Sidmouth thirds were deserved 2-1 winners when they travelled to face Polonia.

The game presented the Vikings third string to close in on the top three in Macron League Division Seven and put some space in the table between them and the chasing pack!

No fewer than five of the selected team were called up to play in the club’s reserve team and so the starting eleven took on a slightly unusual look with a call-up for the evergreen Nick Gingell and a place on the bench for another from the ‘evergreen’ ranks - Jon Miller.

Heading for the match the Vikings were fully aware of the challenge they faced. The sides had met in Sidmouth six weeks before when the visiting team had picked up a number of yellow cards and a straight red.

The first half of the contest was short on quality. Both sides created chances through physical play rather than through guile. For Sidmouth, the tireless Jimmy Pearse and Jake Sellick broke up attacks from midfield on a regular basis.

The Vikings held an interval lead via the endeavour of Joe Gosse; chasing down a lost cause and finishing precisely when the opportunity arose.

The team were in agreement at half time that they could offer more.

After the break the scruffy, competitive nature of the game continued until Rich Johnson cleverly lobbed the keeper from 40-yards out to double the Sidmouth lead.

With a change to a more defensive formation, Sidmouth invited pressure and had their lead halved with 10 minutes to play.

However, the Vikings dug deep, showed strong character and battled to see the game out.

There was high praise post match for defensive trio Jack Gibson as calm and assured as ever; the returning Nick Gingell faultless; and the Man of the Match, Ben Squance who was impeccable.

This Saturday (December 3) sees the third team travel to face table-topping Wellington. Town have a score to settle having let slip a 3-1 lead when the teams met at Sidmouth earlier in the season.