STREAK CONTINUES AS WINSCOMBE EDGE PAST LOCAL RIVALS

On a surprisingly laggy pitch and against their ever-tricky local rivals Winscombe Colts, Winscombe under-14s secured the win that both keeps them at the top of the table and maintains their double-figure unbeaten run.

The home side were out of the blocks early. Isaac Hale turned smartly in the box only to see his shot saved, before Dougie Gait couldn't quite get the right connection on a pinpoint Jackson Cook cross.

The league leaders thought they'd broken the deadlock when Finn Williamson's header from Cook's corner was tucked away by top scorer Gait, only for the linesman's luminous flag to be visible through the gloom. Shortly after, Winscombe had a strong shout for a penalty when Cook clearly looked to have been tripped but the referee ignored any claims.

But it was the visitors who took first blood against the run of play, when Winscombe failed to clear their defensive lines and the ball was slotted home. Still no clean sheet this season. 0-1.

It only took six minutes for the equaliser. After a lofted Riley Sinclair shot went narrowly wide, Hale threaded a ball through which, coming off the keeper, Gait slotted into an empty net. 1-1. The home side's hopes of going into the break ahead where again thwarted when, following Ted Palmer's free-kick, a second goal was disallowed by the visiting linesman.

Winscombe emerged fresh and invigorated from the interval. Straight away, Max Brean found himself one-on-one with the Colts stand-in keeper, but scuffed his shot. Brean made amends a couple of minutes later when, following another sharp Hale turn in the box, he stabbed home. 2-1.

A third goal arrived three minutes later when a partially cleared shot fell to Hale who dispatched it with his customary style. 3-1.

This local derby is rarely without its moments of tension though, and the visitors refused to throw in the towel. Colts striker Ollie Campbell saw his shot slam onto the post, rebound into Winscombe keeper Oli Lovell's back before a defender cleared the danger. Colts continued applying pressure, with Campbell being denied by a point-blank Lovell save.

Still came the Colts, who finally found a way past Lovell, thanks to a looping long-range effort. 2-3.

With the final kick of the game, the Colts almost grabbed an equaliser when another looping effort fell agonisingly just beyond the far post. Three blasts of the referee's whistle then sounded, to the relieved cheers of the home ultras. Two more games – away affairs to Berrow and St George – stand between Winscombe and the league title. Squeaky-bum time is here.