By Richard Honnor

Joma Devon and Exeter Premier

Beer Albion 1sts 3, Lyme Regis 1sts 4 In front of a large Furzebrake crowd, Beer Albion, sitting third in the Devon and Exeter Premier ,suffered an unexpected 4-3 defeat at the hands of mid-table Lyme Regis. It was a thrilling local derby and after going 3-0 down, the Fishermen made a spirited recovery to level the scores at 3-3 only for the Seasiders to snatch victory in the latter stages of the game. The Fishermen had not played since 11th December and it certainly showed as they made a really sluggish start conceding 3 goals within the first 30 minutes. Another significant factor was that due to injury and unavailability Manager Mark Rooke was forced to field a unfamiliar back line which took awhile to settle. Beer were missing the calm, assured presence of regular sweeper Liam Fox and without him they were often caught flat by searching balls inside the wing backs and strong runs from midfield. Relentless pressure led to Beer conceding a raft of early corners and free kicks which were invariably delivered with quality and resulted in two of the three early goals. After only three minutes Beer found themselves 1-0 down when after an incisive move down the left, Ben Turner, unchallenged, made a driving run and unleashed a well-placed left-footer from 18 yards low into the corner of the net. Six minutes later the Fishermen found themselves 2-0 down. Under pressure from Lyme bodies in the penalty box, Beer could only partially clear the danger and a shot from the edge of the penalty was deflected home by Tyler Wellman from close range. In the early stages Beer were simply denied the time and space to get their passing game together. But after 17 minutes they started to get some success down the the left flank and Kieron Daniels fired over the Lyme Regis bar from a Giles Basson cross. There seemed no way back for Beer when Joe Bond headed home a well-delivered corner on 21 minutes but the Fishermen reduced the arrears to 3-1 on 23 minutes when Josh French flicked a near-post corner into the path of centre back Joe Adkin who side-footed home from close range. The contest was much more even now and the hard-working Daniels struck a 20-yard free kick narrowly wide of the upright after Tony Pinder had been unceremoniously flattened following a searing move down the right flank. Beer were now imposing themselves on the match and midfielder Charley Skilton was linking up the play nicely but, despite a couple of on-target free kicks dealt with by Lyme's keeper Chris Higgs, the Fishermen still trailed 3-1 at half time. Soon after the interval, Elliot Driver kept his side in the game with two great saves. First on 52 minutes he made a good stop down low at his near post and then a minute later he somehow kept out a point-blank header with a spectacular save at full stretch. This encouraged the Fishermen to drive forward in an effort to save the game. After Adkin headed a fine Skilton cross over the bar, Beer scored their second goal on 61 minutes when the Lyme keeper, under pressure, palmed an inswinging Daniels corner into his own goal. The contest was now end-to-end and one minute later the Fishermen were saved by the woodwork when another driving run from a Lyme midfielder and cross from the left resulted in a thundering shot against the upright. But Beer continued to press forward and equalised from a coolly taken Skilton penalty on 67 minutes after Pinder was brought down in the box following good work from Josh French on the left. One minute later Beer went close to taking the lead when Skilton's lob went narrowly over the cross-bar. But the Fishermen's brave attempt to salvage the game was shattered on 69 minutes when, after poor marking, a free kick from the left was was steered in by the unmarked Bailey from an acute angle at the far post. After that hammer blow, Beer tended to to overhit long balls in a desperate attempt to force the issue. Although a Daniel cross-shot drew a fine save from the Lyme keeper on 75 minutes the big Lyme defence soaked up the pressure to hold on to their 4-3 advantage at the final whistle. Match sponsor Hilary Bastone awarded man-of-the-match to the Seasiders forward Ben Turner whilst for Beer Elliot Driver had another great game between the "sticks" and Kieron Daniels and Charley Skilton worked hard for the Fishermen. Joma Devon and Exeter Division 2

Teignmouth 2nds 6, Beer Albion 2nds

In Joma Division 2, league leaders Beer Albion Reserves went down 6-3 at third-placed Teignbridge Reserves. The Fishermen were below full strength and put up a brave show but were well-beaten on the day.

Beer's scorers were Josh Lund, Simon Smith and Tom Perry. Midfielder Jacob Clode and Centre back Jack Harwood stood out for the Fishermen.

Next Saturday Beer 1sts are in East Devon Senior Cup action with a tough away tie at Elmore. Meanwhile, Beer 2nds are at home to Otterton in a Joma Division 2 encounter. Kick off at the Furzebrake is at 2.15pm and the match sponsor is "Indulge in Beer".