WELLS WIN OVER TEN MAN OLDLAND

Oldland keeper Josh Dempsey was dismissed for felling Leon Britton in the box despite there being a covering defender and although stand in keeper Scott Robson saved the resulting penalty, he and his nine team mates were unable to prevent later goals from Nathan Truckle, Lee Pitman and Britton again.

It was a harsh scoreline on the visitors who had the better of the early second half exchanges and the two goals in the final twenty minutes gave the final score an unfair slant. Wells now sit atop the Division One table, leapfrogging Chipping Sodbury, and can stretch their lead to five points with victory on Saturday as the Sods don't have a fixture.

Once again, Dale Dempsey was forced to make several changes through lack of availability. Josh Dempsey came back into the goal allowing Scott Robson to take up his more usual centre midfield role. Jordan Richards came in for Ashley Bernard in the defence with Josh Williams & Ryan Dunn taking over from Karim Rendall and Paul Coles. There was a spot on the bench for Tom Hutton as Tom Morgan was missing too.

Despite the numerous changes in personnel, it was Oldland who kicked off looking the brighter. They seemed to have had a big shout for a foul inside the first minute as David Stone was clearly impeded by a Wells defender as he was poised to head past the keeper and into the net but the officials gave nothing.

Robson's outswinging corner was glanced wide by Jordan Richards on eleven minutes before the game's big talking point. Leon Britton sprang the offside trap and rounded keeper Josh Dempsey before going down under the challenge. There was a covering defender nearby but ref James Welsh pointed to the spot and showed the keeper a red card. It looked a harsh decision and meant that Robson took over the shirt and gloves. He immediately excelled and saved superbly from the ensuing spot kick.

The red card forced O's manager Dempsey to switch to one up front, Jack Parker, with the sim of using his pace to scare the Wells City defenders. The ploy worked as first Sam Berrish and then Jamie Price were booked for cynical lunges at the attacker. Price's challenge could have been interpreted as denying a goalscoring opportunity and a second red of the game but wasn't. Berrish was soon subbed before half time, presumably to save him from a possible second yellow later in the game.

In between the niggles, there were chances at both ends. Parker wriggled free of the clutches of Wells and fired a rising angled shot over the bar. Jordan Greenwood headed a corner over too; City replied with James Batchelor shooting straight at Robson and the keeper pushing another flick onto the bar before being cleared.

Just as it seemed the sides would go into the break goalless, Wells broke the deadlock on 41 minutes. A free kick from the right was finished from close range by Nathan Truckle, following up from the initial chance that came back off the post. As the half closed, a third Wells player in the shape of Batchelor was booked for fouling Stone, sub Hutton's free kick easily gathered by home gloveman Will Justin.

The first twenty minutes of the second half weren't all Oldland but they certainly had the majority of possession, chances and play. After Truckle had wasted a golden opportunity to make it 2-0, Matt Curnock saw his header cleared off the line and Jordan Greenwood's shot was deflected for a corner. From the flag kick, Stone nodded over and the same player then went on an enterprising solo run from the halfway line that ended with a shot that didn't match the build up!

Robson was caught late by another hefty challenge that went unpunished and Price went in late again on Parker, with no further action handed out. Ollie Bryant went close in a sortie up from the back and as Wells started to take advantage of a tiring Oldland side, Lee Pitman finished superbly from the edge of the box.

Robson then denied Pitman late on, tipping his effort over the crossbar but a third goal arrived on 87 minutes when Britton twisted and turned inside the box before finishing low into the corner.