UNIVERSITY OF EXETER II 4

LYME REGIS 1

LYME Regis were comfortably beaten 4-1 by second-placed University of Exeter Seconds at Topsham.

The result puts Lyme in fifth position in the Devon & Exeter League Premier Division, six points behind the students having played one game more.

While the sharpness and technique of Uni eventually shone through, Lyme did have a golden chance at 0-0 when Steve Batey failed to score at the far post.

Jacob Pegler then went straight up the other end to open the scoring with a wonderful shot on the edge of the area, drilling the ball into the top corner in the 25th minute.

READ MORE: Rob Fellingham expects to stay Lyme Regis interim boss

Uni then went 2-0 up eight minutes later when Liam Morritt was allowed to cut inside and fire past keeper Will Meech.

Brad Rowe had Lyme’s only other chance of note, forcing the home keeper into a smart tip round the post.

With Uni beginning to dominate in the second half, the hosts added a third on the hour when a teasing ball across the box was buried by Sam Wade at the back post.

And Pegler made it 4-0 when he outpaced the Lyme defence to control a long ball and beat Meech with a clinical finish.

Lyme did net a fine consolation when Ethan Matthews grabbed his maiden first-team goal, receiving the ball from Steve Batey before burying a curling strike into the bottom right.

Speaking to the Bridport & Lyme Regis News, Seasiders’ interim boss Fellingham said: “It was a very tough day at the office all round.

“University on the day were pretty superb, a very different game to when we played them at home.

“We beat them 3-2 and one of the key differences was the difference in pitch. Davey Fort’s obviously a nice tight pitch where we can get amongst them a bit.

“On the day, playing on their first-team pitch was a bit of a game-changer. Their fitness and technical ability we didn’t really have an answer for.”

Lyme: Meech, Rawlins, A Rowe, Beer, G Knight, Fellingham, Garrett, Turner, Batey, Matthews, B Rowe. Subs: Clifton, M Knight.