WESTERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION

Shepton Mallet 0 Newquay 2

TIM Nixon’s first half brace saw Newquay build on their midweek success over Brixham as they eased to a 2-0 victory in Somerset on Saturday.

With the rest of the play-off hopefuls starting to get into their stride, the Peppermints knew they needed to start stringing results together, and playing down the hill in the first half, swarmed all over the hosts.

Matt Searle and Allam Ahmed both couldn’t quite convert before Nixon netted the first on 23 minutes as he swept in Louis Price’s cross.

Further chances went for Jack Bray-Evans and Price, but they went into the break with a healthy cushion on 41 minutes as fine work by the fleet-footed Ahmed set up Nixon for a superb strike.

Mid-table Mallet were a different threat after the break, however Newquay defended well to a man and still created chances of their own with Bray-Evans striking the crossbar and failing to hit the target, while Price also shot wide.

Boss Shaun Middleton emptied the bench in the second half to see the game out, a feat they managed as they moved into the play-off places with 28 points from their 14 outings.

On the victory, he said: “We played really well today and I’m very pleased with the performance.

“It was a very positive first half and although we knew we’d come under more pressure after the break, we defended extremely well, stayed organised and worked hard as a team to protect our lead.

“As I said, I was delighted with the performance and the way our lads approached the game, and we can take plenty of positives from today. But focus now quickly shifts to Tuesday night at Torpoint in the Les Phillips Cup.”

NEWQUAY: Shaun Semmens; Sam Fearon, Harry Downing (capt), Cam Turner, Tom Moxham; Connor Paine; Allam Ahmed, Matt Searle, Tim Nixon, Jack Bray-Evans; Louis Price. Subs: Ollie Matthews, Ross Fallens, Alex Cole, Callam Mconie.

Peppermints’ man-of-the-match: Tim Nixon.