Three Bridges Edge Past Crowborough to Maintain League Lead

Isthmian South East League | Saturday 25 October 2025 | Jubilee Field

Three Bridges held onto top spot in the Isthmian South East League with a scrappy but vital 1–0 victory over Crowborough Athletic at Jubilee Field on Saturday afternoon.

After a relentless October schedule — seven matches already played and a midweek flight to Jersey still to come — it was perhaps no surprise that Jamie Crellin’s side looked a little fatigued. Nevertheless, they found enough resilience and quality to secure another important three points.

The game began at a slow tempo, with both sides struggling to find rhythm in possession. The first clear opportunity arrived in the 9th minute when Charlie Bennett’s precise 40-yard pass released Reece Hallard. The winger glided through two defenders before seeing his low shot parried away by Crowborough keeper Holmwood.

Neither team could string together much fluid play for the remainder of the half, but in added time Bridges found their breakthrough. Ade Adeyinka’s effort was tipped behind for a corner, and from Josh Hallard’s dangerous delivery, Noel Leighton bundled the ball home from close range to give the hosts a slender lead at the interval.

The second half followed a similar pattern — scrappy at times but full of effort. Leighton and Nabeel Ghannam both had early chances to extend the advantage, while at the other end, Sam Roberts produced a superb point-blank save to deny Goldsmith and preserve Bridges’ lead.

Bridges continued to press, and on 65 minutes Holmwood again came to Crowborough’s rescue, stopping Ghannam’s strike before Reece Hallard fired the rebound wide. The visitors’ keeper, later named their Player of the Match, was in inspired form and made another fine save late on to deny substitute Rivera.

It was far from a polished display, but the result keeps Bridges one point clear at the top of the table with 32 points from 13 matches — a testament to their ability to win even when below their best.

Next up is a challenging trip to the Channel Islands as Bridges travel to face Jersey Bulls on Tuesday night, before another away fixture at Erith Town next weekend.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	7	6	1	0	6	4	1	1	13	10	2	1	39	14	+25	32
	2	Faversham Town	6	5	1	0	7	4	3	0	13	9	4	0	31	12	+19	31
	3	AFC Croydon Athletic	5	2	1	2	8	6	2	0	13	8	3	2	20	12	+8	27
	4	AFC Whyteleafe	7	6	0	1	6	2	1	3	13	8	1	4	31	14	+17	25
	5	Merstham	8	4	3	1	6	3	1	2	14	7	4	3	27	18	+9	25
	6	Herne Bay	7	4	0	3	7	4	1	2	14	8	1	5	28	24	+4	25
	7	Deal Town	7	4	1	2	6	3	0	3	13	7	1	5	30	26	+4	22
	8	Margate	7	4	2	1	7	1	4	2	14	5	6	3	30	23	+7	21
	9	Sittingbourne	6	3	2	1	5	2	2	1	11	5	4	2	18	14	+4	19
	10	Sheppey United	7	5	0	2	7	1	1	5	14	6	1	7	24	32	-8	19
	11	Crowborough Athletic	6	4	0	2	7	2	0	5	13	6	0	7	21	25	-4	18
	12	Broadbridge Heath	6	4	1	1	6	1	1	4	12	5	2	5	25	20	+5	17
	13	Eastbourne Town	6	3	2	1	8	2	0	6	14	5	2	7	16	30	-14	17
	14	Hassocks	7	3	2	2	4	1	1	2	11	4	3	4	17	18	-1	15
	15	Jersey Bulls	3	1	2	0	7	2	3	2	10	3	5	2	17	14	+3	14
	16	Sevenoaks Town	6	3	0	3	7	1	1	5	13	4	1	8	21	31	-10	13
	17	Ashford United	6	2	2	2	5	1	0	4	11	3	2	6	21	21	0	11
	18	Erith Town	7	1	3	3	6	1	2	3	13	2	5	6	14	20	-6	11
	19	VCD Athletic	6	1	2	3	7	1	2	4	13	2	4	7	14	25	-11	10
	20	Beckenham Town	7	2	2	3	6	0	1	5	13	2	3	8	20	34	-14	9
	21	Hastings United	7	1	1	5	6	1	1	4	13	2	2	9	12	21	-9	8
	22	East Grinstead Town	6	0	0	6	6	1	0	5	12	1	0	11	8	36	-28	3