Somerset Intermediate Cup  

Uplyme Reserves 3, Merriott Dynamos 4

THIS was the classic game of two halves. With changes made to the line-up again, a young Uplyme side started a bit hesitantly. A lack of communication was their downfall and a couple of individual errors saw the Swallows quickly go two down.

A couple of injuries didn't help, Conor Newns and Jack Fitzgerald being replaced mid-way through the first half.

Two further goals saw heads dropping as Uplyme reached half-time four goals down. The half-time team talk was robust but clearly effective. Uplyme were a different team second half, more organised, more competitive.

A free-kick on the left was cooly slotted into the far corner by the now player-manager Steve Gillan. More pressure resulted in a penalty, dispatched by Ollie Alner.

With their heads up Uplyme bombarded the Merriott defence. A third was rifled in by Mikey Sayers after an excellent through ball. This, unfortunately, was the last kick of the game.

Assistant manager Pete Blandamer was philisophical: "After a terrible first half it was great to see how we reacted. It's clear to see where we need to improve and areas to strengthen. If we'd had 10 minutes more we would have won that game, but we should take heart from our second half performance and build on that. Man-of-the-match for me goes to Mikey for his work rate and industry, capped off with a goal.†