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Report by Jon Green

Rovers came through a tough game, played in the wake of a sudden manager departure and heavy rain, to take all three points on Tuesday evening.

There was an air of nerves around The Winterfield Stadium before the game. The news of Kieran Baggs’ departure along with several squad members was felt in the crowd and coming up against a tough Wellington team, buoyed by recent good results, made this fixture seem like it was going to be an uphill battle.

However, if the supporters showed nerves, there didn’t seem to be too many showed by the Paulton squad. Martin Lenihan, taking the caretaker role chose the strongest team available to him and set about taking the game to Wellington from the off.

The early signs were good as the hosts pressed forward and deservedly grabbed the lead in the sixth minute. Lenihan himself took a short corner sending the ball back to Wayne Nderemani who launched in a cross that was met by the head of Sid Partridge to nod in.

Two minutes later, Max Williams picked up the ball before making a strong run towards the box and cut in and fired a shot inches wide. He had another chance in the 16th minute as Dan McBeam crossed from the left but the chance was smothered by the keeper.

As the half wore on, the game settled and Wellington began to get more possession of the ball. But they laboured going forward and struggled to create any chances.

That is until the 41st minute when Josh Baker broke clear and seemed destined to get a one on one chance with James Smallcombe in Rovers’ goal. But Sid Partridge slid in with a perfectly timed tackle to stop the danger. The visitors also had a shot saved in the final seconds of the half but in general, Rovers’ lead was fair.

The lead didn’t last long into the second half though as Wellington came out the blocks quickly. Suddenly they were moving the ball around quickly and in the 50th minute, Sam Towler slipped in Glen Wright who slid the ball under James Smallcombe to equalise.

The game was now much more level and Wellington pressed forward again soon after with Miles Quick driving a shot wide.

As the rain lashed down, the pitch began to get very heavy making it difficult for both teams to play decent football and create decent chances. It looked like a set piece might be the only way a winner would come. And in the 67th minute Rovers thought they should have had one. After an initial attempt was cleared and with the ball rolling towards the byline, Max Williams nipped in front of an unsuspecting Wellington defender. As he swung to clear the ball he clearly took out Williams but the referee was unmoved.

Four minutes later, Rovers grabbed the winner. Sid Partridge was involved again, feeding the ball to Max Williams who in turn played in Dylan Tate who was able to prod the ball under the keeper from a tight angle.

Tate was set again six minutes later, as Will Osborne played him in but his well struck shot went just wide.

By this time, the pitch was causing players to slip and the narrow lead looked a little fragile but the whole team worked hard and stifled Wellington from creating many openings.

Under the circumstances, it was an exceptional result that showed the spirit in the team.

As sponsored by CFH Doc, the Man of the Match with his goal and immense defensive performance, Sid Partridge was voted Man of the Match.