PAULTON Rovers’ dip in form in Division One South of the Southern League continued when they went down to Exmouth Town 2-0 - for the second game in a row - on Saturday afternoon, writes Jon Green.

After being beaten at home the previous weekend, Rovers were looking to get back to winning ways away against Exmouth but were under pressure right from the start.

An early chance in the first five minutes flew over the bar for Exmouth but the warning signs were there. In the 13th minute the ball was carelessly given away in midfield with goalkeeper Archie Matthews having to pull off a great save to stop the Seasiders taking an early lead. The ball spilled to another Exmouth man but he skied the shot from close range.

Rovers were struggling to get any momentum with the ball and were resorting to long balls over the top that were easily being picked off.

The first goal for Exmouth came in controversial conditions. Aarron Denny picked the ball up 30 yards out and seemingly strolled through the Rovers defence to stroke the ball in. However Dylan Gould had been elbowed in the face in the build up and the visitors were expecting a whistle for the blow to the head. The referee dismissed the protests.

However, it would be churlish to say Exmouth didn’t deserve some sort of lead. Archie Matthews made a string of saves to keep the score to 1-0 while Rovers did little themselves to level it up.

The second half saw Rovers needing to fire a little and certainly a little more needle crept into the game. The visitors did look to get forward more even if they could not fashion a clear cut chance.

Exmouth’s second came in the 62nd minute as Ben Steer shot from the left. The ball deflected out to Denny who smashed the ball in for his second of the day.

Another highly controversial moment came in the 78th minute when Alfie Kelleher nipped in front of his man in the box only to be taken out by a knee in his back. It was a clear penalty but nothing was given. Ironically, the ball eventually fell to Sid Partridge who hit a good shot that had to be well saved.

Although Archie Matthews continued to make good saves from Exmouth’s attacks, Rovers had looked somewhat brighter in the second half. Dylan Gould was sent off late in the game for a second yellow card which only added to the misery to the Rovers supporters.

The performance was arguably the worst of the season so far and there needs to be a big reaction when Tiverton Town come to The Winterfield Stadium on Wednesday evening (Nov 11, kick-off 7.30p.m.).

This was Paulton’s sixth loss in 14 league games and they are now down in the relegation zone along with three other teams - Melksham Town, Slimbridge and Bristol Manor Farm. Only two points separate these four teams but Paulton have played fewer games than the rest.

Meanwhile, Weymouth moved into a three-point lead at the top of the table after they gained a 5-0 away victory over Slimbridge - the biggest win of the day.

Biggest crowd of the day was at Melksham where the home side gained a 2-1 success against Falmouth Town before a near 500 gate.