Horncastle Town came off best in the weather-affected contest at home to Skellingthorpe, taking a fifth Lincolnshire League win, 3-2.

Such was the intensity of the conditions for the first quarter of the game that good football was out of the question.

Gradually there was some slight improvement and from here on both sides deserve some credit for their play.

Despite some team selection difficulties, which saw the absence of defender Alec Enderby and front-runner Michael Harness, manager Paul Johnson was still able to send out a decent side.

Luke Shelbourn was at centre-back to turn in a splendid display and Jack Baxter came in for a rare senior start and he too gave a very good account of himself.

With the wind at their backs Town led 2-0 at half-time, with an unbelievable free-kick from long distance by Chris Johnson somehow finding its way home.

Then came a well-worked goal from the back through midfielder Richard Jackson and on to Baxter for the finish.

Skellingthorpe drew level with two goals from key man Shane Beesley, only for Tommy Chalk to crown a splendid performance with a cracking winner right on the 90 minutes.

Town Manager Paul Johnson was full of praise for his side.

"We might have been excused if we had shown some frustration after losing a two-goal advantage, having a seemingly good goal disallowed and a confident penalty appeal turned down," he said.

"The lads showed plenty of character and it paid off when Tommy (Chalk) hit the winner right at the end. Despite the conditions we played some good football and I really did think we deserved it."

The win keeps Town in 10th place in the table, just one place below Skellingthorpe, their victims from last Saturday.

The clubs are beginning to stretch out in the league table towards the halfway stage in the campaign.

In fact, some teams have already played more than half of their fixtures in a season when the league has increased its numbers considerably.

This Saturday Town are away to Grimsby Borough Reserves, the two sides having shared the points in a 1-1 draw at The Wong recently. Having started the season slowly, Borough have picked up with three wins, most recently a slender victory away to bottom club Cleethorpes.