HAM BRINGS HOME BACON
AGOAL in the first period of extra time by the excellent Callum Ham, his second of the game, earned Bridgwater a thrilling win over St Austell, who just two years before reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase.
It was just a shame that one side had to end the 120 minutes as losers, after serving up some cracking fare in the Cornish sunshine, in what must have been one of the ties of the round.
It was certainly not a day for defences in an end-to-end match full of incident.
Relieved Bridgwater joint manager Karl Baggaley spoke of his pride as his side came out just on top of an enthralling contest.
He said: “It was not a game for defenders, but for the neutrals it was great. There were some very good goals out there.
“We got through and I am very proud of the boys, especially as we are a bit short of players at the moment for various reasons.
“We were brilliant going forward and scoring five goals away from home is fantastic.
“All I wanted was for them to come off and leave nothing out there and they certainly did.”
It was the Western League Premier Division visitors who got off to a flying start, taking the lead after only seven minutes as Ham struck a sumptuous free-kick from the edge of the box over the wall and into the net, leaving Lillywhites’ keeper Jason Chapman helpless.
But the goal provoked a strong response from the hosts and their pressure finally told after 25 minutes when Martin Watts swung in a deep corner from the right and found an unmarked Jordan Pearce at the far post, who hooked the ball home.
But Bridgwater took the lead three minutes into the second period when Matt Connick scored from close range, after St Austell failed to deal with a corner.
Back came St Austell, with Will Tinsley making it 2-2 with a glancing header from Jack Carver’s free-kick.
And when skipper Liam Eddy put the SWPL Premier Division outfit 3-2 up after being put clear, St Austell must have fancied their chances.
However, Bridgwater were far from finished and a great free-kick by Syd Camper levelled it, then he edged his side 4-3 ahead with a deflected shot.
But again St Austell came back and sub Rob Wearne made it 4-4, just after coming on, ten minutes from time with a good far-post finish.
Extra time was not quite so fullblooded as the pace slackened, with Ham’s good finish into the far corner finally settling an epic tie.