Depleted team hand Cribbs the win

Sat. 9th March. Toolstation Premier Div. Cribbs 3 Westbury United 1

A depleted Westbury squad travelled to Bristol without skipper Steve Hulbert, Jamie Jordan, Dan Price, Jake Hiscocks and Will Stead. Ian Jeffers who was ill took his place on the bench, as did coach Luke Smith and goalkeeping coach Lewis Porter. 

The hosts started brightly and United struggled to contain their slick passing football played on an excellent surface at the Bristol Rovers training ground. 

On twenty minutes their pressure finally paid off as they opened the scoring, but this seemed to be the wake-up call United needed and they then dominated the rest of the first half, equalising with a fine Josh Ferguson strike and nearly going ahead in the last minute of the half as Dan Kovacs was denied by a brilliant save that the keeper tipped onto the post. 

The second half was closely fought for fifteen minutes before Cribbs took the lead with a goal that was well worked. 

United huffed and puffed, but with both Kovacs and  Callum Demkiv playing through the pain barrier, they couldn’t get back into the game and with fifteen minutes to go, a mistake by Jordan Pinder gifted Cribbs the third goal to wrap the points up. 

Joint manager Neil Kirkpatrick said, “It was a disappointing defeat but we can’t ask any more from the lads who have given everything this season. Two of them shouldn’t really have played today, but were prepared to put their bodies on the line as we had so many missing.

“Cribbs are a decent side and despite our problems, we were still competitive. We will regroup and see where the rest of the season takes us. We have a massive couple of games coming up away to Bitton on Saturday and then on 23rd March we are at home to Plymouth Parkway and it would be great to see a big turn out from the town to support the football club.”