Mushet and Coalway 1, Westbury United 3.

WITH just one win from a dozen league outings, Mushet and Coalway prop up the premier division. But it will not be for long, predicts secretary Andy Wilce.

He says: "We are not that bad. We have now played all the top teams in the league so now we have a chance to climb out of danger."

Saturday's game against Westbury, he said, typified Mushet's season.

"We didn't deserve that scoreline. At half-time there were no goals, then Westbury scored twice. We responded with one of our own but Westbury scored from a disputed free kick. It's been much like that all season," said Wilce.

He points out the strengths in the Mushet set-up. Saturday's squad included nine out of 13 players under 19 years old.

"We are a very young side. If we stay together and avoid relegation then I'm positive that next season we will be near the top of the league. Two or three years from now we could be pressing for promotion," he said.

Northern Senior League ambition is nothing new for Mushet.

"We have been there before but I admit it was a struggle. We had a couple of seasons fighting relegation.

"Then we lost some senior players and slipped back into the North Gloucester League. I think the present crop of young players are good enough to take us back up, all we need is a bit of time for them to gain experience," said Wilce.

Saturday's game was Mushet's first for eight weeks.

"That never helped. There were no games over Christmas and we have had a number of cancelled matches so we were a bit rusty. It was a pretty even game and we played reasonably well. The best is yet to come," he predicted.

Mushet's goal was scored by Danny Latham, who is the club's top scorer with 10 to his credit this season.