Slick Winscombe Condemn League Leaders To First Defeat

This long-awaited top-of-the-table clash provided multiple reasons to be cheerful, particularly for the visitors. Winscombe put in arguably their most coherent performance of the campaign yet to brush aside the home team who had, until today, not dropped a single point all season – a very commendable record to still hold deep into November.

The visitors dispensed with their customary wobbly start and instead flew out of the traps to assert themselves in the opening exchanges. They were one-up within two minutes when Isaac Hale played in the in-form Dougie Gait to lift the ball beyond the keeper. 0-1. Before the five-minute mark was reached, Winscombe were two-up thanks to a fabulous solo goal from Jackson Cook who charged down the right wing before chipping over the keeper's head. 0-2.

Was this too much, too soon? Could Winscombe possibly keep their heads for the remaining 66 minutes against the free-scoring league leaders? It appeared so. With Dylan Coates and Ben Neary maturely controlling the back line, Winscombe's attacking players were given free rein to put the result beyond Portishead's reach by half-time. A Gait snapshot flew just past the post, Hale saw a shot smartly saved before he put the rebound over the bar, and Portishead's keeper impressively denied Ted Palmer from point-blank range. But 0-2 the score remained at the break.

It didn't take long for Winscombe to extend their advantage in the second half, with the well-honed Hale/Gait partnership combining well, the latter lobbing the keeper for his fifth goal in two games. 0-3.

Max Brean went close with a header from a Cook corner, while at the other end Portishead struck the bar. But the home defences couldn't hold off Winscombe's rampant attacking play for long and Sam Hudson's smart finish from a Gait lay-off gave second-placed Winscombe a four-goal cushion. 0-4. Gait again played provider four minutes later when his flick was poked home by the hungry Palmer. 0-5.

The only blemish on an otherwise irresistible performance came in the dying minutes as Winscombe sought to keep their first clean sheet of the season. After Oli Lovell impressively tipped over a goal-bound effort, the defence's failure to clear the resultant corner saw a curling shot nestle in the far corner. 1-5.

Having inflicted the first defeat of the season on Portishead, Winscombe drew level on points with the hosts, significantly improving their goal difference into the bargain. The run-in to see who will be crowned Division Two champions could well go down to the wire.