Ottery St Mary made it six successive Macron League Division Three wins with a 4-1 Washbrook Meadow success over Budleigh Salterton.

Leading scorer Corey Ringer bagged a brace and the other Otters goals came from Connor Lovering and skipper Curtis Winchombe.

The win means that, in terms of current form, no side has a better record than the Otters over the past six games.

Indeed, in a section that looks set to be tight right through to the final kick of the campaign, only one other side – University – are unbeaten over the last six league outings.

The win over Budleigh was not without its drama, for the Otters lost goalkeeper Jamie Evans, who was injured in the warm-up, and Adam Brook took on the goalkeeping gloves.

Ottery boss Dave Fairweather said: “It’s a shame about Jamie [Evans]. It was just one of those ‘freak things’ that can happen and it seems he has a couple of finger fractures and some ligament damage and needs to wait until the swelling goes down before he discovers if he needs an operation.”

As for six straight wins, the Otters boss says: “It’s a terrific run the lads are on and it’s certainly one I’d love to see us continue. The only frustrating thing is that this current run shows what we are capable of and, had we not made such a pig’s ear of the start of the season, we’d be in such a strong position now. That said, with everyone seemingly capable of losing in the division, if we can sustain this sort of level of performance then we will go on and reach our campaign goals.”

The win over Budleigh sees the Otters sitting third in the Division Three table with 21 points from their 10 games so far. The only teams above them are second-placed East Budleigh, who are three points better off, but have played one more game, and table-topping University, who are four points better off and have played the same number of games.

Ottery are without a game this Saturday and so will seek to make it seven straight wins the following match day (December 8) when they entertain Otterton at Washbrook Meadow.

Otters boss Dave Fairweather says: “I think rather than setting ourselves targets of winning however many games in a row, we should keep our feet firmly anchored on level ground and take each game as it comes. The key is to make sure we put in a performance and the result will follow.”