Honours finished even in this local derby at Fairfax Park last Saturday as Bridgwater and promoted Frome locked horns for the first time in league action at Southern League level.
Bridgwater were missing the injured Chris Young and Ben Kirk but welcomed back Marcus Duharty up front with Matt Beadle and Andy Robertson returning to the midfield.
Frome started brightly and Sam Hutchins had to be alert when cutting out early crosses from Peters and the dangerous Ballinger.Town however were soon on the attack as Natt Pepperell and Marcus Duharty exchanged passes and Pepperell brought the best out of Jones in the Frome goal with a shot that the keeper managed to scramble away.Pepperell retrieved the loose ball and crossed to Mercieca and this time Jones saved at the expense of a corner.
On six minutes Town went ahead.Mercieca pursued a poor back header from Peters to the by-line,cut back inside and set up Duharty for a cool finish.
Frome came straight back at Town and won a free-kick just outside the area but Lapham's shot was straight at Hutchins.
Ballinger was to prove a thorn in Bridgwater's side all afternoon and in the nineteenth minute he put Frome back on terms when he beat three defenders before unleashing a shot from twenty yards which Hutchins could only get his finger tips to and the ball dropped into the back of the net.
Frome were now on top and Bridgwater were unable to trouble the Frome defence.Salter,Lapham and Ballinger set up Minnis for a shot but the ever reliable Jamie Laird got in a tremendous tackle to thwart the effort.
It came as no real surprise when Frome Town took the lead on twenty eight minutes. Price was adjudged to have fouled Thompson on the edge of the box and from the resulting free kick taken by Lapham,the ball found it's way into the bottom corner past Hutchins who might have expected better from the "wall" erected to defend that side of the goal.
In a rare Bridgwater attack Pepperell headed over a Mercieca cross from the left but Laird again came to Bridgwater's rescue in the thirty third minute when he superbly tackled Ballinger just as the lively forward was about to put Frome further ahead.
The assistant referee's flag then came to Towns rescue four minutes later as Frome thought they had scored their third but their jubilation was short lived as the flag had been raised for off-side.
With half time approaching Bridgwater finally started to get their game together but failed to create a clear cut opening and the whistle came with Frome deservedly ahead.
The half-time team talk seemed to have the desired effect as Bridgwater emerged from the break a transformed team.They took the game to Frome from the whistle and Jones was soon in action saving from Duharty.
Town's passes were now starting to find their man and Pepperell down the right and Mercieca down the left were keeping both full backs occupied.Price and Laird were joining in the attack at every opportunity and, although closely marked, Duharty was still causing the Frome defence problems as he worked tirelessly to try and create an opening.
Beadle and Orchard were getting forward and joining in attacks and it was Beadle who let fly a thirty yard pile driver which just flew past the post with Jones well beaten.
Frome still looked dangerous on the break and Hutchins was forced to turn a Thompson effort round the post and then Ballinger broke free of the defence but shot high and wide.
In the fifty ninth minute Town won a free kick and Villis had his header deflected over for a corner from which Town scored a deserved equaliser as Pepperell headed home at the far post.
Town were now well on top and went in search of the lead but Frome were still dangerous and Hutchins was again in action saving at the feet of Thompson as he beat the off-side trap.
Fromes Iain Carr then hit the post with a header from a corner but back came Bridgwater as Duharty wriggled free of his marker only to see his shot go wide.
There was plenty of goal mouth action and most of it was at the Frome end as Bridgwater waged attack after attack but somehow they failed to create a clear cut opening until the very last minute when substitute Brett Trowbridge should have won the game for Bridgwater but he blazed over from six yards after being brilliantly set up by Pepperell.A worrying sight though was that of Marcus Duharty hobbling off after being injured in a goal mouth scramble.
Referee Richard Taylor from Weymouth, who had a fine game, blew the final whistle seconds later.
A draw was just about the right result from a thoroughly entertaining game in which Frome definitely had the upper hand in the first half but Bridgwater held sway in the second. One wonders what the result would have been if only Bridgwater had played with the same passion and verve in the first forty five as they did in the second?
The crowd of 341 will have gone home pondering the answer to that question.