Bridgwater United 3 - 0 Saltash United
This resounding victory against previously unbeaten Saltash sent out a clear message to the rest of the league, “We are serious contenders this season”.
To put this great performance in context bear in mind that free scoring Saltash had won 8-0 at Brislington on the previous weekend. After an early scare United hardly gave Saltash a sniff of a chance and the Cornish visitors were well beaten by the end.
Most of the crowd of 402 people celebrated this win with gusto and the sunny afternoon was made even more memorable by the fact that Jack Taylor graced the game with a hat trick. His first strike was his 100th for the club. The goals have been acquired at something like a goal every 1 ½ games. A superb achievement. Who needs Cristiano Ronaldo?
The game would have had a different complexion had Saltash capitalised on a rare defensive blemish just 4 minutes in. Tom Ellis had a pass intercepted and Sam Hughes (5 goals in the Brislington game) had so much time to score. He twisted and turned but couldn’t fool the fantastic Jake Viney. United’s keeper threw himself in the way of the shot and by the time Hughes tried again the rest of the defence had amassed and they blocked the follow up.
From that point on United defended with skill, determination and without error.
George King had fired in an early drive straight at keeper Ryan Rickard and he was centre stage again when he played a part in the first goal. With the Llewellyn brothers both absent with injury, King was deployed for free kick duty, and he played his part very well. He drilled a free kick from left to right where Ellis rose to power the ball into the heart of the area. Taylor pounced to force the ball over the line.
King and Adnan Hiroli linked up delightfully on the right and it was Hiroli who drove a low 20 yarder towards the bottom right of the net. Rickard pushed it away for a corner.
United were harrying Saltash and not allowing them to settle on the ball. Morgan Williams was especially effective in recovering the ball, using it sensibly and getting United on to the front foot.
For a section of the first half Saltash began to control possession, but they did little with it and United always looked far more dangerous.
After Hiroli won another aerial duel, the promising Ross Edwards fed the ball through to Taylor. He was In a surprising amount of space and maybe he thought he was offside. Uncharacteristically his casual looking swipe at the ball sent the ball wide and spurned a good opening.
The busy Taylor then zipped over a cross which the onrushing Mike Duffy just missed but straight after that United got the important second goal. Edwards’ long shot was pushed to the left of the goal and seemed to be running harmlessly out of play. Taylor was loitering but not looking like he could profit from the situation. For some reason a Saltash defender hacked him down and the penalty award was obvious. Taylor sent the keeper the wrong way with the spot kick.
The third goal guaranteed the win. Another driven King free kick was sent into the penalty area. The immaculate Jacob Spence headed the ball towards the goal. Amidst a bundle of bodies, Taylor propelled himself forward and headed in his hat trick goal. It was a brave move by Taylor, and he got a bash to the head for his pains.
Saltash seemed to lose heart now and United were given an easy ride for most of the second half. United could afford to make their substitutions with a view to the fact that the Street game was only two days ahead. Some bodies maybe needed a bit of a rest.
Edwards headed wide after Spence had again won the ball in the air from a free kick. United were excellent in aerial combat at both ends of the pitch (and in the middle).
Possibly the last thing that tired Saltash wanted was to be faced with the skill and speed of young Wellington Jimenez in the last 10 minutes. He dispossessed a defender and had a shot blocked and then made Rickard plunge to his right to save a low shot.
Saltash did rally a bit when a 35-yard shot was perfectly hit by Henry Wilson, but Viney saved it with elan. One for the cameras!
The only cloud in United’s very blue sky came in the form of late injuries suffered by Mark Armstrong and Spence. With three substitutions already made, United were down to nine players on the pitch. This was balanced out a bit by the fact that Saltash’s Sam Farrant had been sent to the sin bin. For five minutes it was ten against nine! Interesting selection problems for Street on Monday.
Match Details
Match: Bridgwater United v Saltash United
Competition: Toolstation Western League
Date: Saturday 28th August 2021
Venue: Fairfax Park
Attendance: 402
Teams:
United: Jake Viney, Ross Edwards, Jordan Greenwood, Jacob Spence, Mark Armstrong, Tom Ellis, Mike Duffy, Morgan Williams, Jack Taylor, Adnan Hiroli, George King.
Subs: Dave Thorne, Callum Chivers, Wellington Jimenez, Nick Woodrow, Archie Sturdy.
Saltash: Ryan Rickard, David Barker, Callum Martindale, Sam Leary, Charlie Elkington, Henry Wilson, Alex Cairo, Sam Farrant, Sam Hughes, Frazer Ferris, Danny Lewis.
Subs: Ace Richardson, Chris Menhennick, Ellis Milne.
Match Officials
Referee: David Middleton
Assistant Referee: Rob McDonald
Assistant Referee: Darren Cullum
Who’s next? United make the short trip to The Tannery to face Street on Monday 30th August, 3pm.
- By Mark Hollidge
- By Debbie Gould
