Jewson Western League premier division: Wellington 1, Sidmouth Town 4
Wellington suffered a disappointing home defeat by Sidmouth Town, with a series of injuries adding to a difficult day for the Tangerines.
Glen Wright scored his first goal of the season to bring them level midway through the first half, but the visitors regained their advantage before the interval and added two further goals in the second half to secure all three points.
Both sides made a lively start to the contest, with plenty of attacking intent in the opening exchanges.
Sidmouth took the lead in the tenth minute when the ball fell kindly to Louis Spalding, who advanced towards goal before firing past keeper Luke Vernon.
The home side gradually worked their way back into the contest and came close to equalising in the 25th minute.
A corner delivered towards the near post found Wright, whose header looked destined for goal before Sidmouth keeper Elliot Driver produced a fine save.
However, Wellington made the most of the resulting corner. This time the delivery was sent towards the back post, where Wright rose to head the ball over Driver and into the net to bring the scores level at 1–1.
But the hosts then suffered two injury setbacks in quick succession.
Isaac Baker was forced off in the 33rd minute, with Dan Conway introduced in his place. Just a minute later, goal scorer Wright also had to leave the field through injury, with Lewis Oaten coming on.
The disruption proved frustrating for the home side, who had worked their way back into the match.
Sidmouth regained the lead in the 41st minute when a deflected ball found its way through the Wellington defence and into the path of a visiting attacker, who finished past Vernon with appeals for offside coming to nothing.
The Tangerines were forced into another change shortly after the restart when Harry Chetland left the action, with Freddie Jarman replacing him in the 48th minute.
Sidmouth put them under the cosh but they held firm and created a good opportunity in the 64th minute.
A defensive header fell into the path of Ben Evett, who raced through one-on-one with Driver, but the goalkeeper made an important save to preserve his side’s advantage.
It proved a significant moment, with the visitors extending their lead just four minutes later.
A Sidmouth corner was delivered towards the back post, where Nathan Cooper rose to head home and make it 3–1.
The visitors added a fourth shortly afterward when the ball fell to substitute Danny Pym around the penalty spot, and he made no mistake in slotting his effort past Vernon.
Wellington’s injury problems were compounded in the closing stages when Evett was also forced to leave the field.
Having already used all their permitted substitutions, the Tangerines were left to complete the final moments with ten men.
It doesn’t get any easier as they now face a tough Somerset Premier Cup tie on Tuesday night when they travel to Weston-super-Mare who play in National League South.
Wellington: Luke Vernon, Luke Perry, Jack Lewis, Harry Chetland, Mike Murphy, Glen Wright, Ben Evett, Ollie Ackland, Josh Baker (capt), Elijah Hiller, Isaac Baker. Substitutes: Danny Wordsworth, Lewis Oaten, Reagan Scotcher, Freddie Jarman, Dan Conway (all used). Attendance: 87.
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