Stitch2Print Devon & Exeter League first division: Winkleigh 9, Wellington Reserves 5
Nestled in the heart of Devon, between Exmoor and Dartmoor, the village of Winkleigh is home to less than 1,500 people.
The village has a long history, mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 and has braved many hardships, including the Black Death in the 14th Century.
On Saturday October 29th, the village witnessed a game of grassroots football which will live long in the memory too!
The Tangerines started well and raced into a two-goal lead inside ten minutes through Wes and Rohan Poulsom
A minute later, the home side saw a shot rebound off the crossbar on to the goal line and felt they had a goal to celebrate. However, the official thought otherwise and, in the aftermath, visiting captain Mark Owen used an explicit repost which resulted in a straight red card.
The hosts, with the man advantage, reduced the arrears shortly afterwards but, in the space of five minutes, the Tangerines scored two quick goals to race into a 4-1 lead thanks to Wes with his second and an Ollie Nott free-kick.
The goals kept coming with the hosts getting one back before Wellington scored again via Luke Perry to make it 5-2.
With half-time looming, the home team’s manager was banished from the dugout with the issue of a red card before the hosts capitalised on two poor passages of play by the Tangerines to get within a single goal as the half ended 5-4 in Wellington’s favour!
With the Tangerines playing up the slope for the second half, both teams cancelled out each other until a soft penalty was conceded from a throw-in, which was converted to give the game parity on 68 minutes.
The momentum was with the hosts and their man advantage with Wellington having to resort to the counter-attack method which looked promising on a number of occasions.
The deadlock was broken on 76 minutes with the visitors’ valiant defensive line breached, followed by three more home goals to bring the curtain down on a bizarre and unenjoyable game.
Special mention to debutant keeper, 16-year-old Tom Hyam, who despite the score line gave a promising performance in such difficult circumstances.
Team: Tom Hyam, Mark Owen, Lloyd Manning, Tom Davies, Connor Noble, Ned Ogilvie, Ollie Nott, Wes Poulsom, Rohan Poulsom, Amauri Ruiz, Luke Perry. Subs: Dylan Groves, Jordan Sellick, Joshua Sibanda, Logan Sellick (used); Jake Nichol (not used).
This Saturday sees a trip to East Budleigh with the Reserves looking to complete the double following a 4-1 win at the Playing Field in September.
***
Our A team also suffered defeat – going down 5-2 at home to Galmington in the Britannia Lanes Taunton & District Saturday League premier division.
