Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West

Yate Town 2 North Leigh 3

THE OLDEST saying in the sporting book is that you have to take your chances when they arrive. Yate Town certainly had theirs when they took on North Leigh on Tuesday night but, in a mixture of terribly bad luck and inaccuracy, they failed to maximise those opportunities and, ultimately, went down to a first defeat under the guidance of director of football Nigel Hawkins.

They scored two good goals, the second one of which was worth standing on the Lodge Road terraces in the cold night air as the fog threatened to engulf the floodlight stadium as the match wore deep into the evening.

Yate looked controlled and settled during an opening period which saw them score a single goal as Nuno Felix finished off a lovely move which saw Dale Evans, excellent through the first-half, loop a ball to the far post for striker Jordan Rogers to lay from the byline into the path of midfielder Felix’s powerful foot.

Yate skipper Tom Warren had a header saved by North Leigh goalkeeper Matt Bowman, who was once on the books of Sheffield Wednesday, while full-back Mitch Tippins also had the slightest of chances to score.

But how Yate only went into the break a goal up was beyond those loyal fans watching. Just two minutes from the interval, Jake Jackson turned the ball into the box for Rogers to hit the underside of the crossbar and watch it bounce back out inside of going in.

That would have settled Yate as they looked solid in defence when North Leigh had the rarest of chances to attack yet rattled the visiting defence every time they threw a cross into the six-yard box.

Luck was once more against Town moments into the second-half when Jackson fired a shot from ten yards but again only managed to thunder the crossbar.

But Yate’s inability to finish was to cost them dear. The back four became disjointed and North Leigh centre forward Jamie Cook filled his boots as a result.

Yate had a lucky escape when Cook missed a sitter of a header to level the match but the striker made no mistake when he hammered a penalty into the left corner past home keeper Martin Horsell after colleague Elliott Osbourne-Ricketts had been felled to the left of the Town net.

Cook struck again just after the hour from close range but Yate drew level with a classy turn and strike from 20 yards by Rogers.

Yate had momentum but, with five minutes to go, their balloon was popped as Cook completed his hat-trick with a header from five yards.

Town threw the kitchen sink at North Leigh for the remainder of the match but their chances had gone and they tasted their first defeat under Hawkins’ stewardship.