ROMAN GLASS ST GEORGE 2

Wentland 22, Oni 40

BRIDPORT 3

Clark 15, Butcher 24, 79

TWO goals from returning winger Ed Butcher helped Bridport secure a first win for four games with a 3-2 victory at relegation-threatened Roman Glass St George.

Prior to kick-off, the Bees had welcomed Butcher back from Street on a permanent basis as the West Dorset club looked to halt a chastening run of seven defeats in eight Toolstation Western League Premier Division matches.

Adam Fricker’s men got off to a superb start on the 3G as Sam Clark opened the scoring in the 15th minute.

Butcher was the spark, his cross flicked towards goal by Mark Salter who was unlucky to see his shot brilliantly saved by the Glass keeper, only to fall to Clark who tucked his chance away at the back post.

The Gloucestershire side were behind for only seven minutes as their repeated tactic of long balls finally paid dividends.

Bees’ centre-backs Chris McGrath and Luke King were caught out as Lewis Wentland stole in before clinically finishing past Jason Hutchings from a one-on-one situation.

However, the impressive Butcher had other ideas as Bridport retook the lead just two minutes later.

Drifting into midfield, Butcher ran at the Glass defence, bursting through 40 yards out and using his considerable pace to go one-on-one with the keeper before slotting underneath the gloveman.

Having played a significant role in both Bees’ goals, Butcher was then culpable for the hosts’ second equaliser as he was caught in possession, allowing Ken Oni to drive forward and lash past Hutchings five minutes before the interval.

In a scrappy game of few chances, Bridport replaced Dec Cornish with Leighton Thomas due to a broken arm, while Clark was replaced by James Cox owing to a slight knee issue.

Glass squandered two half-chances before Butcher scored directly from a corner, only for it to be ruled out for a foul on the keeper.

Yet Butcher grabbed the winner almost identically, whipping in a corner that proved too hot to handle, the keeper spilling his delivery over the line.

Speaking to the Bridport News post-match, Fricker was relieved at receiving good fortune.

He said: “We got that little bit of luck that we were desperately needing.

“For us, it was about getting the three points. The performance – we need to work on that because we’ve had two unsatisfactory performances in the last two games.

“But most importantly we got the three points on the board, hopefully that will give us confidence.”

Bees: Hutchings, Peach, King, McGrath, Martin (Wood 70), Symes, Andrews, Cornish (Thomas 46), Clark (Cox 55), Butcher, Salter.