Wellington 1 Bridgwater United 1

Outstanding goalkeeping and missed chances might be a fair way of summing up this game. It was definitely a case of two points lost for the Robins as, for the second time this season, they were held to a draw by Wellington. For the second time this season , Wellington thoroughly deserved their point and another dent was applied to the Robins’s promotion push. With Saltash winning late on, they now draw level with United on points.

It is quite unusual for the man of the match on each side to be the goalkeepers but both Harley Wilkinson and Jake Viney were clearly the best performers. Both were kept busy. From United’s point of view, very few of the outfield players played to their full ability and they will see this as an opportunity wasted. Wellington did record a fine win in the FA Vase on the previous Saturday against Barnstaple but for this game they were missing the three Quick brothers. So Wellington had to rejig their resources, blood some youngsters, and they did not let their side down.

Towards the end , the home side looked more likely to nab a winner and that was when Viney had to earn his corn. However, really United should have put this game to bed by half time and would have done if their finishing had its usual penetration.

Both goals came in the first seven minutes. After five minutes a corner kick from Jake Llewellyn wasn’t cleared and when the ball bobbed up Jordan Greenwood headed it over the line despite the valiant attempt by a defender to keep it out. Straightaway Eli Collins got the ball on the left side of the penalty area. He twisted and turned and went to ground under pressure from Dave Thorne. The award of a penalty was dubious but Sam Towler wasn’t going to waste it and he scored in the bottom left corner.

Troy Simpson shot into the side netting and then , on the quarter hour, Jake Brown looked odds on to add to his goals tally.Running on to a well timed through pass he shot against the fast emerging Wilkinson and the ball ran away off his legs. Next, Jack Taylor thumped the ball against the crossbar before realising that he was offside and from 30 metres he tried to chip the keeper but he overdid it.

Wellington’s attack flickered for a moment when Jamie Nicholson finished a mazy run with a shot too high. After 25 minutes, Jake Brown pounced on an underpowered header back to the keeper and when he lifted the ball it smacked Wilkinson in the face for an unconventional save!

United were largely on top but Wellington were adept at picking up the scraps and there were plenty to pick up with United’s passing being unusually erratic. The home side also looked dangerous with balls delivered high into the box. Central defender Tom Stone twice found space to direct headers towards goal and from the second one of these, the ball had to be chested away from the goal line.

In the last five minutes of the first half the Robins had two fantastic chances to score. A cross to the far post reached Taylor and his guided header eluded both the far post and the onrushing Simpson who must have been hoping for an easy tap in. Then a Tom Llewellyn free kick was met with a leap and powerful header from Greenwood from only a few yards out. Wilkinson’s save was brilliant.

Half time : Wellington 1  Bridgwater United 1

Taylor was sent to play further up field for the second half, as an additional target man,  and the Robins tried to make a fast, positive start. Ten minutes into the second period, they spurned another great scoring chance. Ross Edwards’ well hit low shot was pushed to the left by Wilkinson. The ball was hastily returned into the area and Taylor lifted his shot too high when he looked certain to score.

Around the hour mark, Wellington seemed to sense that they could well get three and not just one point from this game. Viney had to save from Harry Dorothy and Towler headed a good chance wide at the far post.

The game was now evenly  poised but United were granted the opportunity to go ahead after 63 minutes when Brown was fouled in the box. There was nothing wrong with Jake Llewellyn’s penalty kick – low and hard towards the bottom right. Wilkinson guessed right and pushed it to the side. Superb save.

United were now looking frustrated by their inability to get that second goal and lost some discipline. Nobody seemed able to control affairs. Wellington, with their smaller, quick and enthusiastic players,  began to make significant  inroads. Viney had to make a sprawling save from Kelton Pollard and , after the ball had bounced around deep into the United penalty area, Viney threw himself in the way of a goal bound Stone volley.

With twenty minutes left Greenwood got sin binned for back chat to the referee and it wasn’t looking good for the visitors. As it turned out, they managed the ten minute punishment well and kept Wellington at arms length. Yet, in spite of returning to a full complement of players, they nearly conceded at the death. A loose pass across the field was intercepted by Henry Woodward. He ran on and shot wide with Viney beaten. Just before the final whistle Tom Llewellyn, stationed on the goal line had to clear a header from a corner kick.

More often than not a draw away from home is considered to be a useful result but the large band of Robins’ fans would probably not have been thinking that way on the drive back up the M5.

Match details:

Teams:

Wellington : Wilkinson, Phillips,Cherry, Walford, Stone, Cornish, Collins, Towler, Casey, Nicholson, Dorothy. Subs:Woodward, Pollard, Murphy, Bown- Porter

Bridgwater United: Viney, Thorne ( Phillips 67), J.Llewellyn, Edwards, Greenwood, Spence, Taylor, T.Llewellyn, King, Simpson ( Hartley 78),  Brown. Unused subs. Armstrong, Hebbard, Hedges.

Competition: Toolstation Western League Premier

Date: 29^th October 2022

Venue: North Street, Wellington

Scorers – Greenwood 5, Towler 7.

Attendance:?

Match officials: Bailey Walker, Jonathan Cooper, Stuart Griffiths.