GOATACRE suffered mixed fortunes this weekend as they recorded a league win over Bristol but were knocked out of the National Village Cup by Witchampton.

On both Saturday and Sunday they lost the toss, with Bristol ordered Ed Wilkins’ side to bat while Witchampton opted for the field.

In domestic action, Goatacre posted a score of 191 which turned out to be too much for their hosts, Bristol, as they could only reach 114 before being all out.

However, against Witchampton, Goatacre were set a target of 92 but fell short as they finished all out for 58.

In the league win, skipper Wilkins was impressed with the distribution of scoring amongst his players, as four bowlers managed to register more than one wicket.

Reflecting on the fixtures, Wilkins admits he cup defeat is collateral damage as the league takes priority.

“To be honest, looking back on the two results I’m glad that we got the win in the league game, not the cup competition,” he said.

“Overall, I am fairly happy because it is nice to get a win on the board in the league nice and early, the last thing you want is to be waiting for a win.

“Saturday was good. We didn’t start well with the bat, I lost the toss and we lost a couple of early wickets.

“We need to start putting that right. I don’t think we need to change the order as such, now we have set out the order we don’t want to alter from that too much.

“I think luck is involved, the guys at the top need to knuckle down and play the right shots at the right time.

“However, that is the way our guys play, if they think they can hit a ball for four, then they will try to do that.

“We don’t have guys, other than Brad Dawson, who are willing to really get stuck in and bat all day.

“It has worked for us in the past, we are happy with where we are because we have won one of the opening two league games.”

Elsewhere in Premier One, Potterne suffered a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Downend at the weekend.

The away side started with the bat and reached 183 before being dismissed, while Downend duo Nathan Roberts (55) and Ian Cockbain (62 not out) were a persistent threat, firing them to 188-6.