STRIKER Steve Davis bagged his first goals of the season as Calne Town turned the tables on Shepton Mallet to move into the first round of the FA Vase at Bremhill View on Saturday.

Shepton had defeated Calne 2-0 in Somerset on the opening day of the Screwfix Direct First Division season, but the side jointly managed by Kelvin Highmore and Paul Rankin gained sweet revenge thanks to Davis' early double.

The victory was Calne's first of the season and co-boss Highmore was relieved to see his side finally break their duck more than a month into the 2002/03 campaign.

He said: "We did really well. I knew the win was coming and thought we'd win on Saturday.

"If we'd been four up at half time, then it would have been a fair reflection of the first half.

"Shepton will admit that as well if they're honest with themselves.

"We're more than pleased. We knew it would be a good test for us, but the new signings are getting to know each other now and the side is starting to gel.

"There is a buzz there and the players are starting to feel confident. There is still work to be done, but it was a great result."

Calne were a goal ahead inside five minutes. Former Larkhall midfielder Ben Moore linked well with new signing Glenn Armstrong on the left, and the striker delivered a pinpoint ball for Davis to head home.

Three minutes later the Wiltshire side found themselves two in front. Again it was Armstrong who found space on the wing, and this time he crossed from the right for Davis to double his tally with another header.

Martin Wheeler fired inches wide as rampant Calne continued to take the game to their visitors, and First Division promotion hopefuls Shepton were relieved to hear the referee blow the whistle for half time.

Calne sat back on their lead after the break and almost paid the price with 18 minutes to go.

Prolific frontman John Burr nipped between and defender and goalkeeper Darryl Sims and sent a lob towards the unguarded Calne net, only for the impressive Nick Taylor to race back and make a heroic goalline clearance.

Ex-Wroughton forward Armstrong came close to grabbing his first goal in a Calne shirt late on, while James Lye was also unfortunate not to add his name to the scoresheet.

Highmore believes the Davis and Armstrong partnership up front is beginning to pay dividends.

He said: "All we've being doing is losing by the odd goal and we just needed to start scoring goals.

"Glenn Armstrong and Steve Davis have started to get and understanding and Glenn has the ability to pull out wide and get crosses into the box.''

He added: "He just needs a goal now and did everything but score on Saturday."

Highmore's one criticism of Saturday's performance was that his men retreated too far into their own territory as they defended their precious two-goal lead in the second half.

He said: "We found ourselves two goals up after 15 minutes and that was a strange thing for us.

"It was difficult to keep our momentum in the second half. Shepton are a good side and saw a lot of the ball after the break. We were probably guilty of sitting too deep.

"But they couldn't break us down and the lads put in every effort. The fitness levels are very, very good. Shepton asked us a lot of questions, but we stuck to our guns."