Reece Barrett
Two moments of magic from Noah Coppin inspired Salisbury to remain the only undefeated team in the Southern League Premier South.
The Whites secured a well-fought three points in a feisty 2-0 win over promotion favourites Bracknell Town.
For Salisbury’s first, Fitchett swung in a low corner that somehow passed through a throng of players gathered around the penalty spot, and it fell to Noah Coppin at the back post, who managed to squeeze in the ball from an extremely tight angle.
The opener put Salisbury in complete control, and 16 minutes later, Coppin pushed past two defenders at the back post to score a header in an almost identical – yet just as effective – corner routine.
Salisbury FC are now unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions.
It was clear from the opening handshakes alone that Bracknell had the taller team, but Josh Hedges put the away team on notice early on, as the attacking midfielder latched onto a loose pass and had the first shot of the game within four minutes.
The away team countered with venom, though, and Bracknell’s Joe Grant blasted the ball over an empty net from within the six-yard box – a huge chance that the right winger really should have scored.
Bracknell relaxed into the game and tried to take control by using their stature to overpower the Whites in the air. Manager Brian Dutton was audible from the touchline during early corners to make sure his side could deal with the sustained set-piece pressure.
Hedges had another moment of magic in the 24th minute when he took two touches to dance away from an incoming slide tackle and almost put himself through on goal on the counter. He fired the ball wide to Charlie Gunson, who dribbled to the edge of the penalty box and squared it along the floor to Fitchett, but the Bracknell ‘keeper marginally beat him to the ball.
Bracknell first-half substitute Kameron English tried a spectacular overhead kick from close range towards the end of the half, but it trickled wide and did not bother Salisbury keeper Josh Gould.
The away side almost sunk Salisbury in stoppage time, as at the beginning of the three minutes added on to the first half, Thomas Jackson had a long-range effort from the right side that just curled wide of the far post.
Having also scored against Tiverton and Mousehole in the two games prior, Coppin inspired Salisbury to come out a totally different side in the second half.
A short corner routine between Gunson and Fitchett in the 51st minute saw the ball whipped in low, and Coppin showed why he has been so effective in recent weeks by putting in the extra effort to make it to the back post.
He somehow managed to turn the ball inside the near post at a ridiculously tight angle, leaving the keeper in no man’s land by putting it back across the goal with a low driven finish.
An inspired Coppin then had two long-range efforts and doubled his tally within the next quarter of an hour with a hard-won header in a similar position, all but subduing a scrappy Bracknell who did not mount much more of a fight from then on.
A strong crowd of 638 were in attendance for a brilliant Salisbury win, and the Whites saw out six minutes of stoppage time to hold onto the clean sheet.
Feature Image: Andrew Palk
Andy Munns
