STATISTICS, as Mark Twain once pointed out, can be less than reliable at times.

Midway through November and the bare fact of the matter is that Scarva Rangers Reserves are still seeking their first home victory in the league.

It sounds grim but the reality is not so bleak. Thanks to a quirk in the fixture list this defeat at the hands of Lower Maze Reserves was only the second time Scarva Rangers Reserves have played at Scarva Park this season.

And their other defeat came at the hands of Omagh United Reserves, the team tipped to win Reserve Division Three at a canter.

Last Saturday's opponents have also made a blistering start to the season so Scarva should at least have their two toughest home fixtures behind them.

The locals started positively against an impressive Lower Maze side, with Gary Dodds in left midfield and Danny Cullen at left back combining to good effect and Stephen McNeill producing some dangerous crosses on the opposite flank.

The hosts may have been the team on top but it was the visitors who made the breakthrough a little more than half an hour into the game and Scarva's task from then on was an uphill one.

Scarva Reserves started the second half with the same positive approach that they had shown in the opening stages of the first half but despite some decent approach play they couldn't hurt Lower Maze as often as they would have hoped in the all important final third of the field.

The visitors struck for a second time and the Scarva challenge began to fizzle out, with home keeper Gordon Magill making some terrific stops to prevent the winning margin growing any greater.

Best for Scarva Rangers Reserves – Gary Dodds and Gordon Magill.