Nailsea & Tickenham fell short in a scrappy match against Barnstaple Town.

Both teams were neck-and-neck in the league standings, separated only by Barnstaple's superior goal difference.

However, the game was marred by less-than-ideal conditions, with the pitch still being marked minutes before kick-off, uncut grass, and three flat footballs.

Barnstaple quickly took control, with Gabby Rogers narrowly missing an early goal.

In the 12th minute, Barnstaple took the lead, exploiting Nailsea's poor defence as Josh Perry, Barnstaple's standout player, easily netted the ball after rounding Nailsea's Jacob Glover.

Despite this early advantage, Nailsea failed to retaliate effectively, with both Rogers and Perry posing more threats without forcing Glover into any real action.

In the 33rd minute, Barnstaple was temporarily reduced to 10 men after Rogers was sin-binned for dissent.

This spurred Nailsea into action, increasing the tempo and movement of their play, yet still failing to threaten Barnstaple's goal.

Rogers’ return was shortly followed by Nailsea's Harry Walker being sin-binned, leaving both teams at a disadvantage at different points in the game.

The second half saw a reinvigorated Nailsea despite being a man down initially.

Nailsea's Jake White, the man of the match, delivered a left-footed cross to an unmarked Joe Berry in the box.

Berry's powerful header was impressively tipped over by Barnstaple's keeper.

Berry had another promising chance from a long ball by Sid Partridge, but an excellent recovery tackle by Montague thwarted the opportunity.

With just 10 minutes left, a well-rehearsed long throw from Luke Osgood, flicked on by Steve Kingdon, narrowly missed an open goal opportunity, as someone failed to follow through with the play.

In the closing moments, Barnstaple's Josh Perry saw his deflected free-kick strike the crossbar.

The drama continued as Perry's fellow striker, Luke Cloke, received a second yellow card.

Despite Nailsea & Tickenham's improved performance in the second half, they couldn't manage to secure a point in what turned out to be a messy encounter.

Nailsea & Tickenham will be hoping to bounce back in their next home game against St Austell.

The match, sponsored by St Austell Brewery, is scheduled for Saturday, November 16, with a 3pm kick-off.