El Dorado.

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Intro

Last season saw a mid-table finish for Elburton Villa who finished 8th out of 17. They had a decent run in the FA Vase, beating Newton Abbot Spurs and Ilfracombe Town, before losing narrowly at Royal Wootton Bassett Town. Their final game of the season was the final of the League Cup. Taking place at Bovey Tracey, they faced-off against Okehampton Argyle. It did end in disappointment for Villa as they lost 3-1 in front of 400 fans. The opening game of the season for Villa was a goal-fest as they travelled east to Crediton United and came away with an impressive 5-3 victory. Last weekend they hosted Newton Abbot Spurs, who ended up getting revenge on Elburton for knocking them out of the FA Vase last year, winning 2-1.

Bridport have had a disappointing start to the season. They’re only 3rd from bottom by virtue of a better goal difference than Torridgeside, and Axminster Town being deducted 3 points as they were unable to field a side against Bovey Tracey last Friday. Home losses to Teignmouth and Sidmouth Town, followed by a defeat at Torrington sees them pointless after 3 matches. This pales in comparison to last campaign where they finished in 4th position, just one point behind 2nd place, albeit way off Champions Ivybridge Town who stormed to the title.

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The Ground

Elburton lies at the far eastern edge of Plymstock, just over the River Plym from Plymouth. The Haye Road facility has three pitches, the middle one currently is used as the main pitch for the first team. Apparently the field nearest the entrance was used primarily, until the club had floodlights installed and it was decided to move to the current spot. There’s a new-looking bar area which also sells hot snacks and, pleasingly, pin badges! And older-looking building houses the changing facilities. Through the turnstiles and to the right, above pitch level is a small covered stand with just a dozen or so seats, and some space behind to stand. Steps lead down to the pitch, causing me to be reminded of Larkhall Athletic’s Plain Ham ground. A larger, but still quite small, covered stand occupies a spot on one touchline inside the near half of the pitch. Further along are the breezeblock dugouts which provide plenty of space for each team. Behind the far goal is the third pitch in the complex, while alongside the other touchline is a row of tall trees

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The Match

The first 45 minutes was a half of few clear-cut chances as both sides resorted to shooting from distance. The hosts were first to take aim as captain Jordan Rundle sent a snapshot just wide. Ex-Ivybridge Town forward Jack Alexander was next to miss the target for Villa, although he was fouled in the process. Elburton left back Jack Lee forced Bridport keeper Jordon Scadding into the first real save of the game, but it was comfortable for the glovesman. The vocal visiting management team were growing more and more frustrated as their team struggled to create much. The finally strung some good passes together on 25 minutes, but the resulting shot from Joe Charles was off target. 5 minutes later Villa goalkeeper Jason Peters was called into action as Kieran Daniels shot straight at him. On 37 minutes Elburton’s Adam MacPherson looked to break away, but was cynically brought down by Daniel Baggs which earned him the first booking of the day. With 5 minutes of the half remaining, Oliver Newton linked up well with MacPherson who pulled the ball back to Sam Hughes, but the striker’s cheeky flick found only the side netting. It looked for the world that we’d go into half time with the scores level, but Bridport had other ideas. Somewhat out of nowhere, in time added-on, Riley Weedon darted in to the near post to send a header past Peters. Villa looked to equalise before the break; MacPherson went on another good run and lofted the ball towards Rundle, but he couldn’t make good contact and Scadding claimed the ball.

Inside the first minute of the second half Elburton levelled things up. A corner reached Rundle at the back post and his effort went in via a deflection. 4 minutes later the visitors had a golden opportunity to restore their lead as a forward was fouled in the penalty area. Charles took it side-footed but Peters guessed correctly and parried the ball away. Chaos ensued with Bridport’s William Gape and Elburton’s Sam Hughes both hitting the deck in quick succession. The referee was unmoved and the hosts survived a scare. A number of half chances came to both sides, before Bridport’s Charles was bundled over out wide by Sam Leary. The visiting coaches, players and fans were adamant that this warranted a red card, but the ref produced yellow. The correct decision in my opinion, although this was a view not shared by one Bridport fan in particular who earned himself a talking-to from the referee. There were 13 minutes to go when Jason Alexander found a mis-hit shot from a teammate landing nicely for him. He swiveled on the spot and his shot bounced into the corner of Jordon Scadding’s net. Elburton centre-back George Photiou, who had looked assured up until now, gave the ball away to a Bridport substitute. He let fly with a shot that was parried away well by Jason Peters. The home side were able to restrict their visitors from Dorset to limited sights on goal as the game ebbed away from them and their coaches grew more frustrated. Deep into injury time salt was rubbed into their collective wounds as big centre-back Ryan Leader was shown a second yellow card and sent for a not-very-early bath.

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The Photos

The full gallery of match photos is also available HERE

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The Line-Ups