Hallard Hits 25 as Bridges March On

 Three Bridges returned to action in the Isthmian South-East League on Saturday 14th February at Jubilee Field, producing a composed and professional display to defeat Herne Bay 2–0 and maintain their position at the summit.

After two successive postponements — away trips to Hastings United and Beckenham Town falling victim to poor weather — Bridges were delighted to be back on home soil and their reliable 3G surface. The league leaders showed no signs of rust as they controlled proceedings against ninth-placed Herne Bay from the outset.

Bridges made their bright start count in the 12th minute with a goal that will surely be added to the growing list of Goal of the Season contenders. Slick, incisive tiki-taka football — a hallmark of this Bridges side — saw Kevin Rivera, Noel Leighton and Charlie Bennett exchange a series of first-time passes that sliced through the Bay defence. Bennett applied the finishing touch with composure, slotting beyond Coleman to spark celebrations around Jubilee Field.

The hosts continued to dominate possession throughout the first half but found fortune not entirely on their side. Leighton was upended just outside the penalty area by Bay goalkeeper Coleman, yet despite awarding the free-kick the referee kept his cards in his pocket. Soon after, strong appeals for a handball inside the Herne Bay box were waved away. With the visitors offering little attacking threat, Bridges nevertheless went into the break holding only a slender 1–0 advantage.

The second half began with immediate intent from the home side. Within seconds of the restart, Leighton saw his effort dramatically cleared off the goal line. Bennett and Hayden Velvick both tested Coleman soon after, but the Bay stopper stood firm to keep his side in contention.

Tempers briefly flared when Madia produced a reckless challenge on Rivera, escaping with just a yellow card. Bridges, however, remained focused — and their persistence was rewarded in the 69th minute. Ade Adeyinka threaded an excellent pass into the path of Reece Hallard, and the Isthmian South-East League’s top goalscorer made no mistake, clinically finishing for his 25th league goal of the campaign to effectively seal the contest.

Leighton, outstanding throughout, was again denied by Coleman as Bridges pushed for a third, but the two-goal cushion proved more than sufficient as the final whistle confirmed a deserved 2–0 victory.

The result preserves Bridges’ eight-point lead at the top of the Isthmian South-East League table, with 69 points from 29 matches and a game in hand over second-placed AFC Croydon Athletic.

Attention now turns to back-to-back away fixtures, weather permitting, with trips to Crowborough Athletic next Saturday and Hastings United the following Tuesday next on the schedule.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	16	14	1	1	13	8	2	3	29	22	3	4	91	29	+62	69
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	15	10	1	4	15	9	3	3	30	19	4	7	69	43	+26	61
	3	Faversham Town	16	9	4	3	12	7	4	1	28	16	8	4	65	40	+25	56
	4	AFC Whyteleafe	16	10	3	3	13	6	3	4	29	16	6	7	72	34	+38	54
	5	Jersey Bulls	15	8	5	2	16	6	6	4	31	14	11	6	54	32	+22	53
	6	Sittingbourne	13	9	3	1	14	6	4	4	27	15	7	5	51	31	+20	52
	7	Margate	16	8	2	6	15	5	7	3	31	13	9	9	67	55	+12	48
	8	Deal Town	13	7	2	4	15	7	1	7	28	14	3	11	56	50	+6	45
	9	Merstham	14	5	3	6	16	8	3	5	30	13	6	11	48	46	+2	45
	10	Herne Bay	15	5	5	5	14	7	2	5	29	12	7	10	46	45	+1	43
	11	Sevenoaks Town	16	7	2	7	15	6	1	8	31	13	3	15	49	62	-13	42
	12	Ashford United	16	6	5	5	14	6	0	8	30	12	5	13	66	55	+11	41
	13	Broadbridge Heath	13	8	1	4	16	4	3	9	29	12	4	13	60	52	+8	40
	14	Eastbourne Town	15	7	3	5	15	4	2	9	30	11	5	14	42	65	-23	38
	15	Sheppey United	16	7	4	5	14	3	2	9	30	10	6	14	48	59	-11	36
	16	Crowborough Athletic	13	5	3	5	15	5	3	7	28	10	6	12	42	53	-11	36
	17	Hastings United	15	4	4	7	15	5	2	8	30	9	6	15	41	50	-9	33
	18	Hassocks	15	4	3	8	15	3	5	7	30	7	8	15	36	52	-16	29
	19	Erith Town (-1)	13	3	3	7	15	4	5	6	28	7	8	13	37	54	-17	28
	20	VCD Athletic	16	4	4	8	15	2	3	10	31	6	7	18	40	71	-31	25
	21	Beckenham Town	12	3	3	6	15	1	5	9	27	4	8	15	35	60	-25	20
	22	East Grinstead Town	13	0	2	11	15	1	0	14	28	1	2	25	20	97	-77	5