Welton Rovers gained a point in their trip to Portishead, in a game that was a slog for both teams, cancelling each other out.

The game got underway and early Welton pressure saw Dan Cottle brought down on the edge of the area. His free kick was drilled into the mix, but was eventually cleared by the hesitant Portishead defence. Welton followed up this early pressure with Michael Jones and Mark Reynolds causing the home side problems with their forward runs.

Portishead responded and a cracking shot from Josh White saw Andy King in the Welton goal palm the effort away for a corner.Welton were then awarded a penalty, when a dart into the area by Jack Francis saw him brought down and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty. Up stepped Mark Reynolds and his thunderbolt of a shot nearly broke the Portishead bar and went out. Both sides continued to press, but the all-important breakthrough just did not happen.

The second half got underway and it seemed that neither side really got into their stride, with both finding it hard to get control of the game. Goalscoring opportunities were very limited. Welton did use Dan Scrivens on the left and a sharp cross from him saw the ball fall to Jones, with his effort flashing across the Portishead six-yard box. Welton continued to press and further good work by Scrivens saw his cross met by Reynolds, but the striker's effort was well saved by Sebastian Gribble in the home side's goal.

After this, both sides seemed to cancel each other out and the game finished as an uninspiring, goalless draw.

Bob Allard

Welton take on Brimscombe and Thrupp FC in the FA Vase this Saturday at West Clewes and Chairman, Stu Minall, is urging the town to come out and support his side. "It would be great if we get a really good crowd this weekend against Brimscombe. We've had a good little run in the FA Vase this season, the best cup run we've had for a few years, and we desperately want to keep it going – plus, there's £900 for the winners and that's always going to be useful.

"The people involved at this club have put in bundles of effort for the last twelve months and we're making exceptional strides with major improvements to the ground and the performances on the field are coming with it. If we could get just another 25 people through the gate every week, then it would be a huge boost for us. Midsomer Norton now has a progressive football club and we would love to see more people supporting it – starting on Saturday at home against Brimscombe and Thrupp in what should be an absolutely fantastic cup tie."

Brimscombe and Thrupp are based near Stroud and are currently members of the Hellenic Football League.

Stuart Rogers