PAULTON ROVERS 2 v 1 FROME TOWN

Paulton Rovers simultaneously gave their Southern League Premier survival hopes a shot in the arm and dented those of rivals Frome Town with a gritty, come-from-behind derby victory.

See the goals HERE

At half-time they were trailing to a goal from Jon Davies, who spent the first period playing tormentor-in-chief on his return to Winterfield Road.

Frome continued to boss the game after the restart, but Rovers hauled themselves level when Aaron Brown curled a delicate free-kick into the bottom corner.

Another set-piece put them in front, as Josh Ford bundled a free-kick over the line to secure a valuable three points and a huge morale boost in their continued battle against the drop.

In the early stages of the game both teams spent their time probing for an opening.

It was not until the nine-minute mark that either took a crack at goal, with Davies firing over from 30 yards.

On another foray, Frome earned a corner which would fall kindly for Steve Hulbert, whose shot was blocked.

From there Rovers immediately broke down the left flank with Jake Mawford and whipped in a low cross-shot that narrowly beat the far post and the lurking Leon Jeanne.

The former QPR winger looked the most vibrant attacking outlet at Paulton's disposal.

He also charged down the left-hand side and whipped over a dangerous cross that was narrowly intercepted with Sol Wheatley waiting at the far post.

Frome earned a free-kick at the other end when Davies was upended by Josh Ford – who narrowly avoided a booking for voicing his displeasure to the referee.

Kris Miller's resulting set-piece somehow found a way through the Paulton wall and skidded into the hands of Ben John, though only after taking two grabs at the ball.

Darren Jefferies showed his prowess on the ball with a handful of darting breaks at defenders.

On 23 minutes he beat two men on the right and cut back for Davies to fire into a closing defender.

But another of Jefferies' jinking charges led to the opening goal. He picked up on a loose ball, ran through the centre and split the defence with a perfect pass, setting Davies in to casually beat John.

For the most part the hosts struggled to find any way past the Frome defence.

Jeanne set up Wheatley for an effort that was blocked, and it would be the last true opportunity Rovers created before the interval.

Rather it was Frome, led by the mercurial Davies, that looked the more likely to extend their advantage.

The wideman saw one strike – set-up by a well-worked move involving Miller and Jordan Walker – deflected agonisingly wide, with another hit straight at John from 25-yards.

Miller also scuffed an effort that beat the post and Jefferies could only find a Paulton body following a half-cleared cross, but it remained just 1-0 at the interval.

That pattern continued into the second stanza as Frome looked to turn the screw.

They had what appeared a strong penalty shout shortly after the restart when Rob Hobbs was felled in the box, although the referee deemed the challenge on him fair.

The Robins also saw other efforts repelled, and it was something of a surprise when Paulton did find themselves level.

Wheatley drew a foul in a dangerous position, 20 yards out and just to the right of centre, that was beautifully converted by Brown.

Davies almost set up Jefferies with a looping cross that was intercepted in the nick of time before Paulton had their own spell of pressure – and that came to a head with the goal that got them the points.

Sam Teale gave away a free-kick for fouling Steve Williams at the byline on the right.

The dead ball was clipped into the far post and poorly cleared, dropping kindly for Ford to loop a shot into the top corner.

Dangerman Davies was flashed a yellow card for diving in a bid to win a penalty, while Frome were also adamant that Brown had handled in the box minutes later.

John was called into action with a superb double save, pushing away Ricky Hulbert's overhead kick and the rebound effort from Mitchell Page.

The Paulton stopper had to keep his wits about him when Teale lobbed in a cross that narrowly evaded Ricky Hulbert's head and bounced through to his hands.

The hosts could have gone further ahead had Mateus been able to make clean contact on a cut-back from Mawford, but it proved no waste when the final whistle blew.

The match was sponsored by Buildbase Builders Merchants, Westfield Industrial Estate

Frome man of the match Jon Davies
Paulton man of the match Ben John