Game 12: Street 2.3 Bristol Manor Farm (Western Premier) 21.08.10

Back in July I had earmarked this weekend for a trip on the train to Devon, taking in a match at Dawlish but that was on the assumption that it would be a bright, sunny day - ideal for wandering around the beach. When I woke up this morning I was greeted by grey clouds and rain so it was onto plan B and a drive down to Somerset to visit Street.

The A303 was fairly busy and by the time I was heading through Wincanton there had been several bands of heavy rain which didn't fill me with confidence for a dry afternoon watching football. As I drove down towards Street there was a glorious view of Glastonbury Abbey lit up in a burst of sunbeams in a break in the clouds. I parked the car up close to the ground next to a second pitch and wandered through the full carpark to the entrance.

The welcome was very friendly and the match programme was included in the £5 admission fee which was a nice touch. The entrance to the ground led me straight into the first covered area but after a quick stop to read the programme I decided to head round to the far side to watch the game. This was on the basis that there was a seated stand on that side for shelter should the heavens open again.

Before the match one of the home officials had been asking the players out on the subs bench for a couple of shirts in the normal substitute range which I thought was unusual. As the teams came out for the obligatory handshakes I noticed that Street hadn't got the normal 1-11 shirts on. One player was wearing number 19 while another had number 22 on.

Street have had the better start to the season and came close to taking the lead after only 2 minutes, only to see the final shot head over the bar. Bristol Manor Farm were under a lot of pressure early on but won a free kick after nine minutes which allowed them to bring the big men from the back up to the Street penalty area. The ball was worked into the 6 yard box but the header didn't find the target and went wide of the post.

Bristol Manor Farm were making the most of their set plays and came close to taking the lead after 13 minutes from a corner. The ball was hit high towards the area and the defender on the edge of the six yard box jumped but couldn't make contact with it. The first Bristol player behind him also missed the ball but his team mate in the centre was able to head it down but narrowly wide of the post.

The first goal of the match came in the 20th minute from the penalty spot after a Street defender brought down a visiting player with a late tackle. The keeper guessed the wrong way and dived to his left as the ball went low to the right side.

The defender's afternoon got worse 5 minutes later. On the halfway line he tried to play a pass from the centre to the left wing but hadn't spotted a Bristol forward lurking on that side. The Bristol player intercepted the pass and ran unchallenged into the Street penalty area.

As two defenders tried to catch him, he waited until the keeper committed himself and slotted the ball low past the keeper. The keeper managed to get a slight touch on the ball but it was not enough to deflect it wide and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Street managed to pull a goal back three minutes later from a freekick. The ball was hit high into the area and a player jumped up to head the ball backwards. It was enough to divert the ball over the keeper's head and into the goal via the far post.

The game was now really open and both teams were pressing forward as soon as they won the ball. Street's number 8 ran unchallenged to the edge of the area but mishit his shot well wide. Five minutes before half time they were unlucky not to equalise from a similar run and shot that cannoned back off the right post. Straight from the goal kick Bristol Manor Farm had a good chance with a breakaway run and a shot on the turn that flew across the area and wide.

The second half followed the same pattern of attacking play, both teams seeing long range efforts fly over the bar in the first five minutes. The Bristol keeper almost got caught out in the 55th minute when a back pass bounced higher than expected and almost took the ball over his head. He backpedalled quickly and grabbed the ball on the downward trajectory before it passed over the line.

Bristol had two clear cut chances to score in the 66th and 68th minutes. The first breakaway was halted by the referee's whistle for an earlier foul on a Bristol player which didn't go down well as the visitors would have preferred the advantage to be played. One of the players was booked for making his views known to the referee. The second came from a long throw but a defender got back in time to block the effort on goal.

With five minutes to go Bristol Manor Farm scored a third. A corner was cleared but only to a Bristol player on the right wing. He took the defence on before passing it to an onside team mate on the opposite side of the goal to tap the ball into the net.

Despite the two goal deficit Street were not prepared to give up and won a penalty themselves with three minutes of normal time to go. The Bristol keeper went running to the edge of the area to try and beat a Street player to a long ball but ended up taking out his opponent who went flying. Despite the protests from the spectators behind the goal, the referee only deemed it worthy of a yellow card. The penalty was a carbon copy of the first Bristol goal with the keeper diving to the left as the ball went to the right.

In injury time Street almost nicked an equaliser from a corner. The ball was flicked on to the far post but the shot was blasted over the keeper's hands and just cleared the crossbar. An entertaining game from my neutral perspective and an enjoyable afternoon out.