By Kevin Marriott

WESTERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION

Barnstaple Town 2 Saltash United 1

FORMER Bude striker Billy Hopcroft scored twice in the opening 10 minutes to leave depleted Saltash with a mountain to climb on a difficult pitch at Mill Road on Saturday.

A Tom Huyton goal in the 34th minute got the Ashes back into the contest but they were unable to turn chances into goals as Barum held out for all three points.

Saltash manager Macca Brown said: “I thought we were excellent for long periods of the game on a really tough pitch, and we are really disappointed to take nothing from the game at all.

“Admittedly we started badly, we didn’t lay a glove on them in that first 10 minutes and gifted them an opening goal which is not how you want to start games – away from home especially.

“To go 2-0 down in the opening 10 minutes was disastrous but we’ve been really let down by the linesman on the second one.

“It was probably the only real mistake by the officials collectively all afternoon, the referee was excellent, but the offside wasn’t even close.

“He’s about four yards offside and the only person standing in the box so I have absolutely no idea how he’s not given it and ultimately that goal was the difference.

“I hate being the person to review it on the Veo, but when it shows it so clearly it’s disappointing that he’s missed it in real time.”

Brown went on: “We really settled then and played some good stuff considering the pitch, we scored a brilliant goal and I thought at that point we’d go on and win the game and we should have done.

“We had some brilliant chances and openings but to find any quality on that pitch was so difficult. The ball would either die or bobble at the key moment, but I was delighted with our approach.

“We let ourselves down in the last 10 minutes when Kieran (O’Melia) was sin-binned as that gives them a free man to find, help relieve pressure and it killed our threat.

“We still had great chances in that period to get an equaliser but we just weren’t able to turn the screw like we did last week.”

Brown added: “The overall performance was good, especially with a number of key players in Rikki (Shepherd), Hayden (Greening), Paynee (Tom Payne) and Aaron (Goulty) all unavailable.

“It was good enough to win the game so we can carry that into the next game because it’s all you can do. Sometimes the result is taken out of your hands and that was the case yesterday to a certain degree.”

Saltash remain 12th in the table and have this weekend off before they return to action next Saturday with a home game against Bristol-based Oldland Abbotonians (3pm).

BARNSTAPLE TOWN: Jim Weeks, Callum Rose, Euan Washbrook, Josh Baxter, Brodie Montague, Lee Gardener (capt), Scott Piper, Joe Grigg, Tommy Rogers, Billy Hopcroft, Josh Parry. Subs: Ricky Marinaro, Nathan Colley, Dan Wilson, Stuart Bowker, Callum Deemer.

SALTASH UNITED: Tyler Coombes, Tom Huyton, Tom Badcott, Ben Goulty (Nick Salop, 85), Alfie Wotton, Finley Wilkes, Kieran O’Melia, Jack Wood, Deacon Thomson (Freddy Tolcher, 59), Eli Evans (Josh Toulson, 59), Joe Preece (Sam Pearson 67). Sub not used: Lee Britchford.