BRIDGWATER Town committee member and club photographer Debbie Gould has won the Toolstation Western League photographer of the year award.

Her picture of Robins leading scorer Jack Taylor (below) secured the prize, leaving all at the club very proud.

Bridgwater Mercury:

Town player-manager Dave Pearse, meanwhile, has been able to reflect on a job well done after his first full season in joint charge of the side.

Pearse, alongside Karl Baggaley, has guided the side to eighth in the Toolstation Western League and enjoyed runs in the FA Cup, FA Vase and Les Phillips Cup, in which they reached the last four before going out on penalties.

It has been a season of rebuilding for Town, who endured a tough 2016/17 and finished rock bottom of the Evo-Stik Southern League West, and Pearse is pleased with how it has gone.

He told the Mercury: “If someone had said to me back in July that we’d have reached the third round of the Vase, had a good run in the FA Cup, reached the Les Phillips Cup semi-finals and finished top eight I probably would have been happy with that.

“At the start of the season we wanted to get people through the gates, play good football and put smiles back on faces and I think we’ve done that.

“The crowds have been good - I’ve seen a few supporters in town recently and they are feeling positive, which is great to see.”

Pearse is confident of keeping the current squad together - “they all want to stay and we want to keep everyone” - and is hopeful of a crack at promotion next season.

“It will be very tough again but hopefully we can challenge,” he said.

“Other teams will improve too and, though we lose [promoted duo] Street and Melksham, we will probably gain Plymouth Parkway, who are a big side in the South West Peninsula League with a big budget.

“Our challenge, and I’ve said this to the players, is to be more consistent and clinical.

“We’ve been too reliant on Jack Taylor for goals and we need others, including myself, to step up and share the burden next season - if that had happened this year we would have finished higher up.”

As for his highlights of the campaign, Pearse looked back at the lengthy away trips which brought success in the Vase before Christmas.

“Going to places like St Austell, Bashley and Farnham, into the lion’s den against teams we know nothing about, and coming back with wins was brilliant,” he said.

“It’s always satisfying to play and beat teams in different leagues.”

Pearse and Baggaley are staying together to lead the side next season, which begins in August.