There were some important fixtures still to clear up from the previous weekend's Somerset FA Sunday Challenge Cup, Second Round. The fixture that had aroused most excitement was the one which pitched two Uxella League sides together in the form of champions Tiger Old Boys against one of their main rivals, Woolavington. A hat-trick for Mike Nicholson, a Rob Fearn penalty and a further goal with his first touch from Welsh-wizard super-sub Lee Huntley proved enough to ensure a well-earned 5-3 home victory for the Tigers while Woolavington will rue the fact that they had not played for four weeks leading up to this crucial tie and looked distinctly 'ring rusty' as a consequence.
Elsewhere, a solitary goal from Lee White was the only consolation for Flag Old Boys in a game where they received a bit of a footballing lesson from a very impressive AFC Legends side, who Kelvin White, Flag's manager, described afterwards as the best side they have faced in the last three years. The visitors eventually ran out 6-1 winners.
The remaining leftover Somerset Cup tie saw Darren Cooper score Commercial's only response in a similarly one-sided encounter which also saw an Uxella League side go down 6-1 at the hands of "foreign" opposition, this time in the form of Bristol-based Cutters Friday FC.
Meanwhile it was league business as usual for many other clubs as they concentrated on their Uxella League affairs.
In Division One Squib Madrid spurned the opportunity to go level on points at the top of the table with Tigers and Railway Club after they were held to a 4-4 draw at Cross Rifles. Two goals from man-of-the-match Phillip Court and other strikes from Jason Stephenson and Adam Kinsey gave the Rifles a priceless point.
Railway Club, on the other hand, did not miss their opportunity to take advantage of Squib's slip-up and the Tiger's absence from the league programme as yet another two goals from the on-fire Bob Abrams, one from Carwyn Jenkins and an own goal gave Railway a comfortable 4-1 away win at Bunch of Grapes which now puts them three points ahead of the Tigers at the top of the table but having played a game more.
Red Tile came back from 2-0 down to win 4-3 at home to Huntspill Crowns and steal all three points after two goals from player-manager Andy Staunton and one-a-piece from Adam Evans and Damon Jennings, whose effort was an absolute screamer. Staunton's second goal won the match with the very last kick of the game.
The remaining game in the top flight, between Tiger Reserves and Ashcott, was abandoned.
In the Second Division a distinctly heated encounter between the two young sides of Maltshovel and Quantock Pride eventually saw runaway leaders Maltshovel pull further clear of the chasing pack after a 3-1 home win. All the goals came in the first half as Steve Davis, Jordan Meaker and Paul Organ gave Maltshovel a comfortable 3-0 lead before Pride scored in the dying minutes of the half.
The clash between Puriton United and Glastonbury Town was the textbook game of two halves that eventually ended up 3-3. Glastonbury enjoyed the better of the first period but Puriton came to life after the break. Dave Baby, Joynal Ali and Ben Cousins struck for visitors Glastonbury but a superb solo effort from Will Beggs, a 40-yard lob from Lee Turner and a well struck shot into the bottom corner from veteran striker Darryl Taylor rescued a point for Puriton who might even have gone on and won it if they had been able to convert more of their many chances late in the game.
An intriguing bottom-of-the-table clash between Cannington and Grasshoppers '04 also ended up honours even in a 2-2 draw but had the Grasshoppers had their shooting boots on it might well have been a different story. Sean Mear opened the scoring for home side Cannington in the first few minutes but the Hoppers soon started to threaten with increasing frequency and were duly rewarded when promising 16-year-old striker Liam Wardle scored for the second week running. Then early in the second half the Hoppers' player-manager Dean Waghorn struck what independent observers later described as a "world class volley" into the top corner from the edge of the box to seemingly put the visitors in the driving seat but they could not add to their lead as the half wore on and Steve Addicott eventually made them pay as he struck an equaliser for Cannington with ten minutes remaining.
Admirals came away from Morganians with all three points after two goals from Stuart Croker and one from Danny Roberts gave them a 3-1 win over the other Grasshoppers side, '05. Veteran stopper Paul Ham bagged Hoppers '05's consolation effort with a powerful header.
Two goals from Anton Bolton and one each from Tom Presley and Steve Harris gave Woolavington Reserves the spoils from their 4-3 home victory over Bridgwater Wanderers, for whom Adam Jenkins, Sam Puddy and Kev Ware, from outside the box, all got on the scoresheet.
Tor Sports raced to a 2-0 half time lead in their away trip to local rivals Countryman and that was how the score remained until the last fifteen minutes when Countryman pulled one back. Then Tor made the game safe with another couple in the last five minutes, the final one being a penalty, to make the final score an impressive 4-1 to the visitors. The Tor scorers were Nathan Truckle, Phil Johnson, John Osman and Paul Pentney.
(Story First Published: 29.11.05) |
