Brandon take positives from defeat by Acle

Brandon Town 2, Acle United 4

Brandon staged a late comeback but it wasn’t enough to earn any points and Loddon’s surprise win at Blofield has relegated them to bottom of the Premier Division.

Town handed home debuts to the impressive Farnham and the evergreen Stevenson and there was a place on the bench for recent signing Neil Whitmore.

Brandon elected to go with the very strong wind in the first half and this nearly paid dividends as Town were very unlucky not to take the lead . Bland hit the crossbar with a sweet half volley and Bethel had an effort cleared by the defender after rounding the keeper.

However, it was the visitors who opened the scoring. Town lost possession high up the pitch and a quick Acle break saw the excellent Butler slot home.

It could have got worse for Brandon but Acle found young Jamie Barlow in excellent form in the Town goal. The 17-year-old made several good saves including one from the penalty spot after Stevenson had been judged to have handled the ball.

It became 2-0 soon after the break when a wind-assisted effort found the corner of the net and Acle made it three minutes later. Town reduced the arrears when Bethel went on one of his trademark runs and found the far corner of the goal.

However, then Brandon gifted Acle a fourth which ended any hopes of a comeback.

Brandon restored some pride when another of their teenage players scored his first goal in senior football. Sam Sheppard made an excellent run from midfield and his classy finish gave the keeper no chance.

There were some positives to take from the performance from Town, the most pleasing aspect was the performance of the teenage players; Barlow, Farnham, Jolly, Green, Molyneux and Sheppard under immense pressure.

If they stick together with the likes of Tuffs, Bland and Bethel there may be some hope of survival yet. This week Town visit Spixworth.