IT was a case of unlucky 13 for Robbie Lardner on Saturday as Calne's magnificent unbeaten run came to a muddy end on a quagmire at Badgers Hill.

An unstoppable volley from Wiltshire under 18s star Matt Cooper settled this passionate Premier League clash, but not before Calne's leading scorer Glenn Armstrong had missed a second half penalty.

Both sides struggled to retain possession in a sloppy opening of few chances.

The game burst to life just after the half-hour mark when Cooper beat the offside trap and his shot was parried by Chris Astley into the path of Mark Salter, who fired home the loose ball.

Calne's response was immediate when Simon Gray sprinted onto Kevin Banks' through ball and was brought down by Frome goalkeeper Dean Evans.

As Armstrong calmly converted from the spot, the Calne bench berated the referee for not awarding Evans a red card.

A brief spell of pressure from the Lilywhites followed before Frome rallied to retake the lead. Rick Hulbert and Dean Ranger worked an opening for Paul Farrell on the left, and his cross was superbly volleyed home by Cooper.

Simon Gray earned a second penalty of the afternoon after 53 minutes when he was fouled by two Frome defenders. But this time Evans guessed correctly and turned Armstrong's penalty away.

Frome were galvanised by their good fortune and were only denied a third goal when Salter's long range effort held up in the mud on the goalline.

Not even super-sub Lardner could rescue a point for his side as Frome held on for a thrilling win.

A disappointed Lardner said afterwards: "I thought we played some good football and we worked very hard, but we lacked a bit of composure in the final third.

"We were not as clinical as we have been in recent weeks and that cost us in the end against a very good Frome side."