Bridges Keep Title Charge on Track with VCD Win

Three Bridges resumed their charge at the summit of the Isthmian South-East League with a 4–0 victory over VCD Athletic at Jubilee Field yesterday afternoon, a scoreline that ultimately flattered the league leaders against an impressive visiting side.
Fresh from their midweek cup heroics against Horsham, manager Jamie Crellin named an unchanged starting XI. However, it was clear early on that Bridges were still feeling the effects of that encounter. VCD Athletic began brightly, moving the ball sharply and enjoying the better of the opening exchanges as Bridges struggled to find their rhythm.
The first clear chance of the game fell to Bridges in the 23rd minute when Reece Hallard looked certain to score, only for his effort to be heroically blocked off the line. Aside from that moment, the remainder of the first half belonged to the visitors. Evans squandered a golden one-on-one opportunity with Sam Roberts, while Regis came agonisingly close when his effort struck the post. Bridges were relieved to reach the interval level at 0–0, knowing a big improvement was required.
Whatever was said at half-time had the desired effect. Bridges emerged with renewed energy and were handed a crucial breakthrough just two minutes after the restart. Fenn’s challenge on Charlie Bennett was adjudged to be a foul inside the area by the referee — a decision VCD could feel aggrieved by. Bennett kept his composure from the spot, confidently dispatching the penalty to give Bridges a 47th-minute lead.
VCD refused to go quietly and continued to press for an equaliser, but Bridges struck decisively in the 67th minute to effectively settle the contest. After efforts from Noel Leighton and Hayden Velvick were both saved, the rebound fell kindly to Reece Hallard, who made no mistake to double the advantage.
The goals then came in quick succession. Just two minutes later, Leighton added a third with a classic striker’s finish, poking the ball past the advancing goalkeeper for his 20th league goal of the campaign. The afternoon was capped off in the 87th minute when Hallard grabbed his second of the match and 23rd of the season, rounding the keeper and calmly rolling the ball into an empty net.
The final whistle confirmed a 4–0 win for Three Bridges — a result achieved more through resilience and unity than fluency. On a day when performance levels dipped, Bridges once again demonstrated their winning mentality.
The victory keeps Three Bridges eight points clear at the top of the Isthmian South-East League with 63 points from 26 matches, with AFC Croydon Athletic the closest challengers.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	14	12	1	1	12	8	2	2	26	20	3	3	82	26	+56	63
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	13	9	1	3	13	8	3	2	26	17	4	5	60	33	+27	55
	3	Faversham Town	14	8	3	3	12	7	4	1	26	15	7	4	57	36	+21	52
	4	AFC Whyteleafe	14	10	1	3	12	6	2	4	26	16	3	7	70	32	+38	51
	5	Sittingbourne	13	9	3	1	13	6	3	4	26	15	6	5	48	28	+20	51
	6	Jersey Bulls	13	6	5	2	14	6	4	4	27	12	9	6	45	29	+16	45
	7	Merstham	13	5	3	5	14	8	2	4	27	13	5	9	47	39	+8	44
	8	Margate	13	7	2	4	14	4	7	3	27	11	9	7	59	48	+11	42
	9	Herne Bay	14	5	4	5	12	6	2	4	26	11	6	9	42	40	+2	39
	10	Ashford United	14	5	4	5	13	6	0	7	27	11	4	12	57	51	+6	37
	11	Broadbridge Heath	13	8	1	4	14	3	2	9	27	11	3	13	56	49	+7	36
	12	Deal Town	12	6	2	4	13	5	1	7	25	11	3	11	47	44	+3	36
	13	Sheppey United	14	7	4	3	12	3	2	7	26	10	6	10	46	52	-6	36
	14	Sevenoaks Town	14	7	1	6	13	4	1	8	27	11	2	14	42	57	-15	35
	15	Eastbourne Town	14	7	3	4	13	3	2	8	27	10	5	12	38	57	-19	35
	16	Hastings United	12	4	2	6	14	5	2	7	26	9	4	13	39	43	-4	31
	17	Crowborough Athletic	12	4	3	5	13	4	2	7	25	8	5	12	35	49	-14	29
	18	Hassocks	13	3	3	7	14	2	5	7	27	5	8	14	32	51	-19	23
	19	Erith Town (-1)	11	2	3	6	13	3	5	5	24	5	8	11	32	47	-15	22
	20	VCD Athletic	13	3	3	7	13	2	2	9	26	5	5	16	32	62	-30	20
	21	Beckenham Town	12	3	3	6	13	1	3	9	25	4	6	15	33	58	-25	18
	22	East Grinstead Town	12	0	1	11	13	1	0	12	25	1	1	23	18	86	-68	4