Bridgwater Mens I 3, ECV Hornets II 2

BRIDGWATER survived a late comeback from ECV Hornets to hold on for a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

Kieron Wood, Liam Pigden and Matt Upham had given Bridgwater a 3-0 lead with some clinical finishing, but as legs began to tire, ECV hit back with two goals in quick succession to ensure a nervy final period in Exeter.

Despite the cold and windy weather, Bridgwater started off positively, winning a number of short corners in the first few minutes and seeing their opposition reduced to 10 men for a period due to an early sin bin.

It was from one of these early short corners that Bridgwater took the lead, due to some clever play from Carwyn Jenkins who sent the ball back to injector Kieron Wood who swept home in from a few yards out.

Bridgwater added their second half way through the second half with Rob Morrish holding the ball up well before sending it in to the path of Tim Bennett - whose strong forward run allowed him to send the ball to Liam Pigden who reversed the ball into the far corner.

Despite dominating the first half, Bridgwater started the second half on the back foot, with the defence of Duncan Morrish, Nath Dyte, Scott Upham and Wood having to be at their best to prevent the opposition scoring.

As the second half progressed, Bridgwater found their third goal through a defence splitting ball from Taylor who found Matt Upham unmarked in the D.

And he casually rounded the keeper before slotting it home for the visitor’s third. Legs began to tire as both sides pushed for dominance and ECVH managed to claw one back through a defensive mishap, before adding their second through a penalty flick.

The last five minutes that ensued were a nervy affair, with Matt Upham clearing two off the line, Scott Upham and Dyte putting in numerous solid tackles and Saunders pulling off some top drawer saves.

Next week Bridgwater are away to local rivals Taunton Vale.

Bridgwater Mens IV 4, Isca VI 1 

BRIDGWATER’S fourth team produced one of their best performances of the season as they became the first team to win at Isca this season.

Despite the bouncy pitch, Bridgwater dominated the early stages of the game, with Ali Cook, Jordan Rawles and Max Syvret controlling the midfield area.

With the majority of play now being in the Isca half, space was limited, allowing the Isca back line to produce a number of key interceptions - before Bridgwater finally opened the scoring through Mike Davidge's powerful shot.

Davidge added a second soon after, before Isca broke clear to force Mark Hutter into a smart save.

And despite Sam Beasley coming close to adding a third following good work from Joe Syvret, Bridgwater were able to keep Isca at bay, getting to half time with a 2-0 lead.

With Cook and Syvret rested at half time, Isca started the second half the stronger and they were rewarded for their play with a goal following a short corner.

As Isca pushed further forward, with Cook and Syvret returning to the game, Bridgwater were able to play on the counter attack and they regained their two goal lead as Liam Durkin's persistence set up a goal for Steve Pigden - before Beasley raced through to set up Pigden for his second and Bridgwater's fourth.

With Bridgwater's defensive quartet of Cammish, Hubbard, Stone and Blyth breaking up any potential Isca attacks and the Isca defence sitting slightly deeper, neither team looked to add to their tally.

Bridgwater's 4-1 victory keeps the team at the top of the league with six games to go, but they will need to remain at their best to overcome a lively OPM team at home next week.

Bridgwater Mens V 2, East Devon IV 1 

A DETERMINED showing from Bridgwater V sealed a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over East Devon on Saturday.

A brace of goals from Dave Dosson bagged all the points from Bridgwater, who were made to work hard for their victory in the driving rain at Chilton.

East Devon started the brighter of the two teams, but the midfield combination of youth in Tom Evans and Connor Gillespie, with the experience of wiser heads Geoff Banham and Kev Hicks kept the visitors at bay.

With the howling wind blowing in to the faces of East Devon for the first 10 minutes it allowed Bridgwater to get a grip of the game as Dave Dosson and Simon Burland both came close, and the East Devon keeper was forced to pull off some brilliant saves.

In the second half Bridgwater pushed ahead and looked the most likely to score as Gillespie, Evans and Turner all pressed forward.

Bridgwater finally broke the deadlock as Dosson swept home from a pinpoint Banham cross.

This seemed to switch on East Devon who piled on the pressure and got their well deserved goal, despite the best efforts of the defence.

The next ten minutes were the most crucial of the game with most of the Bridgwater team back in defence battening down the hatches to protect the score.

East Devon nearly grabbed the lead following a defensive but Durkin created enough pressure to allow Morrish time to clear an East Devon attempt on the line.

Bridgwater held on during this period of pressure with some real determined defending.

And this was to pay off as following a run from Turner, young Sweatman pounced on the ball to place the ball past the keeper for Dosson to clip the ball in before the defence could clear.