MINEHEAD 1 BRIDPORT 2
SUPER sub Ashley Clarke stole the headlines as Bridport overcame lowly Minehead to confirm back-to-back victories last night.
The target man came on midway through the second half with the match delicately poised at 1-1 and broke Minehead hearts with a clinical finish.
The Bees have moved up to 12th in Toolstation Western League Division One and have now tasted victory five times in their last eight outings.
Boss Trevor Senior claimed his side were full value for the points – especially given the disruption caused by traffic chaos en route to North Somerset.
He said: “There was an accident between Bridport and Dorchester so we turned up about half an hour before kick-off, which wasn’t ideal preparation.
“The lads didn’t let it bother them and adapted well to the conditions. We played some good football in the first half even though we were into a blustery wind.
“We definitely deserved to win the game and if anything we could have done so by a bigger margin had we taken our chances, especially in the first half.”
He added: “It was important after Saturday that we carried on the good work and claimed another three points.”
The Bees took the lead on 15 minutes through unheralded defender Alan Hill, who netted his maiden goal for the club by tucking home a Matt Condliffe cross.
Shane Evans had a goal disallowed for offside while fellow striker Ben Clarke spurned a couple of chances to increase the margin of the visitors’ advantage.
Minehead emerged after the restart with renewed impetus and were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes when Chris Clarke was penalised for handball.
Although on-loan custodian Simon Evans guessed correctly, the rebound was pounced upon and buried as the home side restored equality.
And they looked to have rescued a precious point until Ashley Clarke controlled Jamie Symes’ delivery before unleashing a predatory strike with 10 minutes to play.
Bees: Simon Evans, Hill (J Symes 65), Condliffe, Chris Clarke, Senior, Hayter, Cummings (Jones 65), Wise, B Clarke, Watts, Shane Evans (A Clarke 70)
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