BRIDPORT RES 1 SHERBORNE TOWN RES 1

BRIDPORT Reserves gained a point in their first outing since a 6-0 drubbing by Swanage Town & Herston in December, although boss Shaun Annetts said his side’s draw against Sherborne felt more like a defeat.

The Bees’ clash with the Zebras came a full four weeks after that hiding at Days Park when Annetts’ team had two men sent off on a nightmare afternoon for the St Mary’s Field outfit.

However, the Bridport chief said he couldn’t have asked for much more from his players on Saturday as Darren Watts’ first-half cracker was cancelled out by the visitors before the break.

But while Annetts was a lot happier with the Bees’ performance compared to their previous outing, he felt they had enough chances to snatch all three points.

“My overriding emotion at the end of the game was that it felt like a loss rather than a draw,” he told Echosport.

“There were lots of positives to take from the game but we were disappointed not to have won it.

“Obviously we went into it after a long spell without a match and we needed to put right what happened against Swanage.

“The players’ commitment leading up to Saturday was fantastic and we still tried to play football despite the heavy pitch.”

He added: “We got off to a good start by putting them on the back foot. Conditions didn’t really help and had they been better I think we could have run out winners.

“We created two or three opportunities before Darren Watts picked up the ball just outside the centre circle and drove forward before drilling a right-foot shot into the top corner.

“That was after about 20 minutes and we had a chance to make it 2-0 but Ryan Dovell hit the bar.

“We then gave away a free-kick just inside our half and everybody switched off. They took it quickly and their lad scored past Josh Hadley for 1-1. It was a bitterly disappointing goal to concede.”

The hosts had plenty of chances to win it in the second half, with the unlucky Dovell again hitting the Sherborne crossbar.

Kriss Radivojsa, Gary Bulman, Robin Jones and Josh Baker also went close with efforts.

“We didn’t get the three points we felt deserved on the day,” said Annetts. “But the way the players responded to the Swanage game and how they played in awful conditions was excellent.”

The two sides don’t have long to wait before they face each other again, with the Bees travelling to Raleigh Grove this Saturday for the reverse fixture.

Bees: Hadley, Diaz, Herbst, Day (T Gale 60), Peart, Baker (Davis 65), Jones (Radivojsa 70), Fleet, Watts, Bulman, Dovell