BISHOPS LYDEARD 0

BRIDPORT 2

BRIDPORT collected their first South West Peninsula League Premier East victory of 2024 with a 2-0 win at Bishops Lydeard.

In a history-making fixture for the league, featuring a Dorset side visiting a Somerset club for the first time, Bridport needed only four minutes to open the scoring.

The unmarked Fred Parsons, playing in an advanced role, got on the end of a Brad Rowe cross to head home at the back post past stranded Lydeard keeper Freddie Harvey-Lamar.

Bridport kept the hosts quiet in front of goal and nearly added a second themselves when Ryan Gall headed a Kieren Daniels corner wide.

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Boss Chris Herbst introduced Sol Ayunga for Will Gape at the break and, but for a slight hesitation in firing at goal, would have made it 2-0.

While the Bees were comfortable at 1-0, they made sure of victory in the 70th minute.

Their second goal owed much to the opportunism of sub Adam Diaz, who was in the right place at the right time to pounce on a ricochet and sidefoot into the far corner.

Herbst said: “It felt good and a nice clean sheet as well, we haven’t had many of those.

“It was a good team performance, solid, they didn’t have a shot and we defended well as a unit. We were able to rotate players, so it was good.”

Bridport, who stay third, next host fourth-placed Cullompton on Saturday, Herbst adding: “They’re a good side, they like to play out from the back.

“We need to be fully on it, they’re going well and they want to catch us. If we can get three points, we pull away from them with games in hand.”

Bees: Jo Scadding, Childs (T Diaz 58), Gall, Owen, King, Brook (Weedon 65), D Lock (A Diaz 65), Daniels, Gape (Ayunga 46), Parsons, Rowe (Coombs 85).