Minefield.

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Intro

Not to be confused with Westfield FC from Woking and currently playing in the Isthmian League, or indeed with Westfields FC of Hereford and the Hellenic League, this Westfield plays in the Somerset County League. Based in Midsomer Norton, this is my second visit in recent times to this small town to the south west of Bath. I went to West Clewes to see Bitton’s penultimate game of the season away at Welton Rovers in October; sadly Bitton quitting the league as a result of increased travel costs.

Westfield haven’t got off to the best of starts – losing 7 of their 11 games so far this season. This sees them currently in 12th (out of 16) position, although it is a little tricky to get the full picture as some teams have played several more games than others. Their stand out result is probably the 5-0 thrashing of Welton Rovers Reserves. Last weekend the Crayons lost 1-0 at home to 2nd place Uphill Castle.

Minehead make the trip over from the Somerset coast today and find themselves in 5th place. It’s been a mixed bag if truth be told, and having played a couple more games than a lot of the teams around them, 5th place probably flatters them somewhat. A strong start saw the Blues win 4 of their first 6 matches, however their only victory since came last weekend at home to Nailsea & Tickenham Reserves.

Both teams will be looking to secure a bit of consistency and put a run of results together; my head tells me to expect an away win but I know better than to make predictions!

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The Ground

The Jerry Colbourne Ground (named after a former manager), on Charlton Lane, is a quite picturesque ground alongside the A367 in Midsomer Norton. It is adjacent to a hotel with which it shares a good size car park. The ground itself has a modern looking changing room facility and a small tea hut. Opposite this side are the dug outs. Behind one goal are some tall trees which offer some protection to the houses behind!

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The Match

It was the visiting keeper Kyran Wilkins who was called into action first. Just 3 minutes in he thwarted Benjamin Grubb in the first of many one-on-one battles. Wilkin’s opposite number then pulled off a good stop after the Minehead number 9 battled through the home defence. The home keeper pulled off another great save from the resulting corner, and the follow up then had to be cleared off the goal line. On 15 minutes Minehead appeared to miss an open goal – a deep cross finding an attacker at the far post but he couldn’t hit the target. The Westfield goalie was beaten one-on-one but the visiting striker was forced wide and couldn’t find the back of the net from an impossible angle. The deadlock was broken just before the half-hour as midfielder Jared Steel thumped a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. The half finished with the hosts leading which was probably a fair reflection on proceedings.

Into the second period and just 2 minutes in Westfield’s right winger fired into the side netting. This was quickly followed by another top save by Minehead keeper Wilkins as he was forced to tip over a hooked volley from close range. A calamitous back pass on 56 minutes by Westfield’s number 20 put the away striker through on goal but he was forced wide and could only find the side netting. 3 minutes later the home team were awarded a penalty. Wilkins adjudged to have brought the man down in the area while he claimed he got the ball. The goalkeeper had the last laugh as he got down well to save the spot kick. Wilkins was a busy man and pulled off another great stop after a superb cross field pass was controlled well by the Westfield player. His shot was kept out by the Minehead keeper. Into the final 10 minutes and Minehead were showing little in terms of grabbing a leveler. In fact they needed 2 goal line clearances in quick succession to stay in the match. The clock had long ticked past 90 minutes when a big goal kick found Westfield’s Grubb who got to the ball before Wilkins and toe poked into the empty net.

It was an entertaining game with plenty of chances, and the result sees Westfield come within 3 points of Minehead in the table.

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The Photos

The full gallery of match photos is also available HERE