Sholing surrendered a 2-0 half time lead to be beaten 4-2 by league leaders Yate in a cruel encounter for Dave Fear’s side at the Silverlake Arena.

Team News: Dave Fear, who was solely in charge in the dugout as Mick Marsh was away at a family event, made 5 changes to the side that started in the midweek 3-0 loss to Wimbourne, Byron Mason was ruled out with a groin injury, brother Dan dropped onto the bench in favour of Nick Watts, who was the Ultras man of the match after a heroic effort from the bench. Alex Baldacchino and Jack Smith were still out with both expected to return soon and Lewis Fennemore passed an on the day fitness test to start. Barry Mason was captain in his brothers’ absence.

The game started out open with the teams really getting a feel for the game in the opening 10 minutes, Yate favoured a more possession style of football, and they would knock the ball about the back four before looking more up field, but they nearly fell victim of this tactic as the Boatmen looked to pressure the defenders on the ball and Braiden Hamilton was bought down after robbing one of the players on the ball. From the resulting free-kick Alex Sawyer hit the ball into the wall, but when the ball was put back in Stuart Mott headed down for Braiden Hamilton to tap home giving the Boatmen the lead.

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And just 4 minutes later the lead was doubled, midweek man of the match Nick Watts was released up the right wing into acres of space, the pacey number 11 then held the ball up waiting for support before cutting in and going it alone. But his effort was turned in by Mitch Tippins who had placed the ball into his own net to further his team’s deficit. Although Nick Watts deserved to be credited with some part of the goal after it was his brilliant run that made the opportunity.

From that point Sholing settled down into a more relaxed style of football and began to frustrate the league leaders, who were thrashing hapless strikes and crosses wide and high of where they needed to be, but Sholing had the best chance to score the next goal from a corner. Barry Mason put in a teasing ball and when it was headed out by a yellow shirt, Dan Miller hooked an acrobatic effort wide of the post. It wasn’t until the 31st minute that Sholing goalkeeper Matt Brown was called into action. A Yate corner was headed clear by tall Dan Miller before Dale Evans hammered the ball back towards goal, but the powerful attempt was straight at Brown who made the catch look simple.

Before that there was concern from the Sholing bench as Lewis Fennemore, who past a fitness test on Saturday morning, went down with the same back injury he picked up against Wimbourne in midweek and was subsequently unable to continue and was replaced by Kev Brewster.

Matt Brown was called into action again before the break as he was sent sprawling by a curling effort by Lewis Haldane which flew past the far post, and Brown brilliantly claimed a Yate corner short after. HT 2-0

After the break Yate started the brightest, getting the better of the early opportunities, and after Jordan Ricketts had a long range attempt blocked, he then felt he should have had a penalty after being left on the floor by Stuart Mott, although the fall looked dramatic. After another penalty appeal was turned away, out of nothing, Jake Jackson struck the crossbar with a speculative lobbed effort which left Matt Brown stranded. A few second later he was able to stretch to tip over another lobbed effort. The resulting corner was easily cleared.

Yate had restarted well but the Boatmen were not kept completely quiet, Nick Watts again slipped in brilliantly from the right hand side, but his low cross was behind Braiden Hamilton, who was the closest man in the area, but Yate could only half clear and it took bodies to be thrown in front of the resulting long range strikes to stop them. Then there was another chance for Sholing to bury the game but Marvin McLean couldn’t find either side of the goalkeeper in the 1 on 1 situation.

And Sholing were made to rue missed opportunities as Lewis Haldane managed to stub home after a goalmouth scramble following a corner in which Matt Brown had stopped the original effort. But less than 10 minutes later the same player missed an unbelievable opportunity to equalise. Mitch Tippins tried to make amends for his earlier own goal, and he saw his dazzling curled effort hit the post, and fall to goal scorer Lewis Haldane, who had the goalmouth at his peril, but somehow he managed to sky his poke over.

But Haldane made up for wasting the chance, by neatly squeezing in Yate’s equaliser into the bottom right hand corner past a full stretch Matt Brown after turning into a pocket of space to put the league leaders on top entering the last 20 minutes.

Barry Mason had an otherwise quiet game, but managed to graze the bar with an off balance attempt to send a warning to Yate that Sholing were not out of the game yet. But Yate’s pressure continued and with 8 minutes remaining in the game, Lewis Haldane completed his hat-trick with a cheeky back-heeled goal after Mitch Tippins’ pass somehow managed to find its way to the big number 10.

But the game was still not up and Sholing saw another glorious chance kept out as Nick Watts went 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper only for the Yate captain to come out on top for a second time in the game. And Martin Horsell was called into action again late on to produce a stunning reaction save to keep out Stuart Mott’s header following sub Brewster’s free-kick, unfortunately for Sholing the following corner came to nothing with time quickly running out.

And just a minute later the game was settled, with the best strike of the lot, Nuno Felix had just come on 5 minutes earlier, but he found enough space just outside Matt Brown’s area to unleash a fierce rocket which left Matt Brown with no hope of reaching to complete was a disappointing day for Sholing. FT 2-4

After the game Dave Fear said “I don’t think any side in the league would have lived with us [in the first 50 minutes] and we have players coming back from injuries now.”  On Mondays derby with Totton “I think you’ll find a different side Monday, the boys have something to prove, Monday will be a different story [to today]”

Report by Ollie Maskell 

Photos by Ray Routledge (Click a Thumbnail to Enlarge)

• Kevin Harnett Kevin Harnett
• Braiden Hamilton puts Sholing 1-0 up Braiden Hamilton puts Sholing 1-0 up
• Congratulations Congratulations
• Wattsie & Marv Wattsie & Marv
• Eyes on the ball Eyes on the ball
• Matt Brown gathers Matt Brown gathers
• Shoulder to Shoulder, ref! Shoulder to Shoulder, ref!
• Dan Miller Dan Miller
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