Sturminster Marshall welcomed table toppers, Mere Town to Churchill Close hoping they could gain an invaluable 3 points against the Wiltshire side.

The game started in frantic fashion with both sides showing their physicality as challenges were flying in from all angles but there was limited quality with ball possession from both sides.

Stur started to settle the quicker and nearly took the lead as a neat set up from Erkan Mete allowed Richie Davies to drive a shot from the edge of the box which was tipped on to the crossbar by the Mere Town goalkeeper.

However on 15 minutes, Stur were condemned to the sucker punch as a simple long ball was not dealt with by the hesitant defence and this allowed the Mere Town striker to prod the ball past the rushing Andy Talbot and made it 1-0 against the run of play.

Many would have thought that this would knock the stuffing out of Stur but they continued to push for an equaliser with Matt, Jack Fendley and David Johnston trying to orchestrate some Stur pressure with some attacking movement and accurate passing.

As half time approached, Mere Town doubled their lead in fortunate circumstances when a seemingly harmless in swinging corner was deflected in to the net off the leg of Erkan Mete.

Stur looked dejected and the sour taste continued in the second half as Mere Town started to show their quality in defence by shutting out Stur’s front line with David Johnston and Paul Glenister chasing lost causes and becoming isolated up front.

This forced Stur in to some tactical substitutions wit Richie Davies and Scott Bennett being replaced by Steven Johnston and Rob Clark.

Stur reverted to a 4-4-2 formation with Jack Fendley going to right back, Rob Clark going to centre forward, David Johnston in to centre midfield and Steven Johnston on the left flank.

Despite the change of formation, Mere Town put the game to bed when some good work down the left allowed their striker to get his second of the game and Mere Town’s third when tapping in from close range despite a superb save form Andy Talbot.

In the latter stages, Stur softened the deficit when an Erkan Mete free kick was palmed in to the path of Rob Clark who was on hand to tap in from close range.

It was too little, too late for a Stur revival and Mere Town closed the game out to claim a deserved 3-1 victory which left them one victory away from claiming the Dorset Division 2 title.

Next Game - SATURDAY 12^th MARCH, BRIDPORT A (HOME), KICK OFF 3PM