Winscombe defeated Churchill 3-1 in a local Somerset County League derby.

AFTER last week’s walk-over in the cup, Winscombe returned to league action with a difficult trip to Churchill and came away 3-1 winners.

Winscombe started brightly and could have scored in the first minute when Simon Willis’ shot was well saved. They took the lead through Willis when a good ball from Hooper found Flint, who crossed for Willis to net.

The rest of the half saw Winscombe on the attack, with good defending from Churchill, but when they did break out they looked dangerous.

They proved this in the first minute of the second half when Chris Goldsborough scored against his old club. Winscombe set about re-establishing their superiority with Stoves, Rogers and Hughes pulling the strings in midfield and Flint and Willis running well up front.

It came as no surprise when Willis scored again with a shot from the edge of the area that went into the top corner. He completed his hat-trick with a shot that the despairing keeper could only palm into the bottom of the net.

Winscombe Fish Bar man of the match was Simon Willis

Cleeve West Town 3

Langford Rovers 1

ROVERS crashed out of the divisional cup with a poor performance away to Cleeve West Town.

Rovers went behind after 10 minutes when a ball over the top evaded their defence and allowed Cleeve’s striker to lob Matt Hill in goal. Rovers began to play in spells, but were guilty of over playing.

When they did play they looked dangerous. Aaron Blakemore saw his shot smartly saved, before Leigh White, Ryan Havard and Calum McManus all had attempts palmed away. Havard grabbed a deserved equaliser before half-time when Rovers were on top.

Despite strong words from manager Jamie Crandon at the break, Rovers turned in an erratic second half display.

Rovers threatened well in the early minutes, but then again became disjointed and gave away a simple tap in. Hill stood up well in goal, and Rovers nearly grabbed an equaliser when a stunning White shot rattled the crossbar.

After a few goalmouth scrambles, Rovers could not equalise and then gave away a penalty. Despite hitting the post, the resultant cross was headed in for the winner.

Absolute Plastering Services man of the match went to Joe Ellis.

Rovers need to bounce back at home to Broad Plain in the Somerset Cup on Saturday.

Bishops Lydeard 3

Weston St Johns 2

ST JOHNS left Bishops Lydeard empty handed after seeing a two goal lead slip.

Saints set the pace from the start and after a couple of half chances, Justin Flavell raced clear to finish in style. Saints continued to dominate, with the back line coping well with the physical strikers.

With Jack Clark, Flavell and Andy Lockyer causing all kinds of problems in the Bishop defence, Saints went 2-0 up when skipper Mark Adams’ pass was bundled over the line by Ryan Hawkins. On the stroke of half-time, Bishops pull a goal back against the run of play.

The second half was a more even affair, but Saints always looked dangerous going forward. A high cross into the Saints box saw Bishops pull level with a header. This rallied the Saints, who created good chances, the best falling to Clark, who headed narrowly wide.

Another high ball saw Saints concede a poor goal and finish on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.

Man of the match was a close ran thing, but the Alliance Homes man of the match went to Jack Clark

Combe St Nicholas 4

St. Johns Res 2

SAINTS came away from Combe St Nicholas feeling hard done by, after some poor decisions cost them at least a point.

Saints took the lead when Earnist Gorkua scored for the third successive game. Saints defended well with Mitchell, Carpenter, Whittaker and Charalambous protecting goalkeeper Simon Venn.

St Nicholas equalised when Mitchell was adjudged to have handled in the area and the hosts scored from the spot. Saints had Venn to thank for keeping the scores level at half-time, after making some fine saves.

Saints were forced into early changes with the Whittaker brothers both injured. Saints took the lead when Gorkua fired into the top corner. St Nicholas were awarded another penalty and again the Combe striker made no mistake.

Saints shot themselves in the foot after some poor defending which gave Combe the points. The hosts scored the fourth after a counter attack.

M&S carpentry man of match was Earnist Gorkua.

Wrington-Redhill 2

Frome Collegians 2

WRINGTON-Redhill entertained Frome Collegians and earned a draw after a late equaliser.

The game began quickly with a mis-hit cross from Frome’s Josh Harrington being misjudged by Mark Wilson, only to be saved by the bar. It was no surprise when Luke Oakes scored to give Frome a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half saw Wrington still under pressure. When Jake Harrington’s free kick found Max Biddiscombe, who scored to make it 2-0, it looked like certain defeat for the hosts.

But straight from the kick-off, Graham Cheeseman was pulled down in the box and Ryan Salmon slotted the spot kick into the bottom corner to make it 2-1. Wrington looked rejuvenated and soon after Rory Thomas’s cross was headed inches wide by Cheeseman.

With only minutes to go, Ryan Lucas found Cheeseman and he hammered it in to the net for the equaliser.

The game was generously sponsored by Palmer Bros, building and electrical contractors.

St Johns player of the month award – 1st team: Moley Adams; reserves: Mike Lowe.