Shepton end campaign on a high with trio of wins

SHEPTON ended their campaign with a third win in a row, beating hosts Brislington with a late winner in the eighth minute of added time.

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Brislington striker Shea Mannings was a handful for most of the game, firing the first shot in anger over the visitors’ bar before bringing a good save from Shepton goalkeeper Will Hunter - their best player in the first half.

Joel Sisson had Shepton’s first good chance after ten minutes with a shot which was tipped over the bar by home goalkeeper George Dorrington, before shots from Ethan Witchell and Jake Sloggett missed the target. After Hunter made another vital stop from Brislington’s Jack Scadding, Sisson made a vital challenge from the same player not long before the turnaround.

Shepton had the final word of the half as they forced Dorrington into making two routine saves, firstly from Charlie Bateson and then Ashton Shanley.

Hunter gathered another Mannings shot early in the second period, before Paul Braithwaite and Sloggett became increasingly influential in the building Shepton attacks. Shanley had a 25-yard free-kick saved by Dorrington and, just before the hour, Kieran Bailey put them ahead when he deflected a long-range shot from Matt Morris which wrong-footed the goalkeeper and nestled into the net to become Shepton’s 21st different goalscorer of the season.

Five minutes later, Dorrington prevented Lewis Coleman from doubling Shepton’s advantage with a good stop and, soon after, Mannings’ persistence was rewarded when he latched onto the ball from a free-kick and beat Hunter from 15-yards to equalise.

Bateson missed a good chance to put Shepton in front again, shooting straight at Dorrington who then had to go off after lengthy treatment with what looked a bad injury. The midfield influence of Braithwaite and forward runs by Sloggett eventually paid off, although Shepton left it rather late to forge the winning goal.