Report

Misterton 0 Lyme Regis 2 (Perry Street Premier Division)

With nearly all games postponed due to waterlogged pitches it was left to Misterton and Lyme Regis to battle out the only Premier Division game to beat the weather. Despite the heavy conditions Lyme produced an excellent performance and returned home with 3 vital points as they recorded their first away league win of the season.

A determined Lyme started the game very well with Adam Caddy finding acres of space breaking from midfield and some excellent movement up front from Alex Hughes helping to provide full back Malcolm Darby with time and space on the right flank that he used to Lyme's early advantage. After only a few minutes Lyme felt a defender had pushed the ball wide with his hand as an effort was destined for the far corner and then from the resulting corner Adam Caddy's header was clearly over the line as a home defender hooked it clear but the referee waved play on to the dismay of the Lyme camp. Lyme had given a call up to reserve skipper Steve Batey and he produced an excellent performance as he provided the protection to enable Adam Caddy to push on. After 12 minutes Lyme forced yet another corner and it was met by Steve Batey who powered a header goalwards. Again it seemed the ball had already crossed the line before a defender cleared but this time Aaron Cleal, who had been recalled to the starting line up, was on hand to smash the ball home to give Lyme a deserved lead. Lyme continued to dominate possession and chances and the home keeper was kept busy making blocks from Alex Hughes on two occasions before the livewire striker somehow managed to fire over with the goal at his mercy. After 20 minutes Misterton made a tactical change which was testament to Lyme's dominance as they decided to man mark skipper Adam Caddy who was being allowed so much freedom. The change did temporarily disrupt Lyme's game and Misterton nearly hit back as an effort came back off the post before it was cleared to safety by Dom Rowe. On the half hour Aaron Cleal held the ball up well and Adam Caddy then played a fantastic ball into the path of winger Rob Thomson who took it into his stride and hit a superb left foot strike from the corner of the penalty box into the bottom corner. The goal settled Lyme back into life and they went into half time with a deserved two goal cushion.

Lyme emerged from the break forced into making a change as winger Rob Thomson was taken off suffering from a hamstring muscle problem that the Lyme management did not want to make worse. They introduced Mark Bailey onto the left flank to give him his first taste of first team action for 9 weeks since he broke his foot. For the first 15 minutes Lyme looked content to sit back and allowed Misterton too much time on the ball as they pushed to get back into the game. However Lyme always looked dangerous on the break with Alex Hughes again a threat off the shoulders of the home defence. Lyme were awarded a free kick 25 yards out and full back Malcolm Darby nearly extended their lead but his sweet strike came back off the bar. This turned out to be one of three Lyme efforts to strike the crossbar in the second period as an Alex Hughes effort thundered off the bar and a cross come shot from Craig Richards also struck the upright. In between these efforts Aaron Cleal spurned a one on one chance after a slip by a home defender but a cruel bounce off a divot caused him to slice his effort wide. Looking comfortable Lyme gave Fred Thomson a half hour run out and then had to replace Malcolm Darby who had put in an excellent performance with reserve defender Mark Taylor. With ten minutes remaining Taylor injured his ankle and Lyme were left with only 10 men for the final minutes. Misterton sensed a chance to steal something and threw caution to the wind and Ashley Caddy saved a sweet volley to keep them at bay.

This was a morale boosting victory for Lyme and if they can put a good run together they may be able to challenge for a top four position. Lyme boss Rob Thom was pleased to play a game when many others were called off. Despite the rain the pitch wasn't too bad. It was heavy in places but it didn't prevent us from playing some excellent football, particularly in the first half when we could have been out of sight. Steve Batey put in a very competent performance in midfield showing he has the ability to step up into the first team. His performance provided Adam Caddy with the freedom to push on and support our two front runners who worked their socks off today. Despite failing to score Alex Hughes showed great movement and was a constant torment to the Misterton defence. It was also good to see us play football from the back despite the heavy conditions and keep a clean sheet for the first time in a while. We now await the challenge of leaders Crewkerne next Saturday so long as our home pitch is fit. I feel we can match them and we have the opportunity to move on from this win and put together a few wins. What better way than to celebrate Christmas than to beat the league leaders! We will be going out all guns blazing to do this!

Goal summary:

12 min - Aaron Cleal (6/10)
Steve Batey met a corner and his header was cleared off the line only for Aaron Cleal to find the net from six yards out with a clinical right footed effort.

35 min - Rob Thomson (8/10)
Adam Caddy supplied the through-ball, and Rob Thomson found the net from just inside the box with a tremendous left footed effort.