Bridges Hold Nerve to Secure Crucial Easter Friday Victory

Three Bridges returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2–1 victory away at Sheppey United on Easter Friday, maintaining their position at the summit of the Isthmian South-East League.

With just five league fixtures remaining, Jamie Crellin’s side knew the importance of securing maximum points as they continue their push for a historic promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division.

Bridges started brightly and immediately looked dangerous in the final third. Early chances fell to Reece Hallard and Charlie Bennett inside the opening ten minutes, but both were unable to convert. The breakthrough arrived in the 11th minute when Ade Adeyinka was played through by Neathey. Showing composure, Adeyinka took a touch before finishing confidently with his left foot past the advancing goalkeeper.

The visitors doubled their advantage just three minutes later. Hayden Velvick found Reece Hallard in space, and the forward weaved past two defenders before calmly slotting home to make it 2–0.

At that stage, Bridges appeared in complete control, though the tempo dipped for the remainder of the half. Hallard had another opportunity in stoppage time but was denied from a promising position, leaving the score at 2–0 heading into the break.

The second half proved to be a far scrappier affair, with both sides cancelling each other out for long periods. Sheppey found a route back into the game in the 63rd minute when Jack Marsh converted from close range following a cross from the left.

Despite the setback, Bridges limited the hosts to few clear chances, though nerves began to show in the closing stages. A misplaced pass from Sam Roberts under pressure forced Sam Bull into a crucial last-ditch challenge, before Bull and Ben Holden combined moments later to recover and deny a clear opportunity after possession was lost high up the pitch.

It was far from a polished performance in the second half, but Bridges demonstrated resilience and determination to see out the victory and claim three vital points on the road.

The win preserves a six-point lead at the top of the table over AFC Croydon Athletic, with four matches remaining, while also maintaining a superior goal difference.

Attention now turns to the second fixture of the Easter Bank Holiday double-header, as Bridges host an in-form Hassocks side on Monday afternoon.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	19	16	2	1	19	12	2	5	38	28	4	6	113	39	+74	88
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	19	13	1	5	19	13	3	3	38	26	4	8	89	49	+40	82
	3	AFC Whyteleafe	19	12	3	4	19	12	3	4	38	24	6	8	103	39	+64	78
	4	Jersey Bulls	19	12	5	2	19	8	7	4	38	20	12	6	73	35	+38	72
	5	Sittingbourne	19	12	5	2	19	9	4	6	38	21	9	8	77	46	+31	72
	6	Faversham Town	19	9	6	4	19	9	6	4	38	18	12	8	77	54	+23	66
	7	Margate	19	10	2	7	19	9	7	3	38	19	9	10	80	60	+20	66
	8	Deal Town	19	11	3	5	19	8	3	8	38	19	6	13	85	62	+23	63
	9	Ashford United	19	9	5	5	19	8	2	9	38	17	7	14	82	60	+22	58
	10	Merstham	19	7	5	7	19	9	3	7	38	16	8	14	62	55	+7	56
	11	Sevenoaks Town	19	9	2	8	19	6	3	10	38	15	5	18	61	73	-12	50
	12	Eastbourne Town	19	9	4	6	19	5	3	11	38	14	7	17	56	73	-17	49
	13	Crowborough Athletic	19	8	3	8	19	6	4	9	38	14	7	17	55	76	-21	49
	14	Broadbridge Heath	19	9	1	9	19	5	4	10	38	14	5	19	75	82	-7	47
	15	Herne Bay	19	6	5	8	19	7	3	9	38	13	8	17	58	72	-14	47
	16	Sheppey United	19	7	4	8	19	5	3	11	38	12	7	19	59	82	-23	43
	17	Hastings United	19	6	4	9	19	6	2	11	38	12	6	20	49	62	-13	42
	18	Erith Town (-1)	19	4	7	8	19	6	5	8	38	10	12	16	60	75	-15	41
	19	Hassocks	19	6	3	10	19	4	5	10	38	10	8	20	48	69	-21	38
	20	VCD Athletic	19	5	4	10	19	2	4	13	38	7	8	23	52	91	-39	29
	21	Beckenham Town	19	4	5	10	19	2	6	11	38	6	11	21	48	89	-41	29
	R	East Grinstead Town	19	0	3	16	19	1	0	18	38	1	3	34	27	146	-119	6