MERLEY COBHAM SPORTS 0 BALTI SPORTS 5

PHIL Anderson and Ricky Lane were both at the double as Balti Sports got their tenure in the Dorset Senior League off to a dream start.

Hosts Merley Cobham Sports never recovered from Anderson’s early opener and when Ethan Devaney netted the visitors’ fifth late on the rout was complete.

It was a remarkable introduction to the league for newly-promoted Balti, and boss Marco Nott was as surprised as anyone with just how comfortable an afternoon it turned out to be.

Merley finished the last campaign in third place but were rocked after just five minutes on Saturday when a Balti team missing several key players took the lead.

Anderson found the top corner of the net for his first before Lane rounded the home keeper to make it 2-0 with 17 minutes on the clock.

And when Anderson headed in a 36th-minute corner for 3-0 the three points were all but in the bag for Nott’s men.

Lane took advantage of a defensive blunder to grabbed his side’s fourth early in the second half and then Devaney slotted home in the last 10 minutes to put the seal on an emphatic victory.

“It was quite unbelievable really,” said Nott. “It would have been brilliant to go there and get a draw but winning 5-0 was the perfect start to the season for us.

“We got an early lead and that seemed to knock the stuffing out of them.

“They came at us a bit after half-time but we scored again at just the right time.

“It was a perfect performance. Everything we hit went in and we defended brilliantly as well.

“I couldn’t have asked for any more from the lads.”

Nott found it difficult to pick a man of the match, though Anderson, Devaney and Sammy Nichols did stand out during a superb all-round team display.

“Sammy was outstanding in midfield and really controlled the pace of the game,” added Nott, who played in goal with brother Andy out injured.

“Ethan has wanted to play at number 10 for a long time and he linked up really well with Ricky.

“I brought Richard Frost in at the last minute and he made a big impact when he came on.

“But for two goals and a clean sheet I’d probably give Phil the edge for man of the match.”

Balti’s big win saw them sit proudly at the top of the table after the weekend's opening round of fixtures.

Balti: M Nott, Walker, Burton, Anderson, Pearce, Lock (Andrews), Nichols, May (Frost), Batchelor, Devaney, Lane