Uxella League leaders Railway Club continue to set the pace in the top division after after reaping another three points from a convincing 4-1 home win over Red Tile. Tile struggled to get into the game in the first half and eventually found some kind of rhythm after the break but by then it was too late as Railway were home and dry after goals from Darren Mower, Barry Hardwell, Lee Hemsley and Bob Abrams. James Hamilton was once again Tile's goalscorer by way of consolation.
Railway have no margin for error though as Woolavington continue to breathe down their necks after they also racked up another victory, this time winning 1-0 away at Flag Old Boys after scoring in the very first minute of the game. There then followed very little goalmouth action to speak of for the bulk of the game until a frantic final fifteen minutes when Flag threw everything but the kitchen sink at Woolavington but were unable to breach their impressive rearguard. The result leaves Woolavington trailing by a single point behind Railway Club but still with a game in hand on the leaders.
Tiger Old Boys were more like their old selves this weekend as they finally found their scoring boots once again and ran out comfortable 6-0 home winners over Ashcott. Their goalscorers were Richard Onslow, Paul Atyeo(2), Darren Chillingworth(2), and Mike Nicholson.
The other Tiger's team, Tiger Reserves, were also victorious as they emerged as 3-2 away winners at Clearwater after a double strike from Leigh Hurford and one from Nick Kierle. The Reserves has actually looked on course for a comfortable winning margin after taking a 3-0 lead just after half-time but in the final half-hour Clearwater mounted a spirited fightback and reduced the deficit to one after a Colin Livingstone strike and a Steve Spencer goal following up on a penalty rebound. Try as they might Clearwater just could not find an equaliser and the three points were gratefully pocketed by the visitors.
In the remaining fixture in Division One second-from-bottom Huntspill Crowns registered something of a shock 3-1 win away to Cross Rifles for whom Carl Jones scored the consolation.
There was a much bigger shock result at the top of the Second Division where much-fancied Maltshovel Sports came unstuck away to much-improved Tor Sports, eventually going down 4-2 to the Glastonbury side. Tor were the better side before the break and went in with a comfortable 2-0 half-time advantage after goals from Phil Johnson and Olly Edwards. However, in the second half Maltshovel enjoyed most of the play but the canny home side were content to soak up pressure and then hit Maltshovel on the break and were duly rewarded for sticking to their game plan with a third goal, again scored by Edwards. As has happened so often before Maltshovel do not give up without a fight and they soon got themselves back within contention with two goals of their own, through Paul Organ and Paul Davis. However, Tor were not going to let this golden opportunity slip away and made the game safe in the final quarter when Edwards capped a superb individual run with a fine effort to seal his hat-trick and put the cat among the pigeons in the Division Two title race.
Maltshovel's slip-up had already made it a good day for leaders Quantock Pride but they ensured that it got even better after they registered a narrow 4-3 home win over a spirited Grasshoppers '04 side. With the strong wind behind them they raced to a 3-1 half-time lead after goals from Nathan Barnard, Paul Bawden and Sean O'Brien. However, the Hoppers came right back at them in the second period and got the scores level at 3-3 after outstanding 16-year-old striker Russ Pigden racked up a fine hat-trick, with his third being a hooked wonder volley into the far top corner while on the run. However, Pride dug in again and showed why they are championship contenders after Barnard scored a second headed effort late in the game to snatch all three points.
It was also a good day for the other team in with a shout of the Second Division title, Puriton United, as they emerged as narrow 2-1 home winners over their bogey side Admirals Landing. They looked reasonably comfortable at the interval with a 1-0 lead after a lobbed goal from prolific striker Will Beggs. Then, in the second half Josh Harvey also lobbed the Admirals keeper to make it 2-0. However, when Admirals introduced Kev Andrews he changed the entire balance of the game as he scored a great individual goal after receiving the ball from a short corner, passing three Puriton defenders and shooting into the net. The remainder of the game then saw the home side hanging on to their narrow lead under considerable pressure from the visitors but they held out to record yet another victory that leaves them still tucked in second place, only two points behind Quantock Pride.
Plucky basement boys Cannington had looked to be on course for a surprise home win over high-flying Countryman as they found themselves leading 3-1 midway through the second half after goals from player-manager Ben Dyer, Steve Addicott and Gordy Addicott. However, their notoriously leaky defence somehow found the self-destruct button once again and they ended up losing 4-3 at the death.
Second-from-bottom Grasshoppers '05 had similarly looked on course for a victory that would have made it two on the trot as they found themselves 2-1 ahead at home to Bridgwater Wanderers with only a few minutes remaining. However, the visitors managed to snatch an equaliser late in the game to make the final result a 2-2 draw but there were definite "green shoots of recovery" signs to be found in '05's performance.
In the remaining game in Division Two Commercial ran out 1-0 home winners over Woolavington Reserves after a Robert Trice strike which leaves them comfortable enough in lower mid-table on nineteen points from eighteen games.
(Story First Published: 26.02.06) |
