Seward Cup: Nether Stowey 1, Wellington A 5

Our A team returned to Castle School in Taunton to face a Nether Stowey side, unbeaten and free scoring in division three, with a semi-final spot at stake.

Conditions were not good and special mention must go to goalkeeper Sully Harlow whose handling was faultless throughout and again made a crucial save with the match goalless; risking bone and limb to dive at the feet of onrushing Stowey strikers to complete a double save after an initial smart stop.

After a physical even beginning to the game, the deadlock was broken by Welly demonstrating their footballing class. Will Powell, making his first start of the season, beat two to win a free kick which was duly smashed past the keeper by the right foot of Tom Scarlett.

Scarlett then turned provider, turning his marker inside out before pulling the ball perfectly across for Jordan Sellick to tap in with his right foot. Not satisfied with the difficulty of that finish, Sellick then found himself in the box again to arrow a left footed shot into the top corner.

Suddenly, Stowey had gone from pre-iceberg to post-iceberg Titanic. Welly had a fourth before halftime when Rohan Poulsom left the defence wishing they’d stayed home, sprinting through to finish one on one.

The break came at a good time for Stowey and Welly faced much tougher opposition in the second half. Although Welly extended their lead through Scarlett, Stowey grabbed a deserved consolation after a good spell of their own pressure.

Welly could have grabbed a sixth but the returning Oli Ghazala needed three extra inches to reach a goalbound header, and Aaron Merry struck the post late on.

Wellington return to league action next Saturday against Wyvern.