Bridges Dig Deep to Edge Five-Goal Thriller at Crowborough

Three Bridges continued their push for promotion from the Isthmian South East League with a hard-earned 3–2 victory away at Crowborough Athletic on Saturday 21st February.
After weeks of heavy rain, credit must go to the hosts for getting the game played, though the pitch was understandably soft and energy-sapping. Bridges knew it would require resilience as much as quality to claim three valuable points on the road.

The visitors began with intent. Early opportunities fell to Noel Leighton and Hayden Velvick, but it was Sam Bull who made the breakthrough in the 16th minute. Meeting a dangerous Velvick delivery, Bull showed excellent composure to chest the ball over the advancing Crowborough goalkeeper and into the net to give Bridges a deserved lead.

The response from the hosts was immediate. Crowborough applied pressure and were rewarded in the 23rd minute when Jack Lyons capitalised on some loose defending inside the box, steering the ball beyond Sam Roberts to level the contest at 1–1.

With the half-time whistle approaching, Bridges regained control. Skipper Leighton restored the advantage in style, collecting the ball from a well-worked free-kick routine, spinning sharply away from his marker and firing a superb finish across goal to make it 2–1. It was a moment of real quality in difficult conditions. Roberts then preserved the lead with a superb point-blank save from Duncan in the 45th minute to ensure Bridges went into the break ahead.

As the surface deteriorated further in the second half, the contest became more of a battle than a spectacle. Clear chances were limited, but in the 66th minute the hosts were awarded a penalty when Josh Hallard was adjudged to have fouled inside the area. Roberts guessed correctly, but Duncan’s strike found the corner to bring Crowborough back on terms at 2–2.

To their credit, Bridges showed the mentality of league leaders. Ade Adeyinka had the ball in the net only for the assistant’s flag to deny him, while Leighton and Velvick both went close as the visitors pushed forward.

The decisive moment arrived when Charlie Bennett rose superbly to meet a precise cross from Kevin Rivera, powering a header home to restore Bridges’ lead at 3–2 and spark celebrations among the travelling supporters.

Bridges saw out the closing stages professionally, managing the game well to secure a huge three points that strengthen their position at the top of the Isthmian South East League table.
They now sit on 72 points from 30 matches — eight clear of second-placed AFC Croydon Athletic with a game in hand — as the promotion race gathers pace.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	16	14	1	1	14	9	2	3	30	23	3	4	94	31	+63	72
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	15	10	1	4	16	10	3	3	31	20	4	7	73	43	+30	64
	3	AFC Whyteleafe	16	10	3	3	14	7	3	4	30	17	6	7	74	34	+40	57
	4	Sittingbourne	14	9	4	1	15	7	4	4	29	16	8	5	61	35	+26	56
	5	Faversham Town	16	9	4	3	13	7	4	2	29	16	8	5	65	41	+24	56
	6	Jersey Bulls	16	9	5	2	16	6	6	4	32	15	11	6	55	32	+23	56
	7	Deal Town	15	9	2	4	15	7	1	7	30	16	3	11	63	51	+12	51
	8	Margate	16	8	2	6	15	5	7	3	31	13	9	9	67	55	+12	48
	9	Merstham	15	6	3	6	16	8	3	5	31	14	6	11	52	46	+6	48
	10	Herne Bay	16	5	5	6	15	7	2	6	31	12	7	12	47	53	-6	43
	11	Sevenoaks Town	16	7	2	7	16	6	2	8	32	13	4	15	52	65	-13	43
	12	Ashford United	16	6	5	5	14	6	0	8	30	12	5	13	66	55	+11	41
	13	Broadbridge Heath	14	8	1	5	16	4	3	9	30	12	4	14	61	59	+2	40
	14	Eastbourne Town	16	7	3	6	15	4	2	9	31	11	5	15	42	67	-25	38
	15	Sheppey United	16	7	4	5	14	3	2	9	30	10	6	14	48	59	-11	36
	16	Crowborough Athletic	14	5	3	6	15	5	3	7	29	10	6	13	44	56	-12	36
	17	Hastings United	15	4	4	7	16	5	2	9	31	9	6	16	41	53	-12	33
	18	Erith Town (-1)	13	3	3	7	16	5	5	6	29	8	8	13	44	55	-11	31
	19	Hassocks	15	4	3	8	15	3	5	7	30	7	8	15	36	52	-16	29
	20	VCD Athletic	16	4	4	8	16	2	3	11	32	6	7	19	40	75	-35	25
	21	Beckenham Town	12	3	3	6	15	1	5	9	27	4	8	15	35	60	-25	20
	22	East Grinstead Town	14	0	2	12	15	1	0	14	29	1	2	26	21	104	-83	5