Bowenhurst's first game of the new year ended in defeat as we went down 1-4 to an unimpressive Dynamo Cove side.

An atrocious pitch and poor defending cost us again as Cove scored four of the softest goals ever.

Although Cove are riding high in the League at the moment, we were able to match them and create chances of our own without them threatening our goal at all, until comical defending allowed Cove in to score with a shot that trickled over the line.

We conceeded another soft goal before Paul Robertson pulled one back for us.

However, the second half did not change much and we again conceeded two more goals that owed a lot to sloppy defending. Without troubling the Dynamo Cove goal at all we were never going to get back into this game.

Trigger conceeded a penalty and picked up a booking, after feeling agrieved at an earlier challenge, he barged into the Dynamo striker just inside the box. The penalty was blasted high over the bar.

Next week we will be forced to rearrange the defence as David Watson is unavailable in goal.

Team: David Watson, Louis Fidler, Martin Cheverton, Ollie Pearmain, Robin Pearmain, Mark Owen, Adam Deeley, Steve Ball, Tom Hooker (Neil Prince), Stuart Lavin, Paul Robertson

A great team performance from Bowenhurst, who were missing three regular players, saw them come back from being a goal down at half-time to win the game 3-1.

Without Lavin up front, Watson in goal, and Fidler at left back Bowenhurst had to field a rearranged side. Martin Cheverton, third choice keeper, went in goal, Robin Pearmain filled in at left back and Owen played up front along side Robertson.

We had to play up the slope for the first half and, coupled with a wind blowing across the pitch, it meant that the ball was often in our half of the pitch. Cove had the majority of possession and looked dangerous as, with time and space, they could pass the ball through our defence.

Cove's goal came midway through the first half when, after another good build up, Bowenhurst did not clear the ball on the edge of the box and a toe-poked effort from the Cove striker beat Martin in the Bow goal low down to his right.

Bowenhurst were not unsettled by conceding and managed to keep Cove at bay until the half-time whistle. We did create a few chances of our own and could have gone in level - the Cove goalkeeper pulled off some good saves to keep his team in front.

In the second half, with the slope in our favour, Bowenhurst looked the better side and began to attack the Cove goal whilst also limiting the Cove attackers to long through balls that were comfortably collectd by Martin.

Bowenhurst equalised when the ball fell to top goalscorer Paul Robertson and he smacked the ball past the Cove keeper into the bottom corner.

Tom Hooker, who was playing the second-half of his life, scored Bow's second with a well hit left-footed shot from a narrow angle that bamboozled the Cove defence and nestled in the far side of the net.

Our third goal made use of the slope; Martin sent a massive goal clearance down the pitch, the defender was beaten by the bounce and Paul simply ran onto the ball and nodded it over the advancing keeper. Proper route one.

Paul was denied a hat-trick when his powerful header from another Hooker cross came back off the crossbar and post and away to safety.

It was a great performance and a vital three points against a team who are also struggling at the lower end of the league table.

Team: Martin Cheverton, Robin Pearmain, Chris Bavin, Matthew Sharp (C), Ollie Pearmain, Steve Ball, Tom Hooker , James Buchanan, Adam Deeley, Mark Owen, Paul Robertson