Bridgwater United 0-0 Helston Athletic

FOR the Robins, a drawn game is rare and a goalless draw is almost unheard of, writes Mark Hollidge.

The winner in this game was the spiteful wind that did its best to turn this interesting looking game into a lottery.

For example, the goalkeepers found it almost impossible to send a clearance more than thirty yards when kicking into the wind.

The outfield players found it difficult to control the ball or judge passes in either direction, not surprisingly it wasn’t much of a spectacle.

Whichever team was playing into the wind realised the potential advantage that their opponents had, and they packed their defences to reduce the chance of conceding and didn’t want to commit much to the attacking part of the game.

Helston had the best of it in the first half and United dominated the second; a point each was fair enough.

Both teams ended the game with only ten players on the pitch.

In the first twenty minutes Morgan Williams was fouled five times. The Helston players seemed to have a vendetta against United’s combative and energetic midfield player.

This might not have been totally unconnected with the fact that Williams won the decisive penalty in United’s 1-0 win at Helston.

So, there is an irony in the fact that Williams, in the last knockings of the game, got a second yellow card and a red card, for alleged diving in the penalty box.

Just seven minutes earlier Tyler Elliot was deservedly banished for scything down Jack Taylor as he burst through. For Elliot it was also a second yellow card.

Goal chances were few, Stuart Bowker judged the ball better than United’s defence to break free but as he shaped to shoot Mark Armstrong made a perfect, goal saving tackle.

Bowker got on the end of a free kick from Elliot and Jake Viney had to arch back to push the header over.

Predictably the second half was mainly played in the Helston half.

Ryan Brereton, Adnan Hiroli and Fisher were off target with their efforts and keeper Mike Searle wasn’t tested much.

The closest thing to a goal was a close-range header from Cameron Gauci, after good work by George King, which missed the left post by inches.

Not a game to live in the memory but United can be fairly happy to have taken four points from one of the better teams in the league, without conceding a goal over 180 minutes.