Westbury United got their Southern League season off to the perfect start on Saturday, claiming a 2–1 victory away at Bideford in North Devon – the club’s first ever opening-day win in the Southern League.
Bideford, who finished three places above United last season, were caught cold in the first half when the White Horse Men struck twice in the space of just 90 seconds just before the half-hour mark.
The opener came when Josh Jenkins latched onto a loose back pass, squared the ball from a tight angle to Jack Witcombe, who calmly slotted home. Moments later, Jamie Jordan delivered a sublime left-footed cross-field pass to Ackeem “CJ” Stewart, who shrugged off his marker and unleashed a stunning strike into the top corner.
The home side fought back after the break, pulling one back with a long-range effort but Westbury’s defence – led superbly by man-of-the-match Dan Restorick – stood firm to secure all three points.
Travelling fan Terry Morgan praised the team’s resilience: “We were fantastic in the first half and had to defend like crazy in the second, but with defenders like Dan getting to virtually every high ball, we saw it through. All the goals were crackers – theirs was probably the pick of the bunch for skill, but CJ’s was a brilliant individual strike.”
The victory follows an emphatic 7–0 win the previous weekend (Saturday 2nd August) in the Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round against Sherborne Town of the Velocity Wessex League.
United were 3–0 up by half-time with goals from Jack Witcombe and a brace from CJ Stewart. In the second half, Ryan Bole struck, before CJ completed his hat-trick – then promptly added a fourth. Ethan Cannings rounded off the scoring for an emphatic win.
That FA Cup result sets up a local clash at Trowbridge Road in the next round against Bradford Town.
