Wrington Redhill 2-1 Minehead

ANOTHER away game saw restricted availability of players when Minehead travel to third placed Wrington Redhill who are actively chasing promotion to the Premier Division.

To their great credit The Blues turned in a competitively good performance and could easily have come away from the ground with a draw.

The major difference between the two sides was the quality shown by Wrington’s two young central strikers Reece Ferguson-Obamwonyi and Joe Creese but in fairness they were kept in check well by central defenders Mike Graddon and Stephen Lynch, with keeper Kyran Wilkins again proving particularly difficult to beat.

The Blues first real attempt on goal was a central shot from Rob Vickers which opposing keeper Matt Hill initially fumbled, was an early marker that Minehead were not there to roll over, but they did fall behind after twenty-two minutes when Fergusson-Obamwonyi’s shot at goal took a wicked deflection giving Wilkins no chance.

Experienced Western League and County League player Leigh White, now expertly playing his captain’s role as a deep sweeper, was the kingpin in the home side’s defence and another home attack needed a goal-line clearance Graddon, followed seconds later by a fine save from Wilkins at the foot of the post.

Minehead were attacking with good frequency themselves and Hill did well to tip Rob Vickers’ shot onto the crossbar. Wejnerowski kept the ball live rather than let it run out for a corner and centred to Kamil Wilk in a good position but his shot screwed wide.

Early in the second half a pot-shot from 21 yards by midfielder Ryan Pugh made it two nil, but Minehead refused to give in with the game continuing to be evenly competed.

Ten minutes from time Rob Vickers gave The Blues a deserved lifeline when he cut into the box, beat a defender and shot home from an acute angle to make it anxious for Wrington in the final period of the game.  

Switching to three at the back with Mike Graddon pushing on as a central striker, Minehead just failed to steal a point, but the performance was both commendable and encouraging under the circumstances.

Minehead: Kyran Wilkins, Bertie Harvey-Larmar, Charlie Disney, Steve Lynch, Mike Graddon, Dan Vickers, Kamil Wilk, Hubi Wejnerowski, Guy Burns, Rob Vickers, Sam Heath. Sub: Artur Jacaszek, (Used).

The Blues have two away trips this coming weekend, firstly travelling to Ashton & Backwell Reserves on Saturday 29th April where they will be hoping to record a league double over their opponents who are currently four points below them having played the same number of games.

Then on Bank Holiday Monday they visit 4th placed Somerton Town, who in recent years have been a consistently strong side.