Bridport fall short despite fightback (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Bridport fall short despite fightback

9:21am Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in The Bees By Adam Summers

Bridport 2 BITTON 3

TREVOR Senior hailed his side’s character after the Bees fought back from three down to nearly snatch a point against heavyweights Bitton.

Individual errors in the opening half had seemingly put last season’s runners-up out of sight at one stage but Bridport fought back and were unfortunate not to sneak a share of the spoils in the closing minutes.

Senior said: “It was the proverbial game of two halves.

“The first half started even but we then got caught out when an unfortunate slip by Shane Evans ended with one of their players robbing him and going on to make it 1-0.

“Sam Filkins then made some excellent saves, including a fine double stop which saw him push the second attempt on to a post, and I think that shook our confidence a bit.

“A misjudgement by Ryan Hayter then led to their second before the ball then hit him on the back whilst he was backtracking, allowing them to go on and grab a third.

“We could have been down and out at that stage but in the last 10 minutes of the half we fought hard and pulled one back through a fine strike from Chris Clarke from 25 yards.

“That gave us something to build on and after the interval we went out and dominated possession with Ben Clarke making it 3-2 with a superb shot from the edge of the box.

“We then went on to create a couple more chances with Ryan Dovell having a shot tipped over the bar and Matt Condliffe seeing an effort go just past the far post but unfortunately we were unable to force an equaliser.

“It was disappointing not to come away with something in the end but the reaction after half-time was excellent and I couldn’t have asked for any more.”

The loss may have brought an end to Bridport’s unbeaten start in the Toolstation Western Premier Division but Senior is still focusing on the positives.

He added: “It was an exciting game for the fans and although individual mistakes ended up costing us I think we can take quite a bit from it.

“Sam Filkins was fantastic between the posts, we created several chances and the fact we came away disappointed having not taken a point off the team that finished second last season says a lot.

“Our next game is at Longwell Green on Saturday which will be another tough one but we acquitted ourselves well against them last season and we will go their full of confidence.”

Bees: Filkins, Condliffe (Buckler 84), C Clarke, A Hill, Evans, Hayter, Legg (Peart 68), Wise (J Filkins 68), B Clarke, Dovell, Luke.

Man of the Match: Sam Filkins Attendance: 112