Last minute goal keeps Bridges winning streak alive

Three Bridges made the 150 miles round trip to Hythe Town this Saturday searching for their 6^th consecutive win while the hosts were in desperate need for 3 points in their battle to avoid relegation.

Hythe Town made their intentions known from the start and Javaun Splatt had a point blank header in the 5^th minute that forced young Bridges goalkeeper Finn Holter in one of the saves of the season before the assistant referee raised his flag for offside and 2 minutes later the same Splatt forces another outstanding save from Holter.

Things took an interesting turn in the 12^th minute when Hythe Town striker Splatt elbowed Josh Hallard in the face away from the ball, resulting in a general scramble between the players. After consulting with his assistant, the referee decided to send off both Javaun Splatt and Josh Hallard.

Hythe are having the better of the game for the remaining of the 1^st half with David Ozobia hitting the side netting in the 28^th minute before Ollie Gray forces Finn Holter in yet another outstanding save with a volley from the edge of the 6-yard box.

Spirits flare up again in the 44^th minute when one of the Hythe defenders goes to ground inside his own penalty box and hugs the ball but Three Bridges handball appeals are being dismissed by the referee. From the resulting counterattack David Ozobia misses a huge chance in the other box when he puts the ball over the goal from inside the 6-yard box.

It ended 0-0 at halftime and with the pitch degrading quickly it became clearer and clearer that Jamie Crellin’s boys will have to dig very deep to get the 3 points.

In the 62^nd minute another penalty appeal by Three Bridges gets waved off by the referee when Noel Leighton finds Hayden Velvick inside the box, but his shot gets blocked by one of Hythe defenders with what appeared to be his arm.

In the 75^th minute Hythe go down to 9 men after Tushaun Walters sees the second yellow for a foul on Kevin Rivera at the edge of the box. Bridges are pushing on desperately in an attempt to find the winning goal but Noel Leighton’s shot in the 90^th minute goes agonisingly wide and Hayden Velvick  sees his shot saved by the keeper in the 92^nd minute after a great run by Iker Noguera Leon. Reece Hallard’s volley gets saved in the 95^th minute by the keeper and it finally looks like Bridges might have to settle for a point here.

However, in the 96^th minute the young and fearless Iker Noguera Leon has a different idea when he decides to take on multiple Hythe defenders before being taken down inside the box and the referee has no hesitation into pointing to the penalty spot. With the regular penalty taker, Ben Holden, being subbed off, Reece Hallard stepped up to take the penalty and attempt to bring the 3 points home to Bridges. And stepped up he did as you’ll do well to see a better penalty than the one he scored, striking the ball with maximum power in the top left corner and giving Hythe’s keeper absolutely no chance.

Bridges are controlling the remaining seconds and are waiting for the final whistle but not before a 3^rd Hythe Town player gets his marching orders given by the referee when David Ozobia sees his 2^nd yellow for dissent, after he previously saw his first one for diving. This was the last of a memorable match at Reachfields Stadium that sees Three Bridges claiming their 6^th consecutive win and jumping up to 9^th in the league table.

Bridges Man Of The Match : Finn Holter

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Ramsgate	14	13	1	0	13	11	1	1	27	24	2	1	83	22	+61	74
	2	Sittingbourne	14	14	0	0	12	8	3	1	26	22	3	1	86	17	+69	69
	3	Burgess Hill Town	13	11	0	2	13	8	4	1	26	19	4	3	57	29	+28	61
	4	Margate	13	4	8	1	14	12	1	1	27	16	9	2	51	27	+24	57
	5	Sheppey United	15	10	1	4	12	4	4	4	27	14	5	8	50	41	+9	47
	6	Beckenham Town	10	5	3	2	14	8	2	4	24	13	5	6	52	39	+13	44
	7	Merstham	11	4	5	2	15	7	4	4	26	11	9	6	49	41	+8	42
	8	Deal Town	15	8	1	6	14	5	0	9	29	13	1	15	61	61	0	40
	9	Three Bridges	13	5	1	7	13	7	2	4	26	12	3	11	49	49	0	39
	10	Sevenoaks Town	15	6	5	4	13	5	1	7	28	11	6	11	51	57	-6	39
	11	Ashford United	14	5	3	6	15	6	1	8	29	11	4	14	49	55	-6	37
	12	Erith Town	12	6	2	4	13	4	4	5	25	10	6	9	45	31	+14	36
	13	Eastbourne Town	15	5	4	6	13	5	2	6	28	10	6	12	45	48	-3	36
	14	Broadbridge Heath	13	3	2	8	13	7	2	4	26	10	4	12	45	45	0	34
	15	East Grinstead Town	10	3	0	7	14	6	4	4	24	9	4	11	36	45	-9	31
	16	AFC Croydon Athletic	14	4	5	5	12	2	6	4	26	6	11	9	41	46	-5	29
	17	Herne Bay	14	6	2	6	13	2	2	9	27	8	4	15	34	57	-23	28
	18	Lancing	15	5	1	9	14	1	2	11	29	6	3	20	33	71	-38	21
	19	Littlehampton Town	12	2	2	8	15	2	4	9	27	4	6	17	42	64	-22	18
	20	Phoenix Sports	14	4	2	8	13	1	1	11	27	5	3	19	26	64	-38	18
	21	Hythe Town	13	4	1	8	12	0	1	11	25	4	2	19	22	62	-40	14
	22	Steyning Town Community	14	2	3	9	13	1	1	11	27	3	4	20	29	65	-36	13