Uxella League leaders Railway Club came away from their trip to Squib Madrid with a narrow 3-2 victory after a very hard-fought encounter. Two goals from Barry Hardwell and one from new signing Jason Irish clinched another three points which keeps Railway at the top of the pile but still only by a point over Woolavington who remain hard on their heels.
Woolavington kept up the pressure on Railway after registering a 5-0 home win over bottom-of-the-table Bunch of Grapes but Bunch laboured tirelessly and really made Woolavington work hard for the points. However, two goals each from Ian Bellinger and Matt Blackmore and one from Marcus Butler was enough to give Woolavington their fifteenth victory from sixteen league games this season and they still have an all-important game-in-hand on leaders Railway Club.
Tiger Old Boys move up to third in the table and with two games in hand on Railway Club but with a points tally some distance behind the top two. Nevertheless they appear to have regained confidence in recent weeks and secured another three points on this occasion from a 4-2 away win over Clearwater after a hat-trick from Richard Onslow and one from Paul Atyeo. For their part, Clearwater fielded an interesting debutant for the season in 50-year-old Derek Mullins who played with distinction at the back while at the other end of the pitch it was his son Sam Mullins who scored both of Clearwater's goals.
The other Tigers outfit, Tiger Reserves, were also victorious as they beat Cross Rifles 4-1 after a quick-fire ten-minute hat-trick from Matt Washer. Gavin Richards was the Rifles' man-of-the-match with a gutsy defensive display in the face of considerable Tigers pressure while his team-mate Phillip Court also distinguished himself with an absolute screamer of a consolation goal from outside the box.
In a fairly one-sided encounter Flag Old Boys cruised to a 2-0 win away to Blake Old Boys after goals from Lee White and Jamie Stewart. The scoreline could well have been greater had it not been for an outstanding display from the Blake goalkeeper who made a series of excellent double saves.
Without a doubt the Uxella League's shock result of the season came about today at Cannington where the home side, who have occupied the bottom-of-the-league slot since the start of the 2005-06 campaign entertained Division Two leaders Quantock Pride and proceeded to beat them 3-2 after goals from Steve Addicott, Gordy Addicott and Paul Wilson.
The team just above them, Grasshoppers '05, almost matched Cannington's heroics as they played host to the Division's other much-fancied outfit, Maltshovel Sports, and ended up registering a creditable 3-3 draw. However, while the result looks impressive enough on paper the truth of the matter is that they were disappointed to emerge with only a single point after holding a 3-1 lead for a considerable spell of the game following an excellent hat-trick from young striker Luke Richards. However, the never-say-die approach of Maltshovel served them well yet again as they clawed their way back into the game with goals from Steve Davis and Paul Organ. Then, with five minutes remaining, they won a controversial penalty which Davis duly converted to snatch a vital point and save his side's blushes in the process.
Meanwhile, the other Hoppers team, Grasshoppers '04 took a makeshift side to Commercial and experienced an outcome similar to that of their stable-mates after taking an early 1-0 lead through 16-year-old skipper Liam Wardle but then succumbing to a late, late equaliser after Scott Hawkins scored a well-deserved leveller for Commercial from a free-kick with pretty much the last kick of the game.
The last kick of the game also decided the match between Bridgwater Wanderers and Admirals. In a very physical workout for both sides visitors Admirals took the initiative early on and cruised into a 2-0 lead after strikes from John Doyle and Dan Spencer. However, the Wanderers showed great spirit and battled back to level the scores after a double-strike from Dean Dunn. But Admirals were to have the last laugh when Andrew Cheese made it 3-2 in the dying seconds of added time.
The Glastonbury area derby game between intense rivals Tor Sports and Countryman was a match with plenty of action and no shortage of goals, thirteen to be precise, before Tor eventually emerged as 8-5 victors after a hat-trick from Phil Johnson, two from Paul Pentney and one-a-piece from Mark Randall, David Sarjant and Nathan Truckle.
(Story First Published: 05.03.06) |
