Shepton Mallet 0 Bridgwater United 2

This felt like a very important win. Could the Robins banish the memory of the first league defeat at Millbrook or would they bounce back and resume the form that had set this league alight? On this evidence, the Robins have the resilience and the ability to keep forging ahead. With Saltash currently matching them for points gathering , a sizeable gap has  now developed between the top two and the rest.

Of course, Shepton Mallet have been part of the chasing pack but, after winning their first eight league games, they have lost three out of four. Based on this evidence , their challenge for the summit now looks a long shot.

With neither side wanting to lose, this was a cagey affair – especially in the first half. The home side started better , finding their men well, as the Robins soaked up a bit of pressure. After 5 minutes Jacob Sloggett  drilled a low effort a couple of feet wide of the left post.

United wrested authority from Mallet around the quarter hour and retained it for the bulk of the rest of the game.  Tom Llewellyn began to dictate affairs in the middle third and Jake Brown was giving Callum Ball a tough time on the right wing. On two occasions United’s top scorer went to ground on the edge of the penalty box after eluding the attentions of Ball and on both occasions the referee waved away the appeals for penalties.

The Robins’ attackers weren’t getting much of a view of the goal. A few crosses flashed across the goalmouth and from one of these, the ball bounced up off Ross Edwards and curled towards goal. Tom Easterbrook made the easiest of saves.

After half an hour Shepton came closer to scoring than at any other time. Under no particular pressure, Dave Thorne over hit a routine back pass towards Jake Viney. As the keeper desperately scampered back towards his net he was relieved to see the ball evade the net by only a foot or two.

The Robins were feeding Brown as much as possible. A good move when you consider that the overworked Ball had just received a yellow card for another foul on Brown and he was reticent about making another challenge on him. Brown brought the first meaningful save from Easterbrook who clutched the swinging shot to his left.  

Sloggett tried a long range effort but it wasn’t powerful and it was too straight to beat someone like Viney. Brown’s cross was headed over by Troy Simpson and a Tom Llewellyn break led to Jack Taylor firing one at Easterbrook. The keeper beat it back towards Llewellyn but regained it just in time.

The half ended with the Robins looking the most likely to secure a precious three points.

Soon after the resumption, Mallet’s Danny Constable spun and shot towards goal but there was no oomph behind his effort. From then on the serious goalmouth action was confined to the home penalty area. Simpson headed over and received a punch to the head for his pains. A cross field pass from Brown allowed Thorne to run on and have a crack. A superb block tackle stopped that one.  Although not playing well, you could understand why the Mallet defence haven’t conceded many goals.

Callum Gould thumped a long range free kick well wide but soon after that, on 69 minutes, the visitors got their deserved lead. On the left this time, Brown  made his way into the penalty area and

threaded the ball into the heart of the six yard box. Thanks to a deflection , the ball went into the net.

For a while, United seemed to favour the “what we have, we hold” approach and allowed the home side to have more of the ball. In truth, they didn’t ever look like scoring, United’s defending was mightily resolute, led by the outstanding Jacob Spence.

United made some late substitutions and these helped them seal the result. The fleet footed Conor Hartley turned  Braeden Symes just inside the  Mallet half. In an act that can only be called “agricultural” Symes scythed Harley down at thigh level and he was rightly sent off.

The stuffing had been knocked out of Mallet now and United sensed more goals. Hartley and Ollie Hebbard combined on the left wing before rolling the ball towards George King. He took a touch and directed a twenty yard drive to Easterbrook’s left. A fine strike, after 90 minutes.

The final score was a fair reflection of the action on this wonderful playing surface, at this well appointed ground.  A mature performance against a strong side. Next up, Wellington.

Match details:

Competition – Toolstation Western League Premier

Date : October 22^nd 2022

Venue : West Shepton Playing Field

Attendance:312

Teams :

 Shepton Mallet : Easterbrook, Sisson , Ball, Hewlett, Wood, Gould, Haines, Loxton, Constable, Morgan, Sloggett. Subs Jenkins, Legge, Symes, Martin, Peck.

Bridgwater United : Viney, Thorne (Phillips 89), J Llewellyn, Armstrong, Greenwood, Spence, Edwards, T Llewellyn ( King 74), Taylor, Simpson (Hebbard 83), Brown (Hartley 83).

Match officials: Referee Robert Dabbs, Assistants Chris Martin, Louis Cross.

Report by  Mark Hollidge