Bridges Turn It Around Late to Down Sittingbourne in Thriller

Three Bridges showed tremendous resilience and quality as they battled from behind to claim a vital 2–1 victory over title rivals Sittingbourne at Jubilee Field, extending their lead at the top of the Isthmian South East Division.

Both sides came into the game looking to respond after disappointing defeats in the previous round — Bridges at Erith and Sittingbourne at Sevenoaks — and this encounter always had the feel of a genuine six-pointer between two promotion contenders.

The hosts nearly made the perfect start inside two minutes when Hayden Velvick whipped in an inch-perfect cross, only for Noel Leighton to fire over from close range. Sittingbourne opted for a compact defensive shape, posing the occasional threat on the counter, but it was Bridges who dictated the rhythm of play. Sam Bull came close to breaking the deadlock on 35 minutes, denied brilliantly at point-blank range by Mitchell Beeney in the visitors’ goal.

Just when it seemed the half would end goalless, Bridges were hit with a sucker punch. In the second minute of added time, Jack Stevenson rose highest from a corner to head home and hand Sittingbourne a 1–0 lead against the run of play.

Bridges returned from the break determined to turn things around, pinning Sittingbourne deep inside their own half. The visitors abandoned any attacking intent, sitting in an ultra-low block that frustrated the home side. When Bull missed an open header in the 73rd minute, the feeling around Jubilee Field was that it might not be their day.

But Bryan Villavicencio had other ideas. With 78 minutes played, Kevin Rivera, who had been superb throughout the second half, drove forward and slipped the ball inside the box for Villavicencio, whose emphatic finish finally beat Beeney to level the score.

The equaliser lifted the noise and belief around Jubilee Field, and Bridges pressed for a winner with renewed energy. In the 86th minute, Dan Ferreira produced a moment of magic — surging from right-back and ending up on the left wing, gliding past five defenders and cutting the ball across goal to Villavicencio, who coolly swept home his second of the afternoon to complete the turnaround and spark wild celebrations among the home supporters.

Sittingbourne threw bodies forward in stoppage time — even sending their goalkeeper up for a late corner — but Bridges stood firm to secure a huge three points in what was widely seen as the biggest win of the season so far.

The result keeps Bridges top of the table on 36 points from 16 matches, with a quick turnaround ahead of another crucial week in the campaign.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	8	7	1	0	8	4	2	2	16	11	3	2	42	17	+25	36
	2	AFC Whyteleafe	8	7	0	1	8	4	1	3	16	11	1	4	46	15	+31	34
	3	Faversham Town	8	5	2	1	8	4	4	0	16	9	6	1	34	18	+16	33
	4	AFC Croydon Athletic	6	3	1	2	9	6	2	1	15	9	3	3	25	16	+9	30
	5	Herne Bay	8	4	1	3	8	5	1	2	16	9	2	5	31	26	+5	29
	6	Merstham	9	4	3	2	7	3	2	2	16	7	5	4	29	22	+7	26
	7	Margate	8	5	2	1	8	1	5	2	16	6	7	3	35	27	+8	25
	8	Deal Town	8	4	1	3	8	4	0	4	16	8	1	7	33	32	+1	25
	9	Broadbridge Heath	8	6	1	1	7	1	1	5	15	7	2	6	36	24	+12	23
	10	Sheppey United	8	5	1	2	8	2	1	5	16	7	2	7	28	34	-6	23
	11	Eastbourne Town	7	4	2	1	9	3	0	6	16	7	2	7	21	31	-10	23
	12	Sittingbourne	7	4	2	1	7	2	2	3	14	6	4	4	23	20	+3	22
	13	Jersey Bulls	5	2	3	0	8	3	3	2	13	5	6	2	21	15	+6	21
	14	Hassocks	8	3	2	3	7	2	3	2	15	5	5	5	20	22	-2	20
	15	Crowborough Athletic	7	4	1	2	8	2	0	6	15	6	1	8	23	35	-12	19
	16	Erith Town	8	2	3	3	8	2	3	3	16	4	6	6	20	24	-4	18
	17	Sevenoaks Town	8	4	0	4	8	1	1	6	16	5	1	10	23	34	-11	16
	18	Hastings United	9	2	2	5	7	2	1	4	16	4	3	9	20	25	-5	15
	19	VCD Athletic	8	2	2	4	8	1	2	5	16	3	4	9	18	33	-15	13
	20	Ashford United	8	2	3	3	6	1	0	5	14	3	3	8	25	27	-2	12
	21	Beckenham Town	8	2	2	4	7	0	1	6	15	2	3	10	22	38	-16	9
	22	East Grinstead Town	8	0	0	8	8	1	0	7	16	1	0	15	10	50	-40	3