DOWNTON got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win at Verwood, as the introduced a myriad of young players into the team.

With 16-year-old Sam Proudfoot making his debut in goal, and Ronan Clancy making his first start, the Robins were on the front foot from the start with Marcus Savage looping a header over the goalkeeper to put Downton 1-0 up.

Verwood came back strongly, grabbing an equaliser in the eighth minute, but from then on man of the match Proudfoot was equal to anything that the hosts threw at him.

He showed maturity beyond his years, notably some fine handling from a number of crosses.

Clancy covered excellent ground in the centre of the park and dominated Downton's engine room in fine style.

It was Downton's Shaun Prentice who made the difference late in the first half, dancing past most of the Verwood backline to cross for Clancy to cap his debut with a firm low shot to the back of the net.

Downton again impressed in the second half with Paul Gulliver holding strong and bringing everyone into the game.

Some great work from skipper Craig Tyson and Thomas Aldridge forced the home side into there own half for much of the game.

Late on a superb reflex save from the Verwood stopper from Ben Smith's header kept the game alive for the home side, but Downton stood strong and introduced James Ward into action.

He wasted no time with another impressive debut. The Downton defence soaked up some pressure in the final 10 minutes to take the win.

Manager Ben Smith said: "We deserved to win today in a very tough hard fought game. We had several first teamers out and the three debutants that came in and stepped up were outstanding.

"Proudfoot was excellent in goal, Clancy worked his socks off and scored the winning goal and James Ward made a great impact when he came on so all in all a fantastic result."

This weekend, Downton are at home to Ringwood in the Wessex League Division One.