Millwey Rise tasted defeat for the first time this season and can have no complaints after their 5-3 reversal at Exwick Village, writes Dick Sturch.

It didn’t take too long for the home side to open the scoring. Three minutes to be exact, when, from a free-kick Exwick found the net with a well-directed header that gave keeper Nathan Hoole no chance. Almost immediately, Sam Turner came very close for the visitors when he saw his lob drift just wide with the goalie beaten.

This was probably as close as Millwey came to finding the net in the first half, but Exwick, slicing through the visitors defence at will, managed two more strikes to go into the break with a three-goal lead.

Two minutes after the restart Millwey were given hope by their in form ‘goal-machine’ Levi Hoole, but five minutes later the home side restored their three-goal advantage. It was again left to Hoole to pull another goal back, only to see an Exwick player, allowed the run of the field, to increase their lead once more to 5-2.

Millwey certainly upped their game the longer the half went on and could have had another goal when the ball bobbled about on the home side’s goal line without a Millwey player putting the vital touch on it. In the final minute Nathan Wormseley burst clear and beat the keeper with a strong shot into the corner of the net to again reduce the arrears, but it was too little too late with the home side emerging victorious.

Hoole apart, this was not a vintage Millwey display. Their opponents amply demonstrated how, when a team maintains its formation, defence, midfield and forwards moving in unison, they can keep their opponents under constant pressure. This Saturday (November 7) it’s cup day once again with a Devon Intermediate Cup meeting with K&M Polonia from Exeter with the Cloakham Lawns encounter kicking-off at 2pm.