On a bright sunny Sunday morning at Bridgwater Town FC's Fairfax Park, the 2005 Geoff Harvey Cup final was played out between Bridgwater side Sportsman and Tor Sports of Glastonbury in front of a sizeable expectant crowd. Those present were not to be disappointed as a dramatic final ensued with plenty of action from the word go. Tor Sports certainly started the brighter, racing into a two-goal lead following strikes from captain John Osman and from Paul Pentney. At that stage things were not looking good for a young Sportsman side who were struggling to get into the game or find any rhythm in their play. However, Jordan Meaker eventually managed to settle some Sportsman nerves with a good strike and then team-mate Andrew Skidmore slotted home clinically to level the scores at a psychologically important time, just before the interval.
The second half saw Sportsman visibly move up a gear and take control of proceedings and they went on to put Tor under considerable pressure for prolonged spells before Jordan Meaker struck again with a superb 25-yard screamer with twenty minutes left on the clock. However, the game was far from over as this third Sportsman goal only seemed to rouse the Glastonbury side once again and they, in turn, came back strongly, going close on a number of occasions. It took a string of impressive saves from young 'keeper Ben White to preserve the Sportsman lead until the final whistle blew to confirm a 3-2 win for the Bridgwater team. Captain Steve Davis stepped up to receive the trophy and officially confirm the coming of age of a team that could well go on to become one of the major forces in the Bridgwater Sunday League in years to come. Despite having an average age of only twenty, they have demonstrated a consistent maturity and fluidity of play over the course of the campaign that has its roots in their previous incarnation as a youth team and they could yet seal a "double" before this season is over as they remain in serious contention for the Uxella League Third Division title.
In the here and now Tiger Old Boys continue to fulfil the role of undisputed top dogs but they were left to reflect on an eventful time this weekend both on and off the pitch. First they saw their Somerset Cup run end in a 2-3 Semi-Final home defeat to Bath side New Burnt House. Despite taking an early lead through Paul Atyeo after five minutes the visitors were soon back in the game after a Shawn Pople handball led to a penalty which was duly converted by the visitors to level the scores. The game remained an even contest for long spells after that before New Burnt House took a 2-1 lead with a quarter of an hour to go but this time it was the Tigers who got back on equal terms through Paul Irvine with five minutes left on the clock.
With extra time looming, a hopeful high lob into the box from the visitors deceived the Tigers keeper and the ball dropped into the net to give the visitors the lead once again, with no time remaining for the Bridgwater side to do anything about it.
However, that was not the end of the action as plenty was going on at the Bridgwater Sports and Social Club away from the pitch. Certain details cannot be disclosed at this stage but one key moment was the capture of the serial dressing-room thief who has been plaguing the Bath Road area in recent weeks following numerous break-ins at both B.S.S.C. and Morganians R.F.C. Following a further incident the previous day, the Tigers management had the foresight to deploy a special "welcoming committee" in their changing rooms and were to be suitably rewarded with a return visit from their light-fingered foe. Suffice to say that the individual in question wisely decided to comply with the requests of various players from both sides to remain in place until the Police arrived on the scene to take him into custody, hopefully putting an end once and for all to this unwelcome recent addition to the local Sunday morning footballing experience.
There was also action this weekend in the Uxella League with one game played in the top flight. Despite a consolation goal from Jon Snowball Red Tile went down 8-1 to visitors Pig & Whistle, for whom John Bawden bagged a hat-trick and was joined on the scoresheet by Darren Hill(2), Tony Cook, Mike Hart and by super-sub Paul Bawron.
As a result of the games played in Division Two the Second Division championship has been decided with Tiger OB Reserves being confirmed as champions following Black Horse's surprise 3-2 away defeat at the hands of North Petherton, for whom Jason Bines(2) and Craig White scored the decisive goals.
In the other match played in the second flight, Cross Rifles continued their strong end-of-season surge as they hammered Flag Old Boys 5-1 thanks to three goals from Craig McGann, a first of the season from Ian Worthy and a Flag own goal. Thanks to the three points from this game, plus a further three awarded by the league committee following a 3-0 winning margin in an abandoned game against Cannington earlier in the campaign which has now been declared a valid result, the Rifles are now only a point behind Black Horse in third spot with both teams having one game to play to decide who finishes as Division Two runners-up. On paper the odds would seem to favour Cross Rifles whose confidence in the camp is currently sky-high and who will fancy their chances in their scheduled away trip to mid-table Ashcott while Black Horse will need to get a result from their final game away to none other than Tiger OB Reserves.
Despite looking like a one-horse race for most of the campaign, the Division Three title is still up for grabs and could well be decided next weekend. Current leaders and long-time pacesetters Artillery West Huntspill Boys kept up their dogged pursuit of the championship this weekend with a narrow 2-1 away victory over Glastonbury Town thanks to goals from Pete Spellman and Steve Jones while Sam Davies responded for Glastonbury. However, Artillery will still be looking over their shoulders as Geoff Harvey winners Sportsman still have four games left to play and if they can manage to glean maximum points from those fixtures then the title will be theirs. A major reason for this is that one of those remaining games is against none other than Artillery, next weekend. Of course, if Artillery can emerge victorious from that encounter then they themselves will seal the title as Sportsman will not be able to catch their final points tally with their remaining games in hand.
One final point to note. The Uxella League Secretary has asked for any clubs wishing to join the Bridgwater and District Sunday League for the 2005-06 season, to apply in writing to the following address: The League Secretary, 18 Somerville Way, Bridgwater, TA6 5SA.
(Story First Published: 10.04.05) |
