Nailsea B –  2  Vs  Wrington A  – 4 – Western and District Div 4

With all four Nailsea teams doing well, The Grove Sports Centre has not been a happy hunting ground for Wrington for some time. However, after several encouraging performances the visitors travelled with a team capable of giving anyone in the league a good game . A disrupted warm up didn’t help either team as Lee Cox stood in as Referee at very short notice and ensured an enjoyable game.  In part this led to a sloppy opening goal as a short back pass gave the athletic Jon Marsh in the Wrington goal no chance as the home side went ahead. As the game settled down Wrington showed their spirit and even against the elements began to dominate. With Josh Arnold and Paul Faulkner dictating midfield, Rory Thomas and Mike Clements found space out wide to send over a succession of testing crosses. With Wrington playing three up front, Nailsea were constantly on the back foot and the forward line of O’Connor, Cole and McMullen were always a threat.  With O’Connor’s  close control, Cole’s pace and McMullen’s clean striking a goal was bound to come.  However, it was Josh Arnold who provided the precise bottom corner finish from an O’Connor lay off that brought the visitors level.  With  Dan Tapson and Tom Clark tackling everything at the back and Tom Lucas providing his usual energetic display, Wrington continued to press and the crosses kept raining into the penalty area. One such cross caused panic in the home defence which allowed McMullen to score his fourth goal in four starts and another saw him crack a blaster against the bar.

Wrington looked comfortable at 2 – 1 up but a Clements corner with too much out swing, caught in the wind and provided Nailsea with there best counter attack of the half. However, another fine bit of defensive work by Dan Tapson saved Clements’ blushes.

Turning around at the half and now with the wind at their backs, Wrington continued to dominate and chances came thick and fast. O’Connor and Arnold were in the thick of the action and this time it was O’Connor who rifled a left foot shot into the roof of the net after good work from Arnold. At 3-1 up, the visitors had the luxury of bringing on new dad – Dave Pullen, an experienced defender to see out the game. It was therefore a surprise when Nailsea pulled one back. For once, the ball was given away in midfield and the defence could not cover in time before there was only one goal in it. Once again, it was Man Of The Match , Arnold (Pictured) who responded with a fierce shot which the keeper saved only to provide Sean Cole with a simple tap in his running deserved.

There was still time for O’Connor and Jack Hetherington to miss golden opportunities and Dan Tapson to venture forward to be denied a penalty, but in the end 4 – 2 was a fair and very satisfactory result.