BUCKLAND Athletic braved the weekend washout with a comfortable 3-1 home win over Sherborne Town on Saturday.

Goals from Cieran Bridger, Frazer Clark and Jared Lewington saw the Bucks canter to victory in the only Western League Premier Division game to survive the storms, with Anthony Herrin’s late strike for the visitors little more than a consolation.

‘It was a good performance,’ said Buckland boss Dan Hart. ‘It’s always good to bounce back from a defeat and get back on a winning run.

‘I felt like at times we played with style on a difficult surface and in difficult conditions, and it was really pleasing to see us starting to come together quickly. It will take time, but we’ve got all the ingredients for something really frightening in the attacking half.’

The Bucks raced into the lead. Bridger turned inside and fired a low effort from range, which bounced awkwardly in the mud in front of goalkeeper Joshua Attwood and slipped through his grasp.

‘We’ve got great people at this club,’ Hart explained, 'and they have spent their evenings throughout the latter part of this week working hard on the pitch to make sure it is playable.

‘Yes, it was soft, but it was comfortably playable. Thank you to them – if it wasn’t for them, it would’ve been a more difficult tie on a different day. The three points go to them, really.

‘Conditions always come into the talk before a game and we have to be aware of them. Sometimes, the areas in which you play the ball and the way you move have to change slightly but we set up in a different way today – a new way for us – and it paid off, so I’m really pleased with that.’

The hosts were two to the good on the half-hour mark. Man of the Match Josh Webber’s corner created pandemonium in the Sherborne box and the ball eventually sprayed out Lewington on the edge of the area. His shot had a heap of bodies to navigate in front of goal and deflected down to the back post for Clark to tap home his first goal since returning to Homers Heath.

Buckland flew out of the blocks again after the half-time break but fell just shy of adding to the tally within minutes of the restart. Webber gave chase to a ball from Bridger and did well to float a cross in for Lewington. The forward’s acrobatic effort was saved well by Attwood.

But Lewington’s wait for a goal would not last much longer as he netted a beautiful effort to put Buckland three ahead just before the hour. Webber played a clever ball over the top for Lewington, and the returning 28-year-old nodded the delivery beyond the last defender to open a one-on-one opportunity. With the exposed Attwood doing all he could, Lewington confidently smashed past the hapless gloves-man to mark his homecoming in style.

‘He’s got a great character,’ Hart said. ‘He fits like a glove. He knows the club, the people here love him and that feeling is mutual.

‘On the pitch, whilst he’s not match-fit yet, he’s sharp. He’s got ability, he’s able to turn on both feet and finish and he put his goal away so calmly. He looked every bit a top-level striker today.’

Despite the three-goal deficit, the Zebras battled on. With 63 minutes on the clock, Alex Murphy was played into a wealth of space by Yeovil Town loanee Benjani Mwaruwari. Murphy opted for power over placement and fired his shot towards the near post, but Bucks ‘keeper Andy Collings responded well with an important save with his legs.

There was still one final goal to come as Sherborne reduced the arrears on 88 minutes through Herrin, who headed home from the near post.

‘It’s about having high standards,’ said Hart, who was frustrated by the goal. ‘I try to do that on and off the pitch and our players aren’t any different.

‘Someone like Rob Farkins is, I’m sure, going to go home and have a little bit less of a good sleep after that tonight. Winning 3-1 is a great performance – it’s difficult to get a clean sheet in these conditions.

‘To be fair to [Sherborne], they kept pressing, kept working and they got their reward.’