Weston United defeated Winscombe in a Somerset Premier League top of the table clash.

Weston United 13 pts

Winscombe 5 pts

THIRD-placed Weston United welcomed second in the league Winscombe in this eagerly awaited derby at the Recreation Ground.

It was Weston who drew first blood as Chapman sent a kick down field that was fielded by the Winscombe full-back, who ran it back at pace and was tackled.

Ben Cox was able to turn the ball over at the breakdown to allow the impressive Webster to score in the corner. Chapman added the extras with an excellent kick.

Chapman kicked a penalty for a 10-0 lead and just before the break, Reyes broke away, but was thwarted by a great cover tackle by the full-back.

The second half started in the same fashion as the first and credit must be given to the defensive work of both sides. Winscombe were next to score as after several phases, their full-back jinked his way through the defensive line to score under the posts. The Winscombe fly-half missed the conversion as Caton charged it down.

Weston replied with an attack from inside their own 22 as Chapman made an good break up field and with only one player to beat, he could not get the ball to the supporting Johnston.

Chapman soon made amends as he converted a penalty. With 10 minutes remaining, Winscombe repeatedly attacked the Weston line, but the defence held firm, despite losing Cox to the sin bin.

In the last play of the match, Winscombe turned down the chance of an easy penalty to earn a losing bonus point. Instead, they chose to tap and go, but were turned over straight away and the chance was lost.

The work of the back row trio of Cox, Fisher and Johnston was outstanding and Trott continues to impress at nine. Also, the centre pairing of Caton and Mackay were impressive in both attack and defence and neutralised their opposite numbers.

Stothert & Pitt 12 pts

Weston Athletic 15 pts

ATHLETIC travelled to Bath to play Stothert & Pitt and came away with a narrow victory.

Despite a promising early break by the Weston backs which resulted in the opening score, a penalty from fly-half Dan Prime, it was Stothert who scored the first try of the game to lead 5-3.

A clearance kick from Weston was charged down and the result was a converted try for the home side as they led 12-3 at the break.

In the second period, Leahy ran a great angle and wrong footed the opposition. His offload almost went to hand, but he damaged his hamstring and limped off.

With Weston pressing hard, Prime picked up a loose ball and scampered over in the corner for the Athletic’s first try. His conversion attempt was wide, but Weston were just four points behind with 20 minutes to play.

The Athletic were thwarted by stern resistance which resulted in a series of penalties. Twice No 8 James Matthews crossed the line but was held up. It was only after the ninth penalty in a row, with the Weston pack in control, that the referee finally awarded a penalty try. Prime converted and Weston saw out the last effort by Stothert to clinch the game by 12-15.

Athletic took their unbeaten run to six games in a row. This leaves them firmly in third place in Somerset 2 North, some seven points clear of fourth-placed Old Reds.