Southern Yate's Tovey hails young players' role in side's improved displays

YATE Town No.2 Paul Tovey points to the performances of a string of the club's young guns as reasons for optimism as they strive to capitalise on the most positive period yet of their campaign.

- Simon PARKINSON

Whilst Portishead Town's pacesetters prepare for a potentially tasty top two Division One South sizzler at home against Winchester City, Yate entertain second-bottom Bracknell Town tomorrow with weight of a testing spell in higher Premier South competition eased thanks to two away victories over Tiverton Town and Uxbridge sandwiching a useful scoreless stalemate with Weymouth in Dorset.

Following Tuesday night's round of games which didn’t involve them, Yate remain uncomfortably close to the drop zone.

They are, however, starting to pocket far more points at a faster rate, last Saturday's 3-1 win at Uxbridge further evidence of recovery and one they desperately want to build on this weekend at the expense of Bracknell guests displaying only three wins from their 15 appearances thus far.

Yate’s home fixture with Poole Town the previous Saturday had been called off for “sudden and unexpected” personal reasons affecting the camp.

Chairman Mark Thorne announced in last Friday's Post that the team felt “ready to play again)’ while Tovey, pictured inset above , reflected on a subsequent morale-boosting three points in London: “After a difficult week, the game at Uxbridge gave the group a chance to try and get back to some sort of normality and back up our recent improved away performances.

“Uxbridge had only dropped four points from their seven homes home games and they started confidently, although we were the better side in the first half and unlucky to go in at halftime 1-0 down.

“After five minutes of the game we'd been forced to make a change when Omar Taylor-Clarke couldn’t shake off a quad injury he’d picked up in the warm-up; so Matt Britton took his place in central midfield.