Devizes Town 2, Willand Rovers 1 (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Devizes Town 2, Willand Rovers 1

5:34pm Saturday 24th November 2007 in Football By Jon Boyle

Supersub Danny Sloan climbed off the bench to score a late brace as Devizes came from behind to beat high-flying Willand Rovers at Nursteed Road on Saturday.

The teenager headed in the equaliser with his first touch of the ball on the hour mark before racing clear to clinically bag the winner in the 77th minute, after Dan Bailey had given third-placed Rovers an early lead.

Midfielder Bailey put Willand ahead in the 10th minute when he hooked the ball left-footed into the corner of the net from nine yards after James Ansell's flick into the box had been poorly defended by Town.

Devizes goalkeeper Paul Thompson then saved from Ansell, David Hambley and Shaun Goff to prevent the visitors doubling their lead.

Town played their way back into the match and Steve Campbell's 25-yard free-kick and Robbie Mitchell's low 22-yard drive were saved well by Willand keeper Brian Cann, before Lee McMullan's shot was cleared off the line by Rovers full-back Hambley on the stroke of half-time.

But Devizes weren't to be denied and Sloan made it 1-1 just a minute after his introduction as a 59th minute substitute.

The impressive Mitchell skinned Gary McAuley down the left and crossed perfectly for the unmarked Sloan to plant a powerful header into the bottom corner of the net from 10 yards.

And Sloan completed his double to turn the game on its head 13 minutes from the end.

The young forward latched onto Mitchell's through ball and, after showing good strength to shrug off Ansell's challenge, he kept his composure to clip a superb angled left-foot finish into the far top corner from nine yards.

The win was no more than Devizes deserved for an energetic and dogged display, which extends their unbeaten home run to six games.

Devizes Town: Thompson, Newman, Sartin, Robison (c), Trowbridge, Beasley, McMullen (Digby 90), S. Campbell, Giles, Day (Sloan 59), Mitchell.