Bartlett: Weston AFC showed 'good spirit and heart' to beat Yate Town

The Seagulls battled back to pick up their second successive Southern Premier South win, with both Dayle Grubb and Reuben Reid cancelling out Olly Mehew and Barnaby Soady goals.

And just as the game looked to be heading for a draw up stepped Grubb to score his second, and third of the season, with a penalty in the last minute to maintain Weston’s unbeaten start to the season.

The win lifts Weston up to second in the table with seven points from three games and Bartlett drew comparisons from Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Gosport Borough whilst hailing the character shown to get over the line against the Bluebells.

Dayle Grubb's last minute penalty against Yate Town was his third of the season. (Image: Ade Threaser/WsMAFC)

“It was obviously a big win, everyone is a big win and they come in various forms,” he told Weston Mercury Sport.

“I thought Saturday was excellent, we really played some good stuff, we won really comfortably and tonight we were made to work right up to the 94th minute or whatever it was.

“But we have got some good character in the group and we are finding different ways to win different types of games.”

The victory over Yate stretches Weston’s impressive unbeaten run to 15 games at The Optima Stadium since their 3-1 defeat against Salisbury last October.

And Bartlett says his side have shown elements of “amazing play” in the early stages of the campaign but believes they have lots more to improve.

"When I look back at the game, tonight or tomorrow, there is loads to dissect and loads to work on,” he added.

“Lots of the lads in there are obviously happy but frustrated as well maybe by their own performance or elements of it certainly.

“So, loads to work on but in the last 36 league games we have only lost once at home and that was last October against Salisbury.

“If you go on a run like that you are going to have games where you are not at your best. I don’t think we were really. But there will be some managers talking like we are now tonight and they will be saying the same thing about their teams.

“We have got to be mindful it’s early on in the season, we have shown elements of amazing play and lots of bits we need to work on.

“And teams like Yate who came with a very clear and difficult game plan it almost worked for them. We stuck to our plan which I felt for 10 minutes or so we just came away from and that is the big thing for me.

“The more you stick to it, the harder you work, the luckier you get. In the end we had enough entries in and around their box to get something.

"They had loads of corners. We were either going to nick a goal, or get a ricochet, a penalty or a free-kick on the edge of their box.

“When you have that amount of pressure that happens but Yate were very good at soaking that pressure up to a certain degree and playing on a counter attack which made us have to be really careful with all the spaces behind us.

"So, technical and tactical stuff aside, we showed good spirit, heart and I am really pleased with the lads.”