Cheddar fell to their first defeat of pre-season with a 5-2 loss at Welton Rovers on Saturday.

Cheddar’s second pre-season friendly was, as for the previous Saturday, played in three 30 minute periods.

Newly promoted Toolstation Premier League side Welton Rovers rushed into a 3-0 lead as the hosts tried out a new formation taking time to adjust allowing Rovers to score with apparent ease.

The second period was a tight affair until Ryan Sandford pushed forward from his right-back defensive berth to reduce the arrears.

Welton then added a fourth goal in the third and last period before the Cheesemen grabbed a further goal through Oscar Collins. The visitors, however, added a fifth goal with minutes remaining.

Following the game, manager Michael Dangerfield said: “We had a joint team of first and reserve team players this afternoon along with a couple of new lads due to the unavailability of some.

"We put in a half decent performance against an incredibly good Toolstation Premier Division team. The game was played in three ‘thirds’ as for last week; we were poor in the first period, good in the second and average the third.

"Of course, we have some areas to work on and develop. However, we have a lot of positives to take from the game in our creativity and work ethic. With the average age of the squad being under 25, we have a lot to work and build on but clearly still need to add more.”

Cheddar’s next game is at Ilfracombe tomorrow (July 16).