A solid display in another game it would have been easy to slip up in took the Reserve team to a deserved 5-1 victory away (of course) to Budleigh Salterton.
In a first half where Cullompton were not quite at their best, they still dominated the midfield contest and Billy Greene looked a constant threat on the right. It was no surprise when he was bought down after half an hour giving Ryan Clarke a chance to demonstrate the free kick prowess which he had exhibited before the game. The keeper had clearly been watching and was expecting the ball to fly into the top corner, so was somewhat surprised when it rolled into his arms, then through his arms and creeped over the line.
With the keeper still contemplating his error, he then decided to give the ball to Jamie Cottrell who in trademark fashion decided to hit a simple right foot tap in with the outside of his left to make it 2-0.
What looked like a straight forward victory was complicated by Budleigh breaking through the Cullompton defence and finishing smartly, before ending the first half on top.
The half time instructions were executed superbly straight from half time as Dan Horler scored immediately to make the result relatively safe. The strong bench kept the pressure on till the end, as Cotts added to his tally thanks to great work from Billy who also struck a well deserved goal. There was still time for Cotts to narrowly miss a hat-trick after a stunning ball forward from Mark, and a solid save from Aaron at the end.
Good preparation for Tuesday’s match against a University side who have already inflicted the Reserves only league defeat of the season, and are fresh from a 7-0 win. The players will also have the challenge of finding the home pitch after 7 always games.
FINAL SCORE: Budleigh 1 – 5 Cullompton Rangers
Match report by D.Hawes
Comments are closed.