Whites lose in battle of Cathedral teams

Tuesday, 11 April 2023 01:00

Salisbury's poor home form continued as this season limps to its conclusion and injuries take their toll.

Salisbury lost out to close neighbours in the 'Cathedral Derby' in a 2-1 loss to Winchester City that was low on quality.

Salisbury came into the game after a convincing 4-1 away win in west London, putting Hendon to the sword, and the home fans hoped for more of the same.

Salisbury were without Tommy McDermott and James Plant, whose time on loan from Port Vale had ended. The latter was on the bench for Darrell Clarke's side for their game against Oxford United.

The game started briskly with Devon Arnold involved inside the first few minutes as he dragged a shot wide.

Dan Fitchet then spurned the chance to give Salisbury the lead on 7 minutes. The Salisbury striker found himself one-on-one with the Philpott in the Winchester goal but was denied by a last-ditch tackle.

It was the away side who took the lead within 10 minutes. Warren Bentley took advantage of a defensive slip and slotted home past Smith in the Salisbury goal.

Salisbury were level almost immediately. This time the defensive error came from Winchester, and Devon Arnold stole in, rounded the keeper and finished well.

A goal-line clearance from Josh Sommerton and an assistant referee's flag kept the scores level until halftime, as neither team could take control of the game.

Both sides battled hard; there can be few complaints about the application shown by both sides.

Smith was probably the busier of the two keepers, making a few important stops as the away side threatened early in the half. He produced one great save to deny Bentley in the early stages of the first half.

Salisbury created chances as both sides looked for the win but could not trouble Philpott.

With the game drawing to a close, Winchester City finally broke the deadlock with 5 minutes left on the clock.

The goal's scorer didn't know much about it as a long-range effort from Dan Jones clipped the ankle of Bentley on its way to the back of the net.

Salisbury had a late chance through Brandon Goodship, who was unable to find the finish and deny Winchester the three points that confirms their status in the league for next season.

Brian Dutton's side now have two away fixtures before the final home game of the season on April 22nd against Weston Super Mare.