THIS match was played at Melksham’s Oakfield Stadium after a ground share was agreed as United’s Meadow Lane based Platinum Hyundai Park is having the dressing rooms refurbished to meet Southern League requirements.
This was an entertaining match during which the teams played some lovely football, all five goals were top drawer finishes and both sides also hit the bar from long range. The opening ten minutes were cagey but after that there were numerous opportunities at either end.
Ryan Bole and Ralph Graham headed off target for their respective teams then Lewis Porter (in goal due to Jonny Hill being injured) parried Ben Brooks’ shot. United had a long spell of possession which ended with Steve Hulbert heading wide at a corner.
Play flowed from end to end on 27 with Albie Hopkins’ corner being headed over by Lewis Powell then Callum Demkiv shot wide for Westbury. Brooks netted the opening goal for Melksham on 31 with a great finish from just inside the box.
Harvey Flippance’s effort was off target after a fine pass by Ashton Shanley, then only a minute later Hopkins unleashed an unstoppable left footer from 25 yards to double Town’s lead. United’s Jack Biddiscombe tried his luck from long range too; however the ball crashed off the crossbar.
Joe Stradling replaced Aaron Cockerill at half time with Ryan Bole dropping back. This gave Westbury added impetus but Hopkins nearly netted again when his free kick from a wide position bounced and cannoned off the bar.
Demkiv had a shot cleared off the line which led to Ben Starr’s effort on the rebound being blocked. Scott Hendy’s long-range shot was well held by Porter and soon after, with Porter off his line, David Thompson tried his luck from inside his own half and the ball dropped narrowly wide.
Graham netted a superb third for Melksham on 61 with a curling shot into the top corner. United kept playing good football and, after Demkiv had been well tackled when advancing into the box, the next cross from Bole just eluded Stradling and Ricky Hulbert.
Brooks notched his second of the afternoon with a swerving 25-yard strike to make it 0-4 on 75. Westbury got a deserved goal a few minutes later when Stradling hooked an overhead into the top of the net. After this they kept pushing forward and Town keeper Joel Manning-Butler had to be alert to turn away attempts from Demkiv and Starr.
Team: Lewis Porter, Steve Hulbert, Ryan Bole, Dan Ellison, Aaron Cockerill, Jake Hutchings, Emmanuel Adepitan, Ashton Shanley, Harvey Flippance, Callum Demkiv, Jack Biddiscombe.
Subs: Joe Stradling, Ben Starr, Ricky Hulbert (used) Ben Griffiths, Will Thomson (unused).
