CLEVEDON TOWN 2 BRIDPORT 4

A FOUR-GOAL blitz in the opening half at Clevedon Town ensured Bridport secured their first league victory in 2016 at the third time of asking.

Goals from Mark Salter (2), Tom Richardson and Jamie Beasley, ensured the St Mary’s Field side ended a run of three straight defeats in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division – a record which stretched all the way back to their loss at Street on Boxing Day.

In the absence of manager Trevor Senior, Mark Carter took control of the side in their test against struggling Clevedon, whose second half goals came through Nick Lawton and Sam Groves.

Carter told Echosport: “We were very commanding with the wind in the first half but I said to them at half-time ‘obviously it’s going to be our turn now, we have to defend high’.

“Instead of trying to play football they just kept pumping it long which played to our advantage, it just kept running through.

“In the second half, we played some great football and, even though we didn’t score we could have come away with about nine goals if we had taken our other chances.”

With the wind in their favour in the first half, Bridport raced into a four-goal lead.

On four minutes, Chris Clarke and Beasley linked up well down the left flank which allowed the ball to be delivered into striker Salter, who glanced a header which looped over the Clevedon keeper to make it 1-0.

Beasley then whipped in a free-kick from wide which Richardson headed home into the bottom corner to double the Bees’ lead.

Buoyed by his start to the afternoon, Beasley then got on the scoresheet himself. He struck a free-kick which sailed into the net on 25 minutes to put the Bees well in the box seat.

And Salter then added his second of the afternoon. The Bridport frontman got himself on the end of a cross from Richardson as the Bees ran riot.

And, despite conceding directly from a Lawton free-kick and a Groves corner as the breeze played its part for the hosts in the second period, the contest was already put to bed by Bridport.

Youngster Tom Blair also hit the bar in the second half for the Bees and Salter came within inches of notching his hat-trick.

The Bees did however lose Alan Hill to a hamstring problem.

Bees: Weeks, Evans, Hill (Blair), Hayter, Clarke, Condliffe, Senior (S Gale), Peach, Richardson, Beasley (Diaz), Salter