Sidmouth Raiders Under-12 went down 4-1 at Dawlish in an Exeter and District Youth League meeting.

It was certainly a battle against adversity for Raiders who travelled to South Devon missing a number of players and having to play the entire contest without their regular goalkeeper and with just eight players and no substitutes!

Raiders held their own in the first half and were able to play some great football in the wide open spaces that the near full size pitch offered. Stand-in goalie Owen Baldwin was in great form as both a stopper and a sweeper. Unfortunately, just before half-time, Dawlish opened the scoring.

Early in the second half Frank Long waltzed through the home ranks to score a stunning solo goal. However, the hard work that the Raiders players had done to hold the high-flying hosts inevitably led to tiredness creeping in and a key factor was that Dawlish had the luxury of introducing fresh legs from the bench.

All that contributed to the home side scoring three more times to bank the points. Raiders though, can be rightly proud of their collective efforts. They showed a terrific ‘never-say-die’ attitude and played some delightful football throughout.