Beer Albion suffered a humiliating 10-0 drubbing at the hands of Cronies FC in a Macron League, Premier Division Match at Topsham on Saturday, writes Richard Honnor.

Due to work commitments and injury, Beer were without key players and were forced to field a makeshift strike pairing and a central midfield three renowned for defensive rather than creative qualities.

From the outset, the shape of the Beer side looked completely wrong and they were overrun in midfield.

The game was virtually over after 20 minutes as Cronies amassed a 4-0 lead. The home side added another two goals before half-time and were 8-0 ahead after just 57 minutes.

Following the introduction of midfielder Simon Smith and full back Jack Prior, both returning from injury, the Fishermen showed improvement, but two late Cronies goals took the home side’s tally into double figures.

Rare positives for Beer in an otherwise dismal afternoon were the tireless efforts of John Cooper and Jack Harwood up front and the performances of centre backs Ashley Driver (returning to the club from Colyton) and Joe Adkin, who never gave up.

The final Saturday of the month (February 24), will see Beer looking for better things when they host Exwick Villa at the Furzebrake in a league match.

The match sponsor is Annings Plumbing and Heating Engineers Ltd and kick-off is at 3pm.