Weston-super-Mare AFC walked away deserved 2-1 victors against Chippenham Town last night as heavy winds played torment during a battle of the birds in the Optima Stadium.
The Seagulls were the better team throughout the game but had to wait until a calmly converted 90th minute penalty from Reuben Reid gave them the win over The Bluebirds.
The penalty decision came after a great one two between Robbie Willmott and Lloyd Humphries released Kieran Thomas on a run into the box where the right back was tripped from behind, giving referee Neil Pratt no choice but to blow his whistle.
Reid stepped up calmly and buried the spot kick in the bottom left corner, it was the striker’s 11th goal of the season and he never looked like he was going to miss.
Despite their dominance in possession the game did not all go Weston’s way, in the first half Chippenham did look more dangerous.
Counter attacks and lofted balls over the top paired with the torrential wind meant the Bluebirds got in behind The Seagulls’ defence on a number of occasions, and in the 20th minute they capitalised.
A Weston clearance climbed and hung in the air until a shot found its way to Chippenham midfielder Tom Owen-Evans, who tucked the ball away to make it 1-0 to the visitors.
The game was evenly matched until the elements played a part in The Seagulls’ equaliser too.
Willmott’s in swinging corner on the stroke of half time flew high in the sky before sailing over Chippenham keeper Will Henry and being met by a series of attempted clearances.
A bizarre goal that had even the referee and linesman deliberating whether it had completely crossed the line, but it had, and the teams went in for half time even at 1-1.
The second half very much belonged to The Seagulls who played all their football in the opposition half and looked the far more likely of the two teams to score.
Willmott and Bailey Kempster were excellent on the wings for The Seagulls, both players were putting some great crosses into the box as well as coming short and playing short, simple football.
Midfielder Jacob Jagger Cane was brought into the starting 11 for the match against The Bluebirds and did everything on the pitch, working alongside Lloyd Humphries and James Dodd to run the midfield.
Chippenham did have a few more chances courtesy of their lightning-fast counter attacks but were stopped by Weston keeper Max Harris who was in fine form again and made a number of saves to keep his team in the game.
An unbelievable quadruple save minutes before Reid’s game winning penalty had fans watching in disbelief and a diving save in the very last seconds of injury time meant his team kept hold of a 2-1 lead, and three points, that they had worked so hard to get.
The Seagulls are next in action on April 13th at home to Aveley, the first of four games in a week to end the 2023/24 season.
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