Bridgwater United 2 Wellington 4
After an absence of six weeks, this was far from a happy homecoming for the Robins. As holders of the Les Phillips Cup it was bad enough that they were outplayed and knocked out of the competition by this vibrant and eager Wellington side. Even worse, in the final analysis, is that they had key defender, Jacob Spence, the Robins’ Virgil Van Dyck, dismissed a few minutes before the end for a foul. His three game suspension will now, potentially, imperil United ‘s progress in the league.
It is pointless to go on about Wellington being a so-called “bogey” side. That is fantasy talk. The facts are that they have been better than the Robins over this three game series and there are reasons for that. In this game they feasted upon some leaky defending, especially in the first half, and could have made the winning margin more resounding.
United only looked dominant for a short spell before and after their first goal, for the rest of the time it was Wellington having a lot of fun exploiting the Robins’ flaws.
United’s defence had an unfamiliar look about it with youngster Frankie Phillips replacing the unwell Jake Viney and regular full backs Dave Thorne and Jake Llewellyn didn’t play (although Thorne was on the bench). Sam Hedges started at centre back alongside Spence, with Jordan Greenwood moving over to left back. Up front Jack Taylor was serving a one game suspension.
After making a bright start Wellington went ahead after nine minutes. An intended back pass from Mark Armstrong was intercepted by Jake Quick and he ran on and shot low past Phillips. He has a good scoring record against the Robins.
For a while, United rallied. A Tom Llewellyn corner kick was met with a thumping header from Greenwood which was straight at Harley Wilkinson. A few minutes later Llewellyn’s free kick was headed against the woodwork and the follow up shot was cleared from the goal line. When United did equalise after 20 minutes it seemed that they were taking control of the game. Conor Hartley did very well to squeeze out a cross from an unpromising position on the right and Jake Brown was able to force the ball in at the far post under challenge from Wilkinson. Within another couple of minutes an instinctive pass from Llewellyn led to Brown cutting in and shooting a foot over. United now appeared to have, metaphorically, cleared their throat, and were breathing more easily.
This feeling didn’t last. After 24 minutes Josh Phillips was caught in possession on the right touchline. With the defence scrambling to get into position, Harvey Dorothy took a pot shot from an angle, and just outside the box, and the ball evaded the dive of Phillips to enter just inside the right post.
Wellington gained further confidence from regaining the lead and proceeded to lead United a merry dance for the rest of the half. They adapted better to a slippery but very playable surface and they displayed a level of team work and energy which the Robins struggled to equal. The third goal was after 36 minutes. Wellington were creating problems playing down United’s right flank in particular and when the ball was turned across from that side Joe Wragg twisted and turned before dispatching a fine finish from a central position.
Two minutes later, Jake Quick’s rising shot, on the run, produced a flying save from Phillips and, after another quick break, Jamie Nicholson’s first time shot hit the right hand upright. Half time couldn’t come too soon.
Half time – Bridgwater United 1 Wellington 3.
United resumed with the same eleven on the pitch. Could they redeem the situation? The initial omens weren’t too encouraging because the impish Nicholson, one to watch for the future, beat a defender with ease and shot a little too high. Troy Simpson’s header from a Llewellyn corner kick only missed the far post by inches but there wasn’t any consistent pressure from the home side.
As the second half wore on United did try different personnel and formations but it always seemed that the visitors had enough in reserve. Breaking quickly and with precision, Dorothy played in Jake Quick for a likely fourth goal but the ball got trapped under his boot and he scuffed it wide.
United were very unlucky after 78 minutes when Ollie Hebbard’s good work on the left, and a low cross to the far post, led to Hartley crashing his drive against the underside of the bar. Had that gone in, maybe the battle could still have been won. Hebbard injected some much needed pep to the attack.
On 87 minutes, the Robins were dealt a savage blow. About 10 yards outside the box, Nicholson tried to burst past Spence and was fouled. Whether or not he was the last man was debatable but the red card was shown. It felt an unfair punishment. How is this “offence”, and subsequent punishment, akin to somebody making a reckless and dangerous two footed tackle? Ironically, just a minute before, Callum Chivers had chopped down a United attacker when Chivers was clearly the last man. A raised flag for offside prevented Chivers from being sent off.
Full credit to United for not giving in and just before the start of time added on Ross Edwards elegantly swept a low drive from 15 yards into the net following Simpson’s good work on the right. As United could see a glimmer of hope, they committed to all-out attack, and it wasn’t too surprising when Wellington capitalised on the space at the back to wrap it up with Jake Quick’s second. He ran through unopposed and scored low past Phillips.
Congratulations to Wellington, a team on the rise, with a collection of talented youngsters. Dave Pearse and co have much to ponder before the important league engagement at Barnstaple on Saturday. United have been able to rapidly bounce back from disappointments this season, they will need to do it again.
Teams:
Bridgwater United: F. Phillips, Phillips, Greenwood, Armstrong, Hedges ( Hebbard 57), Spence, Hartley, T.Llewellyn ( Smith 63), Simpson, Edwards, Brown. Unused subs L.Baggaley, Thorne, King.
Wellington: Wilkinson, Chivers, Bown-Porter, Collins, Murphy, J.Quick, Nicholson, M. Quick, J. Quick, Dorothy, Wragg. Subs Wright, Pollard, Woodward, Jin, Phillips.
Competition: Les Phillips Cup 1st round
Venue: Fairfax Park
Date: November 15th, 2022
Attendance: 129
Goals: Jake Quick 9, 90+2, Brown 20, Dorothy 24, Wragg 36, Edwards 90.
Officials: Referee Will Payne, Assistants Jake Richards, Dave Trevaskus.
- Mark Hollidge
