Seaton Town 1, 3 Beer Albion 3

An in-form Beer Albion side travelled to Seaton Town for the local East Devon derby last Saturday and returned over the hill with a 3-1 victory over opponents who were reduced to nine men after two red cards.

It was Beer who started the brighter of the two sides, forcing Seaton into an early change of formation which saw the game settle a little.

However, it wasn't long until a sharp, well calculated Beer counter attack saw them take the lead. Nevertheless, Seaton remained spirited in their efforts, the Seasider's defence working hard to render Beer's wingers redundant.

It wasn't long before a swift passing move from the home side resulted in an equaliser. Minutes later, Josh French was put through one-on-one and ended up clattering into the Beer goalkeeper, resulting in a red card for French - a controversial refereeing decision which sadly became a common theme of the derby.

As the second half began, the game looked even and open with either team looking likely to snatch a winner despite Seaton being a man down.

However, yet another decision which the Seaton camp thought was harsh saw Lewis Cottam see red for a challenge in the middle of the park.

With Seaton reduced to nine men, the game became stale and it was Beer staging attack after Beer attack. But playing with less men can be tougher to breakdown and this proved to be the case for Beer.

Seaton brought on substitutes in the hope to win what was now just a lottery of long balls forward. But it wasn't long before Beer took the lead and then just before the full-time whistle Giles Basson scored his second of the game to seal the win for Beer in what could've been a fantastic derby but was sadly ruined by questionable refereeing decisions. The next derby in just a few weeks at Beer looks as though it will also be just as competitive.

This defeat leaves Seaton with just three points from their opening five games. On Saturday (October 31st) Seaton are at home to Lyme Regis who banged in nine goals against third placed Dawlish United last week.