SURVIVING relegation from Premier One is still Goatacre’s target for this season, despite suffering another setback when losing by two wickets to Bedminster at the weekend.

Goatacre’s latest fixture was one of only two Premier One fixtures to survive the widespread rain at the weekend, but Ed Wilkins’ troops were probably wishing their fixture had been called off as they only managed to earn four points from the contest.

A tired wicket meant Goatacre could only edge their way to 96 all out – only David Miles and Liam Dawson could pass double figures – before Bedminster reached their target with two wickets spare.

Despite the loss, Wilkins remains focussed on avoiding relegation from the top tier having only been promoted to the division last season.

He said: “It was quite a tired wicket. We’re getting towards the end of the season now and it’s been very dry.

“It wasn’t that bad, they bowled very well and we just didn’t apply ourselves with the bat.

“Only David Miles came out of it with any credit.

“In terms of how the points work, our performance didn’t help us. If the game went on a little longer and ended up being abandoned we would’ve got more points, but that’s the way it is.

“We didn’t bat well enough, but we bowled well and gave ourselves a bit of a chance.”

Three wins in 15 matches mean Goatacre currently sit ninth in Premier One, 19 points behind the safety of Taunton in eighth.

It means Wilkins’ troops will need at least one further victory if they are to avoid the drop.

And despite only three games remaining, the skipper believes it’s a realistic target that his team can aim for.

He said: “It’s been a tough season, and we knew it would be tough coming up to this league.

“We’ve only won three games but there have been another four or five where we’ve given ourselves a chance.

“We’ve only been outclassed on two or three occasions and we’ve put a good show on.

“If we can get one, probably two, wins then we could still stay up if Taunton lose their games – that’s the goal for us.”

Elsewhere, Trowbridge, Warminster and Corsham’s games all fell victim to the weather - Warminster coming off worse when their fixture was abandoned after they had batted.