Street 2 - 1 Bridgwater United
When Jordan Greenwood’s header from a Tom Llewellyn free kick was mishandled into the net by Street keeper Liam Norris it looked like United would escape with a point. Had they done so it would have been a travesty. United were very poor and could easily have gone back down the A39 with a heavy defeat. Fairness was served when Jordan Lovibond profited from more calamitous defending to roll the ball into an empty net.
Within the space of 48 hours United were transformed from a disciplined and purposeful outfit, as seen in the Saltash game, to one which seemed all at sea for most of the game.
There was some irony in the fact that it was Lovibond who scored the winner. He had at least six chances to score before he nabbed the winner. His shooting was either wayward or Jake Viney stood in his way.
Street employed a fairly simple tactic, get the ball behind the back line and the pacy Lovibond would get on to it. United had no effective plan to thwart this approach. They made things worse with a series of defensive errors from players who are normally secure.
Lovibond wasn’t the only threat. Harry Foster had a header tipped onto the crossbar by Viney in the first half and, in the second half, Foster was the one to head in a right wing cross from Josh Phillips to put the Cobblers ahead. With 10 minutes left he could have made the win certain, but he blazed over an open goal.
What about United’s attacking threat? There was hardly any of it. A far post header from Greenwood and a shot from Jack Taylor, were both easily saved in the first half. In the second half there were no chances at all until Morgan Williams’ long range shot after 79 minutes brought Norris into routine action. Frankly, United didn’t look like scoring and it was a surprise, and a gift, when they did.
The management will have to get to the bottom of what went wrong at the Tannery. Street should have won by several goals. In the greater scheme of things, it is just one defeat in a long season but this performance, a collective failure, was way below what is expected.
Match Details
Match: Street v Bridgwater United
Competition: Toolstation Western League
Date: Monday 30th August 2021
Venue: The Tannery
Attendance: 220
Teams:
Street: Liam Norris, Josh Phillips, Oliver Pearson, Calum Corbridge, Elliot Hegarty, Bradley Shepard, Dan Peach, Toby Davey, Harry Foster, Kyle Strange, Jordan Lovibond.
Subs: Ben Fowler, Tom Punchard, Max Fahy, Tom Willis.
United: Jake Viney, Dave Thorne, Jake Llewellyn, Ross Edwards, Tom Ellis, Jordan Greenwood, Archie Sturdy, Morgan Williams, Jack Taylor, Adnan Hiroli, Wellington Jimenez.
Subs: Mark Armstrong, Callum Chivers, Mike Duffy, Tom Llewellyn, Nick Woodrow.
Match Officials
Referee: Andy Glanville
Assistant Referee: Kevin Williams
Assistant Referee: Karl Stephens
Who’s next? United Travel to Basingstoke Town in the First Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday 4th September, 3pm.
- By Mark Hollidge
- By Debbie Gould
