FA Cup first qualifying round

Bodmin Town 3, Bridgwater Town 3

A GAME of two halves has never been more evident than at Priory Park, Bodmin on Saturday afternoon, writes Pete Besley.

The first-half saw a dominant home side romp into a 3-0 lead as a disorganised Bridgwater struggled to contain the vibrant hosts.

The first 20 minutes gave no indication of what was to come as both sides battled to gain the upper hand.

All of this changed on 21 minutes when Sam Matthews lobbed Bridgwater ‘keeper Ben John to put the home side in front.

Matthews added his second five minutes later as Bridgwater’s defence parted like the Red Sea, allowing the midfielder time to pick his spot before shooting home.

Matthews completed his superb first-half hat-trick on 38 minutes when he scored following a good Bodmin move.

Bridgwater manager Richard Fey must have produced the Sermon on the Mount to inspire his team to produce a completely different second-half performance.

Now playing down the slope, Dave O’Hare pulled a goal back for the visitors on 55 minutes as a resurgent Bridgwater started to dominate.

Kyle Tooze reduced the arrears even further when his pile-driving shot flew into the net off a near upright.

Bridgwater should have equalised six minutes later when Tom Knighton was brought down in the penalty area – but from the resulting spot-kick, which Knighton himself took, Bodmin’s ‘keeper pulled off a save to keep his side in front.

Bridgwater continued to dominate the second half and gained an equaliser 10 minutes from time, when Dave O’Hare stabbed home as the home defenders failed to clear in a goal-mouth scramble.

Bodmin nearly had the last laugh when Bobby Hopkinson powered a free-kick off the underside of the bar and back into the arms of John.

The teams finished all square and ready to do battle again on Tuesday night at Fairfax Park.