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Thursday 4th July 2024

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.15

Clevedon Town 3 Nailsea United 4, attendance 42

21’ 0-1

30’ 1-1

41’ 2-1

60’ 2-2

62’ 2-3

67’ 2-4

86’ 3-4

@ Hand Stadium, 3G Pitch

Davis Lane

Clevedon

BS21 6TG

No Admission or Programme.

I’d visited the main stadium here twice, oddly just six weeks apart, both in 1993, but this was an opportunity to see a game on the 3G pitch here. It is immediately in front of you, as you enter the car park off Davis Lane, running parallel to the stadium. There is a changing room building in the near left corner, with a small section of covered standing on the left hand side, just beyond the halfway line, although the view of the pitch is obscured in one corner, whilst there are a couple of brick built dugouts on the opposite side, albeit not covered! No problem watching inside the fence, with ample room all the way round. The game kicked off fifteen minutes late and with the weather being blustery and grey overhead, as well as a couple of showers in each half, it meant the Referee requested that the floodlights were switched on for the last fifteen minutes, which wouldn’t have been needed had they kicked off when they should have done.

The match was Western League Premier Division (Step 5) versus Somerset County League Premier Division (Step 7), with Clevedon fielding ten different outfield players in each half, as well as a kit change at halftime, which led to a colour clash, whilst Nailsea had the ‘normal’ five substitutes. It was end to end stuff and despite having an early penalty saved, Nailsea went in front midway through the first half, but Clevedon had turned it round to lead 2-1 at the break. Nailsea hit the post with a long range effort, before levelling the score at 2-2 on the hour, edging in front when they scored direct from a corner just two minutes later before soon making it 2-4, following a quick break down the left. Clevedon did pull it back to 3-4 with four minutes left and there was still time for Nailsea to go close to getting a fifth, but a 25 yarder came back off the crossbar.