05/09/2026
⚽ MATCH REPORT: PERFECT START TO THE 2026/27 CAMPAIGN! ⚽
Southwalk F.C 2 - 3 Yetminster Sports
The 2026/27 season kicked off in dramatics at St Mary's field in Bridport, with a fresh-faced Yetminster Sports squad digging deep to bring home a hard-earned 3-2 victory!
"As the clocks moved around to 2:30pm Yetminster Sports kicked off the 2026-27 season with a match at Southwalk in Bridport. With a much-changed team there was much confidence within the squad who hoped they were embarking on an adventure of a lifetime.
They should have taken the lead early with their first attack when a great cross from Tommy Martin arrived on the head of an unmarked Ross Walters, but his header went just wide of the post. The resulting goal kick evaded everyone, leaving the Southwalk centre forward with a clear run on goal to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
Sports drew level in the 7th minute when an Alex Lewis throw-in was helped on by Pete Ellingham to Walters who managed to squeeze the ball across the goal area for James Dowding to force home.
Southwalk continued to threaten with their long ball tactics and thought they had scored again when the ball was flicked on for their winger to drive home, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
The claret and blue shirts now dominated the game, their pass and move approach causing havoc in the home defence. From one such attack, Pete Ellingham put Ross Walters away and he drove home left footed to give Yetminster a deserved lead. They thought they were in paradise 2 minutes later when Walters was upended by the Southwalk goalkeeper and Harry Herring confidently put away the penalty.
The second half was much harder as the Bridport based team pushed forward relentlessly. Their dominance was rewarded in the 61st minute when Sports failed to clear their lines allowing their opponents to score a scrappy goal. The panic set in and it only seemed a matter of time before Southwalk got back on level terms. It was going to take a bit of magic for Yetminster to extend their lead, and it looked like Tommy Martin was the man to provide it when he got on the end of a Hayden Watts through ball to hammer home. His joy was short lived as, after the referee had consulted with the linesman, the goal was disallowed for offside. The Southwalk custodian then came to the rescue on many occasions when he clawed away a cross, the man in yellow denying a certain goal for Walters, and tipping a Joe Watkins free kick onto the bar.
Yetminster’s keeper was then called into action as he slid into Aiden Halcomb as he dived onto a through ball. Halcomb was in obvious trouble and had to leave the field of play leaving his team very short of defensive players. Sixteen-year-old Tom Foster came off the bench to make his debut, and Noah Vince was replaced between the sticks by another debutant, Dan Clapp, Vince moving into midfield. These fresh legs helped s***f out any remaining threat to secure a hard-earner 3-2 victory.
After the disappointment of last season there was only one way to go and that was up and up, but it is too early to get a head full of dreams about securing a first league win and what may be...
This was a great start to the season from a team that will surely get stronger." 🙌💪⚽
What a fantastic way to bounce back and get the new campaign off to a flyer! We’re keeping our feet on the ground, but with this kind of grit, teamwork, and talent, a sky full of stars is the limit for this group!!
Huge thank you to all the traveling supporters, on to the next one! 🔵🔴
