August 13th: Bridport 4, Wellington 2
FOOTBALL is a funny old game they say … but try telling that to Wellington’s new management team of Paul West and Ian Jackson.
After an intense pre-season spent building and training a new squad, they went into last Saturday’s opening game away to relegated Bridport full of expectation.
But there was simply nothing they could do to prevent some quite woeful defending which gifted the Dorset side four goals before half-time to virtually finish the match as a contest.
And although Wellington, fielding no fewer than six new signings, pulled two back early in the second half, they had left themselves far too big a mountain to climb.
West has joined Wellington after a long and successful career with Taunton Town and so it was ironic that an ex-Taunton player should prove to be the biggest thorn in his side on his managerial debut.
Striker Simon Gale gave his side the lead after less than two minutes and then made it 2-0 20 minutes later – on both occasions with the Wellington defence at sixes and sevens as they failed to clear their lines.
And he had a hand in the third ten minutes before the break when he was brought down by new defender Mark Hughes for a penalty which Dan Wise coolly converted.
If things were bad for Wellington, they got even worse on the stroke of half-time as Tony Cunningham pounced on a mistake by John Norman to make it 4-0.
The visitors were undoubtedly on the receiving end of some choice words at the interval and looked a different side as they struck twice in three minutes early in the second half.
First defender Greg Hammond bundled the ball over the line after keeper Martin Peters had dropped a Simon Ingram corner.
And then Alexis Piper found himself in space and, when his shot came back off the post, strike partner Nick Woon was on hand to open his account for the season.
That spurred Wellington into life but they failed to make any further inroads on the scoreline with Hammond seeing a goalbound header blocked and Ingram being denied by a flying save from Peters right at the death.
Wellington: Ward, Hughes, Hammond, Bowrah, Norman, Butler, Ingram, Gage, Aspin, Woon, Piper. Substitutes, Fowler (used), Brereton (Matt) and Anthony (both not used).