Minehead were defeated in bizarre fashion at the hands of Ashton & Backwell United on Saturday.

The away trip saw the Blues face another team vying for promotion to the Premier Division of the County League.

The hosts started strong, often finding their front runners with probing passes, but the Minehead defence stood firm.

Minehead's top scorer, Josh Elston, almost put his team ahead with a fierce shot towards the top corner, only for the keeper to block the ball on the goal-line.

The game continued to be evenly matched, with Minehead's goalkeeper, Kyran Wilkins, showcasing his skills by making a difficult save look easy.

The second half saw Minehead pressing forward, forcing Ashton & Backwell United into defensive positions for long periods.

Elston's cross caused chaos on the goal-line, requiring desperate attempts from the defenders to clear the ball.

A foul on Elston led to a free kick from Stefan Phillips, which was again saved by the hosts' keeper.

Despite Minehead's dominance, Ashton & Backwell United took the lead from a quick throw-in, allowing the right winger to unleash a shot from outside the box, which flew past Wilkins into the top corner.

In response, Minehead's manager, Craig Carr, made several substitutions, including bringing on striker Scott Kivell, raising the tally of teenagers on the pitch to four.

A free kick from Phillips set up Guy Burns, whose pass to Ollie Hall resulted in a shot that went just over the bar.

The game took a bizarre turn when the hosts' number six was shown a yellow card, sent to the sin bin, and then shown another yellow and a red for further remonstrations.

Following a stoppage in play, the home keeper, showing good sportsmanship, returned possession to Minehead by kicking a goal kick out of play behind his goal for a corner.

Kivell quickly took the corner, finding Guy Burns, who headed the ball home at the near post, catching the keeper off guard.

A goal was awarded, which led to further protests and another red card for a home player.

Recognising the unsporting nature of their equalising goal, Minehead's captain, Stefan Phillips, instructed his team to let their opponents score unopposed from the restart, allowing all three points to remain with Ashton & Backwell United.

The Man of the Match award went to Will Singleton-Voss.

After three games without a win, Minehead now have three home games on consecutive Saturdays to try to regain their winning form.

They will face Keynsham Town Reserves this coming week, with kick-off at The Rec at 3pm.