Devon and Exeter six

South Zeal United 3

Exwick Village 3

A LACK of key players in South Zeal’s recent games has led to a poor run of form, with them losing their last two games. The poor weather also meant that the home side had not played a match for more than two weeks going into this fixture.

Looking to get back to winning ways coach Garry Smith set his side out with just three in his backline.

This decision looked a bit suspect when Exwick found the Zeal net inside the first minute, playing into the strong winds and up the slope, Exwick nicked the ball from kick off and burst up the left flank before stroking the ball into the net to give them the lead.

With the wind in their favour United began to control the rest of the half, creating some good scoring chances.

Five minutes before half-time the home side equalised when man of the match Tom Reilly picked out the run of Zeal frontman Adam Clark with a perfect long ball; Clark latched onto it before cutting inside the last defender and rifling the ball into the far corner of the net.

The second half saw the appearance of debutants Jake Barber and Luke Jefferies, who both had good impacts on the match.

Zeal, playing into the strong winds, had to deal with the pressure as Exwick made use of the wind and created a few decent chances.

Zeal’s goalkeeper Matt Dennis was forced to make some superb saves between the sticks.

The home side took the lead when Luke Jefferies’ beautifully weighted flicked pass found the run of Samuel Jones, who poked the easiest of chances into the net to make it 2-1.

Again Exwick pressed and always looked comfortable on the ball, their midfield players gave Zeal’s defence plenty to deal with. Unable to break through the solid back line Exwick resorted to shooting from distance, this bore fruit as the away side struck a low curling effort into the bottom right of the Zeal net.

With two minutes left, Harley Cann surged down the left wing before sending a ball into the box which was met by Harry Smith; he feigned his way past a defender before his deflected strike found the net, seemingly giving Zeal the win!

However, one last attack from Exwick saw Harry Smith needlessly chop down a Village striker, giving away a free kick in a dangerous area. Exwick’s central midfielder stepped up, sending a glorious strike into the bottom right of the net to snatch the three points from Zeal with the last kick of the game.

It was a good game to watch for the spectators and a fair result in the end.