South Devon League division three

Dartmouth AFC II 7,

Salcombe AFC I 2

Dartmouth finally got their first taste of action in 2016 thanks to the recent weather conditions, but made no mistake in seeing off Salcombe comfortably at Longcross.

In front of a large crowd and on a heavy pitch, the Darts played some excellent football, carving the ­opposition defence apart at times. The first goal arrived in the 13th minute ­following some magic down the left flank from Josh Webber, who beat his man before firing a cross into the path of the clinical Nick Rushe, with the striker slotting home with ease.

The lead was doubled ­minutes later. This time the roles were reversed as Rushe picked out Webber with a lovely long-range pass. The winger fired home a

right-footed drive into the bottom corner.

The chances were now ­coming thick and fast for Dartmouth, who looked to put the game beyond doubt before the interval.

Joe Kirby and Ryhs Morrallee both went close, as did Rushe, ­aiming to increase his personal tally.

In the last 10 minutes of the half, two brilliant goals from ­central ­midfielder James Lee put Dartmouth in a very commanding position. The first arrived following a sublime ­individual run from Teddy Armitage, who beat three defenders before being upended inside the box. The ­referee played a fantastic advantage, ­allowing the ball to break to Lee on the edge of the box, who smashed a rocket past the ’keeper and into the roof of the net.

His second moments later arrived courtesy of some smart footwork from Rushe, who ­controlled a Webber cross expertly and dribbled round the stranded ’keeper, only to see his shot blocked on the line by a defender. The rebound fell to the lively Lee, who clipped his shot in off the far stick for 4-0.

In the last few seconds of the half a rare Salcombe attack brought a wonderful save at full stretch from Darts ’keeper Carl Hoare to keep his clean sheet intact.

The second period was only seven minutes old when Dartmouth made it 5-0, the goal this time coming from the right wing. Morrallee weaved inside his marker before curling a left-footed shot past the ’keeper and into the net despite an attempted block on the goal-line.

With a potential rugby score on the cards, Dartmouth went searching for more goals, but allowed the ­visitors to break away and grab two quick-fire goals of their own to reduce the arrears.

Normal service was resumed shortly after and it was soon 6-2 when Webber doubled his tally with a thumping drive from outside the area. The winger could and should have grabbed a hat-trick later on, but was inches wide with a couple of efforts.

Cameron Webb was next to go close, with an ambitious ­scissor kick that was blocked on its way into goal.

Salcombe’s frustration saw a red card for their striker late on, and it was 7-2 five minutes from time when Mark Sneap’s run inside the box was ended by a trip and the penalty coolly ­dispatched by skipper Kev Causley, who rifled his spot kick home.

The impressive victory puts Dartmouth second in the table, five points behind leaders Liverton United with a game in hand, which could see the lead cut to just two points.

Salcombe, though, are in third place on 19 points, the same as Dartmouth, although the latter have a significantly better goal difference.

Man of the match was Dartmouth’s James Lee.