Gosport Borough fell to a 3-0 away defeat against Weston-super-Mare in the midst of a record heatwave on Saturday.
Weston blew their visitors away with a trio of goals inside 32 minutes, with Gosport being made to pay for spurning two decent chances in the first half.
Shaun Gale made one change to the Boro’ side that beat Merthyr Town on the opening day, with Issiaga Kaba coming in to replace the injured Kyal Williams. Ryan Woodford, Bradley Tarbuck, Andreas Robinson, Finn Walsh-Smith and Billie Busari were also unavailable for the trip to The Optima Stadium.
Weston started the game strongly and took the lead inside eight minutes when Dayle Grubb laid the ball off to Kieran Thomas, who made the net bulge with a well-struck effort from outside the box.
Shortly after Abdulai Baggie had fired a shot just wide at the other end, the hosts doubled their advantage in the 18th minute. Gosport failed to deal with a Weston attack properly and Marlon Jackson eventually applied the finishing touches.
Baggie again went close for the away side shortly after, but his effort from 20 yards out was well held by Max Harris.
The Seagulls continued to cause Boro’ problems as the first half wore on and just after the half-hour mark they made it 3-0. Reuben Reid was the scorer this time, showing quick feet in the box before rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
Weston went close again just before the break, with midfielder James Dodd rattling the far post with a daisy-cutter.
Looking for a response from his side at half time, Gale made a half-time substitution, with Jake Wright replacing Matt Paterson in midfield. But Weston had the first chance after the interval, with Jordan Bastin cutting in from the right and whistling a shot narrowly wide.
After this the hosts retreated into well-organised banks of four and Gosport struggled to break them down. In a rare break from that shape in the 66th minute Scott Laird surged forward and fired the wrong side of the post.
Dan Aitken was introduced from the bench as Gosport looked to gain a foothold in Somerset but chances were at a premium for both sides. 15 minutes from time Matt Briggs was taken off after feeling his groin, with Adam Biss slotting into the backline for the closing stages.
As the unforgiving heat continued to beat down in the West Country, neither team looked like adding to the scoreline with proceedings crawling to an uneventful end.
Gosport will looking to get back to winning ways when they host Swindon Supermarine at Privett Park on Wednesday evening.