3 All Draw!

Quite how Bridges didn’t win this game will remain a mystery. Even Merstham boss Tony Reid thought that his side were “awful” on the day, but credit to the visitors for not giving up even when they trailed by two goals with twelve minutes to go.

Camron Lawson alone might have had a hat trick in the first nine minutes. He hit the post when Kevin Rivera crossed inside the first minute, crashed a header against the crossbar from another Rivera cross and then saw a drive turned away by keeper Zack Basey.

Ethon Archer also saw a shot diverted away, so it was something of a shock when the visitors took a 25^th minute lead when full back Michael Abnett danced through three challenges before finding himself with just Mitch Bromage to beat from close range!

And it almost became worse when Loranzo Lewis found himself free and forced Bromage to a good low save. Merstham skipper Dean Gunner cleared off the line from Archer, but the little winger was rewarded four minutes before the break when he broke through and finished with aplomb.

Dan Ferreria and Noel Leighton both came close as Bridges stepped up the pace before a lovely 70^th minute move involving Lawson and Archer was finished by Brannon O’Neill. And eight minutes later O’Neill struck a free kick firmly to seemingly clinch the points for the homesters, but just two minutes later a needlessly conceded corner led to Lewis Pearch driving through a crowded goalmouth.

And it needed only another two minutes for Abnett’s cross to somehow evade a packed defence with Paul Lusuku looking to get the final touch.

Not much more could have gone wrong for Bridges it seemed, but it did. O’Neill couldn’t quite meet Leighton’s chip with a solid enough header, Basey made a brilliant double save to deny O’Neill and Rivera, and even when the referee awarded Bridges a penalty, he changed his mind after consulting an Assistant! And the final nail in the coffin was the straight red card shown to Taylor Curran for a tackle from behind five minutes into the seven added!

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	3	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	4	2	2	0	11	8	+3	8
	2	Cray Valley PM	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0	3	2	1	0	12	6	+6	7
	3	Chichester City	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	0	3	2	1	0	6	0	+6	7
	4	Hythe Town	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	6
	5	Sevenoaks Town	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	2	0	1	9	5	+4	6
	6	Ramsgate	1	1	0	0	2	1	0	1	3	2	0	1	8	5	+3	6
	7	Ashford United	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	6
	8	Sheppey United	1	1	0	0	2	0	2	0	3	1	2	0	8	4	+4	5
	9	Sittingbourne	2	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	3	1	1	1	7	5	+2	4
	10	Herne Bay	2	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
	11	Burgess Hill Town	1	0	0	1	2	1	1	0	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
	12	Littlehampton Town	2	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	1	1	1	3	6	-3	4
	13	Beckenham Town	1	0	0	1	2	1	0	1	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
	14	Erith & Belvedere	2	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	3	1	0	2	2	3	-1	3
	15	Lancing	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	3	1	0	2	1	4	-3	3
	16	Broadbridge Heath	2	0	1	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	2	1	4	7	-3	2
	17	Horndean	1	0	0	1	2	0	2	0	3	0	2	1	3	6	-3	2
	18	Merstham	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	3	0	1	2	3	6	-3	1
	19	Phoenix Sports	2	0	1	1	2	0	0	2	4	0	1	3	4	15	-11	1
	20	East Grinstead Town	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	2	3	0	0	3	2	10	-8	0