Clevedon take derby spoils with floodlit victory over Bridgwater

FOR the second season running, Clevedon departed College Way with a hard-fought and richly deserved victory over their Somerset rivals and in doing so, dragged themselves closer to safety in South West One West.

Tries from Tim Statton and Kieran Hill, together with 14 points from the boot of the latter, fired Clevedon to a second successive league win on Friday night, leaving them eight points clear of the bottom three, with at least one game in hand on the teams around them.

But Clevedon did not have it all their own way and under the glow of the College Way floodlights, it was the home side that dominated the early exchanges, piling pressure on the visitors’ line with a succession of powerful carries in the midfield.

A penalty at the scrum relieved the pressure and once Kieran Hill’s clearing kick had taken play into the Bridgwater half, Clevedon began to take full control.

Their first foray into the hosts’ 22 was immediately repelled, as a forced offload in the Clevedon ranks saw Bridgwater kick the ball clear.

But from their next, the visitors opened the scoring when, after bulldozing runs from Aaron Rice and Chris Warren, swift handling on the blindside saw Tim Statton race away to touch down in the corner. Hill’s touchline conversion flew straight and true and Clevedon led 7-0.

It was soon 10-0 when Hill knocked over a straightforward penalty from under the posts following another spell of pressure, before Bridgwater centre Ashwin saw his long-range effort drift narrowly wide on the half-hour mark.

Minutes before the break, Owen Biggins made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown to earn a penalty and Hill further extended the Clevedon lead with a pinpoint kick from all of 45 metres, to give his side a 13-0 lead heading into the interval.

The opening 20 minutes of the second half followed a very different theme, with Bridgwater hammering away at the Clevedon defence and home centre Chris Ashwin prominent with ball in hand.

He got his side on the scoreboard with a well-struck penalty, before Hill replied in kind for a 16-3 score line.

But Bridgwater refused to lie down and with penalty advantage in the bag, Ashwin’s floated pass found Kyran Devitt and the pacey winger finished with aplomb, to bring the home side right back into the game. Ashwin converted from in front.

After a brief stumble, Clevedon soon regained their footing and went close to extending their lead when a turnover on halfway saw Oscar James in the clear down the left; but a last-ditch tap tackle from the covering Devitt halted him and the ball spilled forward into touch.

Play continued in the Bridgwater half and with Mortimore a constant threat around fringes, he soon shook off two defenders to burst his way into the 22. The ball was recycled to the right; where first Largenton and then Ashfield carried towards the line - and after Ashfield had been cut down just short, his delicate offload found the supporting Hill, who struck the killer blow in the corner.

His conversion was wayward, but he made amends on 72 minutes with a penalty from the halfway line after yet another powerful scrum.

Tom Thie almost signed off proceedings with a fine individual effort, but having gathered his own chip-and-chase, was unable to beat the final defender and the final whistle signalled the end of an enthralling local derby.

Clevedon welcome Teignmouth to Coleridge Vale on Saturday, 2.30pm kick-off.