Paulton Rovers 1 Melksham Town 3. For the second home game in a row, Paulton were well beaten by a visiting team.

Melksham Town, whom Rovers had beaten earlier in the season, were the latest side to control the game for long periods at Winterfield Road.

On a near perfect playing surface, Paulton started brightly. Dan McBeam went close to scoring in the third minute when shooting into the side netting following good work from Joe Morgan and Brandon Bak on the right. But Melksham threatened when home goalie Aaron Sainsbury was forced to save at the feet of Jay Malshanskyj after he linked well with Albert Hopkins.

The game was evenly poised at this point. McBeam scuffed a shot wide for Rovers while Melksham’s Joe Porton had his cross caught by Sainsbury who then saved from Sam Hendy’s free kick.

McBeam’s tricky runs were causing some problems for the Melksham defence, but no clear goal scoring opportunities resulted. Sainsbury made a great save with his feet to deny dangerman Hopkins. After thirty three minutes, Hopkins then showed terrific hold up play to present a chance for Aaron Witchell whose precise shot beat Sainsbury to give Melksham a deserved lead.

Paulton tried hard to respond and first Will Hailston and then Nick Hewlett had chances but lacked the quality or composure to unduly trouble McIntosh Boyd in the Melksham goal. The first half ended as Hailston had a snap shot well saved by a scrambling Boyd.

The second half began with Luke Hopper, the Town centre forward, booked for a succession of fouls, but in the forty ninth minute he managed, unchallenged, to cross the ball for Malshanskyj to double Melksham‘s lead with a fine strike.

Paulton huffed and puffed, but did so enough to reduce the arrears in the fifty sixth minute. Morgan got his head on to a fine free kick from captain Nuno Felix and guided the ball past Boyd to make it 1-2.

Melksham retained control of the game, through better ball control and more accurate passing while Paulton’s efforts to find the front men with long and high passes were too often easily read and successfully defended.

Paulton substitute Ed Butcher had an immediate impact on the game, and his left wing runs began to trouble the Melksham defenders but, although corners were won, nothing came of them. In the sixty second minute, Hopkins, this time cutting in from the right, half hit a low shot which Sainsbury, wrongfooted and unsighted due to a Town forward in a suspiciously offside position, could only watch as it trickled into the net to make the score 1-3.

Rovers started to show some quality of their own and Dan Restorick headed over the bar from a Butcher corner. Felix and McBeam had efforts charged down or deflected away. But overall, Rovers lacked the guile and skill to open up a determined and solid Melksham defence.

The Paulton faithful, again suffering the cold draught of defeat, await some authoritative play in midfield, and accurate ground passes through to their willing front runners.

Paulton men of the match: Nuno Felix – strong defensively, super free kicks and corners.

The ground staff: for preparing a lovely playing surface. Noel Avis