*Premier Division

THE battle for the Premier Division crown in the Perry Street League is going to go down to the wire with Crewkerne and South Petherton vying for the championship.

Both teams have two games to play and Crewkerne currently have a three-point advantage over their rivals. Crewkerne also currently hold a better goal difference than Petherton which could also prove extremely crucial come the end of this campaign.

The two sides met at Crewkerne last Thursday and a win for either of them would have been massive, but they had to settle for a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

While Petherton had no game at the weekend, Crewkerne went to Misterton and notched-up an emphatic 9-0 victory to put themselves three points clear at the top of the table with Jamie Spurdle the pick of the goalscorers by notching a hat-trick.

Ilminster Town Reserves, now guaranteed at least third spot in the table, gained a 3-0 victory over Winsham United on Saturday.

Combe St Nicholas Reserves made it win number ten for the campaign with a 4-1 success at White Horse.

*Division One

THINGS are still very much open for top honours in Division One with Charmouth currently leading the way by a single point from Barrington, but Barrington have two games in hand in which to overhaul that deficit.

While Barrington were beating Lyme Regis Reserves 3-1 at home, Charmouth were enjoying a 4-1 victory over West and Middle Chinnock on Saturday.

Forton Rangers maintained their third spot in the table with a 3-2 win over Pymore, while Thorncombe gained a 2-1 success at Netherbury.

Forton’s own title aspirations were severely dented on April 28 when Chard Rangers won a thrilling end-to-end encounter 3-2.

The game see-sawed between the two teams. Kev Bird opened the scoring for Rangers and their second came from a stunning effort from player-manager Luke Chubb who out-foxed Forton keeper Adam Smith with a looping shot from the halfway line.

The score eventually moved to 2- 2 and a share of the spoils was on the cards, but then Forton veteran Steve Baker looped the ball into his own net to give Rangers the victory.

In-form Chard Rangers went into their game with lowly Merriott Rovers Reserves in good confidence, but surprisingly fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat – their first loss in seven games.

Young John Mason came closest for Rangers, but manager Luke Chubb thought that his side never created nearly enough chances to have won the contest.

*Division Two

THERE is big tension in Division Two where Ilminster Town Colts know that if they slip up in their final match, they could hand the title to Perry Street Reserves.

The Colts – who enjoyed an 8-0 victory over White Horse Reserves on Saturday with Darren Dabinett hitting a hat-trick – are just two points ahead of Perry Street.

The Ilminster side conclude their campaign tonight (Wednesday) when they travel to face Dowlish and Donyatt.

A victory would give them the title, but if they suffered what would be only their second defeat of the season, it would mean Perry Street winning the title if they were successful in their final match.

A draw for Colts tonight would also leave things still on the balance with Perry Street having a superior goal difference.

Other Division Two games on Saturday saw lowly Combe St Nicholas A gain an important 3-2 victory over Forton Rangers Reserves, while fellow strugglers Drimpton gained a 2-0 success over Millwey Rise.

Division Three

NORTON Athletic clinched the *Division Three title on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Hawkchurch with Colin Fuoco, Paul Churchill and Louis Hockey getting the goals. Although they were in the driving seat, it was at the weekend when their three-point haul made it mathematically impossible for second-placed Beaminster Reserves to catch them.

Luso-Chard’s hopes of third were maintained with a 3-1 win at Combe B, while Crewkerne Reserves also stayed in the hunt with a 5-1 win over Chard Rangers Reserves.

The Rangers Reserves probably went into the game already thinking ahead to tomorrow night’s Bill Bailey Cup Final with Luso-Chard to be played at Combe St Nicholas.

In a good natured, friendly game, eventual man of the match, Mike Bagg scored a wonderfully headed goal, but Rangers were not too down-hearted with the drubbing, had the two efforts gone in instead of hitting the crossbar when at 3-1 then it would possibly have been a different score.

Manager Graham Rose was pleased that no player picked up any knocks and is now busy preparing his team for tomorrow's cup final.

Lyme Regis Bantams enjoyed a 4-0 win against Hinton St George Reserves, while Netherbury Reserves have withdrawn from the league and their record has been deleted.

*Division Four

MISTERTON Reserves gave their Division Four title aspirations a huge lift when they beat current leaders Fivehead United 5-2 on Saturday.

The result means that Misterton are now just two points behind the front-runners, but have a game in hand.

Fivehead complete their season on Saturday with a trip to midtable Charmouth Reserves, while Misterton are away at Hawchurch Reserves and then conclude at Barrington Reserves on Tuesday, May 12.

Ilminster Town A completed their fixtures on a winning note with a 1-0 success at Charmouth Reserves, while Taunton-based side FC First ended with a victory – 3-1 over Farway United Reserves.

Winsham United Reserves also completed their fixtures in convincing style with a 7-2 win over basement side Hawkchurch Reserves.

*For the full results and fictures pick up a copy of this week's News - out today.