Timsbury Athletic’s impressive season reached new heights with a 10-1 destruction of Saltford in the UHlsport Somerset County League Division One and with five matches to go they lead the division by six points. The visitors were by no means a poor side but they had no answer to the home side’s aggressive running up front and their clinical finishing.
Saltford almost took an early lead when home keeper Ashton Tucker’s clearance went straight to Aaron Messenger but Tucker managed to get back to goal before the ball could cross the line. Ellis Hancock had a chance to put the home side in front after being set up by Chris Midgley but miskicked with the goal at his mercy. With another opportunity soon after he immediately made amends curling a delightful left foot shot past George Dancey in the Saltford goal.
A devastating 14-minute burst then decided the match with leading scorer Rhys Cook completing a hat-trick as early as the 23rd minute. The visitors’ defence were all at sea as he raced clear to confidently find the net, his third goal courtesy of a clever flick on from Hancock. Saltford pulled a goal back on the half-hour when Sean Seavill’s free-kick beat Tucker after a big deflection and despite being three goals in arrears the visitors still looked well capable of making a game of it.
Any lingering hopes Saltford may have had of a comeback diminished within five minutes of the second half. First Hancock added his second goal with a neat lob over Dancey’s head and then Toby Neilson scored the goal of the game with a superb strike after sweeping past the visitors’ defence. On the hour it was 7-1 when Cook intercepted an errant back pass for his fourth goal and Cook then laid on the eighth goal for substitute Ebner Heatley who finished well.
James Humble and substitute Ali Grant both tested Tucker at the other end but Timsbury were not yet finished. With five minutes left Neilson’s cross was tapped in by Cook for his fifth goal and a minute later substitute Reuben Hobbs made it 10-1 for Timsbury’s biggest win in years.
Malcolm Tucker