Errea County Premier Division

Bishops Lydeard 1, Berrow 1

BERROW’S winless start to 2014 continued on Saturday with a draw at Bishop Lydeard.

Dave Keirle struck a late equaliser to earn a point for the visitors, after Kane Powell’s own goal had given Lydeard a first-half lead.

For the first time in memory, Berrow were at near full strength, with only leading scorer Jack Taylor missing.

Berrow were also, at long last, able to give a debut to recent signing Steve Leaf.

Losing the toss Berrow knew they were in for a tough half, shooting down the hill and against the wind and they were undone in the opening minutes.

The hosts were awarded a soft free kick wide of the 18 yard box and the resultant wicked delivery was diverted into his own net by the unfortunate Kane Powell.

The visitors were struggling to get to grips with the playing surface, with the recent lack of action clearly taking its toll.

Berrow got to half time without further incident, with a couple of half chances going begging.

But the second half inevitably saw a shift in fortunes for Berrow as they had the advantage of the slope and wind thus voiding the long ball game of their hosts.

Now in the ascendancy, Berrow were constantly knocking at the door - with Jeff Read causing the hosts more than his fair share of problems.

They had a golden opportunity to equalise as left back Scott Lismore broke through but he could only force a good save from the home keeper as fatigue looked to play it's part.

With their recent luck in mind, Berrow may have been excused for thinking their chance had gone, however to their credit they kept plugging away and it paid off as Dave Keirle, who had a fine game, broke through and bent a lovely finish past the advancing keeper into the top corner.

Berrow sensed the game was there for the taking now, but they had left it a little late and were left to settle for a draw.

Berrow's man of the match was Jeff Read for a display that defied his recent critics.

l On Saturday, Berrow travel to Ilminster Town (ko 3pm) looking to turn around a home defeat they suffered earlier in the season.

They are away again on Wednesday evening when they play Bridgwater Town Reserves at Fairfax Park (ko 7.45pm) before playing the reverse fixture the following Saturday.