Published: Tuesday, 19th August, 2008 14:00
Perfect start for Bracknell
By Chales Watts
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Bracknell Town 2 Bridgwater Town 1
Ben Edwards during Bracknell's fine 2-1 win over Bridgwater at the weekend.
BRACKNELL Town got their Southern League campaign off to the best possible start last Saturday with a superb 2-1 win against highly fancied Bridgwater Town.
The victory was made all the more impressive as the Robins had to come from behind to earn the win which was sealed with a controversial goal from Dean Thomas, who struck with his first touch having come on as a substitute.
Manger Byron Walton was delighted with his side’s display and insisted his players got exactly what their performance deserved.
He said: “It was a great start. I thought Bridgwater showed they were a very good team but we deserved the win.
“We got at them and didn’t really let them settle. We passed the ball well and scored two good goals.
“It’s just the start we wanted as it’s always very nice to get three points on the board early.”
Bracknell’s preparations going into the game were hardly ideal as pre-season regulars Billy Sentence and Myron Ramsey were released while Rory Jenkins also left the club by mutual consent.
Walton made sure he had replacements lined up, however, and new signings Tom Taylor, Connor Hamilton and Otis Williams all went straight into the starting XI.
Taylor is a goalkeeper who has arrived from Havant & Waterlooville and last season he was an unused sub in the club’s glory day at Anfield in the third round of the FA Cup.
Hamilton has come in on a one month loan from Farnborough Town to bolster Walton’s options in central midfield while Williams is a right winger who spent last season at Rochdale.
The pacey midfielder is at Larges Lane on a non-contract basis but Walton hopes he will stick around and help the club build on their strong start.
“It wasn’t the best preparation going into a game,” Walton admitted. “Billy asked to be released because he wanted more first team opportunities and Rory and Myron were the same.
“It was a shame because they’d been with us through pre-season but we’ve got a squad of 19/20 here now and keeping everyone happy is going to be difficult.
“But we’ve got some more new faces in and they all did well. I’m happy with what I’ve got here now although I’m not ruling out bringing anyone in, it depends who becomes available.”
With so many new faces in the side it was no surprise that the first half was a relatively scrappy affair with few chances created by either side.
That all changed early in the second half when Matt Pitcher headed Bridgwater into the lead four minutes after the break.
It was harsh on Bracknell but they hit back almost immediately when Keith Newbie curled a superb 25-yard free-kick over the wall and into the corner to level things up.
Newby went close to adding another but saw a second free-kick saved by Stuart Ward before Walton introduced Thomas from the bench for the final 10 minutes.
And the move proved to be a masterstroke as the striker, who had been suffering with flu all week, prodded the ball past Ward after a Newby free-kick had deflected into his path.
Bridgwater were furious that the goal was allowed to stand as the linesman had flagged for offside but the referee over-ruled his assistant as the last touch before the ball reached Thomas had come off a visiting player.
Walton said: “It was a controversial goal but I was too far away to really comment on it. On the balance of play though I would say we deserved a bit of luck.
“It was great to see the lads come back from going a goal behind. I think it was very important that we hit back so quickly.”
On Thomas introduction, Walton added: “It was touch a go whether he would play because he’d been ill all week.
“On Friday he rang and said he would sit on the bench if I wanted so I decided to include him.
“We only had about 10 minutes to go so I thought I’d throw him in and he did what he does best. It was a great win and the perfect start for us. The lads were fantastic.”
Bracknell: Taylor, Dexter, Kennedy, Buck, Baker, Newby, Harvey, Williams, Hamilton, Edwards, Nuako. Subs used: Clarke, Thomas
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