DESPITE a heroic effort, Minehead Blues went down 5-0 at home to Brislington in the third round of the Somerset FA County Under 12 KO Cup.

Right from the outset Brislington dominated play, moving the ball well and gaining ground with some excellent through balls. One such opportunity in the early moments enabled a Brislington forward to get around the Minehead defence line. The nearest Minehead defender had no choice but to go for the tackle, resulting in contact with the forwards feet and the awarding of a Brislington penalty. This was duly converted by Brislington for 1-0.

Blues battled hard, trying to make the most of the opportunities that arose. This included a number of goal attacks and a corner in which midfielder Riley managed to flick the ball towards the bottom right corner of the goal, only for the Brislington keeper to save it.

In the closing minutes of the 1st half a Brislington attack couldn’t be stopped by the Minehead defence, and despite Minehead keeper Lou saving the first strike a second forward was there to finish the job for 2-0 at half time.

The second half developed in a similar way to the first, Minehead battling as hard as they could. Minehead went 3 down 5 minutes into the second half with a stunning strike by a Brislington midfielder.

During the remainder of second half Minehead pushed forward to see if they could achieve that elusive goal, which led to a free kick opportunity for midfielder Leon. Leon’s strike was powerful and on target for the top right corner, but the Brislington keeper was waiting for it and prevented the goal.

As Minehead pushed forward more gaps inevitably opened up at the back, enabling Brislington to score twice more in the final moments.

Parents player of the match: Lou. Coaches player of the match: Leon.