Exmouth Town Under-15s finally played their first home of the 20/21 Season and were looking to bounce back after a heavy defeat the previous week at Pinhoe.
Town started the game brightly, but struggled to break down a very well drilled Westexe back four, eventually managing to open their account in the 20th minute.
Brad Upcott played the ball over the top of the defensive back line and striker Harry Williams latched on to the ball, rounded the advancing ‘keeper and slotted home to make it 1-0. Upcott then forced the visiting keeper into two smart saves in five minutes.
The visiting side started to find some momentum and pushed forward looking for an equaliser. They came close just before the break but Matthew Burke managed to make a last-ditch clearance to keep the home side advantage going into half-time.
The hosts were under pressure right from the restart, but to their credit, Town held firm, with Charlie James playing a solid role alongside Burke at the heart of the Exmouth defence.
In fact, Town were getting the better of the chances. Both Ned Mills and Josh Evans went close, but Westexe equalised on the hour mark. Goalkeeper Isaac Firth was finally beaten, after a very good performance between the sticks, by a tap-in at the far post.
Town didn’t take long to respond and retake the lead. Sam Sidgwick played in Josh Coles and he just managed to outpace the defenders to stab the ball past the ‘keeper and into the net.
The game started to break down and was becoming end-to-end stuff. Upcott, Mills and Williams all went close. Defensively, Town had to thank Kieron Long for a fantastic last-ditch tackle to keep the visitors at bay.
At the final whistle, both managers agreed that it was great game and must be done again. A special mention to young referee Dylan Williams who was fantastic in the middle and would appear to have a bright future in the game if this performance is anything to go by.