Western Counties West

Winscombe 13, Wellington 14

WELLINGTON kept their title dream alive with a pulsating – and somewhat controversial – win away to Winscombe on Saturday, writes Allyn Chetland.

Danny Lee and Nev Pitman returned to the Red & Blacks' starting XV, while Ash Harney was back after an ankle injury in place of Alex Davey.

The visitors played up the slope in the first half, yet still they dominated territory and possession in the opening quarter, only to find the home defence a hard nut to crack.

An interception try gave Winscombe a 5-0 lead against the run of play, and they now had the momentum.

Another unconverted try left Wellington 10-0 down, but in the dying minutes of the half the R&Bs finally got their hands on the ball and scored a wonderful team try.

Flanker Liam Phillips was to the fore, but it was the galloping No. 8 Cam Venn who crossed under the posts, with winger Rob Hooper converting to make the score 10-7 at half-time.

Going down the slope, the away side were in confident mood, but the first points of the second half went to Winscombe, via a penalty after the R&Bs infringed at a ruck.

The restart brought controversy, as Wellington back row Danny Lee was shown a second yellow card, and therefore a red, for playing the ball on the floor.

Feeling harshly done by and down to 14 men, the visitors were frustrated by a succession of stoppages and injuries as they struggled to find any consistency and continuity in their play.

But the R&Bs' never-say-die attitude had its reward in the final minutes, as scrum-half Dan Goldstone sliced through the home defence and found Pitman on his shoulder to score.

The conversion was a tricky one for Hooper, but he thumped it between the posts to win the game 14-13.

This was a frustrating afternoon for Wellington, but they showed outstanding commitment and passion to drag themselves back into the game, despite being a player light for most of the second half.

Due to his red card, Lee will be unavailable for the visit of Bideford this coming Saturday, in what will be Wellington's final home game of the season.

Bideford are in 10th spot, while Wellington are third, just three points off leaders Sidmouth and one behind Crediton in what is an incredibly tight title race.