MINEHEAD, facing higher level opponents for the sixth time in six warm-up matches, were beaten 1-0 at home by Staplegrove on Wednesday evening.

With The Grove fielding their top scorer from last season Joe Wilkinson, who had started up front for The Blues’ in their last three warm-up games, it gave Minehead manager Craig Carr the opportunity to get good game time into the legs of other strikers vying for their own place in the County League side.

All four attacking players who started did particularly well with superb supply coming in from teenage defender Ollie Hall with his pin point left footed crosses.

Experienced Grove keeper Shaun Locke was their man of the match, making some outstanding saves to keep Minehead at bay, with all-round dominance and possession being quite even though both sides had periods of looking on top and coming close to scoring.

The solitary goal that divided the teams came from a cross that was perfectly headed down into the path of a team-mate by Wilkinson who couldn’t miss from eight yards out.

Minehead: Jack Harding, Bertie Harvey-Larmar, Ollie Hall, Louis Burge, Sam Heath, Ryan Wilkins, Stefan Phillips, Josh Elston, Toby Waghorn, Leon Lofts, Sam Jackson 

Subs:  Will Singleton-Voss, Hubi Wejnerowski, Josh Heath (All Used). Man of the Match: Ollie Hall.

BRIAN WALDER