ASHTON & BLACKWELL 2 WELTON ROVERS 0

Welton couldn’t capitalise on their fine win against Keynsham last week when they were beaten by two second-half goals from third-place Ashton and Blackwell, and a very controversial decision by the referee.

On a very cold, windy afternoon in North Somerset it was Welton who took the game to their hosts. In the first minute, Dave Cooper raced through the static Ashton defence, and was one-on-one with the keeper, but managed to skew his effort wide of the target.

Ashton replied with a long-range shot from Connor Saunders that was well-wide of the Welton goal. Welton were awarded a free-kick on the far right – the delivery was met by Cooper, who headed across goal, where the ball was met by Joe Battrick, who thumped his header against the Ashton bar. The ball dropped straight down to the goal-line, and there was a big shout that the ball had crossed it, but the assistant referee was dead in-line and ruled it out.

It was all Welton, and Lewis Coleman was denied by last-ditch defending from the hosts. Then, minutes later, Coleman launched a stinger of a shot, but Ashton keeper, Lewis Coombes, brought off a stunning save to deny the youngster. Welton were totally on top, and excellent play from Shakel Green saw him wend his way through the hosts’ defence and find Cooper in space, but the ball just took that extra pace, and Cooper was unable to connect.

At the other end, Welton had a nervy moment when Tom Drewitt raced out of his area, and as the ball bobbled up, he tried to head away, but the ball fell to Dan Elton who shot goalwards, and Welton had full-back, Sam Stoppard, to thank for clearing the ball off the line. Welton continued to press Ashton, and Coleman, on the edge of the area, let fly with another cracking shot, only to be denied again by top drawer goalkeeping from Coombes.

Welton centre-back, Aaron Cockerill, then went close with a near-post flick. Just before half-time, Welton Captain, Richard Hurd, picked up a knock and was replaced by Dylan Hatt. It was a frustrating first half for Welton, as all their good work failed to produce the vital opening goal.

The second half began with Ashton stepping up a gear, and Drewitt was on-hand to save a free-kick from James White. Ashton’s Elton was then shown a yellow card for a strong challenge on Tom Smith, and Joe Bishop followed shortly into the referee’s book for a crunching tackle on Battrick, as the hosts were certainly making their presence felt.

The game was getting a bit heated, and Drewitt was on-hand again to save with his trailing leg to deny substitute, Jack Flowers’ first-time shot. However, the hosts were not to be denied, and opened the scoring in the 77th minute. Elton was found on the edge of the Welton area, and he made his way past three challenges before drilling his shot into the far corner of the Welton net to score a very good goal.

Minutes later, the game-changing moment occurred. A long-ball from Drewitt was taken by the wind and fell just inside the Ashton penalty area, where Cooper raced onto it and Coombes came flying out with his leg raised. He then turned towards Cooper and caught him chest-high with his raised leg, causing the Welton striker to collapse in a heap. The assistant referee, who had a clear sight of the incident, was flagging wildly, indicating a foul. Coombes, by this time, had thrown the ball out of play.

The referee spoke to Coombes whilst Cooper received treatment and then went over to his assistant. After a lengthy discussion, he awarded Welton a throw-in. The travelling Green Army couldn’t believe their eyes that a penalty hadn’t been awarded and the keeper hadn’t been sent off.

This knocked the stuffing out of Welton, and just before full-time, substitute, Harry Walker, lobbed Drewitt, only to see his effort hit the Welton bar. As the game was well into stoppage time, Walker raced through the Welton defence and scooped the ball over Drewitt’s head to score Ashton and Backwell’s second goal.

On Wednesday, 13th March, Welton travel to Southern League Taunton Town in the Quarter-Final of the Somerset Premier Cup; kick-off 7.45 p.m.

Next Saturday, 16th March, Welton entertain Bristol Telephones at West Clewes; kick-off 3 p.m.

Bob Allard