STRATTON Juniors have made the transition into the adult ranks a seamless one as Saturday’s 2-1 win over Lyneham lifted them to second place in Division One.

Having fallen behind early on, Magnus Painter’s side rallied and goals from Ryan Major and Sebastian Kraft gave the hosts the lead before Harrison Painter pulled off a penalty save to keep their advantage.

“We dominated play early on but we conceded first from a free-kick that was floated in and our defence switched off,” said Painter.

“We equalised when Ryan Major slotted home a penalty and we created other chances that we didn’t take.

“With about 25 minutes to go, there was a cross that Sebastian Kraft got on the end of and headed home.

“They were awarded a penalty with eight minutes to go and our keeper, Harrison Painter, saved it to give us the win.”

Stratton Juniors were only formed in the summer as an extension of their youth set-up and it is already turning into a success story with the likes of 16-year-old Jordan Taylor stepping up to the men’s team.

“We now go from Under-6 level all the way through to men’s football,” added Painter.

“This season, we also have our first Under-17 and Under-18 teams and by creating a men’s teams, it then gives a pathway for the guys who want to continue playing football.

“We had a couple of weeks where we couldn’t get a win and that was purely down to our finishing.

“We play a good attacking style of football and it is pleasing to be up there in our first season, with the target of promotion and a decent cup run.

“It is all to do with the progression of the kids so there is a lot more to it than just a team who are trying to win the league.”

Elsewhere in Division One, Sports 4 Pinehurst maintained their two-point cushion at the summit with an emphatic 7-0 win over New Town All Stars, while Lower Stratton romped to a 9-0 victory at Swindon AFC courtesy of four goals from Liam New and a Jamie Saunders hat-trick.

Wroughton Reserves cruised to a 4-0 success against Marlborough Reserves, with four different goal scorers, while Haydon Wick edged out Core Construction 3-2.

Old Town played out a 2-2 draw with Moredon as Anton Webb and Aaron Williams’ goals for the hosts were cancelled out by Steven Nicholls and Carl Wyatt.

In the Premier Division, hat-tricks from Jason Hudson and Riccardo Serratore saw Bassett Bulldogs complete a 6-0 rout against Spectrum, while fourth-placed Ramsbury were 4-0 winners away to Swindon Centurians courtesy of a brace from Gareth Brown and efforts from Matthew Darvell and Adam Elmer.

A brace from Craig Alexander added to Roger Mundy’s strike as Village Inn came back from a goal down, scored by Tom Ballard, to beat North Swindon.