Saturday 11th September 2021 – Aveley 0 The Bridge 0
Tuesday 14th September 2021 – The Bridge 1 Felixstowe & Walton United 4
Saturday 18th September 2021 – Canvey Island 1 The Bridge 1
League position as at 29th September 2021: 19th – points 2

As we moved into month two of the season, there was some improvement from a difficult August and the boys put themselves on the board points-wise with two draws from their three matches. The points came against good quality opponents too and away from home with a 0-0 against Aveley and a 1-1 against Canvey Island who would both end the season promoted from the ILN. A disappointing 1-4 home defeat to Felixstowe & Walton United showed how inconsistent the boys were at this stage of the season and the team lineups were not really settled which was probably reflected in the results, but two good points made it a decent month and gave hope for the rest of the season as we looked towards month three. Meanwhile, here’s how month two went.

ILN Saturday 11th September 2021 – Aveley 0 The Bridge 0
Team: 1 Luca Collins 2 Rhamar Garrett-Douglas 5 Dexter Peter 6 Gregory Frederick 8 Lewis Watson 9 Charlie Cole 10 Anthony Martin 12 Callum Thompson 14 Samuel Brogan 15 Nathan Scarborough (Matthew Rose 53') 19 Mike Agboola
Subs: 3 Matthew Rose 4 Jamal Allen 7 Jake Knight 11 Joao Miguel Martins Pais De Carlos 16 Alex Moss

An unexpected first point of the season came our way as the boys earned the point with a 0-0 at Parkside. As we now know, Aveley would go on to achieve great things and eventually were promoted as ILN champions. However, this was a good early season performance from The Bridge who matched their illustrious opponents and bagged their first point of the season.

ILN Tuesday 14th September 2021 – The Bridge 1 Felixstowe & Walton United 4
Team: 1 Luca Collins 4 Jamal Allen (Jake Knight 57') 5 Dexter Peter 6 Gregory Frederick 8 Lewis Watson 9 Charlie Cole (Nathan Scarborough 73') 10 Anthony Martin (Michael Mignot 53') 12 Callum Thompson 14 Samuel Brogan 11 Joao Miguel Martins Pais De Carlos 19 Mike Agboola
Subs: 3 Matthew Rose 7 Michael Mignot 15 Nathan Scarborough 16 Alex Moss 17 Jake Knight

Off the back of the Aveley result could the boys continue the upward trend against F&W United? Well, no was the answer to that one as we slumped to a disappointing 1-4 home defeat. It was a worrying start to the season with now just one point from five matches. With 151 cheering the boys on, Joao Miguel Martins Pais De Carlos (a name just made for copy/paste) put the boys one up after half an hour. This was as good as it got though, as our opponents hit back with two before half time and a further two in the second half to leave the boys on one from five.

ILN Saturday 18th September 2021 – Canvey Island 1 The Bridge 1
Team: 1 Luca Collins 2 Rhamar Garrett-Douglas 3 Matthew Rose 5 Dexter Peter 6 Gregory Frederick (Charlie Cole 67') 7 Michael Mignot 8 Lewis Watson 11 Joao Miguel Martins Pais De Carlos 14 Samuel Brogan 15 Nathan Scarborough (Mike Agboola 90') 16 Alex Moss
Subs: 4 Jake Knight 9 Charlie Cole 12 Callum Thompson 19 Mike Agboola

Match three saw the boys back on form as they ran The Islanders close and gained a draw and a second point of the season. The Bridge were unfazed by having to cross the bridge onto the island and salvaged the point in the ninety-second minute with a Joao Miguel Martins Pais De Carlos penalty to equalise after CI had taken an eighty-fifth-minute lead. Two points against the highflyers gave us hope but still left us in 19th with two from six as we looked forward to better things in the coming months.

If it were a song, it would be: Wake me up when September ends (Green Day).

Tune in next time for Part 3 – October 2021.
As the days become darker, would results do the same?