Sidmouth Raiders Under-11s were well worth the share of the spoils they took in a meeting with high-flying St Martins.

What made the 1-1 draw all the more remarkable was that the two sides began the game separated by six places and 19 points in the Division Two table!

The visitors were clearly shocked with the performance from a resurgent and resilient Raiders’ team that continued their renaissance with some aplomb.

St Martins were quickly onto the front foot and attacked relentlessly from the first whistle. However, to a player, the Raiders defence stood firm and proved equal to the opposition’s best efforts.

That solid base at the back gave Raiders confidence to mount a series of counter-attacks and, from one such raid, Frank Long applied a clinical finish to fire Raiders’ into the lead.

As expected the St Martins response was fierce, but in Raiders’ goalkeeper Ollie Keast they found an unbeatable obkect! The youngster made some outstanding saves. Such was the young gloves man’s performance that it was only going to be something special that beat him, and so it was as the equaliser was a shot that gave Keast no chance.

Thereafter St Martins pressed for a second, but the home side stayed strong and composed and continued to carry a real threat on the counter through the lively Miles Lewis.

At full-time the home support showed their appreciation for a fabulous collective shift from the Raiders.

Raiders team: Keast, Mercan, Goodman, Lascelles, Dorman, Baldwin, O’Connor, Long, Lewis, Bennett, Selley.