A BLISTERING Dan Wise strike could not prevent 10-man Bridport crashing out of the Les Phillips Cup at the hands of Willand Rovers, as the visitors turned the game on its head at St Mary’s Field.

Looking to end a run of four games without a win in all competitions, the Bees started brightly and Jamie Symes saw a header hooked off the line by a visiting defender on the quarter of an hour mark.

Bridport didn’t have to wait long until they opened the scoring, as Wise gathered a loose ball and thumped the ball into the net after 20 minutes to put them in the ascendancy, a shot which Bees’ boss Trevor Senior des-cribed as a contender for goal of the season.

But Rovers then started to press in search of a response, and they got it before the break when tenacity from Josh Wadham allowed the visitors to level things up.

Chris Senior then came close from a goalmouth scramble just after the break for the hosts, and the Bees then lost a man just past the hour, a decision that was crucial to the contest as a whole.

Sean Stewart, who had been booked for a foul in the opening period, was penalised for not retreating quickly enough by the match official, earning him his second caution and an early bath.

A man light, things got worse for the Bees when Matt Condliffe fouled his man in the area and Willand’s Dave Steele stepped up to convert the penalty to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

And in throwing men forward in a bid to level things up, Bridport were caught out once more in the final moments and Steve Orchard booked the Exeter outfit’s place in the next round.

Reflecting on the contest, Bees’ boss Senior said: “We gave them a way back in really.

“We are disappoint-ed, I think if it was 11 against 11 we would have been alright but going a man down was a big loss.

“They weren’t as good as when we played them before but we probably played better against them this time, we worked hard on set-plays and defended well.”

On Stewart’s dismissal, he added: “It changed the whole game really because we were down to 10 men and we didn’t have a threat going forward then.”

Bees: Weeks, Condliffe, Clarke, Hill, Senior (J Filkins 74), Ry Hayter, J Symes, Wise, Evans (A Symes 83), Stewart, Morley (Rh Hayter 74). Subs not used: Carter, T Gale

Man of the match: Dan Wise

Attendance: 84