Bridgnorth stun 3rds with late goal.
Posted by Aidan Dowen on 4 November 2018
The weekends late fixture saw the thirds made the long journey to Bridgnorth, for a dark and drizzly, floodlit encounter.
Whilst missing the Fellows brothers, West Brom saw the return of Jules Frost, Mark Jones and Wayne Thompson to field a more than capable side. The visitors started off the stronger team, playing some nice passing hockey. Jack Reeves and Josh Dowen caused problems down the flanks, running at defenders but were not to be able to provide that final ball.
It wasn’t long before the away team threatened the Bridgnorth goal, creating possibly their best chance of the game. Dowen charged forward on the left-hand side and drilled a cross into the D, to find Pete Icke. The home keeper saved the initial shot, followed by the rebound from the oncoming Dowen. The experienced goalkeeper managed to pull off the triple save, palming away a flicked effort from Jack Reeves.
Bridgnorth also created chances in the first half, forcing Jules Frost into action to keep the score at 0-0. Josh Dowen had an opportunity late on in the half, when he broke through the middle, only to be brought down inside the opponents 25. However nothing came of this and the teams went into half time with the scores level.
Both sides showed the same attacking intensity in the second half, pushing forward eager for that first goal. It proved to be an end to end game with both sets of defenders coming out on top.
West Brom managed to create some chances throughout the second half but due to some acrobatic defending and the superb form of the goalkeeper, the visitors were unable to capitalise.
As the game progressed it looked as though it was going to be another 0-0 stalemate. However a spell of Bridgnorth pressure gained them possession in the middle of the pitch and they managed to punch their way through to score the games only goal. With a mere 3 minutes left on the clock, the visitors were unable to mount a comeback and were left ruing their missed chances.
Man of the match: Jack Reeves, for an attacking performance that showed promise and signs of development as a player.
