Westbury arrived at Shortwood’s Meadowbank ground full of confidence after an unbelievable start to life back in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division.
Shortwood on the other hand had so far picked up zero points in their first three games, they did however have a new assistant manager and a couple of new experienced faces. Their previous match squads had contained only one player over the age of 20, but on Wednesday there was 3 or 4 new, older faces in the squad. Meadowbank is a lovely ground, within shouting distance of local league two side Forest Green.
Westbury got off to a great start, after only five minutes Ricky Hulbert skipped past a couple of Shortwood players to get into the penalty area, he squared the ball to Jordan Pinder who finished low into the side net to make it 1-0. More good work by R.Hulbert on the 15 minute mark in the left hand corner resulted in a shot from Jamie Jordan, which was well saved by the Shortwood keeper. As the half went on, Westbury were creating chances, but the keeper was a match to everything Westbury struck on target until the 39th minute when Dan Kovacs found Callum Demkiv with a smart pass, Demkiv lifted the ball over the keeper with a well-executed chip and watched the ball nestle in the net and make it 2-0.
Westbury were looking comfortable now they had a two-goal cushion, then the referee awarded a Shortwood free kick approximately 20 yards out just to the right of the D. The free kick was struck perfectly by Shortwood captain Josh Beadle, curling it over the wall and into the net, to make it 2.1. R Hulbert thought he had restored Westbury’s two-goal lead just before the half time whistle, but the referee’s assistant flagged for offside.
The second half was a frantic but even affair for the first 25 minutes, Kovacs forced a good save from Thomas in the Shortwood goal, Pinder was now joined by Will Stead who was making his debut in the centre of midfield with Jamie Jordan, and the three of them were working hard to try and get Westbury back on top. But as the game went on, Westbury got more tense and for the last ten minutes had to work hard to hang on to their lead. They did mange to hold on though, to make it 4 wins from 4 on their return to the Premier Division.
Team: Ed Baldy, Sayeed Ibrahim, Ian Jeffery, Jordan Pinder, Steve Hulbert(C), Grant Gunning, Jamie Jordan, Joe Kirkpatrick, Ricky Hulbert, Dan Kovacs, Callum Demkiv. Sub: Will Stead, Francois Allen, Joe Steadling (used) Waleed Bakali (unused). MOTM: Jordan Pinder
Greg Coulson,
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