Three Bridges Make FA Trophy History with Biggleswade Victory

Three Bridges booked their place in the FA Trophy First Round Proper for the first time in the club’s history after a dominant 3-1 victory away against Biggleswade FC on Friday night.

With Biggleswade hosting the tie at Bedford Town’s stadium, Jamie Crellin’s men produced an assured performance to secure a deserved win and give themselves a much-needed confidence boost following a shaky start to life in the Isthmian Premier.

On the back of an encouraging 3-3 draw against Leatherhead on Tuesday night, Bridges knew a big performance was required, and they made a confident start by controlling possession and taking the lead with the first real chance of the match in the 9th minute.

A long ball from Sam Roberts was flicked on by Noel Leighton, with the determined Hayden Velvick beating the Biggleswade left-back to the ball before putting it on a plate for Charlie Bennett, who was left with an empty net to fire Bridges into a 1-0 lead.

Bridges continued to dominate possession for large spells without creating too much further threat, while the hosts struggled to establish any real rhythm.

There were a couple of bookings before the break, including one for Dan Ferreira after a late challenge. The Bridges right-back, playing in midfield on the night, was perhaps fortunate to escape with only a yellow card.

Bridges went into half-time deservedly ahead, although they knew there was plenty of work still to do.

The first opportunity of the second half fell to captain Noel Leighton in the 49th minute, but his effort narrowly missed the target and went into the side netting.

Bridges continued to look the more dangerous side and were rewarded with a penalty in the 58th minute following another impressive run from Velvick, who has undoubtedly been one of Bridges’ standout performers so far this season.

Velvick found Kevin Rivera inside the box, with the midfielder being brought down by a Biggleswade defender to leave the referee with no option but to point to the spot.

Penalty maestro Bennett stepped up and confidently sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to double Bridges’ advantage and make it 2-0.

The hosts, however, found an unexpected route back into the contest in the 68th minute.

A free-kick from the edge of the box took a deflection before falling kindly to Bond, who made no mistake in placing the ball past Roberts to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

Having surrendered a two-goal lead late on against Leatherhead just a few days earlier, there could perhaps have been some nervous memories in the Bridges camp.

Those nerves were quickly put to rest five minutes later.

In the 73rd minute, Bryan Villavicencio won possession high up the pitch and released Rivera, who unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box.

The shot slipped through the Biggleswade goalkeeper’s hands and into the net to restore Bridges’ two-goal advantage and make it 3-1.

Biggleswade were handed another glimmer of hope in the 85th minute when Josh Hallard was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge to stop a counter-attack, leaving Bridges to see out the final stages with ten men.

Crellin’s side, however, managed the remainder of the match professionally and comfortably, seeing out a deserved 3-1 victory and securing a historic place in the FA Trophy First Round Proper.

The result means Three Bridges have reached the First Round Proper of the competition for the first time in the club’s history, with the tie scheduled to take place over the weekend of October 23-25.

Bridges now face a ten-day break before a frantic October schedule gets underway on Tuesday, October 6, when they welcome Worthing to the Jubilee Field in the Sussex Cup.

Three Bridges are the current holders of the competition, with the tie also providing a rematch of last season’s semi-final, which was played at a neutral venue in Lancing, where Bridges produced a famous 4-2 victory.

Three Bridges line-up: Sam Roberts, Ben Holden, Billy Irving, Sam Bull, Josh Hallard, Bryan Villavicencio, Dan Ferreira, Kevin Rivera, Hayden Velvick, Charlie Bennett, Noel Leighton (C).

Three Bridges Player of the Match: Charlie Bennett – The travelling Bridges faithful chose Bennett as their man of the match after his two well-taken goals and an impressive all-round performance.