A NEW era at Sarum Youth Seniors ended in disappointment for newly-appointed manager Dan Cousins, pictured, after his side lost at home to Devizes Town Reserves 2-1 in the Wiltshire Premier League.

Sarum, with a new manager, and new look formation, put in a tremendous performance against high-flying Devizes and were unlucky not come away with at least a point.

Mitch Alford opened the scoring for the Castle Meadows outfit with a simple tap in, which was a dream start for Cousins.

But the enjoyment didn’t last long as a controversial penalty that Josh Hockey conceded gave the promotion contenders a penalty which they duly converted.

The equaliser appeared to lift Devizes who then had some good efforts of their own, forcing the home keeper into a string of saves.

The second half continued in the same vein, and as it progressed Devizes started to throw more men forward in search of a winner.

And in the 94th minute they snatched a last-ditch winner when a long ball was pitched forward into the box and tucked away to break Sarum’s hearts.

Cousins said: “Although we are gutted not to have come away with at least a point, there are plenty of positives to take from the game.

“The boys have shown what they can do and made it very hard for me to pick a team for the next game against Shrewton.”

  • Sarum Youth Senior Reserves suffered a six-goal mauling at South Newton and Wishford in Salisbury and District (Saturday) Premier League.