THE quality of the side Ottery St Mary 2nds fielded in their recent game at  the Davey Fort surprised the Lyme Regis first team.

The Otters were sitting at the foot of the table without a win all season and whilst there are no easy games in the Devon and Exeter Premier division, the Seasiders soon found themselves trailing and were eventually beaten 4-2. There have been big changes at Washbrook Meadow with a number of players transferring to Sidmouth Town along with manager Billy Rouse and new faces coming in.

Whilst the Otters reserve side were running rings around Lyme, their first team were losing 13-0 in the South West Peninsular League.

Lyme went to Ottery determined to avenge that defeat and they started well dominating proceedings early on. Joe Bond fired narrowly wide after being put through by an incisive Mark Bailey through ball but it wasn't until the 25th minute they took a deserved lead when Ben Turner flicked on a corner for the in-form Fred Parsons to head home from close range at the back post.

Despite continued dominance it stayed 1-0 at the break. The second half was a more even affair. Lyme started the better and getting a deserved second when a pinpoint cross from Rob Fellingham was headed home by Fred Parsons after the ball ricocheted off two defenders before crossing the line.

This sparked a mini-revival from Ottery who pushed hard as Lyme inevitably sat back looking to preserve their lead. Some stout defensive play meant Ottery created virtually nothing until the 95th minute when a freakish sliced cross sailed into the top corner giving the previously untested Chris Higgs no chance.

This set up a tense last few moments after the officials added on another seven minutes of injury time, a total of 12 minutes in total. Despite all the pressure Lyme defended stoutly and saw out a deserved win.

It was a superb team effort from the back four who deserve special praise particularly the stand-in right back Alex Rowe and Rikki Sargeant who deputised at centre back.