A new season, and no gentle way into it. Pre-season was over, the real thing had arrived, and it arrived in the shape of a trip to the coast to face a Brixham side coming down into this division.
The sun beat down all afternoon, and the pitch was dry and patchy, which raised the obvious question of which side would be able to deal with that.
That was not the only question being asked, though. A strong squad has been built over the summer, and with it has come real hope among supporters, now came the time to deliver on it. Dave Pearse has been back at the helm for a while, quietly building up the squad and standard, but only really playing in end-of-season games with nothing riding on them and a summer of friendlies. In truth, this was his first fully competitive match back at the club.
FIRST HALF
It was the home team who made the first opening, on five minutes. Their left winger came inside and got in front of Thorne, rolling the ball across to the striker whose shot bobbled awkwardly in front of Kingston. The goalkeeper had to fight to control it, but control it he did.
From then on, and for most of the half, it was Bridgwater who held the ball and made the chances.
The biggest of them came soon after. On ten minutes Collins stood his man up, beat him, and dinked a ball to the far post, where Camilo arrived to head it home. Somehow, it was cleared off the line.
Twenty minutes later Sam Beresford latched onto a long ball and tried to curl one into the far corner, only for the Brixham keeper to throw out a strong hand and turn it away.
On the half hour Toby Lawrence found Will Collins, who got himself in front of his marker. Tugged and pulled all the way, he still managed to get his shot off, and it looped up onto the crossbar.
HALF TIME: BRIXHAM 0-0 BRIDGWATER UNITED
Not a half packed with chances, but the away side went in the happier of the two. We had enjoyed plenty of the ball and almost all of the control. What we hadn’t found was that final ball, or that final finish.
The 11 were clearly desperate to find that opening, but had had to be patient against a well organised Brixham defence.
SECOND HALF
Only a couple of minutes into the second half, and Bridgwater became their own worst enemy. A looping ball over the defence wasn’t dealt with between Thorne and Kingston, and the defender inadvertently lobbed his own goalkeeper. Against the run of play, Brixham had the lead, courtesy of us.
Fifteen minutes later they broke through us again, their striker away on goal before Lawrence recovered enough to put him off the shot. It could so easily have been a second for the home side, and it was enough to send Pearsey to his bench, with Chambers and Quick brought on to turn the tide.
From there, we regained our grip on the game. Just as in the first half, we dominated the ball. At times there was indecision over whether to go long or stay patient, but slowly, surely, we began to breach their defence.
Sam Beresford turned his man and unleashed a fierce shot that the goalkeeper could only parry away, and young Will Collins, who had impressed throughout pre-season, was quickest off the mark to sprint in and tap home, sending the fantastic away support into raptures.
Then came the decision. Hold out and accept the point, or push for the win? Pearse was decisive, sending on Wacko up front and Armstrong to keep us going.
It was all Bridgwater now. Five minutes from the end we almost had it, a corner to the back post met by Jacob Spence, whose header crashed back off the post.
It seemed the points would be shared. Then, with almost the last kick of the game, we did it. Toby Lawrence carried the ball all the way through their midfield and flicked it to Armstrong, who headed it into the path of Will Collins, and one-on-one he made no mistake. His brace, and a massive away win.
FULL TIME: BRIXHAM 1-2 BRIDGWATER UNITED
It might not have been pretty, and at one stage it might not even have seemed likely, but Will Collins’ brace has given us a platform for the season. The league is a marathon, of course, but away days in those conditions, against sides who have recently been playing at a higher level, are hard places to take three points from.
For much of the afternoon Bridgwater controlled the ball nicely, perhaps more of it than they had expected. And while the clear chances were not plentiful, we would have felt unfortunate to come away with nothing.
Dave Pearse expressed his delight afterwards, praising how hard the lads had worked, while reminding everyone that a difficult game against Street awaits on Tuesday.
Our owner, Ian Davis, wanted to make some comments regarding the stadium and the pitch, so here they are:
“In my eyes, the pitch at Brixham was unplayable, and shouldn’t be allowed at Step 5 football. It’s shocking to me to see concrete within close proximity to the pitch. For me as an owner, I try to set a good standard, and we are always open to criticism. But I would not allow this at my club. I really feel it is shocking, that’s the only word for it. I think the F.A needs to take a long hard look at some of these grounds and whether they are not only acceptable, but safe to play in and on.”
Bridgwater return to action on Tuesday evening at Fairfax Park, against Street F.C.
Our away support was fantastic, as always, and we greatly appreciate you.
Up The Robins!
