Bitton 0 Brislington 4
With spring well and truly sprung, it was nice to arrive for a mid week game with the ground still bathed in sunlight. Tonight we journeyed to the outskirts of Bristol, to the Recreation Ground, home of AFC Bitton who were taking on local rivals Brislington in the Western League. Brislington started the night in mid table comfort whilst the hosts were placed precariously just above the relegation zone.
With my occasional side kick Bryan in tow, we parked up on the main road and walked through Bitton Cricket Club which adjoins the football ground. On paying £6 entry at the turnstile, we entered between changing rooms and the tea hut to our right and a small covered terrace area to our left beyond witch the pitch sloped off down the hill slightly. The rest of the ground was fairly open with the main stand being a nice covered wooden seated affiar straddling the half way line on the opposite side of the pitch alongside the dug outs. It was a beautiful evening and there were plenty of trees adding to the picturesque feel of things, runners and cyclists could also be seen on the raised Bath to Bristol cycle path which passes the ground behind the goal on a disused railway line.
After we'd rescued our friend Ben from outside the turnstile who'd conveniently turned up without any cash, it was time for kick off.
Brislington took an early lead when a ball in from the left was bought down nicely and drilled in from close range. At this point we were up the other end so appols for not being able to name check the scorer! The pitch was a bit bobbly and it took a while for both teams to relax in to the game. The first half was pretty evenly matched and Bitton were unlcuky not to get an equaliser. Their number 11, Paddy Royal looked decent and had a shot saved from a tight angle before he managed to find the back of the net only to be ruled off side. Their number 10, Tooze then hit the post and from the rebound hit another shot just wide with the keeper stranded.
Both teams had some decent players but the man who emerged as the stand out figure in the first half was the ref. He wasn't making particularly outrageous decisions but the running commentary he was giving of the game made him hard to ignore. A stock line was "I'm looking in, I'm looking in" which he barked out in a slightly nasally voice as a corner came in to the box or when two players chased after the same ball. At one point he ticked off a Brislington player for swearing at him but then refused to answer when the player asked him what he was supposed to have said. The Brislington captain, Jason Hughes got involved, a seasoned campaigner who was calling the shots at centre back: "Tell me what he said ref so I can manage it". Un-phased the man in black carried on over seeing proceedings in a calm manner and filling anyone who would listen on what was going on.
Brislington's big number 9, Neikell Plummer, part of the footballing and Goggle box Plummer family, was proving a handful for the Bitton defence but they largely kept him at bay and it remained 1-0 at the break.
Along with much of the crowd we filtered out past the turnstile at half time and in to the club house bar that was shared with the Cricket Ground. In a great example of a community multi functional space, the Bar also apparently doubles up as Bitton Pre School. I often think Football league clubs could learn from further down the pyramid from getting use out of their facilities for the wider community. Perhaps this is the kind of arrangement that inspired Bristol Rovers to try and build a stadium on a University Campus.
The home team, desperate for the points looked to get back in to the game in the second half. For a while looked threatening as they pulled number 11, Royal back in to midfield and looked to him and their play maker, Tooze to make things happen. The wind was well and truly taken out of their sales however when Brislington went 2-0 up. Their captain was marshalling the defence well and their two wingers, number 11 and 7 were causing problems down the flanks. Big Plummer was also coming more in to the game. His strength and ball control were a cut above and in addition, for a bloke who is clearly carrying a pound or two, his pace and ability to keep running all night were as impressive as they were eye-brow raising. The second goal came when he powered his way in to the box before winning a penalty. The guilty defender who felled him was sent off as the last man and Plummer converted the spot kick himself. Soon after he had his second goal of the night when a deflection from his rocket of a free kick left the Bitton keeper no chance.
For the second half a noisy set of Brislington fans had positioned themselves in the main stand and were getting behind their team. Especially their left back who they encouraged to "Bend him up" when the Bitton right back approached. One crunching tackle from their number 3 was met with a delighted "Yes - That's what YOU DO"
By this time the Bitton players heads had started to understandably drop and Brislington added a fourth after a deft touch from their number 7 guided a long ball from the left in to the net. The ref was continuing to chirp away quite happily and had to get his cards out again when a Bitton player over ran a ball going forward and desperately lunged in to a defender with his feet high. He was sent off but that didn't stop a 20 man skuffle flaring up. Not to be rushed, the ref called his linesman in, eventually calmed things down and then took an age deciding to book a player from each team, entirely at random as far as the two teams were concerned.
The second half seemed to go on for ever. Although it was a 7.30 kick off, play continued well passed 9.30 much to the frustration of the Bitton lads. The ref seemed to be enjoying every moment of his evening and I couldn't help but warm to him. In many ways he was the classic ref: a bit short, bit of a belly, a stickler for the rules and inexplicably enthusiastic. Eventually he blew up and followed the teams in alongside his assistants, who like him had big smiles on their faces as they left the pitch.
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