BRIDPORT 3

TEIGNMOUTH 2

BRIDPORT survived a late wobble to post their fourth consecutive win, beating Teignmouth 3-2 to take top spot in the South West Peninsula League Premier East.

Chris Herbst’s men have jumped above Ivybridge and are one of five unbeaten teams in the league.

The Bees hope to make St Mary’s Field a stronghold this season and the early signs are that their Dorset venue is not one teams will relish coming to.

Bridport were ahead just four minutes in courtesy of a sensational team move.

READ MORE: Sidmouth Town 1-3 Bridport - report

Tom Richardson and Riley Weedon were involved with slick one and two-touch football, offloading to Brad Rowe on the wing.

Weedon then scampered into the box and finished Rowe’s delivery to get Bridport off to a flying start.

Bridport went 2-0 up via the spot when Rowe was flattened in the area, allowing Weedon to slot home into the bottom-right corner, sending the Teignmouth goalkeeper the wrong way.

Sensing a third, James Cox narrowly failed to connect with a teammate after getting to the byline, before Rowe sent a free header wide at the back post.

But Teignmouth were not without chances themselves as Sean Ayre set up a couple of half-chances which were put over the bar, home keeper Jordon Scadding without a serious save to make all half.

While Bridport opted for control in the second period, setting up in a 4-5-1 formation out of possession, Teignmouth had some joy down their left.

However, Bridport were the more incisive team and got the all-important third when Kieren Daniels found the net with a clever glancing header for his second goal of the season.

It took going 3-0 down to wake Teignmouth up, Ayre attacking Bridport through the middle and firing past Scadding for 3-1 into the right-hand corner.

Bridport had chances to settle the game, sub Sol Ayunga hitting the post and missing a one-on-one, before Teignmouth closed to 3-2 when Ash Donohue scored.

However, Bridport safely managed the remaining time and their nerves, to see out the win.

Assistant manager Mark Lock said: “In my time, I’ve only had one time similar with the first six wins in a row.

“You’ve got to think about what happened last year, and now we’re way ahead of that. We’ve got to manage the positivity of the lads and keep that going.”

He added: “It was pretty even with chances. It could’ve been 8-5 or 9-5, some of the chances created.

“We’ve got a lot of plusses going on with the side.”

Bridport host Wessex League Premier side Hamble Club in the FA Vase on Saturday (3pm).

Bees: Jo Scadding, Brook, King, Leader, Calverley, Cox, Weedon, Parsons (Gape 75), Daniels, Richardson (Ayunga 67), Rowe (Owen 60).