MERLINS BRIDGE 2

MANORBIER 4

With a bare 11 players travelling to play Merlins Bridge last Saturday, Manorbier put up a battling performance to come home winners by four goals to two.

This win has moved Manorbier up another position in the league table.

Against a side of several six-foot-plus players, Manorbier knew it had to be kept on the deck. With the midfield of Austyn John and David Blackwell, they did just so.

Manorbier were under a bit of pressure in the first 20 minutes as the Bridge put lots of long balls through, but several goal line clearances, notably by Deano Hamilton, kept the game without score.

The breakthrough came after some Manorbier pressure when James Hall was put through by a sublime Austyn John pass to beat the 'keeper; a welcome goal for Hall, who has not scored of late.

With their tails up, Manorbier went on to add another after James Hall hit the ball into the 'keeper and Paul Maytum finished off the rebound from 12 yards.

A penalty appeal was turned down and a magnificent save from Maytum kept the score 2-0 to the visitors at half-time.

With Manorbier playing into the sun and up the hill, they knew the second half wouldn't be easy. Merlins Bridge pushed one their big centre backs up front to cause problems to Dean Hamilton and Liam Robson in defence. Manorbier came under the cosh and Merlins Bridge pulled back two goals in the first 20 minutes.

The game was poised for a grandstand finish at 2-2 with a quarter of the game to go. The turning point came when a man mountain from Merlins Bridge was heading for a one-on-one collision with Tom Christopher in goal; a certain goal it looked - but Tom rushed out and bravely poleaxed the forward whilst getting the ball. A great save.

This seemed to spur Manorbier on. Liam Robson took the opportunity to push up front and low and behold, he scored a beauty to put Manorbier 3-2 up with 10 minutes to go.

Bridge put a barrage of high balls into Manorbier's box in an attempt to equalise, but their defence and 'keeper held strong.

Manorbier sealed the win with James Hall getting his second after some good approach play by Maytum and Blackwell.

Overall, a pleasing result for Manorbier, a ground out win that moves them above Solva in the division. This result shows there has been a marked improvement in the Manorbier team of late, while a top-half finish must be the aim, with a possible push for promotion next season?

Team: Tom Christopher (9), Sam Ormond (8), John Squires (7), Dean Hamilton (7), Liam Robson (8), Dave Blackwell (8), Austyn John (8), Robbie Thomas (7), Jimmy Nicholas (7), James Hall (8), Paul Maytum (8).

Big thanks to Barney for running the line, plus an 'assalomu alaykum!' for our loyal fan in Uzbekistan, who reads this report online every week.

Tomorrow (Saturday), Manorbier United are at home to Fishguard Sports, with a 2.30 pm kick-off.