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Late Tackle Magazine - Hullbridge Sports FC

Late Tackle Magazine - Hullbridge Sports FC

Dave Colmer7 Jun 2022 - 09:08
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https://www.hullbridgesportsfc

The Great Escape




Late Tackle magazine has kindly published my article on The Great Escape in the latest issue.
As a subscriber, I can highly recommend the magazine, full of weird and wonderful stuff on all things football. The magazine is available from Pocketmags.com, Magazine.co.uk and Newstand.co.uk. It can also be found at WH Smith (other good retailers may apply).


As the screenshot of the original article above is more than a challenge to read, I have recreated the text of the article below, your welcome!

THE GREAT ESCAPE
If this is the first time you’ve read the magazine, where have you been, what have you been doing! If you’re a regular reader, you may well have read the article on Hullbridge Sports FC in the last issue. To recap, the wife and I embarked on a new adventure following Hullbridge Sports in the Isthmian League North, following our recent move to Hullbridge in one of the greener parts of Essex.

Before we moved, I started following the team’s results online and quickly realised the lads were in a bit of trouble. Bottom of the league and finding it hard to get a win at Lower Road or anywhere else for that matter it was looking like a difficult season for the boys in blue & white. Still, there’s always hope - and despair…

After our house move just before Christmas, the time had finally come to watch the boys live, and would you believe it, they only went and won their first home game of the season as we watched on in delight - and yes, their season did start in August!
It was an emotionally charged day as tribute was paid to long-serving club stalwart Dennis Frost who, sadly, had recently passed away. A one-minute silence was respectfully observed. Wild celebrations in his honour took place when captain Tony Stokes, AKA Stokesy, thundered in an almost overhead kick to put The Bridge 1-0 up against Coggeshall Town. A late second-half penalty dispatched by Stokesy (who else?) sealed the victory.

The newly installed management team of Steve Southgate and Rob Moore made a lot of changes to the squad and got the boys performing well. Yep, why have one manager when you can have two!
The success against Coggeshall was followed by a 3-0 win over high flying Dereham Town, a good away draw at Stowmarket Town, and a 1-1 draw with Great Wakering Rovers, with a last-minute headed equaliser from tricky winger Joe Gregory.

The wife and I were beginning to think we were making the difference and were some sort of lucky mascots! Okay, she hadn’t ghosted in at the far post to score a header from a well-executed Kieran Bailey corner and I hadn’t dominated the midfield and threaded a defence-splitting through ball to Stokesy to dispatch in usual style but the run of results since we’d been Sports fans was more than impressive, so we’re taking some of the credit!
The results were good enough to give The Bridge a chance of survival. Cue Steve McQueen, that motorbike, and the iconic theme tune… the Great Escape was well and truly on!

Gregory was on a hot scoring streak and followed up his equaliser against Great Wakering with a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at Romford.
The team was now a stronger outfit with Albert ‘Albie’ Levett cultured in midfield and ably assisted by Joe Gardner, Bailey, Sam Brogan, and Ross Elsom. Abdus-Salam Salami was drafted in at right-back - surely every team should have a right-back named after their favourite Italian meat. It should be a UEFA/FIFA rule!
The experience of Luke Hornsley and, of course, the much-travelled Stokesy, was invaluable and big Roland Oteniya at the back was a vital addition and popped up with crucial goals from centre-half.

It was still going to be a rollercoaster ride though. Defeats to Hashtag United and Tilbury had us worrying once more but the boys bounced back with an away win at fellow strugglers Basildon United and a good 2-0 home victory over tough opponents Heybridge Swifts on Non-League Day.

The battle to avoid the drop had Romford, Barking, Witham Town, Basildon United, Great Wakering Rovers, and The Bridge all fighting it out. The Bridge had given themselves a decent chance but every Bridge fan was wondering if it would be enough…
An unlucky 1-0 defeat to Grays Athletic saw 16-year-old Freddie Hockey, on loan from Chelmsford City, make his debut and he scored in his next game as the boys took a vital 3 points with a 2-1 win at AFC Sudbury. With just four games to go, McQueen was revving up the motorbike and The Bridge were getting ready to clear the fence that faced them in the shape of Brentwood Town, Maldon & Tiptree, Dereham Town and Champions elect Aveley.
Just like Steve, we failed to clear the first obstacle, Brentwood Town, and lost 4-1 at home but we weren’t ready for ‘The Cooler’ just yet.

A nerve-tingling 3-2 home victory over Maldon & Tiptree was secured with a George Smith 85th minute goal amid scenes of jubilation - and then mild panic as Maldon made it 3-2 with a 90th-minute penalty.

Amidst all this, Stokesy had announced his impending retirement. His last game would be the final match of the season against Aveley. Could we take any more drama?
Well, we could if it meant a 1-0 away victory over Dereham Town with the aforementioned Roland scoring the winner - and suddenly that was it. The Bridge had completed The Great Escape.
Unlikely, impossible but ultimately achievable as Romford & Barking dropped down and Witham were left to win a nerve-jangling play-off against Saffron Walden Town.

The last day of the season draw with Champions Aveley was a special day for Stokesy as his goalscoring career came to an end and he now moves on to showing others how to do it with his ‘The Art of Finishing’ coaching sessions.
A goal in his final game would have been fitting and he came close, but the Aveley keeper made a great save to spoil the moment, boo!

For The Bridge and their fans, it was the calm after the storm. The boys finished in an amazing 16th place, unthinkable when you looked at the situation back in darkest December.
Next season the club celebrates its 75th anniversary and hopes are high that the boys will be looking up instead of down at the league table each week. Let the next adventure begin!

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