Under-18 County Cup first round

BRIDPORT 3 CHICKERELL UTD 1

FRESH from their Edwards Cup triumph, Bridport strolled through the first round of the County Cup against a Chickerell side who, though from Division Two, had made a good start to the season with three wins out of four games.

The home team, playing at Netherbury, quickly dominated the centre of midfield and soon exposed wide areas of space in the Chickerell defence.

A neat passing move ended at the feet of Jonah Ayunga who neatly slotted the ball into the back of the net.

Before long, Dan Holt sweetly struck a bouncing ball into the top corner and Bridport looked set to finish 2-0 up at half-time but some careless defending proved costly when a well-placed free-kick just outside the box left keeper Adam Hoskins with no chance.

However, there was never any serious doubt as to the outcome of the tie and Bridport were home and dry midway through the second half when substitute Harry Craddock tapped in a shot from close range with his first touch of the match.

Manager Terry Warren said: “It was a very good performance but, in truth, the opposition didn’t really test us; we can’t expect every round to be as easy.”

Under-18 League Division One

BRIDPORT 7 HAMWORTHY UTD 0

LEADERS Hamworthy United were brought crashing down to earth at Netherbury by an unstoppable Brid-port team who, with only two points from three games, started the day bottom of the table.

Right from the start, the visitors could not keep up with the pace and passing of the Bridport team and were soon 1-0 down when Jonah Ayunga rose unchallenged to head in a Fred Warren training ground corner.

Hamworthy, who had only conceded two goals in their previous four games, barely had a chance to draw breath before Ayunga danced past several stunned defenders to drill the ball low past the keeper for his second.

Every Hamworthy attempt to strike back was dealt with by a resolute home defence with Bradley Mullins, deputising for an unwell Tom Foul-sham, having his best game of the season.

Bridport continued to press and a wonder strike into the top corner from 25 yards by Tanaka Mawoneyi and a calmly despatched penalty from Sam Tabner saw a stunned and angry Hamworthy side head for the changing rooms 4-0 down at half-time.

Hamworthy’s Brazil-like meltdown was completed in the second half as they attempted to pack the midfield, leaving an open defence that invited Ayunga to deliver a second-half treble.

Terry Warren said: “We always knew it would take a few games to get into our stride but the quality of football this team is now delivering is, at times, quite breathtaking.

“We controlled every inch of the pitch – it was an awesome team performance.

“The boys and I would again like to thank Netherbury FC for their hospitality during our period of homelessness.”