STOKE Gabriel joint-manager Pete Gartrell admitted his side's Division One (East) title hopes were severely dented by Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Budleigh Salterton.

"If we don't get 30 points from our final 10 games we have no chance," was the stark warning from Gartrell.

"Even then we will need the Royal Marines to lose a quarter of their remaining games, but we won't give up until it's mathematically impossible although I think we're now one of three or four sides going for second place.

"Going forward we're just not creating chances and that's been the case for three or four games now.

"We probably had more possession but I can barely think of a single chance that we had and that's a big problem."

The game appeared to be petering out into a goalless draw when Budleigh netted a dramatic 88th-minute winner.

Stoke goalkeeper Chris Bashford punched out Danny Williams' right-wing cross only for James Turner to head home the rebound.

LIVERTON went down to their first league defeat in nine matches as two late goals saw them lose at reigning champions Exeter Civil Service.

Lilies manager Tony Bowker could not hide his frustration after the game, and said: "We must have had 75 per cent of the play but unfortunately we made two mistakes and they cost us dearly.

"All I can do is praise the lads for the way they played for the first 80 minutes when we looked like the only team in it, so it's very disappointing."

Liverton looked like they would go on to claim a very impressive three points when Joe Cowell struck a stunning 80th-minute volley that flew into the top corner of the Civil net.

However, three minutes later, Liverton defender Dan Harrity was caught out by a long ball and was then adjudged to have brought down Civil striker Dan Jewell — although Bowker felt the challenge was outside the box.

The referee decided otherwise, so Civil substitute Darren Bingham duly concerted the penalty to level the game and, a minute from time, Jewell headed home a cross from Dave Wilkes to secure all three points for the home side.

NEWTON Abbot Spurs striker Adam Dyson struck a hat-trick for his side as they came away from Exmouth Town with a highly impressive 4-2 victory.

"It was a very good win," said Spurs manager Chris Breslan. "Overall we could have scored seven or eight but we can't complain with four."

The Spurs manager also singled out young debutant Aaron Small for particular praise, and added: "He defended very well today and showed impressive distribution."

A cool finish from Dyson gave Spurs a 10th-minute lead which they doubled before half-time when the Spurs striker headed home a cross from Joe Andrews.

Dyson completed his treble early in the second half and, although Leigh Begam pulled a goal back for Exmouth, Spurs added a fourth through Ashley Webber to seal the points.

Late in the game James Berry struck a second for the home side to make the final scoreline look more respectable, but there could be no doubt that Spurs were emphatically the better side.

SECOND-PLACED Galmpton Gents closed the gap on leaders Stoke Gabriel with a hard fought 1-0 victory at Teignmouth.

"It was not a footballing spectacle of any sort but it was a good win as we had only 12 fit players available," said Gents manager Adam Kerswell.

"The results went our way but it just shows that there are no mugs in this league. But for us there is still a long way to go and we have to now build on this win."

Teigns assistant manager Martin Jones said his side are now looking more towards next season.

"We have some good quality players coming through and with our new signings it bodes well for next season," said Jones.

"I was expecting more of a spectacle with it being a local derby and with them being near the top and although went for it in the second half, with three up front, we didn't really test their goalkeeper Matt Congdon."

The game's crucial moment came in the 47th minute when Galmpton's Simon Laughton was adjudged to have been brought down by Teigns goalkeeper Nicky Moyse and the referee awarded a penalty.

The home side disagreed with the decision but Craig Duff duly converted from 12 yards to give the visitors the lead.

The Teigns pressed forward with Geoff Breslan, Simon Baxter and Ian Wilkinson all going close, but the Gents held on for a vital three points.

TOTNES & DARTINGTON manager John Gayle was satisfied with his side after they defeated basement dwellers Bickleigh 2-0 at the Foxhole Sports Ground.

"It should really have been a cricket score," explained Gayle. "It was a mental game because we know we can do the technical stuff but we sometimes struggle against the lesser sides.

"But once we scored the second we were always in control but we should have put more of our chances away.

"We can now go on a little run until the end of the season as we've got 14 games to play but most of the top sides still have to play each other so we've all got something to aim for."

The Tots opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Ryan Hare collected a loose ball before crashing it high into the Bickleigh net.

Jordan Havelin had a shot rebound off the crossbar for the Tots but, despite intense pressure, they did not seal the points until the 65th minute when Mike Bishop scored with a sublime 30-yard strike.