Ottery St Mary dropped two more points when they drew 2-2 at Macron League Division Four basement side Sampford Peverell.

Tom Williamson and James Gosney scored the Otters goals with the Mid Devon men netting late on to get their first home point of the league season.

A very honest and forthright Otters boss, Dave Fairweather, conceded that his side probably deserved to become only the second team this season to lose to the Mid Devon men! He said: “It is so frustrating watching my team when things are not quite as they’d want. On another pudding of a surface I could tell, in the warm-up, that we’d not see the true Ottery on Saturday!

“It is a mentality issue. Each and everyone of the lads who pulls on the Ottery shirt is able to do the basics. They can head, trap, tackle, make a pass and pick up an opponent. However, right now, whenever they take to the pitch, unless conditions are ideal, and let’s face it we are not going to get ideal conditions for a while, for some reason, many of them tend to look for someone else to provide the spark.

“I accept it is tough for some of them for, after successive promotions, perhaps we have found our level? That is frustrating because I see the lads on the training ground and I know they can do better on a match day than we are seeing right now.”

The Otters are without a win in four outings since a 2-1 home success over Pinhoe in December and, away from their Washbrook Meadow home, the Otters have won just twice in nine away matches.

Hopes of a top four finish are probably now over for the Otters have just five games to negotiate to complete their season and they currently sit just two points above fifth placed University who have played four games fewer.

This Saturday, weather permitting, the Otters host Uplowman (3pm).