Totterdown’s title bid rocked by defeat to Winterbourne

WINTERBOURNE United arguably saved their best performance of the Premier Division season for their final game at the expense of a Totterdown United team taking a potential title hit.

It all began well enough for the second-placed hosts, who looked full of zest after taking the lead through Mike Rimmer’s penalty.

Winterbourne entered the interval level, however, as Dan Brown headed home at the far post.

With the slope now in their favour, Totterdown started the second half confidently, only for their determined opponents to forge ahead as Matt Ellery slid in to convert at the back stick.

Both sides had further chances, while Bourne goalkeeper Jack Dando did well with a couple of smart stops.

It got better for his team as wingback Reece Packer sealed a 3-1 success for Winterbourne 10 minutes from time with a fierce effort into the far corner of the net, to wrap up three splendid points and hoist his side into fourth spot for now.

Totterdown chairman Steve Thomas accepted: “We didn’t take the initiative after going in front and instead allowed Winterbourne back into the game.

“Although we had a lot of the ball, we didn’t create much and they went on to deservedly win.”

Totterdown approach their final three games, starting with the visit to Norton Lane by AEK-Boco Reserves on Saturday (2.30pm), knowing they may well need to win them all to stand a chance of catching Cribbs Reserves leaders who did their own prospects of seizing the Prem crown a power of good thanks to a dramatic 3-2 victory at Boco.

While the Greenbank Road hosts had Bayley Rudge and Cory Langdon on target sending them into a 2-0 lead, below-par Cribbs, who were due to play their penultimate game last night at Nicholas Wanderers before wrapping up an exciting and potentially successful league campaign at home to Shaftesbury Crusade this Saturday (2.30pm), somehow prevailed with Aaron Coleman’s effort, Andy Forward’s penalty and James Crossley-John’s stoppage-time strike.

David Chinnick was a satisfied co-manager as his in-form Shaftesbury Crusade side made it a second win on the spin with a “great performance” and 8-3 home romp over a youthful Seymour United outfit, who had James Lau and Jack Deacon among their marksmen.

Crusade did so via Rhys Iles four goals, a Clinton Wilson double plus Calum Lovell and Ibro Ibrahim efforts to ensure confidence levels were raised ahead of Saturday’s enticing Cribbs away-day.

Chinnick said: “Some of the goals were speculative, two of which were 30-yard top corner efforts. It all made for a very happy team afterwards.”

Resurgent Mendip Broadwalk Reserves kept their Division One survival hopes alive with a fourth straight win, a 3-0 home victory over Shirehampton Reserves.

They did so via Henry May’s header, a Rhys Hickery effort and late strike by Jack Medjedoub to wrap up three more valuable points for battling Broadwalk. Their promising 16-year-old Charlie Marsh almost marked his home debut with a goal too, as his 25-yard rocket cannoned back off the crossbar.

On the occasions Shire did get a sight at the Mendip goal, they were denied by the type of sound defending that led to three straight clean sheets for Broadwalk.

It was a stirring run in the circumstances that ended on Tuesday night as guests St Nicholas returned to the summit via a 2-0 victory, as an enthralling scrap for supremacy with Bradley Stoke Town continued unabated.

Meanwhile, relegation-threatened De Veys described their 1-0 win at Greyfriars as “a massive one;” and small wonder they felt that way.

De Veys cast to one side four straight and potentially damaging defeats by claiming three crucial points handed them by Archie Taylor’s goal.

It proved a painful watch for Greyfriars boss Benni McCarthy, who said: “Their ‘keeper had a blinder while we must have missed 40-odd chances. It was one of those days for us.”

While De Veys remain second from the foot of the table, they could still nail a place outside the bottom two on goal difference with victory in their final game at home to Cribbs A on Saturday (2.30pm).

That’s providing Nicholas Wanderers Reserves, third from bottom and three points ahead of De Veys, go down in their last outing on Saturday week at Wick Reserves, and bottom team Oldland Abbotonians Reserves don’t make good use of a significant four fixtures still to be played.

DRG SV Frenchay powered to a third straight victory courtesy of a 5-2 away defeat of a Cribbs A outfit registering with Andy Capon and Chris Cook goals. The win, delivered by deadly Dylan Quick’s four-timer and Jack Sheppard-Cozens’ single contribution, catapulted DRG into third place on goal difference.