Welton looked the real deal as they had things all but wrapped up inside the first seven minutes at the AJN Stadium, as they stretched their undefeated league run to nineteen matches and ensured they stay atop the Toolstation Western League Division One.
The visitors took very little time to acclimatise to Keynsham's synthetic pitch and after five minutes, Mark Reynolds made himself enough space to pick a defence-splitting pass, which was read by Dan Cottle, but not Wintle in the Keynsham goal, nor his defenders. Cottle seized upon the pass and clipped his shot expertly into the vacated goal. Welton did not let up and got a second goal, immediately after winning the ball back from the kick-off. Steve Bridges broke through the middle and with Welton players outnumbering those in amber, Anthony Conradi had all the time in the world to draw the keeper and coolly finish into the far corner of the net.
Despite the early lead, Welton would have been well aware of the two-goal lead they squandered in the last ten minutes when the teams met at the end of September. Subsequently, they didn't allow themselves to let up and went in three goals to the good at half-time. With 25 minutes on the clock, Dan Cottle turned provider as his free kick from deep was perfectly measured for Joe Garland, up from right back, to sneak in at the far post and thunder his header down and into the net, his first goal for Welton Rovers.
Keynsham came out the quicker of the two teams in the second half and very briefly had the Greens rocked after Hawkins finished with a great left-footed strike from just outside the box, the best goal of the game. But Welton immediately hit back. Keynsham were once again stretched at the back and Conradi was set free once again, this time on the left-hand side by a Reynolds pass and he finished for his second goal of the afternoon to make it 4–1.
On the hour mark, Keynsham reduced the deficit once again. Welton's second-half play wasn't as fluid as in the first 45 and this was reflected in the slightly lacklustre defending of a corner, which saw Garland get the last touch for an unfortunate own goal. Again though, Welton reacted perfectly, as Anthony Conradi registered his first hat-trick for the club. A free kick sent to the far post found Rickie Scott, whose volley found Conradi two yards out for him to stab home. This was just reward for Conradi who has been in superb form for Welton of late, scoring fourteen goals in his past thirteen games.
The three points were well deserved by Welton Rovers and ample reward for the travelling Green Army supporters who outnumbered the home fans on this sunny February afternoon.