Sat 5 Dec 2009
National League 3 South West
Weston-super-Mare 9 Exmouth 17
Weston-super-Mare lost out at the Recreation Ground in this battle to steer clear of the bottom three in National League South West.
The Seasiders were dealt a severe blow in the 10th minute when Gavin Simpson was sent off for stamping.
They managed to hold out until the 55th minute but, despite some heroic defending by the remainder of the back row, Dan Fry and George Sparks together with the outstanding Andrew Richards, there was no stopping the Devonians once they had scored their first try.
Mackay was on target again in the 21st minute, following Mark Armstrong's interception and after Exmouth's kicker Shaun Fayter had failed with four penalty attempts, Mackay stepped up again to give the hosts a nine-point interval advantage.
But they gradually faltered in the second half, failing to find the touchline with penalties and surrendering metres of ground, mainly by offending at the breakdown.
As pressure built, Jack Downie reduced the arrears with a corner try and following a yellow card against Andrew Glen and a high tackle by Fry, the visitors' 14-man drive resulted in a try by Ben Boswell.
Andrew Powell converted to take the score to 12-9 and with two minutes of normal time remaining, Jack Andrew touched down near the right corner to put the issue beyond doubt.
Weston-super-Mare scorers - pens: James Mackay (3); red card: Gavin Simpon (10 min)
