Wrington Redhill 0 Yatton & Cleeve 1

Wrington Redhill’s run of five consecutive league victories ended in a closely fought derby with near neighbours Yatton and Cleeve at the Recreation Ground. The home side welcomed back Jordon Bonner from illness with Ryan Pugh pushed more forward in place of the injured Joe Creese from the previous week’s game.

The start saw both sides on the front foot with end-to-end play whilst keepers James Williams and Tom Murphy were not really tested as attacks were snuffed out by firm defences and at times wayward passes on a firm uneven surface. It was not until five minutes before the break that Yatton and Cleeve made the breakthrough after several set piece attempts when from a corner an initial head down from Alex Bird was not cleared and the ball ended up at the feet of Tommy Wellings to simply stab into the net for a 1-0 half time lead.

The second half was a scrappy affair with no real flow as minor infringements were being picked on by the referee and players’ frustrations were getting the better of them. For the visitors Reilly Civil-Holt was displaying his trickery down the left flank and Alex Bird a constant threat to defenders Dan Ferguson and Ethan Johnson. During the 2nd half substitutions were made with Rory Thomas and Chris Bradley replacing Ryan Pugh and Matt Walsh respectively and late on Mark Brown for injured Jordon Bonner who was enjoying a sound performance.

Pas the 2nd half progressed it was Wrington Redhill who looked most likely to score and claw themselves back into the game. The best chances came when Sam Parkinson jinked through into the visitors 6 yard box and slid a cross which just eluded Rory Thomas racing in on the far post. Just after Jack Hutchings put a great ball across goal,but no one anticipated the cross which would have been a simple tap in for an equaliser. Another near miss came when Leigh White’s header from an Ollie Clements corner glanced the crossbar.

It was just not the home side’s day and late on were pleased not to concede further as an effort from outside the box sailed pat a post and Bird fired high from close range.

There is tough run in to the end of the season starting with the visit of League leaders Timsbury next week and if the team wish to cling onto their fourth position or better it then the squad need to re-gather and improve on this performance.

Team:

Goalkeeper: James Williams
Defence: Matt Walsh, Dan Ferguson, Ethan Johnson, Jordon Bonner
Midfield: Leigh White, Ollie Clements, Sam Parkinson
Forwards: Jack Hutchings, George Fake, Ryan Pugh

Substitutes: Chris Bradley (for Matt Walsh), Rory Thomas (for Ryan Pugh), Mark Brown (for Jordan Bonner)