4 for Wells at Devizes

Wells City put themselves back in the promotion picture with an impressive display at Devizes Town.

The victory was helped by the home side playing the second half with only nine men but in fact Wells, after falling behind, had scored three before the break and only added one more as Devizes defended in numbers to prevent a landslide.

Manager Mark Read was delighted by his side's display and believes his side can still have a big bearing in the promotion race.

"We scored a few goals and that could be important at the end of the season, more especially as the sides around us all dropped points," he said.

"The recent break didn't do us any favours but conceding an early goal was not a bad thing as it gave us a wake-up call.

"We then took control but we couldn't find the back of the net until just before half-time, but once we scored and they had two players sent off, it was more a case of them doing what they could in the second half to avoid a bigger defeat."

Devizes made a bright start to the game and took the lead on five minutes when Robbie Mitchell ran through the heart of the defence to score.

Wells eventually got themselves into the game and Leon Brittain was unlucky to see a headed goal ruled out for offside.

Wells City eventually got themselves back on level terms on 40 minutes as James Batchelor found space on the edge of the Devizes penalty area to send a fine shot that eluded several bodies before finding the back of the net.

Batchelor then turned provider 60 seconds later as he set up an opportunity for Jake Brown to chip over the advancing keeper to give Wells a 2-1 advantage.

It became three goals in four minutes when Brown was brought down in the penalty area and Batchelor made no mistake from the spot.

Frustration got the better of the home side as they ended the half with just nine men. Jordan Matthew was sent off for raising his arms in the face of Steve Sokol and Alex Surmon was then shown a second yellow card to complete an action-packed end to the half.

The second period became a bit of a non-event as the home side were more concerned with not being thrashed. They stuck to their task well but posed no threat to the visiting defence.

Wells could still have added several goals but had to settle for one in the 80th minute when Brown squared the ball into the path of Natan Rendell, who scored his first goal for the club from close range.

Man of the match: James Batchelor.

Read added: "We are still looking to strengthen the squad very shortly. I do have a couple of players who look like joining us and I am sure our supporters will be pleased with our signings in the near future."

Wells are without a game on Saturday but the Reserves visit local rivals Glastonbury (3pm).