Falmouth Town 4 Bridgwater United 1

Bridgwater never recovered from losing leading scorer Jake Brown to injury after only 15 minutes and ended their long trip to Bickland Park well beaten. It was hard to take for the Robins’ supporters who made the trip down but in truth the side showed few signs of getting to grips with the soft and bobbly pitch which had taken a pounding from the elements and with a large and passionate crowd behind them, Falmouth were value for money.

Dave Pearse was still without Morgan Williams and Jacob Spence, and George King was forced to sit it out having been handed a one match suspension but they welcomed back Jake Llewellyn and Jack Thorne.

Falmouth had lost their main front man to neighbours Mousehole over Christmas but didn’t show it as Ollie Walker, Tim Nixon and Luke Brabyn were a real handful all game with the latter going close early after Bridgy’s strong start. On 12 minutes Brown came off worse following a clash near the centre circle and while he was off having treatment Falmouth struck as Nixon’s shot was blocked only for Luke Barner to smash home the rebound to give the home side the lead. Brown conceded defeat to the knee injury and was replaced by Conor Hartley but Bridgy were at that point still looking strong and Jack Taylor’s cross found Thorne but he mistimed his header and the chance was gone.

On 26 minutes they levelled deservedly as Llewellyn’s corner was nodded home via a deflection by Jack Thorne for his 22^nd of the season and it was game on again. Brabyn then hit a speculative shot from 40 yards before Nixon gave his side the lead again as his half volley flew over Jake Viney and in for a superb goal two minutes before the break.

It was a blow for the Robins and from then on there was rarely more than one team in it as Town went for the jugular and Nixon’s pin point cross was headed down but straight at Viney by Ollie Walker. The game briefly became niggly as Thorne, Brabyn and the home boss were booked and Bridgwater showed with Taylor shooting at Zach Telling and Conor Hartley finding the side netting. Town then came again and after having a strong penalty shout turned down capitalised on a defensive error as Brabyn strode through and buried the third with 18 minutes left. There was no way back and despite a flurry of substitutions they could not fashion any further chances and with two minutes left Town won a penalty for a foul and after consulting an assistant, referee Burley pointed to the spot and substitute Marcello Jones made it 4-1 to start his club’s new year off perfectly.

Bridgwater will have to regroup fast as Mousehole visit Fairfax Park on Saturday having taken over as main challengers for the Western League Premier League title from a fading Saltash United.

Falmouth must be congratulated on having a vibrant and passionate crowd while affording the visitors a superb welcome and applauding the Bridgwater squad and supporters away to the coach was a fine gesture which will not be forgotten. A long trip but it is a little sad that the club’s are unlikely to meet again in league football for the foreseeable future.

Bridgwater Utd:

Jake Viney, Jake Llewellyn, Mark Armstrong (Ollie Hebbard 77), Ross Edwards, Jack Taylor, Jake Brown (Conor Hartley 16) , Sam Towler, Jack Thorne, Jordan Greenwood, Tom Llewellyn (Lewis Smith 90), Josh Phillips (Sam Hedges 90).

Unused sub: Dave Thorne.

Falmouth Town:

Zach Telling, James Swan, Scott Kellow, Jack Webber, Tom Annear, James Ward, Oliver Walker, Andreas Calleja-Stayne, Luke Brabyn, Luke Barner, Tim Nixon.

Subs: Max Everall, Marcello Jones, Cameron Hutchison, Dan Jennings, Charlie Edney

Competition: Western League Premier Division

Date: Jan 2, 2023

Venue: Bickland Park

Attendance: 504

Man of the match: Sam Towler

Referee: Tim Burley

Assistants: Cliff Baker, Neil Rudkin