A LACKLUSTRE display by Bridgwater Town saw them fall to their ninth consecutive defeat as they went down 3-0 at home to Barnstaple Town on Saturday, writes Paul Martin.

A brace from Ryan Turner and one from Steve Holland sealed the points for the visitors, who were in control from the moment Turner fired into the roof of the net from just inside the box after only three minutes.

Given the home side's problems in front of goal this was a far from ideal start to the match, and they struggled to create any immediate clear openings as they looked to get back on terms.

The visitors' long throws were causing the home defence all sorts of problems at the other end, so it was perhaps no surprise when one led to Barnstaple doubling their lead.

Steve Holland was the man who benefitted as he hooked home the loose ball from close range, but the goal was not without controversy - the hosts were adamant that goalkeeper Liam Kingston had been impeded, with Jake Llewellyn cautioned for his protests.

Will Sneddon-Coombes followed his teammate into the book shortly afterwards for a cynical foul on the rampaging Liam Gregory as the half drew to a close with Barnstaple two goals to the good.

The second half was a largely scrappy affair as the hosts failed to test visiting goalkeeper Steven Oliver, with frontman Dave Pearse starved of service against his former club.

Barnstaple made the points safe when Turner tapped home his second from close range after good work by his strike partner James Blake down the right, and he nearly completed his hat-trick minutes later but was denied by a smart save by Kingston low to his left.

The hosts' misery was compounded when defender Jake Horsey saw red for slicing down Turner as the striker raced through on goal, and only more smart work by Kingston in the closing stages prevented a heavier defeat.

The Robins saw their best opportunity to get on the scoresheet spurned when George Kellow fired wide in injury time, but in truth the scoreline was a fair reflection of how the 90 minutes played out on a disappointing afternoon for Phil Hucker's side.