Western League Premier Division
Playing Fields, Shepton Mallet
Admission: £7.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 103
Spending a few days staying in North Somerset, this evening I had a choice between Welton Rovers and this game at Shepton Mallet. Although the game at Welton had more riding on it, with third playing fourth in the Western League Division One, I chose to take in this game in the division above, looking a more interesting ground to visit.
The Playing Fields are located on the western fringe of the small town of Shepton Mallet, down a short lane from the passing road, with plenty of parking available along the access road. Plenty of club signage is displayed around the entrance, including a large "next fixture" board, and spectators enter via a gate behind one end. A really friendly welcome was offered at the gate, and this theme was to be continued throughout my visit. It is a ground which is peaceful, well maintained and easy on the eye, with three sides of the ground naturally and tightly enclosed by tall Leylandii trees, and views of the surrounding Mendip Hills visible in the gaps. The clubhouse building is situated immediately to the left of the entrance, stretching to the corner flag, with a tea bar window in the pitchside wall. Just around the corner is a brick building housing the changing rooms, whilst straddling the half way line is an old fashioned all seater stand, freshly painted in black and is cosy inside, and would no doubt offer excellent protection from bad weather, but with many supporting poles and low roofing, views are quite obstructed. To the right of the entrance and beyond the goal there is a modern metallic all seater stand, dedicated to the memory of a former player who died of cancer, and with a concrete seat to the side. Straddling the half way line on the other length is a fairly large stand covering a couple of steps to stand on, while the remaining end has hard standing, lined with a short steep grass bank. Printed programmes were available on entry, 32 pages that were well presented and contained all of the important information to preview the game.
There is not much left to play for either side this season apart from pride, with both clubs deeply entrenched in mid table. Shepton Mallet came into this game in seventh place, following 14 wins and eight wins from 31 league games, and were in good form, winning their last four games in all competitions, three in the league. Bitton were in eleventh place, following 13 wins and six draws from their 30 league games. When the two clubs met in mid October, Bitton won 2-1.
On a dry but chilly evening, Shepton Mallet started the game very strongly, kicking down the quite noticeable slope during the first half, and they impressed with their quick movement, showing for the ball and accurate crossing. And they opened the scoring on 9 minutes when Jacob Sloggett beat two men coming along the byline before smashing the ball home from a tight angle inside the far post. Bitton saw a powerful shot from David Duru saved on 12 minutes, and although the home keeper spilt the ball, he just gathered it back in time. The hosts doubled their lead on 17 minutes following a perfect cross from the right by Jordan Williams, for an unmarked Joe Morgan to head powerfully home. They were denied a third by a superb last ditch tackle by Callum Ball, denying a Shepton forward who had run clear and was about to pull the trigger. The game then became more even, with the visitors keeping possession much better, but they didn't look likely to reduce the deficit.
Into the second half and again Shepton started strongly, and they scored their third on 54 minutes, when Nathan Legge gained possession before playing a perfect low through ball into the path of Josh Williams who took the ball intp the right side of the penalty area, before striking the ball emphatically past the keeper. The hosts were in cruise control for most of the second half, and perhaps should have won even more emphatically, although credit to Bitton for battling away and they could easily have scored a consolation goal, most notably a minute from time when a glancing header from a corner went just over the bar.
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