SWPFL Div 1 East, Brixham V St Martins 23rd Jan 2016

[Dave]

Carlsberg Southwest Peninsula League Division One East

Brixham AFC V St Martins

Saturday 23rd January 2016 Kick-Off 2.15pm

Venue Wall Park

Match Referee Alister Salter

Referee Assistants Dave Davy ( Brixham) Kevin Heaver( St Martins

Final Score Brixham AFC 2 St Martins 2

It seems like a lifetime ago the last match I covered, but due to illness and the very poor weather it has not been possible. Not that many games on today either due to wet and sodden pitches, but thankfully Brixham were able to get their game on against the league leaders St Martins.

St Martins have made a flying start in the first half of this season; they have only suffered one defeat in the seventeen league games they have played to date. They have won thirteen games and drawn three; one draw was against lowly Liverton which was a bit of a surprise result. Before today’s game they had amassed forty points, five more than Teignmouth who were in second place in the table having played the same number of games. They also had a plus twenty seven goal difference after scoring forty seven goals and conceding twenty.

Brixham have not made the start their manager Jason would have hoped for, currently sitting in fourteenth place in the table on twenty points. Before today’s game they had played twenty league games, winning just six of them, drawing two and losing twelve. They had a minus five goal difference after scoring thirty eight goals and conceding forty three.

When I left home it was bright and sunny for a change, but that soon changed when I got to Wall Park. As the afternoon wore on the wind picked up and the rain was soon back with us. The pitch looked rather heavy in places but held up well enough thought-out the game.

The referee after a very long chat with the two linesmen got the game underway and for a good while nether team were really able to get on top. My first thoughts were that St Martins were not as good a side as I expected them to be considering their league position, but on refection I think Brixham has to take so much credit for making St Martins look a rather ordinary side.

The first real chance of the game fell to St Martins number nine Ace High who could not keep his shot down and had to stand and watch it fly over the crossbar. Brixhams number ten Scott Dodgson was played into the left hand side of the St Martin box, but his shot lacked any real power to trouble Lee Bailey in goal for St Martins.

Up the other end and Ace High was played in and just had Dan Gillard to beat, but Dan pulled off a fine one handed save that saw the ball finally clear his crossbar. But Ace high did not have to wait to much longer to open up the scoring and putting his team in front. Once again he was played in and this time he lobbed the ball past Dan Gillard into the back of the net.

Just before the halftime break Brixham came very close to getting and equaliser, the ball was fired high into the St Martin box from the left hand side by Josh Webber and Reece Summers headed the ball just wide of the right hand post. Scott Dodgson then found his name being taken by the referee after committing a number of fouls.

The second half got under way and Brixhams number nine Josh Webber soon found his name in the book along with St Martins Sam Seldon who had too much to say as far as the referee was concerned.

Brixham won a free kick just outside the St Martins box that was taken by Scott Dodgson, but the ball sailed over the crossbar. A spectator came over and said to me he was expecting the second half to be played all in the Brixham half, but it was Brixham who were now firmly on top as they went in search of that equaliser that would have been so deserved.

St Martin failed to clear the ball out of their own box and Dave Worthing said thank you very much as he thumped the loose ball into the back of the net. The goal stung St Martins back into action as they went in search of another goal to win the game.

St Martins number five Nathan Cooper had a great chance to do just that when he was played in well into the Brixham box, but he fired his shot over the crossbar. But it was Brixham who could have taken the lead against the run of play when a cross from the left hand side was headed only just wide by Dave Worthington.

St Martins then took the lead again after some good work down the left hand side by their number seventeen Jamie Bayless. When he got close the corner flag he cut inside and laid a perfect low pass to the back post where Joel Hawes had the easiest of tasks to fire the ball home.
I thought that was it, another Brixham defeat and one that might have been expected, but the Brixham lads had other ideas. They battled away and kept working their socks off and ended up getting their just rewards. It might have been a bit of a goal mouth scramble, but Reese Sumers would not have minded that when the ball hit the back of the net and he earned his side a very well deserved point.

The rain started getting heavier and I was glad when the referee blew up for the final time, under the circumstances it was a good game to watch and Jason must be proud of the way his players worked so hard and never gave up when they went behind not once but twice.