Somerset County League Premier Division

Chard Town 1, Mendip Broadwalk 2

Chard’s mini revival came off the rails on Saturday when their South Bristol visitors completed the double following an earlier victory over the Robins in August.

New signing Steve Every came into the side at right-back and Andrew Holmes and James Boyland paired up again in attack.

The visitors had the benefit of an early lead on six minutes when Jack Medjedoub rolled the ball into the net for what seemed a relatively soft goal.

Just a few minutes later, Rhys Hickory crashed a shot onto the post to keep the deficit at only one goal.

Five minutes before the break, the hosts equalised through the quick thinking of Boyland.

He nipped in on a defender’s hesitation and weaved through the remainder of the defence and past the keeper to tap the ball into the net for a fine individual goal.

Chard now spurred themselves on and Boyland fired just over the bar with another good effort.

After the break, the visitors, who played some good football throughout, created the majority of chances.

Jacob O’Donnell was a danger on the right and had a number of opportunities hit just wide of the goal, particularly one where he really should have scored bearing down on Owen Searle, the Chard keeper.

On 84 minutes, O’Donnell eventually came good for Mendip when he squeezed the ball just inside the post to snatch the points.

Chard: Owen Searle, Steve Every, Danny Cleal, Andrew Holmes, Conor Richardson, Ryan Parris, Alex Harper, Josh Lukins (Chris Atyeo 81), Dan O’Connor (Tom Stephens-Fouracre 28), James Boyland (Marky Jones 73), Liam Cleal.

Premier Division

Ilminster Town 1, Chilcompton Sports 1

REIGNING Premier Division champions Chilcompton Sports were the visitors to The Archie Gooch Pavilion but, after last seasons shock 1-0 defeat at Ilminster, they knew what to expect from the home side and Ilminster did not disappoint to keep their good run going with a credible 1-1 draw in a competitive match between to evenly matched sides, writes Andy Fish.

Ilminster welcomed back midfielder Will Spurway, who has returned to the club after a spell at Axminster Town and he came straight into the side in place of the unavailable Lee Sweet.

Both sides started well, with a couple of efforts from distance, but it was the Blues who had the first real chance when strike partners Taylor Jefferson and Andy Whitefield combined before Whitfield’s shot was blocked.

Next, with the Chilcompton defender taking too long, Whitefield picked his pocket before setting up Josh Phillips, who could not keep his shot down when well placed.

Chilcompton attacked at pace down the left and it needed Jack Rutter to be at his best when he tipped a goalbound shot over the bar.

Spurway had settled in quickly, dictating play, and when he had the chance to step forward a fierce drive saw his shot blocked only to fall invitingly for Luke Paul but he too could not keep his shot down as he snatched at it.

Ben Pitman then made a great run down the right and released Jefferson with a great ball, but the quick striker was unlucky as his shot from the angle hit the outside of the post.

The visitors then really should have taken the lead when their centre half Adam Garlick lost his marker but somehow his free header was blocked on the line and hacked away.

Chilcompton were now on top and they very nearly broke through but first Paul and then Phillips cleared the danger by covering well.

Ilminster regrouped at the interval, Noah Krusynski coming off the bench to replace Mitch Hooper who had picked up a knock.

Within ten minutes of the restart, Whitefield was fouled in the area and Jefferson kept his nerve to confidently convert his eighth goal of the season.

They say you are the most vulnerable just after you have scored and this was certainly the case when Ilminster seemed to ball watch.

A visiting player was given too much space to shoot and, after the ball hit the top of the bar, no one was alert as Chilcompton substitute Jack Compton was first to the rebound to equalise.

You could see the Ilminster heads drop to give away such a soft goal after just taking the lead themselves but they soon picked themselves up as both sides looked for the winner.

Phillips was played in but his first touch was not the best and it took him wide but from the angle he got his shot away and with Jefferson arriving at the right time it took a fantastic tackle to deny him.

With time running out the visitors who still were full of running finished the stronger but with skipper Doug Whitfield leading the defence they were restricted to a couple of half chances.

A 1-1 was a fair result with both sides missing good chances but this was certainly a good advert for local football with both sides giving their all in an excellent contest.

Spurway certainly made a difference with his calm passing but it was Whitfield who won the man of the match vote with a towering display at the heart of the defence.

Team: Jack Rutter, Luke Paul, Doug Whitfield (C), Owen Burn, Ben Pitman, Will Spurway, Rich Crabb, Josh Phillips, Mitch Hooper, Taylor, Jefferson, Andy Whitefield; subs used: Chris Nezianya, Noah Kruszynski

Next week, Fry Club are the visitors as Ilminster (who have moved up to seventh) are home again.

The Keynsham-based side are currently sitting in second place in the Somerset County Premier League table behind runaway leaders Shirehampton, the match kicks off at 3pm at Archie Gooch Pavilion.

Uhlsport Somerset County League Division 3

Draycott 4, Combe St Nicholas 2

THE young Saints travelled to mid-table Draycott in confident mood.

The visitors soon settled and played some nice football and had a good chance through Joe Allen, but he saw his shot hit the bar.

Five minutes later, Kieran Manley had a shot deflected just past the post.

Draycott broke out on the counter attack and opened the scoring against the run of play.

Combe kept the tempo up and quickly equalised through Adam Male.

Combe missed a few half chances before half-time and should have been leading, but they did go in front with 50 minutes on the clock as Adam Male turned neatly and finished from the edge of the box.

The home side made a substitution and went direct and got their reward after poor defending with a tidy finish from 18 yards.

Draycott continued to be direct and scored another goal from a defensive error.

With 10 minutes remaining, Combe had a great chance through Charlie Male but he shot straight at the keeper when played through one-on-one.

With the game going into the last couple of minutes, poor defending again allowed the home forward to score from 20 yards to cap a bad day at the office for Combe.