HENGROVE ATHLETIC 1 BRIDPORT 2

A TOM Richardson brace saw Bridport arrest a run of four straight league defeats with a deserved victory away at Hengrove.

The performance may not have been their best but the Bees did what they had to after picking up just six points from the previous 27 available to them.

Two close-range finishes from Richardson put the visitors in command with 35 minutes gone and, although the hosts halved the deficit just before half-time, the Bees held on to win.

“We just needed to win really,” said Bridport boss Trevor Senior. “It wasn’t a good day for playing good football but I thought we played well.

“Dan Wise hit some great crosses in from the right and Tom Richardson made it 1-0 from the first ball in with a header inside the six-yard box.

“Tom then made it 2-0 on 35 minutes after some good play from Matt Condliffe, Darren Watts and Chris Luke.

“They scored a goal just on half-time but only after Sam Filkins had made a couple of unbelievable saves.

“Tom had a great chance for a third in the second half and Hengrove looked dangerous at times but we were fairly comfortable at 2-1.

“We had picked up one point out of the last 18 so we needed something from the game.

“I was really pleased at how we dug in and showed character to get the win, which I thought we deserved.”

Senior changed to a 3-5-2 formation for the Toolstation Western League Premier Division match, with Watts playing as a sweeper behind Shane Evans and captain Ryan Hayter.

Max Buckler played the holding role in midfield and Richardson came in after missing the 6-2 hammering by Melksham.

After Richardson had put his side in front, Ryan Dovell nearly got on the scoresheet with a full length diving header that went just wide.

Condliffe’s pull back saw Richardson make it 2-0 and, after the hosts netted, he went close to getting a third in the second half. The striker just failed to find the target following a defensive mix up.

All of Bridport’s substitutes came on before the end and there was a debut for young Rhys Hayter, the cousin of skipper Ryan.

There are high hopes for the teenager after some impressive displays for the third team and reserves this season.

And he is set to be involved again on Tuesday night when Bridport visit Bishop Sutton (7.30pm) in the second of four consecutive away fixtures.

Bees: S Filkins, J Filkins (Morley 70), Condliffe, Evans, Watts, Ry Hayter, Luke, Wise, Richardson (Rh Hayter 86), Dovell (Senior 80), M Buckler