A ROTATED Newton Abbot Spurs side prevailed with a surprise 2-1 win over Bridport on Saturday.

Solomon Ayunga’s strike on the half-hour had Bridport leading until goals from Sam Barnes and Owen Green flipped the tie and stung the second-placed Bees, who have now lost three of their last four.

‘I think losing to Okehampton [Argyle last Tuesday] added to this because the lads didn’t want to lose to two top-end teams,’ said Spurs boss Marc Revell. ‘We were dominating early on but we conceded – we always seem to switch off and concede when we’re dominant. 

‘That happened on Saturday; we got sucker-punched a little bit. Bridport are a little bit one-dimensional and they don’t have massive technical ability – that’s not being rude to them because they’re a good side but they’re strong bully boys. 

‘I changed it up because I played the front three of [Callum] Noyce, Toby [Pullman] and Owen [Green], which is leaving Theo [Ramsey] and [James] Moxon out. We came out a different side second half and were more clinical in our dominance. We suffocated Bridport and could have won by three or four in the end.

‘On paper, nobody would think we would lose to Okehampton in fifth then beat Bridport in second. I have a weird confidence about us every time. 

‘Everything is mental with us; we beat Exmouth [Town] in the St Lukes Bowl and then went and lost to Cullompton [Rangers] with a real poor performance. 

'We flip our season on its head just when we’re not expecting to. I’ve told my lads that it is important to finish on a high.’

Green has spent large parts of the season as a victim of Revell’s attacking headache, suffering from the rotation of the embarrassment of riches available at The Rec. The sprightly winger has often been used as a substitute throughout the season – coming off the bench a total of 17 times to date – but was given a rare chance to start on Saturday.

‘Owen has worked so hard this season,’ Revell said, 'and has always maintained that he’s happy to go to the reserves for minutes but he wants to start for the first team. 

‘I used him in the dressing room on Saturday because Owen has played in every single one of our wins, and it’s not coincidence because he’s such a hard-working winger. He won us the game against Cullompton when we went down to 10 men because he practically played right-back and right-wing because he’s got the energy. 

‘He’s so humble and does his best to play well; he was quiet first half but much better second and scored a worldie. He deserved that.’