Verde Recreo Men's League
Central 1
Bridgwater 3, Mid Somerset 1

BRIDGWATER returned to winning ways this week with a fantastic victory.

After a tricky first 15 minutes, the home side went 1-0 down and a string of fine saves from keeper Pete Saunders meant the deficit was kept to only one.

Bridgwater kicked up a gear and scored a well-deserved equaliser through James Duckering - his first for the club.

Two minutes later, a lovely first time pass from Will Pope found Duckering; he turned provider and crashed in a wonderful reverse stick cross that was gloriously deflected home by Todd Barrett, putting Bridgwater 2-1 up at half time.

Bridgwater stayed on top for most of the second half and player of the match Sam Uminski grabbed his first league goal for the 1sts, ensuring a well-deserved victory.

West Central 1
Bristol & West C 4, Bridgwater A 1

BRIDGWATER started with the bare 11 players but started brightly for Bridgwater - having the ball in the net through Sam Sweatman, only for the goal to be disallowed.

A couple of misplaced passes led to Bristol & West’s first goal and Bridgwater, with their heads down, conceded two more goals in quick succession.

Things went from bad to worse when Ben Stone pulled a muscle and a ball over the top led to a one-on-one with Bridgwater keeper Brandon Durkin, which in turn led to a harsh penalty flick which was well finished.

With a much-improved performance after the break, Bridgwater scored a consolation after Dan Pigden dribbled into the D and beat the diving keeper.

Man of the match went to Dom Court for his constant running and hard work in the middle of the park.

West Central 2
South Glos A 7, Bridgwater B 2

AFTER an enforced break last week, Bridgwater couldn’t rekindle their fine form of late.

Their opposition appeared a dominant outfit but Bridgwater managed to grab two goals through Aiden Casey and Tom Lott. Man of the match was awarded to forward Rich Payne for stepping into defence and providing some important tackles at the back.

South East 2
Bridgwater C 0, Taunton CS B 6

BRIDGWATER came up against a very strong Taunton Civil Service full of experience.

Despite the scoreline, the standout player was stand-in keeper Graham Miller, who made more than his fair share of important saves across the 70 minutes.

South East 3
Bridgwater D 2, Ashmoor C 0

AFTER last week’s loss, Kieran Barrow was again drafted in along with debutants Luke Otley and Phil Pike.

It was Bridgwater who started the stronger as the young midfield of Nikita Cernikovs, Toby Knight and Sam Stacey made their presence felt.

Steve Morrish and Phil Pike linked up well from a free hit for Pike to score with a good reverse stick strike.

Keeper Pete Cammish kept the game at 1-0 with some cracking saves.

The second half started well with Jim Smith marshalling the defence with Pike, Otley and Cernikovs battling all over the pitch.

Ashmoor came close to equalising before Morrish got the second to close out the game.

Man of the match was Nikita Cernikovs.

***

West Clubs Women’s League
Central Division
Bridgwater 3, Knowle 1

ANOTHER successful weekend against a good newly-promoted team from Knowle.

After a goalless first half, but Bridgwater broke through when a strong pass into the D from Becca Tasker enabled Emma Hill to slot in her first goal of the season.

Knowle soon replied with the equaliser but Bridgwater were undeterred.

Their next goal came after a good initial save from the Knowle keeper but Sapphy Reed-Yang was on the other end of the rebound and managed to flick the ball into the net.

The third goal came in quick succession, from a good drive forward from Reed-Yang that enabled Beth Porter to guide the ball home and secure the win.

Player of the match: Beth Porter.

Sedgemoor Division 2
Weston-super-Mare 2nds 2, Bridgwater 2nds 1

BRIDGWATER travelled to top of the league Weston and, despite their loss, became the first side to score against them this year.

They went 1-0 up in the first 20 minutes with a great strike from Julie Reed but Weston equalised two minutes before half-time.

In the second half, the Weston keeper kept them in the game and the home side scored the winner in the last five minutes.

Player of the match: Willow Hobbs.