Timsbury scored all four goals in the first 25 minutes of the match to effectively end it as a contest, claiming all three points in this Division One East of the Somerset Senior League game.

The first goal came on five minutes, when a run down the left-hand side of the box by Ellis Hancock resulted in him whipping the ball across the face of the goal, only to be turned past his own keeper by a Long Ashton defender to make it 1-0.

Within a minute, Long Ashton were thankful to their keeper Atkin, who somehow managed to tip a blistering shot from Hancock onto the bar and away for a corner. After ten minutes, Atkin was unable to repeat this feat, when another Hancock shot from eighteen yards found the corner of the net to make it 2-0.

Long Ashton had no answer to Timsbury’s dominance and they fell further behind, when Hancock laid the ball through for Lutwama to fire into the top corner to make it 3-0. It should have become four almost immediately, when the same combination left Lutwama one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot ran wide of the far post.

The fourth goal came on 25 minutes, when Cook evaded the last defender and calmly slid the ball past the on-rushing Atkin in the Long Ashton goal. Neilson was unlucky not to increase the lead further, when after fine work from Cook he found himself with only the keeper to beat, but was thwarted by another fine Atkin save.

Scrivens in the Timsbury goal was somewhat of a bystander in the first half, although a cross shot from Sullivan on half-time that flashed past his far post meant that he had to remain alert.

The home side started poorly in the second half, and were lucky not to concede early on when a cross from the left found Sullivan, who fired home, only to be given offside. To their credit, Long Ashton continued to press, and had the lion’s share of possession without really troubling the Timsbury goal.

The tireless running of Hailston in the Timsbury midfield did much to contain the opposition’s attacks. Despite the home side failing to reach the heights of the first, it was Timsbury who had the best chances to increase the scoring, with the pace of Cook constantly causing problems, only to be denied by a combination of poor finishing or fine goal-keeping.

The Long Ashton goal led a charmed life with late efforts from Heatley and Lutwama, who both had goal-bound efforts cleared off the line with the keeper well-beaten.

Man Of Match: Jim Hailston, Timsbury Atheltic.

Rob Veater