Bridge (over troubled) Water

There is a cliche that you get what you deserve it football and today we didn't deserve anything.

With the exception of an Invincible Arsenal team - teams that win the league are by the law of averages alone are going lose sometime and bound to get an off day.

Today, was our off day - we were pretty average at best.

In fairness to Bridgwater they came with a game plan, stuck too it and came away with the all three points.

Their game plan was gamesmanship which is the fine line between tactical brilliance and cheating.

In reality , we could have had Bradley sent off and probably deserved to be 2 - 0 down and to 9 on field personal,after the normally mild mannered Gav-Fin turned into a 'Hammerhead' shark .

I agree with KPT that in all honesty we have not really played well since Newman left.

It has destabilised the team a little - as did the missing effervesence of Kris Leek today.

Whatnis done is done- we have to move on.

But in view of our ten point cushion, it was always likely to result in us being off kilter at some point, as it is difficult to focus when so far ahead of the opposition.

From bitter experience, I know that you learn more from one defeat than a hundred victories.

Today, our rookie team learnt that even with ten men , we were a better footballing side than Bridgwater whose tactics stunk worse than their canal.

We also learned by winning away at Evesham & Clevedon that we can win ugly and to win our league takes more than playing pretty attractive football at home.

We ARE missing a midfield general , as a link between defence and attack but today was merely a blip - and a wake up call to arms for the players that there are teams that will use guile to outwit a superior footballing team and full credit to their team as they deserved to beat us on the day, of course with a little help from the Man in Black in the Middle.

We may today have lost a battle but over a season a team of this calibre will win the war.

I would like to think that we are more cultured and refined than to have to resort to rolling about on the floor like we have been tasered or suffered from CJD.

The referee too looked as if he had also been tasered - as he was also shocking.

Man of the Match to me was their number 8 , as his wind up tactics turned the game in favour of the away side.

It wasn't that he was a decent footballer- the Bridgwater equivalent of dermatitis , got under our players skin from the off, rattled our ex- professional and effectively won them a game they would not have won 11 v 11 .

On a positive note, I thought our ten men outplayed their superior numbered opponents for over an hour and in the end had their keeper and a giant stroke of luck for their victory .

On a positive note, Rewbury was the stand out performer for the Martyrs at the back and all three substitutes looked lively.

Mattie ' the Hitman' Harris found a chest cavity their keeper didn't possess before the game, whilst Kerry 'Cameo' Morgan tantalised the Bridgey defence for the short time he was on the pitch and should have got us level,at least once with his creative abilities.

Ryan Hair outjumped their lofty defence throughout the second half winning more flick ons and created a lot of panic in the Somerset side, who played with more heart, desire and guts than any side we have played this far.

Regrettably even Andre The Giant couldn't manage to get us out of this Gav-made hole.

Even if their hard man , kick-it -if it moved tactics showed in the colour of their cards why they are nicknamed ' the yellows' , this will become a somewhat hollow victory , as it will be the young Martyrs who learn more from this result and ultimately who pick up the silverware at the end of the season with Bridgwater left to rue another season of what might have been .

We will find our inner Tigger.

We will bounce back.

We will be back on the right 'lines' away at Didcot next week - when normal service will be resumed.

Consistency wins leagues not gamesmanship.

Roll on next Saturday- as the players will be fired up more than a Dubai sky scraper .

Boz

I thought it was a bridge to far myself.

Glad to see you are back with a vengeance Ownes.....Boz