Lavant reserves rack up a perfect ten

Division three south

Enforced changes to the Lavant team because of injury and first-team call-ups did nothing to disrupt their rhythm as they hit double figures.

Darren Cox got on the scoresheet within three minutes.

The Sportsman keeper’s long clearance was headed back towards goal by Jason Houghton into the path of Stuart Loversidge, who squared to Cox to score.

Martin Ayers got the ball down the flank past the right-back before picking out Cox with an inch-perfect cross for his second.

Sportsman almost pulled one back as a long-range shot almost caught keeper Tom Turner off-guard, but he scrambled back and tipped the ball over for a corner.

Lavant were soon rewarded with their third as winger Dave Maclean jinked past a couple of players before crossing for Loversidge headed home.

Full-back Dan Ranjbar created Lavant’s fourth, picking out Maclean. He went on a darting run beating three defenders before scoring the goal of the game.

The Sportsman tried hard to get back into the game but Lavant’s new-look defence stood firm and Loversidge and Cox combined well up front, causing havoc on the counter-attack as they added goals five and six and Cox claimed his first but surely not his last 
hat-trick in a Lavant shirt.

With confidence high, midfielder Jason Houghton added another with a delightful goal from the edge of the box and defender Simon Green made it eight, scoring from a Maclean corner.

At half-time Lavant brought on Joe Green, Dan Page and Louis Weller and The Sportsman, fresh from a grilling, started the livelier and pulled a goal back as their striker beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper.

Lavant settled and Maclean, Cox and Weller all went close to extending Lavant’s lead but full-back Green had to show them how it’s done by going on an excursion from the halfway line, playing a neat one-two with Maclean and drilling the ball home to score the ninth.

There was time for one more goal as Cox headed his fourth.

Man of the match Green said: “We’ve have had a poor run of results of late and to come here and score so many goals will give us a boost for the next game. “If we are ever short of strikers in the team, I am always available!”

LAVANT: Turner, Ranjbar, Evans, Cairns, S Green, Maclean, Massey, Houghton, Ayers, Cox, Loversidge. Subs: J Green, Weller, Page.

The Ship 0 Predators 2

Division three south

Predators started looking lively.

Man of the match Ian Headley orchestrated the midfield and was unlucky not to get a couple.

Predators went one up when Chris Jackson poked home.

Stand-in keeper Billy Nash didn’t have a save to make. The second came when Scott Hampton fired in a superb free-kick.