PLYMOUTH’S Matthew Dixon and his England synchro partner Noah Williams produced a stunning display to win a Commonwealth Games silver medal and push Olympic stars Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow all the way in Friday’s final.

Dixon and Williams, both 17, finished second in a thrilling 10m platform event on the Gold Coast.

They ended the competition just six points behind Olympic medallists and England team-mates Daley and Goodfellow. They also beat the highly-fancied Australian pair of Domonic Bedggood and Declan Stacey.

Daley and Goodfellow finished on 405.81 points, Dixon and Williams on 399.99 and Bedggood and Stacey scored 397.92. Malaysia, Scotland and Canada filled the remaining final placings.

Plymouth Studio School’s Dixon and Williams had won international medals at junior level, but this was their first at a major senior competition.

Daley has been struggling with injury and will not compete in the individual event, but he was full of praise for fellow Plymothian Dixon and Williams afterwards and for all the young talent coming through.

“There is a lot of amazing talent in British diving at the minute,” said Daley.  “You have Noah Williams and Matthew Dixon and there’s also Kyle Kothari and Matty Lee, who are another team that could have definitely medalled in this competition if we were able to have three teams in the event.”

World champion Daley was unsure whether he would be fit enough to compete on Friday morning in the synchro having already pulled out of the individual event.

He said afterwards: “I know I’ve won medals in the past but it’s been a smoother journey to get to those competitions whereas this has been a really rough and rocky ride.

“It was a close call as to whether I would be pulled from the synchro as well. As a competitor I want to do everything possible to compete.”