Devon & Exeter Premier

Cullompton Rangers 1

THIS was Hatherleigh's fourth consecutive away fixture, which has brought three successive victories.

The match was particularly hard fought, but to be fair to the away side, following their second half performance they deserved the three points.

Three key players were unavailable, so a new look formation of 5-3-2 started and for the first 30 minutes Hatherleigh found themselves penned in their own half. The home side played impressive possession football and when they did lose the ball, determined tackling soon won it back.

However, throughout all this possession, they did not create one clear-cut chance, and it was Hatherleigh who took the lead. Following a swift counter-attack Simon James threaded a ball across the six-yard area, where Neil Vernon with a perfectly timed run slotted past the keeper.

With the last kick of the half, scores were levelled. A ball played behind the defence led to another dangerous low cross, which was bundled into the net by the Cullompton striker.

The second half was a different tale. Hatherleigh pressured the Cullompton defence from the off, and created a string of chances, with the keeper being more than equal to everything that was thrown at him.

With ten minutes to go, another through-ball from James found Simon White, who capped a superb performance by turning his marker and blasting into the roof of the net from ten yards.

This week home to Tap and Barrel, kickoff at 2.30pm.