South Devon League division three

Dartmouth AFC II 7,

Salcombe AFC I 2

Dartmouth finally got their first taste of action in 2016 thanks to the recent weather conditions, but made no mistake in seeing off Salcombe comfortably at Longcross.

In front of a large crowd and on a heavy pitch, the Darts played some excellent football, carving the opposition defence apart at times. The first goal arrived in the 13th minute ­following some magic down the left flank from Josh Webber, who beat his man before firing a cross into the path of the clinical Nick Rushe, with the striker slotting home with ease.

The lead was doubled ­minutes later. This time the roles were reversed as Rushe picked out Webber with a lovely long-range pass. The winger fired home a right-footed drive into the bottom corner.

The chances were now ­coming thick and fast for Dartmouth, who looked to put the game beyond doubt before the interval.

Joe Kirby and Ryhs Morrallee both went close, as did Rushe, aiming to increase his personal tally.

In the last 10 minutes of the half, two brilliant goals from ­central midfielder James Lee put Dartmouth in a very commanding position. The first arrived following a sublime individual run from Teddy Armitage, who beat three defenders before being upended inside the box. The ­referee played a fantastic advantage, allowing the ball to break to Lee on the edge of the box, who smashed a rocket past the ’keeper and into the roof of the net.

His second moments later arrived courtesy of some smart footwork from Rushe, who ­controlled a Webber cross expertly and dribbled round the stranded ’keeper, only to see his shot blocked on the line by a defender. The rebound fell to the lively Lee, who clipped his shot in off the far stick for 4-0.

In the last few seconds of the half a rare Salcombe attack brought a wonderful save at full stretch from Darts ’keeper Carl Hoare to keep his clean sheet intact.

The second period was only seven minutes old when Dartmouth made it 5-0, the goal this time coming from the right wing. Morrallee weaved inside his marker before curling a left-footed shot past the ’keeper and into the net despite an attempted block on the goal-line.

With a potential rugby score on the cards, Dartmouth went searching for more goals, but allowed the visitors to break away and grab two quick-fire goals of their own to reduce the arrears.

Normal service was resumed shortly after and it was soon 6-2 when Webber doubled his tally with a thumping drive from outside the area. The winger could and should have grabbed a hat-trick later on, but was inches wide with a couple of efforts.

Cameron Webb was next to go close, with an ambitious ­scissor kick that was blocked on its way into goal.

Salcombe’s frustration saw a red card for their striker late on, and it was 7-2 five minutes from time when Mark Sneap’s run inside the box was ended by a trip and the penalty coolly ­dispatched by skipper Kev Causley, who rifled his spot kick home.

The impressive victory puts Dartmouth second in the table, five points behind leaders Liverton United with a game in hand, which could see the lead cut to just two points.

Man of the match was Dartmouth’s James Lee.

Tomorrow sees the Darts back on the road with a trip to Buckfastleigh Rangers at the Duckspond for a 2.30pm kick-off, and as always, all travelling support is welcome.