The Bridge FA Vase run began with a win at Long Melford on Saturday and there’s a long way to go but, as ESL sides Romford and Great Wakering proved last season, it can be done so all you can do is construct that run to Wembley and hope for the best.

To be honest, it was probably a good time to meet Long Melford as they were in a bit of an injury crisis with eight players missing from their regular starting line up and goalkeeper Matt Walker, who did start, suffering from injury as well (more on that later). There was little between the two teams really and, indeed, Melford had chances in the first half to take the lead but were thwarted by a solid performance by Bridge centre-half Ollie Jenkins aided and abetted by goalkeeper Luis Shamshoum.

Early on Melford attacked the Bridge goal and Keiron Reddin and Reuben Chinnery were causing problems with their pace and movement but The Bridge defence stayed strong and Ollie Jenkins was having a very good game in the middle of that Bridge back line.
On 24 minutes though, it was The Bridge who had the best chance so far in the game when Louie Hunt couldn’t quite find the target from six yards. Before this piece of action, Melford had a chance to take the lead but Keiron Reddin shot wide and soon after Ben Judge had his shot saved by Luis Shamshoum. It would be The Bridge who broke the deadlock though as a defensive back header never quite made it to keeper Walker and Freddie Moriaty nipped in and lobbed Walker for a 1-0 lead to the visitors.

The rain that had been steadily falling had an impact on the game when keeper Matt Walker slipped on the wet surface and injured his groin. Walker saw out the rest of the half but was replaced for the second half by defender Ben Humphreys as the home side had no spare keeper on the bench. Before this, there was a flurry of action when Louie Hunt was injured and had to be replaced by Jack Hauser who was next on the scoresheet in late first-half injury time. A second Melford defensive error saw a miskick in the box and the ball fell to Jack who tucked home number two after being on the field just 4 minutes. Half time came soon after and The Bridge had a healthy 2-0 lead.

Melford began the second half with Humphreys the stand-in goalkeeper and with three substitutions, in an attempt to get themselves back into the game. For The Bridge, the second half would be a case of holding onto what they had as they aimed for a safe passage through to Qualifying Round 2. The home side forced several corners as they tried in vain to reduce the margin but the best chance probably fell to Jake Wiggins whose shot shaved the crossbar. A third goal for The Bridge would have put the game to bed but, even without that third, the visitors had done enough to progress to the next round.

That next round will see The Bridge visit Potton United, as they did last season when they were victorious 3-1 in the FA Vase Round 1. A repeat result would be very welcome. So, the FA Vase journey has begun and we hope it continues for as long as possible. Wembley? Imagine that, watching the Bridge in a cup final at Wembley! I know it seems like a dream but it probably did for Romford and GWR last season, so anything is possible! In the meantime…

A solid performance from dependable centre-half Ollie. He’s put in some good performances this season and come close to a MOM award and this time he gets the award that he’s been getting closer and closer to. Excellent performance mate, well played.