Ruthless Bridges Hit Five to Crush Eastbourne Town

Three Bridges produced a superb response to last week’s defeat, sweeping aside Eastbourne Town with a dominant 5–0 victory at the Saffrons to reaffirm their position at the top of the Isthmian South-East League. Confidence was already high heading into the match after the club successfully overturned Sam Bull’s wrongful red card from the previous weekend, and Bridges channelled that boost into one of their strongest performances of the season.

The visitors set the tone immediately, pushing Eastbourne back with early chances for Hayden Velvick and Noel Leighton. Their bright start paid off in the 24th minute, when Reece Hallard beat his man and was pulled down in the box. Charlie Bennett stepped up from the spot and confidently sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to give Bridges a deserved lead.

Bridges continued to control the game with intensity and sharp play, and their second goal arrived just before half-time. Quick thinking from Bennett to take a rapid throw-in released Leighton on the right, and the captain curled a perfect cross to the far post for Reece Hallard, who finished calmly to make it 2–0 in the 42nd minute.

Eastbourne’s first genuine opportunity came early in the second half when Marcin Ruda struck a low free-kick that forced a smart stop from Sam Roberts. But the contest was effectively over just minutes later. A flowing, incisive Bridges move sliced through the Eastbourne defence, with Bennett threading a well-timed pass into the path of Noel Leighton, who slotted home on 57 minutes to extend the lead to 3–0.

Bridges’ hunger for more was evident, and their fourth goal arrived in the 75th minute after another beautifully crafted move. Harvey Woollard delivered a superb ball out wide to Kevin Rivera, whose measured cross picked out Leighton unmarked inside the box. The striker made no mistake, directing his header into the corner.

Leighton completed his hat-trick just four minutes later. Another wicked Rivera cross caused chaos in the home defence, and the Bridges captain on the day reacted quickest to bundle the ball in from close range for 5–0, sealing his 16th league goal of the season — an exceptional tally considering he missed the opening month through injury.

The final whistle capped a polished, authoritative performance from Bridges, who remain top of the league on 45 points, three ahead of Faversham Town and four ahead of AFC Whyteleafe, who hold a game in hand.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	10	8	1	1	10	6	2	2	20	14	3	3	56	21	+35	45
	2	Faversham Town	10	7	2	1	10	5	4	1	20	12	6	2	47	26	+21	42
	3	AFC Whyteleafe	10	8	1	1	9	5	1	3	19	13	2	4	57	21	+36	41
	4	AFC Croydon Athletic	10	6	1	3	10	6	3	1	20	12	4	4	40	24	+16	40
	5	Margate	10	7	2	1	10	2	6	2	20	9	8	3	50	33	+17	35
	6	Sittingbourne	9	6	2	1	10	4	2	4	19	10	4	5	31	22	+9	34
	7	Broadbridge Heath	10	8	1	1	9	2	2	5	19	10	3	6	45	28	+17	33
	8	Herne Bay	10	5	2	3	10	5	1	4	20	10	3	7	37	33	+4	33
	9	Merstham	10	4	3	3	10	5	2	3	20	9	5	6	39	32	+7	32
	10	Deal Town	10	6	1	3	10	4	0	6	20	10	1	9	41	38	+3	31
	11	Sheppey United	10	6	2	2	10	3	2	5	20	9	4	7	37	39	-2	31
	12	Jersey Bulls	7	3	4	0	10	3	3	4	17	6	7	4	26	21	+5	25
	13	Crowborough Athletic	10	4	2	4	10	3	1	6	20	7	3	10	30	44	-14	24
	14	Eastbourne Town	10	4	3	3	10	3	0	7	20	7	3	10	27	45	-18	24
	15	Hastings United	10	3	2	5	10	3	2	5	20	6	4	10	27	33	-6	22
	16	Hassocks	10	3	3	4	9	2	4	3	19	5	7	7	25	31	-6	22
	17	Ashford United	10	2	4	4	9	3	0	6	19	5	4	10	34	37	-3	19
	18	Erith Town	10	2	3	5	10	2	4	4	20	4	7	9	27	39	-12	19
	19	Sevenoaks Town	10	5	0	5	10	1	1	8	20	6	1	13	28	45	-17	19
	20	VCD Athletic	9	2	2	5	10	2	2	6	19	4	4	11	23	41	-18	16
	21	Beckenham Town	10	2	2	6	8	0	1	7	18	2	3	13	25	48	-23	9
	22	East Grinstead Town	9	0	0	9	10	1	0	9	19	1	0	18	13	64	-51	3