Team: Liam Studley; Will Mullarkey, Jake Baldwin, Jack Hodgins, Terry Griffiths; Tom Kennard, Jamie Fulton, Dave Brown, Abu Khan, Prince Nimoh; Sam Wood

Subs: Harry Loakes, Antonio Ianelli, Callum Shortt, Harvey Matthews, Luke Nugent, Joe Chott, Dan McAteer

FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round was upon us and a long trip to Yate Town for the Dynamos. Not the best preparation with the coach breaking down twice and some road closures meant we didn’t arrive until 2pm at the ground.

With Stapes and Ollie both unavailable, Easty and Dwyer put Wood up front with Abu and Prince on the wings in an attacking line up.
It was a fairly even start with Yate winning an early corner and Prince heading wide from a Baldwin corner. Abu had a great chance as Sam Wood set him up but his shot went wide of the post. Moments later Yate went down the other end and a composed finish saw them take the lead. 1-0 Yate Town.

12 minutes in and Dynamos were back level very quickly. Fulton picked up the ball in the middle and fizzed a ball out wide to Prince. He cut in superbly and hit a low shot into the bottom corner to level the scores. 1-1. Studley was called into action a couple of times soon after but was equal to any shots and also a decent tackle from Hodgins denied them a chance as we went past the quarter hour mark.

Less than half an hour played and both sides were creating chances. Dynamos were the more clinical as they took an unexpected lead against the Step 3 opposition. Abu exchanged passes with Brownie and swung in a ball which beat their defender and landed at the feet of Prince, and he did the rest, curling the ball into the bottom right corner for a superb goal again. 1-2 Dynamos.

Liam Studley was on hand again in the Dynamos goal to make another smart stop, putting his body in the way of a great shot. Yate were having a good spell before the break and Griffiths and Hodgins were battling superbly well at the back. However the pressure finally told and despite another decent save by Studley, the ball rebounded out and their striker slotted the ball home. 2-2.

Halftime: Yate Town 2-2 AVDFC

The second half started with more lively play from both sides. Firstly Prince found space out wide and crossed the ball just over the head of Sam Wood. At the other end Mullarkey was on hand to block a cross as Dynamos defence was stretched out of position. Abu was having a great game on the left flank and he beat his player to supply a cross which was well cleared, Kennard got the ball and saw his shot wide of the mark.

First substitution saw Mullarkey off and Loakes come in his position for a straight swap at right back. Abu then raced clear again but his cross was blocked for a corner. Baldwin swung the ball into the back stick but Yate cleared well. Yate then took the lead again as they broke forward and a nice run into the box allowed them to score past Studley from close range. 3-2 Yate. Antonio Ianelli was then introduced for his debut, replacing Tom Kennard in the middle. Brownie then showed his dogged determination, closing the ball down and forcing an error. Corner to Dynamos. Fulton swung the ball into the mix and Griffiths was there but couldn’t find the target. Sam Wood had a half chance as Brownie fed the ball through the middle but Yate defence was holding firm.

Yate then thought they had scored a fourth as a well worked piece of play saw them in front of goal and their strikers shot beat Studley, hit the far post…across the line and hit the near post and was cleared by Griffiths. Yate’s pressure saw them get a vital 4th goal as they broke forward and a ball over Baldwin’s head saw their winger cross and the ball was neatly tucked away past Studley to make it 4-2 Yate. It looked like game over…but Dynamos were still fighting.

Sam Wood was replaced by Callum Shortt in the final sub for Dynamos with 13 minutes left. Yate were still pushing now and some great defending by Hodgins and Griffiths, throwing their bodies on the line to stop Yate scoring again. With a few minutes left, Hodgins was deployed up front to win the ball. Hodgins did create some late drama in the game as he battled well, won the ball and played a lovely ball out wide to Abu. He danced his way past the defender and hit a lovely cross to the back post where Hodgins had busted a gut to get there and bundled it over the line…well played Hodgins, great ball Abu. 4-3 Yate.

However it wasn’t to be and Yate ran out 4-3 winners but a great battle and well played Dynamos.

Final score Yate Town 4-3 Dynamos