Upottery made it eight wins in nine home games and closed the first half of their Fresha League Division Two campaign with a 6-2 win over Topsham Town Reserves.

Seven days after their heart wrenching extra-time Devon Senior Cup quarter-final defeat at Landkey Town, the villagers took the lead through Danny Symons. Sam Winslade then took centre stage with a double before the break before completing his latest hat-trick early in the second half.

The Tops, who scored one themselves in the first half, bagged a couple more to trail by the odd goal in seven before Matt Frost netted the fifth for the home side. Leading scorer Steve Morris struck the sixth and final Upottery goal – making up for an earlier penalty miss! The match sponsor, vice-president Ed Bartlett, opted for treble scoring Winslade to be his Man of the Match. Manager Dan Prettejohn said: “It was important for us to return to winning ways after the cup woe. The league is our leading priority. We played well as a team, but, for me the performance of Max McKewan on the right wing was superb. He has now settled into a high level of consistent performance.”

On Saturday Upottery travel to Newton Poppleford looking to continue their push towards a coveted top three finish and a place in next season’s second tier of Fresha League football.