Competition

Date

Saturday 9th April 2011

Match Report by Ned Payne (Swindon Advertiser)

Marine put Didcot in drop zone

Supermarine might be destined for a mid-table finish in the Southern Premier but they played their part in the league’s relegation battle at the weekend.

 

Marine saw off Didcot 2-0 at the Webb’s Wood Stadium to plunge the Oxfordshire side into the drop zone after Weymouth thumped Tiverton 4-0 in Devon.

 

 

The return of the influential Dave Bampton played a key role in the victory, the ex-Swindon Town man coming back from suspension to command centre midfield and even get himself on the score sheet alongside Carl McHugh. It was McHugh that opened the scoring eight minutes before the break, when Marine were awarded a disputed free kick 20 yards out and the Reading defender curled a brilliant strike past Didcot goalkeeper Sam Warrell.

The hosts had earlier got lucky when Michael Alexis’ powerful volley bounced back off the crossbar, while Morgan Williams and Elliott Osbourne-Ricketts also fired just over. Bampton grabbed the second five minutes after the break when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up at the back to smash home a superb shot from outside the box. Didcot rarely threatened to get themselves back in it although Jamie Heapy fired over from close range late on, and that miss ensured Marine took their first victory in more than a month, much to the delight of joint caretaker boss Matt Robinson.

“It was really good to get three points,” he said. “We haven’t won for a few games and all-round we were really pleased with the performance. Everyone applied themselves well and it was a good effort, we played some good football on a difficult pitch, “Having Dave Bampton back was a big plus as he’s been out of the side for six games. He played really well and gave us that bit of added experience. “They had a lot of possession at times but they didn’t particularly hurt us. I don’t remember our keeper having to make a save as such. We dealt with everything that went into the box and were a threat going forward.”

 

Match Report from a Didcot perspective...

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