WATCHET came within a whisker of their first victory in Division Two on Saturday at home to Bridgwater A.

They elected to bowl first against a side looking to push towards the top of the table on a deck which could provide some assistance if they got the ball in the right areas.

T Netto took the attack to them with an aggressive innings, but his fellow top order batsmen struggled to get the ball away with such freedom as Watchet tried to strangle the score from the other end.

Matt Lovell continued his good form with the ball, going for only 24 off his nine overs.

When Netto was finally out for 62, the visiting side were in a decent position on 96-3 but fully aware that a couple of quick wickets could change the game.

Mix-ups brought Watchet three run outs in the middle overs, bringing Bridgwater’s target score down from around 250 to 225, but a good spell from Ben Robinson, taking 3-28 at the death, limited them to 204 all out.

Watchet’s reply got off to a shaky start as they lost Lovell in the fourth over, but then an important 112-run stand between Peter Manley (50) and Martin Strong (33) put them in a strong position.

However, a middle order collapse, with the required run rate quickly going up, meant it was doom and gloom again for the home side until an aggressive 35 from Robinson put them right back in it, needing only 19 off the last two overs.

A wicket off the second ball left Watchet in a precarious position, with their last pair still neeeding eight to win, and although they ran hard they couldn’t find the gaps in the field and Bowden was bowled off the last ball with four still to win.