Millwey Rise won their Macron League Division Five meeting with Culm United 4-0, writes Dick Sturch.

I needed to Google synonyms for ‘just missed’ before I wrote this summary of the match.

Millwey had so many opportunities to win this game with a far greater degree of ease than the score suggests.

Right from the first minutes they created opportunities to score. It took until the 12th minute when, following a Brad Lee Miller corner, defender Ashley Hall out jumped Culm’s defence to powerfully head home Millwey’s opener.

It was then a case of ‘goals that might have been’ with so many strikes going the wrong side of the post or saved by the Culm keeper who had a great game.

The only threat on the home team’s goal was a free-kick from the edge of the box which keeper, Jack Bennett, gathered in a safe pair of hands.

Millwey eventually increased their lead when first Miller struck a great shot from twenty yards out which gave the keeper no chance. Then Shane Featherstone scored the third two minutes from the half-time break with a clever hooked shot from a ball that appeared to be going out of play.

Haydn Lewis gave way to Sam Wadden at the re-start. I then lost count of the number of times I wrote ‘just missed’ for Featherstone, Wadden, Sam Turner and Jack Farrant.

One flowing move involving half the Millwey team fed Featherstone through whose eventual strike ‘just missed’.

Miller and Featherstone gave way to Mark Pike and Sam Burke. During the rest of the match there were several more ‘just missed’ then one final finger tip save denied Pike before the same player latched onto a Womersley pass to cleverly lob the keeper for the home side’s fourth and final goal.

For Millwey Brad Lee Miller was at the heart of most things and Alex Rocket with Ashley Hall nullified any threat of a Culm attack. A word of praise must be given to the Culm keeper who denied the home side an even greater victory.

The games come fast and furious through the coming week. On Wednesday (March 28) the 2nds are away to Honiton 3rds (6.15pm).

On Friday (March 30), the second team host Thorverton 2nds at Cloakham (3pm) and the following day (March 31), the club’s first team welcome table-topping Black Swan to Cloakham (3pm) before an Easter Monday Football Express Cup tie against Exwick Village, again at Cloakham (2pm).