score 10?" asked the Shepton manager. The ref reported it was one of the best team goals he's seen this season and that he counted 30 chances for Uplyme.

Manager Steve Gillan commented: "Clearly, taking some of these chances is our focus for the weeks ahead. Ben Prosser played very well as centre back, but man-of-the0match goes to Daley Holmes who, when focusing his energy into positivity, played a pivotal role throughout the match and is another talented, young player at Uplyme. The development continues."

Fairway United 2nds 0, Uplyme 2nds 6

Facing the Perry Street league Division Three bottom side,  Uplyme 2nds were looking to kick-start our season and get the win. from the first move of the match The Swallows second string scored, Connor Tate tapping in at the far post within the first two minutes.

The game then got a bit scrappy for a while with Uplyme not capitalising on their possession.

A rare Farway attack resulted in a great save from Rhys Hulbert. A slight reshuffle brought Ethan Matthews into midfield and this paid dividends when he added a second from a low drive into the corner. The half continued with a flurry of missed chances, the crossbar was rattled and Ollie Alner almost bagged a 'worldie'.

Second half was a mixture of goals and glaring misses. Matthews finished well to get his second before Marcus Symonds,  Alner and Guy Bryant rounded off the the 6-0 victory - but it could have been double that score.

Manager Pete Blandamer commented: "Probably not the best we've played this season but all-in-all a good performance that should give us a bit more confidence. The addition of George Symonds to the back four this week gave us that extra bit of confidence. Special mentions for Matthews and Hulbert for his clean sheet. For me the man-of-the-match was Ollie Alner for his phenomenal work rate.

Uplyme 1sts remain in second spot in Perry Street Division Two. Their next league game is away to Winsham United on October 31st. The Reserves' first victory sees them jump a couple of places in Perry Street Division Three. On Saturday (October 24th) they are at home to Kingsbury Episcopi.