Welton scored their first goals and points of this season’s campaign with a battling performance over Calne last Saturday.
On a damp, wet afternoon at West Clewes, both teams took time to get to grips with the conditions as the ball was skidding around all over the slippery surface. However, Welton took the lead after fifteen minutes when good work down the left flank by fullback, Aaron Cockerill, saw him find striker, Bradley Whittock, in space on the edge of the Calne area and he launched an excellent curling effort that flew into the far corner of the visitors’ net.
Calne responded and a header from Kris Beasley flew over the Welton bar. Welton continued to press and a 25-yard screamer from Chris Pile was well saved by Tom Shaunessy in the Calne goal. An effort from Aaron Seviour was well held by Shaunessy and Whittock fired straight at the keeper when put through. Just before half-time, Welton keeper, Tom Drewitt, was called into action to save a header from Marcus Lovesey.
The second half saw both sides going all out for the important next goal. Good play from Welton’s Penzi Kakomo saw him beat two players in the area, only to be denied by a last-ditch tackle. A free kick from Tom Smith crashed into the Calne side netting.
Welton thought they had got a second when a bullet header from Joe Garland was fumbled by Shaunessy and Whittock bundled the loose ball into the net only for the referee to disallow it apparently for a foul on the keeper.
At the other end, a great defensive tackle from Smith denied Calne striker, Stuart Windsor, a goal-scoring chance.
The visitors equalised in the seventieth minute when a corner on the left was met by Danny Jones and his superb glancing header flew into the top corner of the Welton net.
Welton’s heads didn’t drop and on the stroke of full-time a corner on the right from Pile caused panic stations in the Calne defence and the ball fell to Kakomo on the edge of the area, who drilled his shot through a melee of players into the Calne net, much to the delight of the Green Army.
After last week’s debacle at Malmesbury, this was an excellent response from Welton and credit goes to the Manager and all the players for a top drawer performance.
Bob Allard