Match Preview

Southern League Preview: Melksham Town vs Thatcham Town

The Kingfishers are back on the road this weekend with a testing trip to Melksham Town (Saturday 3:00 kick-off)

Danny Robinson’s squad extended an incredible unbeaten start in the Southern League when beating Bideford A.F.C in a 4-3 thriller last week.

The Blues have now won five domestic clashes with only one draw coming in an away fixture against Moneyfields.

Gaining another crucial three points at the INFiLED Arena would see Town take an early leap to the summit of the table, with Frome out of action until their midweek match against Slimbridge.

Melksham swept aside Highworth Town in a comfortable 3-0 win in their last outing, but the Wiltshire-based team have endured mixed emotions throughout the campaign so far; picking up two wins and losing three.

The hosts have conceded 15 times in six games - the second-highest in the division. But Melksham have also impressed at home with eight of their eleven goals coming at the INFiLED Arena.

Head-to-Head:

Here we take a look back at some of the recent meetings between these two sides:

Melksham Town 1-2 Thatcham Town (Southern League, March 2019)

The last clash at the INFiLED Arena, formerly known as Oakfield Stadium, resulted in a narrow 2-1 win for The Blues

Thatcham took an early lead when Jon Beeden converted a corner with a thumping header in the ninth minute.

Melksham levelled from the spot after the second half commenced but Kyle Tooze found a decisive winner 70 minutes in.

Thatcham Town 0-3 Melksham Town (January, 2019)

Melksham rarely gave a chance away during their comfortable 3-0 victory over The Blues at the beginning of the year.

Luke Ballinger opened the scoring in the first half before two powerful headers from Hobbs and Norris sealed a comfortable win for the travelling side.

Melksham Town 0-1 Thatcham Town (FA Vase, February 2018)

The Kingfishers flew into the semi-finals of the FA Vase after a late Ekow Elliot goal saw Robinson’s squad continue on a path to a double-winning campaign.

Around 2,000 people were in attendance but it took until the 89th minute for Elliot to break the deadlock by brushing aside two defenders and smashing his low strike into the bottom corner.