Upottery are quickly learning how tough life can be at the top and their latest Macron Devon and Exeter League Premier Division outing underlined life in the top flight.

Upottery are quickly learning how tough life can be at the top and their latest Macron Devon and Exeter League Premier Division outing underlined life in the top flight.

Upottery, missing as many as five of their regular first team squad had battled superbly for the entire second half of their meeting with Newtown and scored an equaliser in the final minute to seemingly net a richly deserved point against an established Premier team.

However, Upottery boss Dan Prettejohn, having seen his side level at the death asked the match official how long remained and was told 30 seconds.

That was though, sufficient time for Newtown to restart, get the ball to the other end of the pitch and force it home to seal a dramatic 2-1 win!

Prettejohn said: “It’s tough to take, but once the disappointment had cleared it was obvious to me that we had so many positives to take from the game. We’d gone into missing almost half the regular side, but what I saw was just how strong our squad is for every one of the lads who pulled the shirt on for this match gave a terrific account of themselves, especially in the second half when I thought we were the better side.”

Upottery were undone by a quick free-kick that ended with Newtown holding a 1-0 half-time lead. At the break Prettejohn asked his side to step up the tempo and give more than they had produced in the first 45 minutes. The second half was very different as Upottery pressed and asked countless questions of the Newtown defence.

Just when it seemed as if the goal would not come, Aaron Doble scored the 90th minute equaliser.

Prettejohn said: “Three games into our journey at the top level we might have only got three points and been beaten twice, but in all three games we have been ‘in the contest’ and I am satisfied, indeed confident, that the team we have is more than capable of staying at this level.”

On Saturday (September 3), Upottery travel to Bickleigh for an East Devon Senior Cup tie. It’s the first of four successive away games for the villagers.