Sports Report - The Bridge 1 Takeley 2

As I have said before, I never envisaged a seven-game losing streak when way back on the 9th of March we went to Clacton and won 5-2 with some top-quality finishing. To then go seven straight games and seven straight defeats is difficult to explain. As you’re reading this it probably means you know Hullbridge and football quite well and therefore won't be surprised but, equally, you may be a little stunned that the results have gone that way, and our season has drifted away into a lower mid-table finish.

The story of Saturday was a similar one to what we have seen recently, despite me dragging the wife along to help out. She is usually a Hullbridge lucky charm but even she could not work her magic and the game ended in another defeat to a lower-placed opponent who, on the day, looked the better of the two sides.

The balance of play, especially in the first half, was in the visitor's favour and they had some influential players in Kieran Southgate, Jordan Wescott, Glenn O’Hanlon, Bobby Badham, and Jamal Obeng, so when you look at those five and decent contributions from the remaining team members it’s not surprising that it was a good day for Takeley.

For The Bridge though, the game started well, and it took just five minutes to establish a lead when a ball back to keeper Joe Walker saw Zayshaun Asamoah make the most of an error by the Takeley number one as they clashed and Zayshaun came away with the ball and tapped home for an early lead.

Keiran Southgate had looked lively and was wide with a shot even before The Bridge took the lead and he should have made it 1-1 shortly after the Hullbridge opener when he met a cross but headed wide. If this was a warning though, The Bridge didn’t take heed of it and several Takeley efforts followed with Glenn O’Hanlon high and wide with a shot, a cross well caught by Bradley Davison, and then a last-ditch block by Mike Agboola as the visitors pressed for the equaliser. Ex-Bridge man Bobby Badham swung in a deep corner to the back post and it went over everyone but not captain O’Hanlon who headed home to make it 1-1.

As Takeley continued to control the game, The Bridge were struggling to get anything going and the dangerous Southgate had another attempt but was flagged for offside. Suddenly a through ball to Charlie Allum set him free but Davison made a good save to thwart him and Takeley were on top and most of the action was aimed at the Hullbridge end. As the half continued, Takeley had a couple of free-kicks cleared by Mike Agboola and Jon Evans and one touched over by Bradley Davison but, strangely, no corner was given despite Brad’s tip-over. Bradley was given a yellow card though as he kicked the ball away after nearly getting caught in possession whilst clearing another Takeley attack.

The half-finished level after Zayshaun Asamoah flicked on to Jason Banton, who was not having one of his better days but I was trying to convince the wife that he was a really good player, and he weaved into the box and his shot was going in until blocked by Louis Hiobi. As the wife and I continued to discuss the merits of Jason (Banton not Coss!) the referee blew for half-time and it was time for a Guinness!

If we hoped for a Hullbridge transformation in the second forty-five, and we did, our hope was in vain as Takeley continued their first-half performance and, although the balance of play levelled up, the wife was not impressed and declared Takeley the better side on the day and I couldn’t disagree!

The Bridge did have some crosses into the box cleared but Brad kept us in the game when he saved well from a Glenn O’Hanlon shot and It could have paid dividends as Owen Bellamy’s cross produced a Mason Williams shot that was going in but was then blocked for a corner. A Jason Banton free-kick went into the Takeley wall, which didn’t help my “Banton is a good player” cause as the wife raised her eyebrows. Deep into injury time another Williams shot was deflected for a corner, and Joe Walker punched it away and that was it…the end of the last home game and the continuation of that losing streak.

On a day of ‘lasts’, it was Ant and Dec’s last ever Saturday night Takeaway but this was a Saturday afternoon Takeley away as the visitors went home with the points! Whilst the zany Geordies launched into their ‘end of the show, show’, there was no end of the show, show at Lower Road…just the end.

As the wife and I headed off for our own Saturday night takeaway from the fish ‘n’ chip shop, it all felt a little bit flat but football never stays the same for long and we’ve got one more chance to stop the run at Buckhurst Hill and then we’ll go again, presumably in the ESL, next season…still think Jason Banton is a good player though!
You know the rest…


Brad has been in good form of late, despite the recent run of results, and made some good saves in this one that kept The Bridge in contention. It was another of those games where the opposition had the better of the match and nobody in Blue and White shone but our man in pink did (literally!) and mostly kept Takeley at bay and that's good enough for me...played Brad.