FA Cup dreams are over for Three Bridges after penalty shootout drama

He tipped a Mason Doughty header onto the bar inside the first minute, but Doughty clashed heads with Micheal Dart in the process. Doughty was fine after treatment, but a fourteen minute hold up finished with Dart losing a lot of blood and eventually being taken to hospital.

Bridges looked lively for a while with Alex Barbury, one of five making their competitive debut for the side, providing two lovely low crosses from the right and another from the left, whilst Callum Donaghey headed an effort just wide.

But Cobham were swift on the counter attack and gave a warning when Chris Davies lobbed over the bar with only Leo Anderson to beat. But on sixteen minutes, Davies escaped the offside trap and lobbed over Anderson again, this time the ball cannoning off the crossbar and being deemed to have then crossed the line by the Assistant Referee.

Bridges huffed and puffed their way through the rest of the first half, the only highlights being a Hayden Skerry shot that was well blocked and a Doughty drive that was just wide.

It certainly wasn’t the luckless Doughty’s day as five minutes into the second half, his powerful shot from Steve Smith’s set up was expertly blocked by Norman, and the keeper made another great save when Smith set up Doughty once more.

By then Bridges had equalised with a move that started and ended with Dean Lovegrove as he broke from the back and was eventually on hand to meet Barbury’s cross in the 63rd minute.

Donaghey had a header cleared off the line and Barbury saw another effort blocked as Bridges started to take control, the three substitutes all looking in fine form, O’Neill notably pinging passes around.

But there was to be no replay or even extra time, so straight into penalties with Norman diving low to save Lovegrove’s opening effort. The next four penalties were all converted, Smith and O’Neill netting for Bridges, and their hopes went up when Anderson saved Callum Wilson’s penalty. But Norman immediately denied Tolfrey, and although Curtis Gayler netted with Bridges’ fifth penalty, Ayran Kugathas and Ryan Debattista both scored to win the tie for Cobham.

Bridges Man of the Match - Dean Lovegrove.

Cobham: L.Norman, A.Kugathas, A.Morrison, J.Dowling, M.Dart (S.Taylor, 1), J.King, B.Senior, N.Stillwell, C.Davies, N.West (C.Wilson, 73), R.Debattista. Unused Subs. - D.Campion, D.Lugard, P.Weller, M.Pinder, M.Weighill.

Bridges: L.Anderson, T.Williams, G.Ashley, D.Lovegrove, C.Gaylor, S.Smith, M.Doughty (K.Woolven, 67), H.Skerry (T.Tolfrey, 77), L.Leppard (B.O’Neill, 56), C.Donaghey, A.Barbury. Unused Subs. - L.Hall, B.Bacon, H.Docherty, W.Robinson.