WELLINGTON Road Dons have become the second team to pull out of the Premier Division in the West Country Drainage Services Taunton & District Saturday Football League this season.

The Dons, who had been playing their home fixtures at Fivehead, have been struggling for some time to field a side.

They were due to play Alcombe Rovers last weekend, but they found they were unable to complete the fixture. There are now only 11 teams in the top division after Exmoor Rangers were forced to withdraw from the league earlier this year, leaving only 11 teams in the division.

The Dons’ results have been deleted from the Premier Division and the table has been amended accordingly.

“We knew that Dons had been struggling for some time and we gave them some grace earlier in the year hoping they could get their act together,” said the Saturday League’s secretary of 21 years Gary Best. “Obviously we don’t like to lose any team but the Dons simply could not carry on. They have said they would like to rejoin the league next season.

“If they apply then we would have to get an assurance from them that they had enough players to definitely complete the season.”

The Dons’ withdrawal means that the bottom two teams Wellington A and Minehead Reserves may not be relegated even if they do not improve their positions.

“We normally relegate one team, but this may not be the case at the end of this season,” added Best. “We like to balance up the divisions and the Premier Division now has only 11 teams while the other two divisions have more. And we are expecting some applications from new teams at the end of the season.”

Premier Division fixtures on Saturday, March 8, are: Wellington A v Wembdon, Staplegrove Reserves v Galmington, Wyvern United v Porlock.