10-Men Bridges Show Fighting Spirit in Comeback Draw

Fresh off a 1-0 win away at Erith Town on Tuesday night, Three Bridges returned home to face Ashford United on a sunny but windswept afternoon. It wasn’t exactly the perfect day for football, but certainly a perfect day for some drama.

The visitors had the first chance of the game in the 1st minute when Louis Collins saw a shot deflected just wide. But what followed could only be described as more befitting of a slapstick comedy than a professional football match. Will Tillman, in goal for Bridges, was practically a magnet for Ashford’s attackers, getting caught by them six times in eight minutes. The fact that the scoreboard remained at 0-0 was nothing short of miraculous.

Amidst all the chaos, Kevin Rivera put in a dazzling solo run, only to forget the small matter of finishing. That was the last we saw of him for the day, as he was soon forced off with an injury.

The game took a more serious tone in the 25th minute when Ashford played a well-worked move that saw Louie Collins deliver a lovely ball across the box. Kane Penn couldn’t miss, tapping it in to give the visitors a deserved lead. Collins continued to run the show, and Bridges couldn’t seem to get anything going. By the time the half-time whistle blew, the home side could count themselves fortunate to be just 1-0 down.

The second half began with a golden opportunity for Bridges in the 50th minute, when a back pass from one of Ashford’s defenders went horribly wrong, and Noel Leighton found himself one-on-one with Ashford keeper Javarn Pitterson. Sadly, the less said about the finish, the better, as Pitterson made a rather comfortable save.

Despite the shaky start, Bridges slowly grew into the game, with Hayden Velvick emerging as their driving force. However, disaster struck in the 63rd minute. Noel Leighton, having one of those days we all wish we could forget, earned a second yellow card for a late tackle and was given his marching orders. Down to 10 men, Bridges looked finished. But, as is often the case with football, a red card seemed to spark a revival.

In the 68th minute, they were rewarded for their resilience. Josh Hallard’s cross to the back post was met by Noel Fisher, whose volley served the ball up perfectly for Hayden Velvick to nod home and restore parity.

Bridges wasted no time in pushing for a winner. Just two minutes later, Velvick’s header was saved by Pitterson, and then Noel Fisher had his effort denied three minutes after that. Bridges were looking much the more dangerous side, but against the run of play, Gary Lockyer nearly stunned them with a superb header that forced an outstanding save from Tillman.

In the 84th minute, Velvick was through on goal again, but his shot from a tight angle was denied by Pitterson, who had been a standout in the second half. Despite being a man up, Ashford were clinging on for dear life, and the final whistle couldn’t come soon enough for them. The last bit of drama came in the 92nd minute when Reece Hallard slalomed through what seemed like the entire Ashford team. But just as he was about to unleash a shot, a last-ditch tackle blocked his effort.

The game ended 1-1, and it was definitely a tale of two halves. Bridges could consider themselves incredibly lucky to go into half-time just one goal behind, but by the final whistle, they would have felt somewhat hard done by not to take all three points.

Next up, Bridges face an away trip to Kent next Saturday to take on league leaders Ramsgate.

Bridges Man of the Match, chosen by matchball sponsor Chris Irving: Hayden Velvick. 

Photography by:  Dave Burt Photography

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Ramsgate	19	18	1	0	19	15	2	2	38	33	3	2	114	30	+84	102
	2	Sittingbourne	19	18	1	0	19	12	4	3	38	30	5	3	108	25	+83	95
	3	Burgess Hill Town	19	14	3	2	19	11	5	3	38	25	8	5	77	38	+39	83
	4	Margate	19	8	9	2	19	14	2	3	38	22	11	5	75	44	+31	77
	5	Merstham	19	11	5	3	19	9	5	5	38	20	10	8	83	57	+26	70
	6	Beckenham Town	18	9	5	4	19	10	3	6	37	19	8	10	77	57	+20	65
	7	Three Bridges	19	9	2	8	19	10	3	6	38	19	5	14	75	64	+11	62
	8	Sevenoaks Town	19	8	7	4	19	8	3	8	38	16	10	12	75	74	+1	58
	9	Deal Town	19	10	1	8	19	8	1	10	38	18	2	18	83	77	+6	56
	10	Sheppey United	19	11	2	6	19	5	4	10	38	16	6	16	65	61	+4	54
	11	Erith Town	19	8	5	6	19	5	6	8	38	13	11	14	65	53	+12	50
	12	Ashford United	19	8	4	7	19	6	4	9	38	14	8	16	64	67	-3	50
	13	AFC Croydon Athletic	19	8	6	5	19	4	7	8	38	12	13	13	56	58	-2	49
	14	Broadbridge Heath	19	3	5	11	19	9	5	5	38	12	10	16	58	66	-8	46
	15	Eastbourne Town	19	6	5	8	19	6	3	10	38	12	8	18	50	64	-14	44
	16	East Grinstead Town	19	6	0	13	19	7	5	7	38	13	5	20	47	78	-31	44
	17	Herne Bay	19	7	4	8	18	4	4	10	37	11	8	18	56	67	-11	41
	18	Littlehampton Town	19	6	3	10	19	4	4	11	38	10	7	21	61	79	-18	37
	19	Phoenix Sports	19	5	3	11	19	3	2	14	38	8	5	25	36	82	-46	29
	R	Hythe Town	19	5	2	12	19	1	2	16	38	6	4	28	34	92	-58	22
	R	Lancing	19	5	1	13	19	1	2	16	38	6	3	29	35	107	-72	21
	R	Steyning Town Community	19	2	3	14	19	3	1	15	38	5	4	29	41	95	-54	19