A tough match for a depleted reserves side with a visit to high flying Braunton at Lobb Field saw them come away with a much deserved point. With many players again missing manager Neil Hole was forced to name himself among the subs and was quietly concerned that Braunton were in the form to hand out a hammering.

In the early stages Braunton laid siege to the Bideford goal and through a combination of stout defending and good luck they were unable to get on the scoresheet. As the first half went on Bideford became the more aggressive side and though their approach play was at times inventive they also were unable to find a goal. The second half saw both teams looking for the one goal that everyone believed would steal all the points but it was Bideford who came the closest when Ian Keen, on as a sub, was played through and bearing down on a nervous keeper blasted the ball towards the goal only to see it hit the inside of the post and rebound toward Mark Cann, who was unable to steer the ball into the unguarded net because of the angle of the rebound. Unfortunately this woke Braunton up and the last 15 minutes was played at breakneck pace with an almost reckless abandon from the home team.

In the end a draw would seem a fair result on the balance of play although Braunton will be bitterly disappointed in dropping 2 home points. A good debut from Rick Davey in the midfield for Bideford. Man of the match for me, a hard one to choose because of several excellent performances, John Jeffries. Rock solid and unflappable in the middle, strong in the tackle and adventurous in going forward.

 TEAM:

1. Ali Bright

2. Sam Paddon

3. Niall Heeney

4. Lee Merrick

5. Rob Ousley

6. Sam Schiller

7. Mark Cann

8. Rick Davey

9. Danny Slee

10. Chris Smailes

17. John Jeffries

SUBS:

Keen (for Davey)

French (for Slee)

Hole (for Paddon)