With several changes again forced on manager Craig Carr, Minehead FC travelled to Glastonbury on Saturday, March 15, knowing that a win would put them into fifth place in the table, writes Brian Walder.
However, a generally below-par performance was not enough to beat the hosts, resulting in Glastonbury now sitting fifth.
Glastonbury started like they meant business, and in the opening minutes, they had the ball in the net when centre-forward Cameron Nicholson ran through after a perfect pass to expertly lob Jack Harding but was deemed to have been offside.
After another incisive move that almost caught Minehead out, they did go behind after 15 minutes when Brett Cotterill received a slide rule pass inside the box, beat his marker, and competently beat Harding from 10 yards out.
After Minehead had forced their first corner, it was not long before another scare for them when Dan Quirke broke through the defence, but this time the shot was straight at Harding and comfortably saved.
A marauding run from Blues centre-half George Painter saw him end up sending in a perfect winger's cross from close to the right touchline, which was perfectly flighted for Toby Waghorn, but his deft header from ten yards was well saved by the Dollies' keeper Gareth Lamb.
Disaster then struck Minehead when influential captain Stefan Phillips went down after a recurrence of a lingering groin injury saw him go down and, after receiving treatment, could take no further part in the game.
The Blues stayed positive, however, and substitute Guy Burns played a perfect ball out to Toby Waghorn, this time in a wide position, and an even better cross was met by a "perfect" header from Burns, which the large crowd along the touchline were convinced had gone inside the post, but it had gone inches wide of the post.
The hosts doubled their advantage not long afterwards, through a header by Sam Mullins from Cotterill’s perfectly flighted free kick.
The second half had fewer incidents and no further goals, but the Blues did go close through a Bellinger free kick which was saved at the foot of the post, and good opportunities fell to both Josh Elston and Guy Burns, who couldn’t convert two attempts from the edge of the box.
Minehead: Jack Harding, Harvey Henderson, Miles Campbell-Farmer, Louis Burge, George Painter, Will Singleton-Voss, Stefan Phillips, Josh Elston, Toby Waghorn, Ian Bellinger, Sam Jackson
Subs: Scott Kivell, Guy Burns, James Knight, Oli Reaney (All Used)
Man of the Match: George Painter
Minehead face a particularly stiff task at the Rec on Saturday, March 22, when runaway league leaders Congresbury come to town for a 3pm kick-off.
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