Perry on Fire Again as Bridges Win

DAN PERRY continued his free scoring streak with two more goals against bottom side Whitstable to take his tally for the season to twenty, ten of which have come in just the last seven games!

It took 24 minutes to grab his first as both Charlie Lambert and Joe Stone had seen chances go just too wide or too high. Brannon O’Neill, who was superb for Bridges with a real captain’s performance of both grit and technical ability, provided a great cross to Stone, who then laid it to Perry for a clinical finish as he took advantage of a hesitant defence.

He almost added another after 39 minutes but keeper Dan Eason managed to tip the ball away for a corner. But it was from this set piece that Bridges doubled their advantage as O’Neill played it neatly into the path of Curtis Gayler, who had made a run from deep to connect with a glorious finish into the far top corner of Eason’s net.

The second half opened with Whitstable needing to make two clearances off their line and then Gayler created an opening for himself before somehow blasting over the bar! But after 53 minutes came another special piece of football as Stone and Lambert combined to set up Perry for a glorious volley.

Bridges continued to drive forward and Eason just held onto another Gayler effort before kicking away a drive from Lambert. Gayler then drove over again as there was almost a repeat of his goal from another O’Neill corner, but in the 71^st minute Whitstable grabbed what proved to be no more than a consolation goal when substitute Callum Watts saw his shot take a wicked deflection off Tadley Bromage to wrongfoot his brother Mitch in goal.

Another free kick by Gayler was somehow scraped away at the last moment, and in a rare attack by the visitors, another substitute George McIlroy forced Mitch Bromage into a save. But the home defence was rarely troubled by the Whitstable attack, although no one could fault the endeavour and experience shown by often lone striker Harry Goodger.

Bridges Man of the Match – Dan Perry.