Toolstation Western League: Bridgwater United 5-3 Wellington

A second half fightback failed to prevent Wellington AFC suffering a local derby defeat away to play-off hopefuls Bridgwater United last night (Tuesday).

It was the third tough game in eight days for Richard Cherry’s squad and they were unable to reproduce their excellent displays against the league’s top two, Falmouth Town and Helston Athletic.

The Tangerines looked a shadow of that side as they shipped three goals in a disappointing first half.

Bridgwater went ahead from their first effort on goal after 20 minutes when Adam Wright pounced on a loose ball to shoot home.

And it went from bad to worse before the break with two more clinical finishes, from Jay Murray and Jack Thorne.

That left Wellington with a mountain to climb in the second half, but they were in no mood to roll over, pulling back two goals – both put away in style by Joe Wragg after he ran on to through balls.

At 3-2 it was game on, but only briefly, as Bridgwater hit back with a quickfire double strike – Murray and Thorne doubling as the hosts proved lethal when given sight of goal.

In fairness to the visitors, they kept going and pulled another back near the end through a neat finish of their own, sub Rohan Poulsom scoring after being set up by Mark Cornish.

At the weekend resurgent Wellington saved their best performance of the season for their final home game with a shock victory over league leaders Helston Athletic at the Playing Field on Saturday, April 13.

It made amends for their midweek agony against second-placed Falmouth Town when another excellent display was foiled by an 86th minute winner.

This time, the Tangerines made no mistake – taking the lead just before half-time and then shutting out their high-riding visitors for the rest of the match.

Helston took the game to Richard Cherry’s side from the off, but Wellington again defended superbly and then stunned the title hopefuls by taking the lead.

Sully McKenna sent over a corner from the right and central defender Kieran Bailey, so impressive since signing from Westbury United, headed home unchallenged.

The Tangerines will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Oldland Abbotonians, who are only one place below them in the table.