Bish. Bash. Bosh.

The Season So Far:

The collective noun for a group of bishops is an episcopate and so if I learn nothing else from today’s visit then at least I’ll be able to shoehorn this little nugget of information into a conversation in the near future. The hosts today find themselves destined to face a possible relegation as they find themselves 2nd bottom, with the bottom 3 in the League possibly being relegated to County level. Presumably this depends on the status of any teams vying for promotion to the Western League. According to my admittedly underwhelming maths skills this is not completely certain, though. However, with 18 potential points to win over their remaining 6 games, and being 13 points from definite safety, this is all but inevitable for the home side. And indeed they have lost their last 10 league matches, having not drawn since early February (away at Cheddar), and not won all 3 points since defeating Gillingham Town in mid-January. The reverse of today’s fixture actually saw Bishops Lydeard coming away from Lakeview with the W back in August after a 2-1 away win. This might give them a glimmer of hope of getting something from today’s clash.

Bishop Sutton come into this game off the back of an impressive 1-0 win over 4th place Warminster Town last weekend. The past couple of months has been a bit of a rollercoaster for the Chew Valley side: the 5-0 away win over mid-table rivals Tytherington Rocks sitting uncomfortably next to the 2-2 home draw with bottom side Devizes Town. There have been enough good times, however, to ensure that they sit in a comfortable 12th place. One particular highlight for the season is surely their 2-0 FA Vase win over Premier Division side Ilfracombe Town in September. The following round saw them lose to Wendron United in Cornwall – a fair reflection of their season as a whole it would seem.

If I was a betting man my money would be on Sutton, but I am never one to rest on his laurels, and Lydeard have already shown their near-namesakes what they are capable of earlier in the campaign.

The Visit:

Bishops Lydeard is a decent-sized village just outside of Taunton on the edge of the Quantocks Hills. I imagine it’s an attractive village in any weather, but today happened to be a particularly sunny and warm one, meaning that it was bathed in a golden light which really helped endear it to me. After catching the train to Taunton, I hopped on the Butlins Minehead bus, fortunately remembering to not stay on until its final destination. I had some time to kill so popped into Daisy’s Tea Room for some lunch, then headed up the hill to the football ground. Cothelstone Road takes you north out of the village and the ground which it shares its name with unsurprisingly is just off of it. I thought it might, and it proved to be true: this ground is the most spectacular I have been to yet. On the near side is a 50-something-seater stand alongside the clubhouse and changing rooms. Opposite is the game-changing view of the surrounding hills and fields. Little wonder the nearside was the most popular for the spectators to stand at – having to choose between the view and the action, though, would be tricky.

I had barely turned my camera on when the visitors took the lead – Mason Daggar was slipped in by Jacob Bird and found the back of the net past the keeper. 15 minutes gone and the hosts had their first good chance – a snapshot from their number 7 flew just wide. The Sutton goalkeeper pulled off a good save, and then at the other end his attacking teammates forced some indecision from the Lydeard defence and doubled their lead. Half time score: 0-2 and it was a fair reflection of the action.

Bishops Lydeard started the 2nd half well but chances were few and far between – the hour mark saw the Bishop Sutton number 9 run almost the full length of the pitch before being well challenged by a Lydeard substitute, quickly followed by wide effort from home sub Evan Howse. The Lydeard keeper was forced into a good save on 66 minutes; beating away a close range shot from the away number 14. A huge talking point came with 13 minutes to go – big centre back Jordan Hayman went shoulder-to-shoulder with a Bishop Sutton attacker who went to ground. A free kick would’ve been harsh; a red card would’ve been severe, yet this is the punishment deemed necessary by the referee. This, not surprisingly, all but ended any hope of Bishops Lydeard getting anything out of this contest. A deep free kick found Tom Francis in the box who redirected the ball with his head and made it 3-0 to the away side.

A friendly welcome and spectacular views make this ground and club an unmissable option for anyone on the lookout for a new place to visit.