Town exit drop zone

A WIN and a draw from their three games after Christmas saw Yate Town pull clear of the Southern League Premier South division relegation zone.

The victory, 1-0 away at Gosport Borough, completed a league double and enabled the Bluebells to leapfrog their Hampshire hosts, along with Winchester City and Harrow Borough, to put them 15th ahead of the last fixture in January at home to the team immediately above them, Tiverton Town.

Kyle Tooze scored the winner at Gosport early in the second half but it was goalkeeper Martin Horsell who was named man of the match, after saving two penalties - one in the first half to keep the score at 0-0 and the other on the hour, after Yate had gone ahead.

The win followed a 2-2 home draw with Merthyr Town on Boxing Day and a 2-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Dorchester Town on the New Year bank holiday.

Against Merthyr, Yate went a goal down inside 10 minutes before a 25-yard strike from Zak Drew and a header from Toby Raison put them 2-1 up just before the hour mark.

But Merthyr equalised two minutes later and the points were shared, in front of a crowd of 429 fans.

The defeat at Dorchester came courtesy of two first-half goals from the home side.

Yate have continued to strengthen their squad, with Bristol City under-21s striker Brandon Oputeri and prolific Hungerford Town striker Leighton Thomas, who was managed by Bluebells boss John Rendell at Paulton last season, both joining on an initial month's loan.

Experienced midfielder Ross Staley has signed on a dualregistration with Taunton Town, which means he can play for Yate but will go back to Taunton as and when they need him.