Tigers set to hunt down wounded strugglers

CREWKERNE Town’s free-scoring front line will be sharpening their shooting boots ahead of tomorrow's trip to Charmouth’s Barrs Lane.

Although the two teams fell through the Premier division trap door together last May, their futures currently look poles apart.

The Tigers, with Nick Murphy having taken over from long-serving manager Budgie Cook, look well placed to make an immediate bounce back to the top flight.

Murphy rejuivenated his squad over the summer adding Paul Gold (Misteron), Kris Hastings (Shepton Beauchamp) and the ex-Merriott quartet of Gavin Charles, Ashley Larcombe, Barry Hayne and goalkeeper Dale Wood.

Hastings has since returned to Shepton but the other new faces have already made an impact with Gold, Hayne and Charles among the diviison one top-scorers and the future looks bright at Henhayes once again.

Opponents Charmouth are, on the other hand, in terminal free-fall having failed to record a win in more than a year (and shipping more than a 100 goals in the process!) since, ironically beating Crewkerne 4-2 in the quarter-final of last season’s Coronation Cup.

PREMIER: With rivals Beaminster inactive and Lyme Regis facing the awkward trip to Farway United both South Petherton and Marriott Rovers could gain ground at the top.

Petherton, after a week’s lay-off, entertain Misterton who have failed to get the better of Pethy in six clashes since they returned to the Premier - a home win appears to be on the cards.

It could be tighter at Merriott where visitors Barrington seem set for a change of fortunes after some close run defeats - a first clean sheet of the season will help.

Meanwhile West & Middle Chinnock, after being denied their first ever Premier win by a last-minute Wayne Behan goal last Saturday in a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Combe Reserves, will do well to take something from their trip to Ilminster Reserves. The Chinnocks squad has been rocked by the news that winger Damon Hallett faces a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.

Combe visit Perry Street with both teams hunting a first three point haul of campaign.

DIVISION ONE: League leaders Winsham United’s 100 per cent record could come under threat from the visit of neighbours Forton Rangers to Baker’s Field. The teams met three times last season and, despite the Winsh winning all three, there was precious little between the sides.

Ilminster Town Colts, boosted by a sprinkling of eligible reserve teamers and benefitting from an 89th minute missed penalty, scraped three points by beating Lyme Regis Reserves 3-2 last weekend. The Blues will need to be at their best to contain the goal-laden Netherbury front line which banged in four for the third week in a row in beating Forton 4-3.

Andrew Sochon and the Thorncombe back line will also need to be on their toes tomorrow when they trot out on the infamous Millwey Rise slope.

The Devonians, despite going down 5-1 to arch-rivals Axmisnter Town in an Axminster Hospital cup tie on Sunday, hammered Perry Street Reserves 6-2 in the quarter-final 24 hours previously and are now without a league defeat in 18-months.

Thorncombe went down 2-0 at home to Norton Athletic last weekend - a result which marked the end of Gary Parsley’s 10-years in charge at Horseshoe Lane.

The Norts, who will have been grateful for a clean sheet having shipped 21 in their previous three outings, welcome unpredictable Lyme Regis Reserves.

DIVISION TWO: WITH promotion rivals Beaminster Reserves and Uplyme going head to head Crewkerne Rangers could capitalise with a win at Hinton.

The Rangers showed great character last weekend as they battled back from 2-0 down beat Uplyme 4-2 at Venlake.

Despite propping up the table Chard Rangers are looking much more competetive. A commendable draw at Shepton was followed by a narrow 2-1 reverse on Saturday despite leading at Dowlish & Donyatt.

Shepton had few problems in winning 5-0 at Pymore, last season’s top scorer Sam Murley scored twice.

DIVISION THREE: Crewkerne Reserves’ 11-0 mauling of Drimpton matched their first team’s 11-2 win at Norton the previous week and racked up the biggest win for the club since it was reorganised five years ago.

The match was a personal triumph for Aaron Hodges whose four goals took his tally to nine in three. The Tigers second string, like their first team colleagues, could be amongst the goals tomorrow with the visit of struggling Farway.

Drimpton, having conceded 20 goals in a week will hope for better when they entertain Combe A who added to Farway’s woes with a Warren Gabbidon-inspired 5-1 win at Eastlee Park.

The league’s top scorers Luso-Chard took their total to 39 courtesy of doubles from Renalto Silva and Vitor Ferriera in a 4-0 win over Chard United. Luso enterian MIllwey Rise tomorrow.

Misterton Reseves edged past Winsham Reserves 4-3 in a top versus bottom clash with the winner coming from joint top-scorer Neil Hawkins.

Missy take on improving Lyme Regis Bantams at Venlake whilst Winsham travel to Chard United still looking for their first point.

DIVISION FOUR: League leaders West & Middle Chinnock welcome Chard United to Oxleaze tomorrow without the services of joint top scorer Danny Rudge who has left the club to join former team mate Mark Cawley at Castle Cary.

Despite this the Chinnocks will be favourites although Chard maybe looking to put things in order after last weekend’s 8-2 hammering on their own Jocelyn Park turf at the hands of Ilminster A. Over in the West Combe B continue to impress. The Saints’ fourth string beat Shepton Reserves 2-1 to earn a place in the Reg Eglon quarter-finals.

In the same competition a hat-trick from player-manager Scott Massey couldn’t end Chard Rangers’ losing streak as they went down 5-2 at Barrington for whom Alex Thompson scored twice.

Tomorrow Barrington face the might of the free-scoring Ilminster attack which has netted 13 times in a week.

Pick of the day however could be the local-derby between Thorncombe and Hawkchurch at Horseshoe Lane with the Hawks hunting their first win of the season.

Meanwhile Shepton will be aiming to become the first side ever to shut out Waytown hounds in a league match.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

Seagulls find Glovers easy pickings

YEOVIL Town manager Terry Skiverton must have been disappointed by his team’s display at the Withdean Stadium on Saturday where they were outplayed by a Brighton side that have taken a stranglehold on the top of npower League One.

A goal in each half was enough to send the Glovers back to Somerset empty handed after a lacklustre display.

After a run of four encouraging results which included two away victories, it was disappointing for the travelling fans to witness such a poor performance with only Gavin Williams really testing home keeper Casper Ankergren with long range shots.

True the Glovers were without former Seagull Adam Virgo, new Welsh international Shaun MacDonald and skipper Craig Alcock through injury and illness which meant switching Owain Tudor Jones into the middle of defence, but in truth they did not really threaten their hosts.

Skiverton insisted however that he was pleased with his patched-up side and that they had made it difficult for the league leaders; such that they changed their tactics in the first half to nullify the Glovers threat.

Brighton finally took the lead two minutes before the break when Kazenga Lua Lua crossed for Glenn Murray to send a looping header back across goal and into the net.

Spaniard Inigo Calderon made the game safe on 56 minutes when he collected the ball on the run before cutting inside Nathan Smith to bend a superb shot beyond Stephen Henderson.

Gavin Williams who had already tested Ankergren twice, forced the former Leeds United keeper into a brilliant save just before the end; the Dane getting down low to block his shot.

YEOVIL Town have been drawn away to Rushden & Diamonds on the first round of the FA Cup which will take place on Saturday November 6th.

The tie is a repeat of the first round tie four years ago when Yeovil were beaten 3-1 at Nene Park.

Manager Terry Skiverton was not pleased with having to travel once again. He said: “We don’t seem to have much luck these days when it comes to getting a home draw. It’s a tricky place to go and we need to learn from the lessons of the last time we were there.

“We all know how important a good cup run is, and I’m hoping we can get one this year, but we must remember we are no longer the giant killers.”

MIDFIELDER Owain Tudur Jones has extended his loan spell from Norwich City until November 27th.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

VIEW PROFILE: Abbigail Langstone-Wring

BEING inspired by her father’s work in complementary healing and medicine, ABBIGAIL LANGSTONE-WRING has carved a successful 20 year career as an osteopath practising in Weymouth.

Here, she talks to View reporter PAUL CROMPTON about her inspiration to follow in her father’s footsteps and why she wanted to keep the family business going.

IN an age when skills and knowledge are rarely passed on from one generation to another, as sons and daughters move onto different career paths, a Weymouth family is bucking the trend with three generations practicing the art of osteopathy and alternative medicine.

Having been inspired to help people after seeing patients walk out of her father’s practice relieved of the pain they carried with them as they went in, Abbigail Langstone-Wring currently runs a practice in Weymouth.

Starting out under Professor George Lewith in Southampton, Abbigail says she thinks she was accepted onto the course because of her father, who was an eminent man in complimentary therapy.

She then took her second professional degree in 2002, becoming the first complimentary practitioner to take an inter-professional health and social studies BSc.

Abbigail has been practicing her medicine, which incorporates homeopathy, and massage, for the past 20 years after moving into complimentary therapy via reflexology.

Pam Garret was her inspirational mentor, beginning her training, before she moved on to learn under Beryl Crane – currently the president of the International Council of Reflexology - in Bristol.

Abbigail said: “I’ve had some incredible teachers, I’ve been very, very lucky.”

However, Abbigail admits it was her father who really inspired her from the beginning.

She said: “I got into it through my father really.

“I was used to seeing patients around at my father’s practice bent double in terrible pain and then walk out of his treatment rooms clearly better, it was quite an inspirational thing to witness.

“He had terrific skills in osteopathy and of course with allergy and food sensitivity testing it helped so many people and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

It is the discovery and treatment of ailments which still keeps Abbigail focused and passionate about complimentary healing even after the past two decades.

“Obviously working with people and trying to problem solve and trying to find out the cause of symptoms, rather than treat the symptom; I try to dig down under and find the cause,” she said.

“If I cannot find out through the VEGA test then I need to look further to find the cause. It’s a complete holistic approach to individual health issues really, and that can be a combination of emotional and physical issues.”

Abbigail explained the process by which she treats a patient: “First they come to me with a problem, then we usually discuss the range of symptoms, they may not be connected; for example they could come in with a headache which may be linked with irritable bowel syndrome.

“I ask when the headaches happen to try and find out whether it’s connected with food, if it happens when they eat, for example, and see what else the headache links in with.

“Then we would look at dates and any possible link with food allergy or food sensitivity. I’m not just treating the symptoms of headache. It’s like to trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle.

“Then I work out a treatment strategy to find out what’s best for the client. Most people find they don’t need to come after then first visit because most find out the problem in that one visit. But it’s very much condition specific.”

Of course some symptoms are harder to pinpoint. It is then Abbigail will either refer the patients to other health care professionals or seek guidance from her father Edward Jackson.

Having retired 10-years-ago, Abbigail’s father now acts as a consultant after a 40 year career as an osteopath, which he started after leaving the Royal Navy at the end of World War II.

“I’m very proud of my daughter, she’s very clever,” Edward said, adding: “Now and again she asks a couple of questions, but of course now at my age I’ve forgotten more than I remember.

“I got quite a reputation in Weymouth, people were coming to me for years and years and then they brought their children along.”

Just like his daughter, Edward said the best part of his job was helping people.

“I’ve had a happy life helping lots of people,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of pleasure helping people, an awful lot of pleasure.”

He said he saw complimentary therapy as another arm of orthodox medicine, adding: “both medicines should pull together, I’ve always felt this. One should help the other out. If I cannot help out I would recommend someone goes to a GP to get help.”

It is easy to see when speaking to them both that a certain amount of Edward’s philosophy on medicine has rubbed off on his daughter. The pair even visited China together to study the art of Acupuncture, something Edward had been interested since he left the navy.

And as father and daughter worked and learnt side by side so does mother and daughter, with Jessica Fortune joining the family career path to start her own business offering massages, Indian head massage and reflexology after studying Swedish massage alongside her mother at Weymouth College.

A former Dorchester County Hospital agency nurse, Jessica has only recently got involved with alternative medicine.

She said: “It’s just an alternative to standard medicine I suppose. The massage is a great stress reliever.

“I find it interesting, making a difference to people from all walks of life.”

And so it’s just another member of the family finding simple joy in the complex world of relieving peoples stresses and strains.

Abbigail sums up the process and delight of the continuing family career thread by saying:

“Years ago if your father was a shoe maker you would be in the family business, but now days people really don’t tend to carry on, but I think the knowledge and skills that I’ve had passed on to me and what I can pass on to my daughter is just wonderful, it’s just wonderful that that knowledge can go on.”

For more information telephone Abbigail on 01305 784986.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

60 SECOND INTERVIEW: Roy Bowskill

Roy Bowskill, 18, will be busier than most this Halloween as he stars alongside the cast of Marvellous Amateur Dramatics (MAD) in a horror movie themed Murder Mystery Evening.

Roy is currently working at the Co-op in Bridport having recently completed his A-levels in Drama, Photography and Media Studies. In his spare time Roy is hoping to pursue a career in drama.

Roy’s most recent production was in the Colfox School adaptation of St Trinian's, in which he played the minister and Flash. His next show will be the Madness musical Our House which will be performed at Bridport’s Electric Palace in March and April next year.

When not performing Roy enjoys reading and walking around the West Dorset countryside.

The MAD murder mystery evening will be at St Mary’s Church Hall in Bridport at 7pm this Saturday, October 30th.

WHAT do you like most about Bridport?

It is a great town to live in because you are never far from something to do. The beach is fantastic of course as well.

IS THERE anything you’d like to change about Bridport?

Not really, I think it’s great how it is. There is quite a lot for young people to do. We’ve got the skate park and the youth centre for the younger kids and then for people my age there are quite a few good pubs. Of course I’m looking forward to De Vinchies re-opening as well.

WHAT will you be wearing for Halloween?

I have got my Halloween costume ready and it will definitely be worth coming to see but you will need to come to the murder mystery on Saturday if you want to see it.

WHAT is the setting of your murder mystery evening?

It is the wrap party for a new horror movie from Buena Pasta Pictures. We are celebrating the release of 'I’m Your Number One Fang'. The cast play the film’s stars and crew and those who come along will be treated as guests at the party.

WHO do you play on the night?

My character is Rex Bannister who is an alcoholic. He will be drunk for most of the evening but he is actually the star of the film. He has had quite a long and fairly successful career.

WHAT would be your dream roles on stage and screen?

Ever since I was a kid I have wanted to play James Bond but I don’t think I would be quite athletic enough anymore. I quite enjoyed Shakespeare while we were at school and so on stage I’d like to play Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet, he seems like a laugh.

WHAT was the last book you read, film you watched and CD you listened to?

I have just been listening to my iPod actually, I don’t listen to CDs much anymore. The last song was 'Hey Julie' by Fountains of Wayne. The last film I watched was Braveheart, it’s a good film and I am trying to learn a Scottish accent for my current role and that’s the first Scottish film that came to mind. The last book I read was the last Twilight book, it’s growing on me. I’m definitely on team Jacob though, I don’t like Edward very much.

WHO is your character in Our House?

I play Callam who is on one side of the storyline. When Joe’s girlfriend leaves him to go to University she finds me. Joe, the main character, doesn’t like me because in society’s eyes I’m better than him. I’m richer, more intelligent and I’d like to think better looking.

WHO does Our House appeal to?

I think it appeals to everyone really. It’s got romance for those who are into that, you got the gangs of mates which is something for the lads and it actually has a brilliant storyline. The music is brilliant as well of course and any Madness fan can back me up on that.

WHO would be your three dream guests at a dinner party and why?

Fred Astaire, I’ve always liked his films and he has inspired me to take up tap dancing, which I hope to start soon if I can find the time. Johnny Depp, I don’t think he really needs an explanation but basically because he’s a brilliant actor and a funny guy. Russell Howard he is my favourite stand up comedian at the moment.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

We’re all in it together

MOST of the moans about Weymouth’s extensive roadworks come from car drivers but lorry drivers have an even harder time of it.

Spare a thought for this one driver who wound up in an enormously long artic facing the Chickerell Road railway bridge.

Traffic is supposed to go under the bridge and then turn immediately left down towards Asda which was clearly impossible for a 40 feet lorry.

I don’t know why he ended up there because there are signs warning HGV drivers about this insurmountable problem.

Whatever the reason, the driver missed the warning and had to make the best of the situation.

I found myself watching all this over a cup of coffee and a thick slice of chocolate cake in the Full Gamut art gallery opposite the bridge so I had a grandstand view. It didn’t take long.

Traffic was forgiving but the driver was certainly a master of his art.

He quickly pulled his concrete-block-laden monster away from the bridge, teasing it into a side road with a scrubbing grate of tyres on tarmac before apparently heading down to the Marsh.

He then swung the cab round at the last minute to ensure that when he headed back up Chickerell Road he wasn’t dragging the remains of one or two houses with him as well and he was away.

This was an extreme case but it brought into perspective that for every few hundred irate car drivers there is at least one lorry driver enjoying life in Weymouth as well.

Watch out for the phantom vacuum cleaner!

GETTING up early for work means that over the last 35 years I’ve had to think of other people’s sleep and do my best to navigate my home in the dark until I’m downstairs.

You get used to it after a while unless someone moves something and I confess that I’ve not spared it a second thought for longer than I can remember. You just do it.

What I’ve never considered is the reaction of other people in my house on the rare occasions they try and navigate our home in the dark.

The recent experience of my daughter reduced me to laughter when she related one terrifying incident at night when she disturbed an intruder. She’d been walking along the landing when a menacing figure came into focus and she was scared out of her wits… only to discover shortly afterwards that it was our vacumn cleaner! Thank God we don’t have a hat stand.

Squirrel gardeners

AUTUMN is nicely advanced and squirrels are out in force.

I counted 11 in a nearby cemetery but their food stores seem to be everywhere.

For instance, I found a hazelnut rammed into a mossy area in my garden and there isn’t a hazel tree anywhere nearby, so a squirrel has clearly hidden the nut away for hard times.

They are in a frenzy of activity at the moment, darting everywhere and poking food into every nook and cranny before hastily scurrying off to bury the next item.

Their efforts can lead to a different harvest and last spring I began to find strange plants growing strongly in my vegetable patch.

So I pulled one up and found it was growing from the remains of a peanut. Clearly a squirrel had grabbed one from a birdtable or somewhere, buried it in my garden and never come back for it.

It would be interesting to know just how many strange plants in people’s gardens have sprouted from food stored away by these industrious creatures.

It could be worse!

IF you think we have a few road problems then a Weymouth man told me of his experiences in Armenia where they scarcely have any decent roads.

What amused him was one section where he said there was a pothole the size of a swimming pool.

He found out that the Government only occasionally filled in this hole and that it kept being gouged out.

He felt the number one suspect might be the tyre repair business which just happened to operate next to this monster hazard!

Roads over there are appalling and during one trip he went on to view a monastery he saw the tour guide put her hands over her face until they were safely there the road was so dangerous.

Maybe Weymouth isn’t so bad after all!

Fitness for fanatics

DORSET is a magnet for holidaymakers and one cyclist I saw recently was extremely well kitted out.

He had panniers for this and panniers for that, various parcels and objects were roped on to his machine and there were a couple of what looked like packs.

Yes, there was scarcely space for him to sit on his bicycle, but what does the well travelled cyclist include in his load for a bit of relaxation once he’s parked his bike?

The answer seemed to lie with the squash racket attached to the back of one pack. Clearly a very fit man!

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

Bravery of the lone dissenter

I LOVE a good scrap at a public meeting. It’s kept this column in business for years.

So I was particularly disappointed not to have been able to attend Friday evening’s public meeting at which the Save The Three Cups as a Hotel group went back to the public to get a mandate to carry on their fight or give up.

The outcome was a foregone conclusion - the fight goes on and so it was, despite the fact that, in my view, West Dorset District Council will never compulsorily purchase the building, especially in the current economic climate.

And you have more chance of getting Ann Widdecombe to dance in time with the music than persuade the Palmer brothers to change their tack and accede to opening an hotel on the Three Cups site.

It is just not going to happen.

There were very few dissenting voices at the meeting - two in fact. One of those came from district councillor Daryl Turner who was brave enough to get up and say he admired the Palmers’ plan, which recently went on show at the Pilot Boat, and he was not convinced that the majority of people living in Lyme were in favour of the hotel solution, no matter how loud the protesters shouted.

I share Daryl’s view and I applaud him for having the courage to express his views, knowing full well he would be shouted down. It would have been easy for him to have have sat and listened to the speakers and keep his counsel. But that’s not the way Daryl does it and Lyme should be grateful that we have a district council representative not afraid to rattle a few cages.

I hear there were some very eloquent speeches and strong arguments put forward, so it is to be hoped that the lines of communication can be kept open between Palmers and the Save The Three Cups group, so ably led by John Dover. There may still be some room for manoeuvre but it seems to me that Palmers are not for turning.

MP Oliver Letwin warned of the risks of rejecting the Palmers scheme completely and pushing for an hotel.

Compromise looms large but this ruckus is not over yet.

Trust me!

Right man for the old school job

CONGRATULATIONS to my old school chum Peter Fortnam on becoming the first ex-pupil to be elected chairman of the Board of Governors at the Woodroffe School.

Not only that. He also follows in the footsteps of his late father, Alderman Douglas Fortnam, who held the prestigious position for 12 years.

Peter and I are the same age and were in the same year at what was Lyme Regis Grammar School when we started there and the Woodroffe School by the time we left.

Neither one of us can believe we are in our early sixties; it seems just like yesterday Peter was chasing all the girl boarders at Rhode Hill and I spent all my time kicking a ball around the top field.

Neither of us were great academics but Peter had a confident personality from an early age and none of us at school believed he would be anything other than a success in the wider world.

Me? I was a bit of a wimp at school, apart from on the football field, and wasn’t expected to come to much, as our headmaster at the time, the late Thornton Pearn, so kindly put it when I left.

My greatest disappointment was having to cry off being the main speaker and presenting the prizes at the school speech day when I was mayor due to work commitments. Long-serving master George Lloyd-Jones stood in for me.

Thornton, greatly unimpressed by local dignitaries, would probably have stuck to his opinion that I hadn’t come to much.

These are difficult times for the education community but I can think of no one more focussed or determined than Peter Fortnam to ensure our alma mater prospers and progresses.

As the line in the old school song says: “Oh school, may we be worthy yet of thee...”

EVENT OF THE WEEK

WHAT a diverse community with live in. On Friday night a 100 or so people attended the second public meeting over the Three Cups furore in what I was told was “a very lively” meeting. That’s a Lyme euphemism for “they tore chunks off each other,” although I understand it wasn’t that bad.

Then on Saturday, over 200 packed into the Marine Theatre to listen with intent concentration to every word spoken by one of the big names of our times in television - Sir David Attenborough.

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend Friday’s Three Cups meeting due to illness in the family. But I did make it to the Marine to listen to Sir David.

What a superb performance. He kept us spellbound for over an hour (no notes were used), waxing lyrically and informatively on the days when winged reptiles with 40 feet wingspans flew above the cliffs of Lyme Regis.

Now I have to admit that pterosaurs are not my area of expertise but you could not help being transfixed by what Sir David had to say.

How many other communities with a 3,500 population would be able to attract such a celebrity - a word that Sir David would hate - to its town?

His appearance was obviously the highlight of the Mary Anning Weekend programme, organised by Lyme Regis Museum.

Now here’s a bit of a moan about my fellow Lyme Regians. I’m always gobsmacked that so many have never set foot in the museum. Go and see it. You can’t really appreciate the town in which you were born without looking at our colourful and diverse history. It’s what has shaped us.

Back to the Mary Anning Weekend. I was clearly born 50 years too early. At school we were never taught about fossils or indeed Mary Anning. I didn’t even know the road in which I was born was named after her.

Well done to all those volunteers down at the museum who put in so much effort. And a special word of praise for curator Mary Godwin who is certainly helping to put Lyme on the map.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk

Petherton open up gap at top of the Premier division

SOUTH Petherton have opened up a six points lead at the top of the Perry Street Premier division after humbling main challengers Merriott Rovers 3-0 on Saturday.

Petherton have played one more game (six) than the following pack but the victory would have sent out a clear message to the other title contenders, especially champions Lyme Regis.

The third and fourth placed sides, Beaminster and Lyme, were both on Coronation Cup duty on Saturday and will be keen to narrow the gap this coming weeekend.

Beaminster entertain Barrington, sixth in the table with five points from four games. Lyme were due to travel to Ilminster Reserves who sit in fifth place, but this game has been postponed.

Coronation Cup

HOLDERS Lyme Regis kept their hopes of retaining the trophy alive with a 2-1 victory in a scrappy game at Combe St Nicholas and a place in the semi-final.

Lyme took the lead after 20 minutes through Jason Hawker, one of three players drafted into the side by manager Robin Townsend after the Seasiders’ poor performance against Beaminster the week before.

The former Bridport player headed home from close range from an Adam Caddy flick-on after the home team failed to deal with a corner.

Combe got back on equal terms five minutes before the break when they scored from a quick breakaway through Garry Warren. It came from an excellent move from inside their own half which was finished well.

It took Lyme until five minutes before the final whistle to book their semi-final place. Skipper Adam Caddy put the ball away when a Joel Gostling shot was parried by the keeper.

Combe had a glorious chance to make it 2-2 in a one-on-one with the Lyme keeper, Ashley Caddy, but Warren’s touch let him down.

Hutchings admitted it wasn’t a great football spectacle – “not like the old Combe-Lyme games” – but thought that over 90 minutes the home team just shaded it.

He was full of praise for lone front-runner Stuart Bicknell, describing his workrate and performance as “tremendous” and considered it to be a good all round showing.

Ilminster Reserves also got through to the semi-final with a 4-2 extra-time victory over high-riding Beaminster.

Following their excellent 1-0 victory over Premier champions Lyme Regis last week, this was a disappointing result for Beaminster.

The score was 2-2 after full time with Beaminster’s goals coming from Sam Crocker after 20 minutes and Ben Warren (87 minutes).

On target for Ilminster in normal time were Mike Whitfield and Ian Masters with Masters and Paul Stoodley grabbing the extra-time winners.

Beaminster manager Shaun Annettes did not help their cause by using all the substitute which meant that his team played half of the second half and all of extra-time with only ten men as Murray Legg had to go off with a hamstring injury.

Division One Cup

TOP Perry Street performance of the day came from Crewkerne who sauntered into the semifinal of the Division One Cup with a 11-2 victory over Norton Athletic.

Paul Gold hit a hat-trick with Gavin Charles, Barry Hayne and Kev Wheller getting two apiece. Jamie Spurdle and Lee Banks also weighed in with strikes for the Tigers.

Sam Hall and Ashley Rose replied for Norton who admitted they were “played off by the park by some superb football”.

Premier Division

FROM 2005 to 2008, South Petherton reigned supreme in the Premier division, winning the title three years on the trot.

Before that run of success, Petherton’s only othet success in the top flight came in the early 1960s when they won it on two successive seasons.

Last season Petherton were beaten into second place by Lyme Regis but if their performance last Saturday is anything to go by they are determined to win back the league’s top honour. Petherton banged in three goals in emphatic style without reply against their nearest contenders, Merriott Rovers.

Goals from man of the match Tim John, Dean Smith and Danny Rendell secured the points.

Petherton are without a league game this coming Saturday so Merriott will be hoping to make up ground with a home clash with Farway United.

Division One

WINSHAM United continued their unbeaten form in Division One with a 3-2 win at Thorncombe and will surely make that five on the trot when they meet bottom side Charmouth this Saturday. Winsham were coasting to victory with a two-goal lead at half-time, courtesy of goals from Tom Stead and John Simmons.

Stuart Packer pulled one back for Thormcombe after the break Jon-Paul Doyle restored United’s dominance soon with substitute Richard Gorse getting Thorncombe’s second.

Ilminster Colts, second from bottom, found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing by high riding Millwey Rise, George Miles getting the consolation goal, and Forton Rangers picked up a point at home to Lyme Regis Reserves, thanks to an own goal.

Division Two

TOP South Somerset side in Division Two Crewkerne Rangers also conceded six goals to top side Beaminster Reserves, their lone reply coming from Andy Loveless.

Division Three

MISTERTON maintained the dominant form at the top of Division Three, banging in nine goals without reply at home to Farway United Reserves. Ricky Smith top scored with a hat-trick.

Luso-Chard also hit nine away to Drimpton without reply, a hat-trick coiming from Marco Quedos to bring his tally for the season to 14.

Division Four

LEADERS West & Middle Chinnock handed out a 11-1 thrashing ar home to Shepton Reserves with Danny Rudge banghing in four goals.

In second place on the same number of points but lagging on goal difference are Combe St Nicholas B who recorded a 4-2 win at home to Barrington Reserves with Jay Stewart getting a brace.

www.viewfromonline.co.uk