Bridges Slump to Another Defeat as Relegation Concerns Grow

Three Bridges suffered another damaging defeat on Saturday afternoon, going down 3–1 away to Maldon & Tiptree in the Isthmian Premier League, further widening the gap between themselves and safety in the relegation zone.

It was a performance that raised serious questions about the players’ desire and determination to fight their way out of trouble, with Bridges looking like a side that had already accepted its fate rather than one prepared to battle against it.

After an even opening, Maldon & Tiptree gradually began to take control of proceedings, finding plenty of joy down their right-hand side in particular.

The hosts took the lead in the 19th minute when Olukolu’s cross found Akanbi at the back post. Having beaten Ferreira far too easily, Olukolu delivered an inviting ball into the box, which Akanbi converted with an acrobatic overhead kick to put the hosts ahead.

Noel Leighton almost provided an immediate response for Three Bridges, but his effort was saved by the Maldon & Tiptree goalkeeper. That proved to be one of the few positive moments for the visitors in a first half that quickly became increasingly one-sided.

Maldon & Tiptree continued to threaten, creating numerous opportunities and forcing Sam Roberts into an outstanding save to prevent the deficit from increasing.

However, the goalkeeper could only delay the inevitable. In the 38th minute, the hosts doubled their advantage after Bridges’ defence once again failed to deal with a cross into the penalty area. Bennett was allowed far too much room to get his effort away, firing an unstoppable finish into the top corner to make it 2–0.

Things went from bad to worse in first-half stoppage time when a low cross into the box caught the Bridges defence sleeping once again. Ferreira was caught completely unaware, allowing Olukolu to apply the finishing touch and make it 3–0.

It was an absolutely embarrassing first-half display from Three Bridges, who had been second best in almost every department and went into the break with the game effectively beyond their reach.

With the hosts taking their foot off the gas after the restart, Bridges began to grow into the game and showed some signs of life. A flicker of hope arrived in the 56th minute when Leighton took a quick free-kick and found Charlie Bennett inside the penalty area, with the forward making no mistake from close range to reduce the deficit to 3–1.

However, any hopes of a comeback were completely extinguished ten minutes later when Ferreira brought down Olukolu in what the referee deemed to be a dangerous position. The defender was shown a straight red card in the 66th minute, bringing a miserable afternoon to an end. From a Three Bridges perspective, it appeared a particularly harsh decision.

There was little of note for the remainder of the contest until the 90th minute, when Leighton received a second yellow card for dissent. To be fair, the dismissal had been coming for some time, with the captain spending much of the previous 15 minutes arguing with the officials and seemingly talking himself into an early shower.

The match eventually finished 3–1, with Maldon & Tiptree deserved winners on the day.

For Three Bridges, however, the result leaves plenty to think about. More concerning than the defeat itself was the manner of the performance, particularly the lack of fight, organisation and urgency shown during the opening 45 minutes. Serious questions must now be asked about whether the players have the desire and commitment required to drag the club away from the relegation places.

There is still a long way to go, with plenty of games left to play, but performances like this will do little to convince anyone that Bridges have what it takes to turn their season around.

Three Bridges starting XI: Roberts, Irving, Neathey, Malone, Ferreira, Spicer, Adeiynka, Bennett, Velvick, Richards, Leighton (C).

Substitutions:

• 60′ – R. Hallard replaced Richards.
• 65′ – Pryzbylo replaced Bennett.

Next Fixture

Three Bridges return to Jubilee Field next Saturday, 7 November, when they host Brentwood in the Isthmian Premier League. Kick-off is at 15:00.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Enfield Town	7	5	0	2	7	6	1	0	14	11	1	2	43	16	+27	34
	2	Welling United	9	9	0	0	6	2	0	4	15	11	0	4	31	15	+16	33
	3	Eastbourne Borough	7	6	0	1	6	3	1	2	13	9	1	3	25	12	+13	28
	4	Lewes	7	4	2	1	7	4	1	2	14	8	3	3	22	16	+6	27
	5	Dartford	6	4	0	2	8	4	0	4	14	8	0	6	22	21	+1	24
	6	St Albans City	5	4	0	1	6	3	2	1	11	7	2	2	24	15	+9	23
	7	Ramsgate	6	4	0	2	8	3	1	4	14	7	1	6	29	19	+10	22
	8	Carshalton Athletic	7	3	0	4	9	4	1	4	16	7	1	8	23	32	-9	22
	9	Chatham Town	6	5	0	1	8	2	0	6	14	7	0	7	27	23	+4	21
	10	Wingate & Finchley	6	4	1	1	7	2	2	3	13	6	3	4	26	25	+1	21
	11	Dulwich Hamlet	7	4	2	1	8	2	1	5	15	6	3	6	25	26	-1	21
	12	Burgess Hill Town	8	4	3	1	6	1	2	3	14	5	5	4	24	26	-2	20
	13	Leatherhead	6	2	1	3	6	3	2	1	12	5	3	4	25	20	+5	18
	14	AFC Whyteleafe	9	4	2	3	6	1	1	4	15	5	3	7	26	27	-1	18
	15	Cheshunt	7	3	4	0	8	1	2	5	15	4	6	5	17	23	-6	18
	16	Aveley	8	3	1	4	6	2	1	3	14	5	2	7	24	24	0	17
	17	Maldon & Tiptree	10	3	1	6	7	2	1	4	17	5	2	10	23	39	-16	17
	18	Cray Wanderers	5	2	2	1	5	2	1	2	10	4	3	3	23	15	+8	15
	19	Brentwood Town	7	4	0	3	6	1	0	5	13	5	0	8	23	25	-2	15
	20	Three Bridges	7	1	2	4	7	1	1	5	14	2	3	9	24	39	-15	9
	21	Stanway Rovers	6	1	0	5	8	1	1	6	14	2	1	11	14	39	-25	7
	22	Whitehawk	7	1	2	4	8	0	1	7	15	1	3	11	14	37	-23	6