Isthmian League South East Division, Sunday 14th April
As I did not do any football on Saturday (was off playing golf in Kent) I woke up this morning and decided to head over to Park View Road, Welling, for an important match in the Isthmian South East as hosts Erith & Belvedere were looking for a result and keep up their slim hopes of avoiding the drop, whereas visitors Three Bridges were looking for three points to confirm there play off spot in the post season.
Now the hosts sat bottom of the division, eight points from safety but with a much inferior goal difference, to technically nine points if truth be told, they did have a game in hand too, which was today's game, but they would have to do something they hadn't done since February 6th, win, as since they had defeated Hythe Town away on that date, they had not won since, that's nine games, taking only three points from a possible twenty seven, and they were up against a side with much differing fortunes.
Three Bridges sat in fifth, the final play off spot, and ironically since they lost on February 6th against Cray Valley PM at home, they had not lost a single game since, that is eleven games and they had taken twenty seven points from a possible thirty three, so to say the sides could not be more far apart in terms of form since that date in early February was stating the obvious you could say.
Nerves do funny things to sides though, and with the visitors needing three points to confirm their place in the post season play offs, maybe their would be some nerves, if they could not do it here then their last two games were fairly tough, so they wanted to get the job done as soon as possible so they could at least enjoy the final two games knowing they were definitely in the play offs, but up against a side playing freely knowing they had nothing to lose here, the result could easily go in the hosts favour, who knows?
However, when the sides did meet back on November 25th, Three Bridges netted a substantial 6-1 win at their Jubilee Field ground, so the hosts were hoping that was not to repeat itself again, but after The Deres had seen an early header cleared off the line (some thought it might have been with the defenders hand too), Noel Leighton, who netted a brace in that thumping in the corresponding fixture, gave the visitors a ninth minute lead when powering home a close range header from a visiting corner.
Advantage Three Bridges then, the hosts should have been in front, but now trailed, again, so they would have to muster some kind of energy and spirit from somewhere to keep their slim survival hopes going, they certainly had a lot of the ball in the opening half and did create another decent opening but saw visiting keeper Jordan Perrin save with his legs, Three Bridges were definitely not at their best but did do enough to get to the break a goal ahead and half way to confirming that play off spot.
Could The Deres fight back in the second half, well just like the first half their was plenty of effort and endeavour from them, but they just lacked that cutting edge up front, maybe a reason why they had only netted twenty three league goals all season and why they sat where they did, obviously defensively had been a problem too, the Three Bridges goal was the eightieth they had let in this season, in contrast the visitors were one of the highest scorers in the division, goals really do win games of football and kind of summed up why the sides were where they were in the table.
The hosts defensively were not to bad in this contest though if truth be told, and they limited their free scoring opponents to only a few openings, but with twelve minutes of the ninety to go, Three Bridges netted their second of the contest and the ninety-fourth league goal of their campaign (only second to leaders Ramsgate) when a free kick swung into the box was headed back across goal, finding it's way to Ibrahim Jalloh who had the simple task of finding the net, and with that clinch the points they needed to confirm their play off spot.
It had been hard work for them, but they did enough to get over the line in this one, the hosts, who just could not find that cutting edge up front as said, put in a lot of effort in this one, but once again came up short and with them effectively now nine points from safety because of their awful goal difference with just three games to go, it's looking bleak now and it will take the miracles of all miracles for them to not drop down to Step Five next season.
Full time Erith & Belvedere 0 Three Bridges 2
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