Yetminster came up short against a Team Gryphon side that were desperate to get off the mark in the Blackmore Vale League after a disappointing start to the season. In what was billed beforehand as a potentially huge contest between two sides who had never previously met, the game ebbed and flowed with neither side ever really managing to gain a significant upper hand until TG finally struck the decisive blow just 3 minutes from time.
The build-up to the game hadn't been without controversy after Norton Payne announced his intention to leave the Sharks a fortnight ago in favour of the Gryphons, and duly lined up to make his debut for his new club against the club for whom he impressed last season.
In the absence of Sam Murley, Sam Blatch, Stuart Toft and Matt Turner from last weekend's squad, Ben Jones reverted to a 4-4-2 system with Craig Woolley continuing in goal, Adam Marsh once again slotting into the right-back position from which he excelled in the win against Provost Barbarians Reserves, while James Dowding, Jamie Lukosius and captain Mark Clifton made up the rest of the Sharks' backline. Luke Conway returned on the wing to join Lawrence Hallett, Kade Masters and Nathan Ruscoe in the midfield, while Mark Whitmarsh was joined by Kenny Barter to lead the line. Ben Jones and Jon Newbery resumed their places on the bench from last week.
In a frenetic opening in which both sides struggled to settle, Dom Mason forced the first save of the game, Craig Woolley tipping the diminutive midfielder's effort from range over the crossbar.
TG broke the deadlock soon after when Stuart Wells rose unopposed to head home from a corner after a period of concerted pressure but the visitor's lead would be relatively short-lived and within 7 minutes the hosts were level.
A superbly weighted through-ball from Jamie Lukosius set Mark Whitmarsh free, the rangy Sharks forward getting the better of Ethan Daish as he hauled the striker to the ground leaving referee Andy Dawe no option but to award the penalty.
Up stepped Jamie Lukosius who dispatched his spot-kick low into the bottom-left corner past the flailing Payne who managed to get a hand onto the shot, but failed to keep it out.
The equaliser seemed to shift all the momentum to the home side, and Payne produced an excellent save to deny Kenny Barter's effort from the edge of the penalty area, while Nathan Ruscoe's left-footed strike on the rebound pulled agonisingly wide of the left-hand upright.
Back came the Sharks again and once more Payne was on hand to deny Whitmarsh low at his near post after another excellent carry by the imposing forward.
Lukosius and TG midfielder Joe Boon exchanged long-range efforts that failed to unduly trouble their respective goalkeepers, but in the 37th minute TG fired themselves back in front.
Josh Farrant picked up the loose ball midway into the Yetminster half and his 30 yard effort struck the crossbar with venom before the ball was half-cleared. The pressure kept being applied and when the ball fell to Ashley Guppy the Gryphon #9 turned the ball and looped it into the top right-hand corner of the net past a helpless Woolley.
Woolley could not have done anything about the 2 first half goals conceded by his team, and ensured his side didn't fall further behind on the stroke of half-time, making a fine double-save to deny both Farrant and Guppy.
Yetminster made a disastrous start to the second period though and Woolley's heroics were in vain when Joe Boon carried the ball unchallenged and rifled his low shot from 20 yards into the bottom left-hand corner to open up a 2-goal advantage.
The Sharks had a gilt-edged chance to reduce the deficit on 50 minutes but Kenny Barter couldn't latch onto Jamie Lukosius' whipped free-kick with any real venom and Payne made an easy save.
Luke Conway was left in disbelief after he was clipped inside the box and brought down only to see Andy Dawe dismiss his claims for a penalty.
Few chances materialised for a while as both teams looked to retain possession and impose themselves on the game, Gryphon to control proceedings, the Sharks attempting to forge a route back into the game.
They found it on 65 minutes after a failed TG clearance fell for Kenny Barter on the edge of the penalty area, with the Yetminster striker belting the ball past Payne to halve the Gryphon lead.
With a little under a quarter of an hour to play the Yetminster boss made a double change, goalscorer Barter and winger Nathan Ruscoe being withdrawn with Jones and Jon Newbery coming on as the hosts looked for a late surge that might rescue a deserved point.
The substitute pair were straight into the action and Newbery forced Payne into another save after latching onto a bouncing ball with a strong snapshot.
Arguably the best chance to equalise fell for Jones though. Whitmarsh played the Welshman through down the right channel before the Sharks boss beat a flailing Ethan Daish to go one on one with Payne only to see his low effort narrowly and agonisingly miss the left-hand upright after beating the keeper at full-stretch.
Controversy soon followed though when Mark Whitmarsh was left in a crumpled heap just inside the penalty area by former teammate Payne without the ball only to see Andy Dawe wave play on and again deny the Sharks a potentially crucial penalty.
A final coup-de-grace was waiting though, and TG made the Sharks pay for their lack of clinicality when Josh Farrant killed the game with 3 minutes of normal time remaining to clinch all 3 points for the visitors.
It was a cruel ending to the game for Yetminster, not least for the backline that had defended resolutely yet again, with Adam Marsh turning in a man-of-the-match performance after another hugely impressive outing at right-back. Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow as in a game that see-sawed and saw a huge number of momentum shifts either side could have ended up on top, with a draw probably the fairest result. Football isn't always fair though, and the Sharks will look to bounce back when they travel to Bishops Caundle on Sunday.
