Tue 26th December. Toolstation Division One Warminster Town 1 United 3

Westbury came out on top of the Boxing Day local derby with a hard fought 3-1 win.

With half of the games in the Toolstation Western League Division 1 postponed due to the weather, close attention was paid to the Warminster pitch by the referees prior to the match. They were content that even though it was wet, it was safe to play, so despite the conditions, the game went ahead.

It didn’t take long for Westbury to open the scoring. After only 3 minutes Jamie Jordan was fouled out on the left wing and awarded a free kick. He stepped up and delivered an in-swinging free kick that was met by the head of Ricky Hulbert who nodded it home.

The rain was now starting to come down, only lightly, but enough for the pitch to start cutting up. Everyone except Jamie Jordan was struggling to adjust to the rapidly deteriorating pitch. Jordan lured two defenders into the left-hand corner, performed a cheeky step over and a trick, and delivered a low cross which the Warminster goalkeeper punched clear.

On 34 minutes Westbury were gifted a second goal. Dan Kovacs was working hard pressing the defenders when a mistake meant he could steal the ball. He took two or three touches as he advanced towards the edge of the penalty area. As the keeper came out Kovacs coolly slotted the ball past him to make it 2-0. The first half finished 2-0.

The second half started with the rain now getting heavier. Westbury struggled to get any momentum as Warminster started to get on top and looked the more likely to score next. Just before the 50th minute Warminster had a free kick that was delivered into the danger area. Lewis Porter met the ball with a solid fist but only managed to punch it at the Warminster attacker who was closing him down. The ball deflected off the attacker and out for a goal kick. 65 minutes in, Warminster made their good start to the second half count as their captain Charlie Walton cut in from the left-hand side and curled a 25 yarder into the far corner to score the best goal of the game and make it 2-1.

Westbury’s third goal came in the 73rd minute from another Jamie Jordan set piece. This time a corner was curled in and met by the head of Westbury captain Dan Price to make it 3-1.

Warminster player manager Mark Breffit received a red card late on for a late sliding tackle. Not much football was played in the last 10 minutes, the heavy pitch made life difficult for both sets of players. The referee called time and confirmed Westbury’s fourth league win in a row.

Team: Lewis Porter, Grant Gunning, Leon Greenland, Steve Hulbert, Dan Price, Matt Jones, Jamie Jordan, Jordan Pinder, Ricky Hulbert, Dan Kovacs, Mark Robinson. Subs: Josh Ferguson, Joe Kirkpatrick, Ryan Baggs (used) Sean Brereton, Dan Jordan (unused). Star Man: Jamie Jordan

Picture: Ricky Hulbert bearing down on the Warminster goal