Weston St Johns Reserves lost their unbeaten record away to Selkirk United.

Selkirk 3 St Johns Res 2

SAINTS lost their unbeaten league record at Nailsea, when they played Selkirk for the second week running.

The visitors could not get going early on and it was no surprise when Selkirk took the lead from a defensive mistake. Saints should have equalised straight away when Rob Winter found himself one-on-one with the Selkirk keeper, only to be denied by an outstretched leg.

Saints continued to be sloppy and went further behind from another defensive mistake.

After half-time Saints looked like a different team and Troy Hayes bagged his ninth goal of the season with a smart finish after a great pass from Joe Whittaker.

It looked like only a matter of time before Saints equalised, but instead they got hit on the counter attack.

Saints kept pushing forward and scored their second goal when skipper Neil Hartley curled a 25 yard shot into the top corner. This gave Saints hope and with 10 minutes remaining Troy Hayes and Dan Hartley both went close, but they could not find the equaliser.

The full time whistle saw Saints lose a league game for the first time in 23 months, a record to be proud of. Mike Whittaker’s man of the match was Mike Winter.

King Alfred SC 3 Worle Res 4

WORLE Reserves clinched three vital points as they push for a late Division 4 promotion push.

After a shaky start, Ash Pierson finished neatly when through on goal and although this sparked Worle back into life intially, King Alfred were allowed back into the game when they equalised shortly before half-time.

Jonny Parker orchestrated many of Worle’s attacking play with a combination of determination in the tackle and his neat footwork. Worle soon took the lead again when Ben Pearson made an instant impact from the bench and crossed well for Pierson to add his second.

Despite Worle having capitailsed again to create a two goal advantage, a period of sloppiness let the opposition back into the game and with five minutes remaining a draw looked on the cards as King Alfred’s scored two goals in quick succession.

Worle responded, and after a flurry of attacks as they pushed for the win, centre back Rich Casey smashed home from close range to give Worle the win they deserved.

Worle Rangers 4 St George EIG A 3

WORLE Rangers battled to a hard-fought Division 5 victory against a spirited St George side.

Rangers got off to a flier, a quick throw-in by Jamie Ingersent followed by a smart turn and finish by Troy Hannam after five minutes. Rangers pressed on and two John Wilde goals either side of the 10 minute mark made it 3-0.

Rangers continued their efforts and looked comfortable, until St George won a penalty. Keeper Nathan Royce nearly pulled off a fine save, and shortly after it was 3-2 and St George were the team with impetus.

Rangers lifted their game and attacked from all sides, Troy Hannam scored his second to make it 4-2 and before half-time, St George scored again to make it 4-3.

After the break, the back four of Ingersent, Carter, Matt Wilson and Steve Clark stood firm and any long-range efforts were dealt with well by Royce. Jake Hannam and Chris Brinson closed and battled in midfield, Tom Williams and Liam Willment worked hard on the wings, while Troy Hannam and Wilde still provided an outlet.

Rangers introduced Jo Dale, Adam Brown and player- manager Dave Knight and closed the game out as Rangers stood firm to keep their promotion push going.

Rangers were thankful to keeper Royce for numerous important saves in the second half, Jake Hannam was immense in midfield, but the Curry Garden man of the match went to John Wilde

Weston Players 7 Dolphin Ath 1

PLAYERS hosted Dolphin in their first outing since the Christmas break and it took them half-an-hour to break down a resilient Dolphin backline.

Smith and Owen fired wide early on and Skinner saw his header well saved by the Dolphin custodian, who was to endure a busy afternoon. Curt Smith broke the deadlock on the half hour mark, rounding the keeper to fire home after good approach play from Joel Page and Josh Randall.

Rob Jones poked home Owen’s free kick after beating the offside trap and Owen made it three, bundling in Smith’s through ball.

Page, DeVanney and Earey were bossing the midfield and Riddle, Jones and Brown were dealing well with the aerial threat of Dolphin’s tall centre forwards. Ben Earey scored his third of the season, courtesy of a deflection.

They suffered a setback just before half-time when stand-in keeper Ash Raymond was taken to hospital with a ruptured spleen after a nasty clash, Rob Jones deputising for the second half.

The fifth came from the spot after Owen was felled, rising to slot home the resulting penalty. Dolphin pulled one back with a fine finish that Jones could do nothing about, before DeVanney got his second. Josh Randall capped a fine performance with a late goal.

There were good performances by Riddle, Owen, Smith, Earey and Page, but man of the match was Will DeVanney.