Muddy Waters.

– Saturday 28th October 2023
– 15:00 Kick Off
– Attendance: 369
– Distance Travelled: 88 miles
– Full Photo Gallery

– Western League – Premier Division
– Fairfax Park, Bridgwater
– Weather: Heavy rain
– Admission: £8
– Programme: £2

Intro

Two teams in pretty decent form meet today as 3rd plays 8th. Shepton Mallet haven’t lost in the league since the end of September as they succumbed 4-0 away at 4th place Brixham. Probably their most memorable result so far this season would be the 3-1 away win over Falmouth Town – the Cornish side doing well in 5th position. Sadly for Shepton they are already out of both the FA Cup and Vase; losing in a replay to Sherborne Town in the Cup, before slipping to a 2-1 home defeat to Barnstaple Town in the Vase.

Bridgwater United occupy 3rd spot in the League, but in fact their last league game ended in a shock 1-0 loss to mid-table St Blazey. Before that blip they had won every match since their narrow FA Cup loss to Southern League Premier outfit Salisbury FC. That cup run began with a win over Liskeard Athletic, before they thrashed Street FC 4-0 in the next round. The only time Bridgwater have failed to score this season was in that loss to St Blazey so they should be confident of scoring today.

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The Ground

Fairfax Park lies alongside the main railway line between Bristol and Exeter. It is overshadowed somewhat by the main stand of Bridgwater & Albion RFC’s College Way ground. Despite this it is an impressive facility boasting four covered stands from which to watch the action. The recent renaming as United (formerly Town) has made an impact on the look of the ground, with shiny black and red signage here and there helping to give a positive feel to the club. The good sized main stand sits on one side of the pitch, with another, smaller seated stand opposite. Two covered standing areas sit behind each goal. There are a number of buildings at the near end of the ground – a club house in the corner, and a cafe serving a good range of food and drink behind the near goal.

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The Match

United started the game as they meant to go on; left-back Jake Llewellyn seeing his shot parried before Jack Taylor’s follow-up was cleared off the line. Desperate defending and a couple of blocks kept Shepton in the game half-way through the first half, before Bridgwater finally made a breakthrough. A corner was taken short, the ball was sent to the far post, and was headed home by man-mountain Ross Edwards. 4 minutes later it was nearly 2-0 as an unorthodox effort from Ben Griffiths rebounded off the crossbar. The visitors’ best effort of the half came soon after as Josh Jenkins linked up with Paul Braithwaite; the latter’s shot just wide of Jake Viney’s goal. There was time for the away side to threaten again but once more Braithwaite was off target.

It took just two minutes for United to double their advantage after the break; a low cross tapped in at the far post by Jack Thorne. Tom Roberts in the Shepton goal pulled off a great save on 57 minutes; claiming at the second attempt from a Harry Horton shot. Against the run of play a minute later Shepton halved the deficit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. Jenkins closed down Viney whose attempted clearance rebounded off the striker from point blank range and rolled into an empty net. The comeback didn’t last long – Bridgwater regained possession in midfield which allowed Thorne to go round Roberts and finish. Shepton huffed and puffed looking for a way back into the game again. They were getting increasingly irritated by some perceived time-wasting from the hosts. This resulted in a sin-binning for a player, and a member of their coaching staff being sent from the dugout. The home side eventually got their fourth deep into injury time – George King taking aim from distance and finding a way past Roberts.

It was a good game in bad weather with Bridgwater showing why many predicted them promotion candidates at the start of the season. Shepton’s performance was industrious but really they weren’t given much of a chance by their hosts. I found the locals to be very welcoming and I enjoyed the set up at Fairfax Park. It was a very worthwhile trip, despite the best efforts of the rain gods.

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