Away on the coast again, and this time with the F.A cup on the line. A trip to Exmouth Town in the FA Cup. Dave Pearse, a familiar face at his former club, named an unchanged eleven from our last game.
The sun was fierce all afternoon, and the pitch beneath it looked a very difficult and unkempt surface to play football on. Plenty of Bridgy fans had made the journey down, though, and they made themselves heard from the first whistle.
FIRST HALF
Exmouth had the first go at us inside three minutes, a strike from outside the box with plenty of power behind it but too much height, and it climbed over the bar.
Two minutes later they had the lead. A swift counterattack cut straight through us and Kingston ended up being lobbed from around 20 yards out.
On seven minutes it was two. A shot from outside the area curled away from Liam Kingston and into the net, and suddenly the afternoon had a very different shape to it.
On twelve, it was three. A cross came in, and it went in off the head of Harry Horton. A nightmare start does not really cover it. Before we’d really found our feet, we were down three.
The home side kept coming. A long-range free kick on whizzed past the post, and two minutes later another decent opening was fired wide.
On the twenty-minute mark, Collins brought the ball down and slid it into Beresford, whose shot went wide of the target. Ten minutes later came the moment we really should have had something from. Tom sent in a great delivery and Spence glanced it goalwards, but it bounced up off the ground and over the bar. Firmer contact would have certainly seen us get a goal back.
HALF TIME: EXMOUTH TOWN 3-0 BRIDGWATER UNITED
It had been three shots, and three goals for Exmouth, but that isn’t to discredit them. They started sharp, took their chances well, and threatened to put this game to bed very early. We grew into the game but had plenty of work to do if we were going to stay in the cup.
SECOND HALF
The early exchanges after the break were much like the ones before it. Five minutes in, the home side won the ball from our own throw-in and fed their striker, whose shot found only the side netting. Moments later they were through one-on-one with Kingston, but the ball bobbled away from the striker at the crucial moment.
Kingston was alert again on fifty-five, reading a square ball across his six-yard box and flicking it clear before a blue shirt could get a touch.
But, from that moment on, we finally settled into the game, looking composed on the ball, and probing for a chance.
Then, on the hour mark, a lifeline. A long ball from Kingston sailed all the way downfield to Will Collins, and he finished it well to get us back into the tie and keep up his record of scoring in every game this season.
The comeback needed a second, but Exmouth were not done attacking. On seventy-five our defence was split open, and Kingston was drawn into another good save to keep the deficit at two.
Our best moment of the closing stages came late on. We worked the ball into the box and caused a proper scramble, but the Exmouth defenders threw themselves in front of shot after shot until they finally hacked it clear.
FULL TIME: EXMOUTH TOWN 3-1 BRIDGWATER UNITED
And so, our FA Cup run ends on the Devon coast. Twelve minutes was all it took to lose this tie, and no amount of effort across the remaining seventy-eight could quite undo it.
We grew into the game and got a goal back to make the scoreline respectable, but Exmouth Town took their early chances well and deserved the victory.
We had great fun with their players, fans, and staff after the game, and thank them for their hospitality along with wishing them well for the season ahead.
A big thank you to our travelling fans, who made the journey and stayed with the lads throughout.
#WeAreUnited
