LYME Regis 1st team were denied a late equaliser when Brad Rowe's second strike in the top-of-the-table clash with Alphington was ruled offside in the dying minutes of the game.

The salt was rubbed into the wound when the home linesman admitted to Rowe that he had not been offside.

A point for Julien Simier's men would have taken the Seasiders within striking distance of the Devon and Exeter Premier division leaders with a game in hand, but the gap at the top widened to eight points with Lyme still in second place.

Alphington opened the scoring and could well have increased their lead had it not been for a number of top saves in both halves from keeper Chris Higgs.

Rowe levelled the scores but the home side snatched the winner in the 92nd minute, bringing to an end the Seasiders' seven-game unbeaten run.

Simier said afterwards: "It's just frustrating and a little bit of a wake-up call because we've been playing a game of two halves.

"Our performance in the second half was just not good enough. We need to find a way to play for 90 minutes.'

The number of injuries to key players is not helping Lyme's quest for Premier honours and tomorrow they travel to Dorset Division One side Upwey and Broadway in the Dorset Senior Trophy.

In the days before the Seasiders reached the dizzy heights of Premier football Lyme had a good record in county cup competitions, winning the Dorset Intermediate Cup on nine occasions and the Dorset Junior Cup six times.

But as a Devon and Exeter Premier club Lyme are now considered to be a senior team and are competing at a higher standard against some of Dorset's top sides so its a few years since they have taken any silverware back to the Davey Fort.

Lyme Regis Reserves, beaten 3-1 at home to Heavitress United 1sts last Saturday in Division Three, a result which saw them drop to bottom place, are away to Chagford, two places above them in the table.