MINEHEAD fought out a goalless away draw against Imperial in the first division of the Uhlsport Somerset County Football League. Going into the game with an identical set of results so far this season, it was no major surprise when their contest resulted in such a draw (but not a boring one), writes Brian Walder.

With several of The Blues not available, the travelling squad was reduced to a bare squad of twelve players, so assistant manager Lee Hardick was named as the second substitute.

After a fairly even and relatively infringement free opening twenty minutes, the first real incident of note was a refereeing decision which to many of the crowd in close proximity, caused some head-scratching.

Failing to see any infringement when Nathan Collins appeared to have been brought down by a rash challenge after having beaten two defenders in a determined run at goal, the referee’s viewpoint was that the striker had dived, and after brandishing a yellow card at the bemused striker, awarded a free kick to Imperial.

Soon afterwards, with Minehead still pressing, free scoring striker Toby Waghorn ran through the home defence and without realising how much time he had, powered a shot over the bar as the keeper rushed out of his area.

After half time, Minehead needed to re-group, when Charlie Disney replaced Collins who had fallen victim of a clumsy challenge late in the first half, thus being forced out of the game with a dead leg which he could not run off.

Captain Carl Paige came to Minehead’s rescue early in the second half with a brilliant save which saw him pluck a strong back post header which seemed heading for the top corner. This came amidst some pressure from Imperial with Minehead holding on and riding their luck for a short period.

Minehead did force their way back into the game on the hour mark and a crude challenge on Waghorn which went un-noticed, with no infringement given.

It was Mike Graddon’s superb defending soon afterwards which saw him manage to thwart his opponent and clear the ball, even though he was still on the ground after winning a challenge against a different opponent a second or so before.

The game played out without any further clear-cut chances, and at the end of the day both sides had to accept a share of the spoils. Minehead: Carl Paige, James Knight, Luke Badcock, Mike Graddon, Harvey Lovell, Declan Green, Olly Prescott, Sam Jackson, Nathan Collins, Adam Jeffries, Toby Waghorn. Subs: Charlie Disney (used), Lee Hardick. Man of the Match: Mike Graddon

Minehead’s first team currently have no game next weekend, and with Minehead Reserves playing their first game of the season away to Galmington at Taunton School, there is currently no men’s football for Blues’ supporters to watch until a week later. That game, on Saturday 12th September, sees the first team host their historical opponents from Peasedown (Miners Welfare) at Irnham Road, kicking off at 3pm.

Minehead first played against Peasedown in the Somerset Charity Cup Final just under 114 years ago in December 1911. The game, played at Yeovil’s first ground at Pen Mill, before they moved to Huish and then Huish Park, ended in a 0-0 draw. However, the replay, played a week later in January at Weston, saw Peasedown run out clear winners.