Game 34: Brislington 0.3 Bitton (Western Premier) 03.01.11

I had the choice of a number of games for my second match of the day. I decided to go to Brislington to watch their local derby with near neighbours Bitton, partly as it was a 3pm kickoff so I wouldn't have to rush off after the first match but also as the Google Maps photo indicated that there were three covered terraced sides and a large stand on the fourth side.

The drive from Longwell was straightforward and after a wait for a break in traffic on the A4 I was soon turning up the road to Brislington's ground. I parked next to the neighbouring cricket ground and decided to sit in the car for a while to keep warm and have some lunch. The decision to go to a covered ground looked like a good decision as there was no break in the cloud cover.

I decided to brave the freezing temperatures and wandered through the turnstiles to take some pictures of the ground. I think I was a bit optimistic as I was soon shivering and decided to take a tactical retreat to the clubhouse to warm up.

The first clear cut chance of the game fell to the visitors in the 10th minute. Brislington gave away a freekick in a central position on the edge of their area. The goalkeeper took his time to line up the wall but wasn't prepared when the ball flew over the wall. His only reaction was to stand and watch the ball as it flew under the centre of the crossbar and into the goal.

Bitton tried to increase their lead and came close a minute later with a shot that the home keeper had to react quickly to knock over the bar. Brislington's best chance came a couple of minutes later when the Bitton defence was caught out by their keeper's shout to leave the ball. He hadn't spotted a Brislington player running in on the ball and had to react quickly to get the ball clear.

Bitton began to dominate play and and the Brislington keeper pulled off a spectacular save after 24 minutes to keep his team in the game. Brislington almost benefited a couple of minutes later when they won a corner. The ball was played to the back post and a Brislington player rose highest to head the ball down towards the goal. It was on target but hit the keeper's legs and the ball was cleared. Five minutes later saw the Bitton keeper make a similar spectacular save to tip the ball over the crossbar.

As I wandered round the pitch at halftime I noticed that there was a real slope on the pitch that should have helped Brislington in the first half. I wondered whether this would help Bitton. They were helped by a Brislington slip after winning a dropball in the 50th minute but the resulting shot flew well wide of the goal.

There were a number of visiting supporters and they were incensed in the 56th minute when a late tackle left one of their team lying on the floor in pain and the referee didn't spot the challenge. They were cheering minutes later after a Bitton player broke down the left and played the ball across the defence to a teammate. He calmly hit a low shot past the dive of the keeper and in off the post.

Bitton continued to press and almost added a third goal in the 62nd minute when a shot hit a defender's leg to deflect it narrowly wide of the goal with the keeper stranded. The pressure continued and finally led to a goal in the 65th minute when they broke through the middle and hit a great shot to beat the keeper.

The snow from earlier had resumed and with the grey gloomy sky in the background the heavy flurries made it look like the game was being played in a snow globe. Brislington looked to have lost their way and it only took one of the subs moments to get booked after some back chat to the referee when a decision didn't go their way. The game really fizzled out as a spectacle and there weren't many chances. It looked as if the legs were beginning to tire in two teams that hadn't played a competitive match in over a month.

Brislington were trying to play long balls into the channels for their strikers to run onto but continually overhit the ball. They managed to create a couple of scoring opportunities when they changed this tactic. The first came in the 82nd minute when a great floated ball was played into the box and found an unmarked player. He should have buried the ball with a first time shot but allowed the keeper to come out and save the ball with his feet. A minute later and a freekick was hit over the wall but didn't dip down in time and landed on top of the netting behind the crossbar.

Bitton almost extended their lead in injury time. One of their substitutes worked the ball through the defence and slipped it past the keeper only to see the ball roll just wide of the right post. The referee brought the game to an end and I escaped to the car to get the heating on for the drive home.