FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

Wiseman’s Lighting Cup

21 January 2025

Such is the construction of Pershore Town’s Community Stadium home, it is possible to watch their home games for nothing. Given their early season form, it could be argued that it was still too much to pay. Things have improved on the field and results have also improved dramatically over recent months. For those of us who would rather avoid reliving that 1980s experience of watching a game through a fence, you can pay £7 and also benefit from the bar, catering and toilets – none of which are available anywhere else in this pleasant historic town. FTS chose the paying option, like many others making up a good travelling contingent.

After parking the car behind the goal the first thing that struck me was the standard of the playing surface. I’ve played snooker on tables bumpier than the Pershore pitch. The grass was cut very short on a large and level surface which may be the best surface we have seen this season. This allowed a pacy game with lots of quality periods of possession and, at times, some slick passages of play from both sides.

It was the hosts who struck first and took the lead with barely a minute played. A powerful strike from the edge of the box looked to take a deflection off one of the Spa defenders, wrong footing Dom Rogerson and leaving him with no chance. The Saltmen initially looked a bit hesitant but soon started probing the Plums defence. Hurdmans, Sam and Josh looked dangerous and Perry Moss made life increasingly difficult for their opponents. This paid off in the 12th minute when Josh cut inside from wide on the right, drew the Town keeper to the front post before squaring for Perry to slide in at the far post and guide the ball home.

Pershore remained a constant threat. A host of chances came and went due to a combination of strong defending and some profligate finishing. Spa remained competitive but the weight of pressure from the hosts eventually told. On 30 minutes a strong goalbound shot was parried away by Spa keeper Dom Rogerson, returning from injury. The ball fell kindly for Town and they recovered the lead with a straightforward finish. A few moments later, 2-1 became 3-1 from a smart finish inside the box and that’s how the score line remained until half time.

The second half saw the usual refereeing inconsistencies appear. A late challenge from a Spa player correctly drew a booking yet moments later and a similar challenge drew nothing more than a free kick.

Spa conceded a free kick from a perfectly legitimate shoulder charge. Our referee forgot that shoulder to shoulder contact is not outlawed in football. The free kick led to Town’s fourth goal.

Spa hit back almost instantly. A mix up in the home defence resulted in the loose ball being lashed home by Perry Moss and the 4-2 score remained unchanged until the end.

The result reflected the difference in ranking of the two teams but it was entertaining and there was plenty of good football on show from both sides. Spa did not look out of place and having already repeated their annual slaying of a Step 5 team (Ashby) will lose very little sleep over their exit from this competition.

Weather permitting, the Saltmen return to the serious business of Hellenic League football at Ludlow on Saturday where the squad will be joined by new signing Ben Tilbury who rejoins Spa from….erm…Pershore Town. While we may have have been knocked out of the cup, like Little Jack Horner, we still managed to pull out a plum!

Good luck to Pershore. It would be good to see them win the trophy.

See you at Ludlow!

Cheers

Steve