PEWSEY Vale slipped to defeat at one of their main Hellenic League Division One West promotion rivals despite dominating throughout on Saturday.

Don Rogers' in-form side, who had fired 17 goals in their three previous Saturday matches, spend the first half camped inside the Barton half but could not find the vital breakthrough.

Striker Paul Day came closest to breaking the deadlock for the visitors when his shot hit the home side's crossbar.

Barton went in front against the run of play on 70 minutes when some poor Pewsey defending allowed Andy Hambis the chance to chip Pewsey goalkeeper John Haines.

Rogers introduced substitutes Mark Stevens, Tom Ritchie and Colin Yates for Day, Ross Anderson and Micky Goodwin in the closing stages but Barton held on for an unlikely victory and move into a promotion berth.

Rogers is still finding it difficult to believe his side came away from the clash without so much as a point for their efforts.

He said: "Our goalkeeper John Haines didn't have a shot to save all game. We were all over them but just couldn't score a goal.

"The most important thing is that they scored and we didn't, but I'd find it very difficult to fault anybody.

"We didn't have one lucky break all game and, like one of my former managers once said, I think I must have stood on a nest of robins."

But Rogers was still able to take some positives from his side's display against one of the top teams in the division.

He said: "We played some great football and I really enjoyed the first half, although I knew what would happen at half-time. We'll play twice as bad as that and win this season.

"The people at Middle Barton couldn't believe how good we were. They said we were the best side they'd seen all season and yet we lost 1-0.

"But we've still got 21 games left and have Winterbourne and Hook Norton to play twice, so we're still in there."

Pewsey begin a run of three games against Wiltshire sides when lowly Shrivenham visit the Recreation Ground on Saturday.

Said Rogers: "All we've got to do against them is play the same as we did on Saturday and we'll win the game."