Bristol City 1–3 Junction Elite

Bristol City 1–3 Junction Elite

City suffered their first defeat of the season as Junction Elite ran out 3–1 winners at Clapham Common.

It was far from the ideal preparation for City. Two late dropouts and three delayed arrivals meant we started with a bare eleven, while captain Alfie Hill-Kitcherside was forced to deputise between the sticks with several goalkeepers unavailable.

And City were punished early. A ball was played back to Alfie, who looked to clear downfield, only for his clearance to cannon straight off the Junction attacker and rebound into the net. A frustrating way to fall 1–0 behind.

What followed was a fairly even contest with clear chances at a premium. City gradually settled into the game and, importantly, reinforcements began to arrive from the bench.

The equaliser eventually came from the penalty spot. Witse Konings was brought down inside the area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Ben Earle stepped up and calmly converted, making it two penalties in two games and bringing City level at 1–1.

With ten minutes remaining, the game was there for either side to win. Unfortunately, it was Junction who found the breakthrough. Some neat play opened up the City defence before a powerful effort was smashed into the net to restore their lead.

City pushed forward in search of a late equaliser and, with virtually the final opportunity of the game, even goalkeeper Alfie went up for a corner. Junction cleared, broke quickly into the space left behind and rolled the ball into the empty net to make it 3–1.

The final scoreline was perhaps a little harsh on City after a game of few chances, but it brought our unbeaten start to the season to an end.

Full Time: Bristol City 1–3 Junction Elite

City scorer: Ben Earle (pen)

Not the result we wanted, but after a chaotic start and going behind early, City were still level with ten minutes to play. Onto the next one.