Team BC Elite Men’s Football put in their best performance for the season to comfortably beat Exeter College 3 – 1 and keep their title hopes alive.
From the off, Bridgwater were on top with wide players Charlie Bridges and Owen Sellick causing the Exeter backline problems. The home side went close to opening the scoring during the early minutes when Kye Whelan’s excellent corner whipped across the face of the goal, but no one was on hand to turn the ball home.
Bridgwater did take the lead 15 minutes in when forward Stan Smith was bundled over in the box and captain Harry Horton stepped up to confidently blast home the resultant penalty.
Exeter were looking dangerous on the break, but the centre back pairing of Charlie White and Ross Panes were in outstanding form and never looked in any real trouble during the first half.
The second half began in similar fashion to the first, with the midfield trio of Alex Male, Harry Horton and Brad Reeves dominating the centre of the pitch. Bridgwater doubled their advantage when Smith powered his way through the Exeter defence and finished excellently from a tight angle.
Bridgwater were indebted to their goalkeeper Josh Hayward shortly after extending their advantage when he somehow manage to tip the ball on to the cross bar from a close range header.
The points were sealed with 20 minutes remaining when Bridgwater scored one of their best goals of the season after excellent work from left back Kye Whelan fed forward Owen Sellick whose unstoppable volley left the goalkeeper with no chance. Exeter did manage to clinch a consolation goal with seconds remaining on the clock when the Bridgwater back switched off and the Exeter forward ghosted in from the edge of the box to nod the ball past Bridgwater goalkeeper Hayward.
Final Score: Team BC Elite Men 3 – 1 Exeter College
Head Coach Luke Buckingham said,
“The players were absolutely outstanding today and we thoroughly deserved the result. We had a few difficult weeks midseason, but the players have shown exceptional character to bounce back and keep us in contention for the league title. We are now dependant on results elsewhere, but we are looking forward to our final game of the season vs Richard Huish.”
