Evo-Stik Division 1 South & West

Salisbury City 7, Bridgwater Town 0

BRIDGWATER Town's relegation to the Toolstation Western League has been confirmed after the Robins were soundly beaten 7-0 at Salisbury on Tuesday night.

The writing has been on the wall for some time, but Town's latest defeat - their 14th on the spin - put them out of their misery.

The trip to Hampshire was interim manager Dave Pearse's first game in charge and, after surviving a couple of early let-offs, the visitors fell behind when Tommy Wright fired a shot in off the left hand post on 16 minutes.

Just two minutes later, Steve Claridge's side doubled their lead when Lewis Benson fired in from the edge of the box, and Eddie Perrett made it three before the interval.

Pearse's team held firm for the first portion of the second half but fell victim to a late flurry of goals, the first of which was a penalty converted by Wright for his second of the game and 40th of the season.

Tom Whelan added the fifth before Perrett doubled his personal tally on 82 minutes to leave Bridgwater staring at their second consecutive six-goal defeat.

In the end it got even worse than that for the visitors, as Wright completed his hat-trick in added time to put the seal on a comprehensive victory for the promotion-chasing hosts.

Bridgwater were without Liam Kingston and Jack Goodall, both of whom have been recalled by parent club Weston-super-Mare, and must now try and pick themselves up for the visit of Didcot on Saturday.

THE club released a statement prior to yesterday's match regarding the managerial change that took place at the weekend.

In it, Town said they were "extremely grateful to Phil for taking on the challenge of managing a side that was already in danger of relegation with just two wins to it’s name when he came in.

"Despite the emphasis on youth and recognising a need for stability, we are mindful that we have to prepare for life in a very competitive and demanding Western League," they continued.

To read the statement in full, click here.