On a very difficult surface at Bourne Park, Bramford gave a very creditable display against Premier opposition and actually led their visitors one nil at the break through a cheeky goal after half an hour by Ricky O'Neill who slipped the ball through the keeper's legs in a one on one situation. Shortly after taking the lead, Ian Buxton was clean through but, with just the keeper to beat, he unfortunately drove his effort into the keeper's arms. There were further chances which went begging in a first half dominated by the hosts whose wastefulness in front of goal was again their undoing. The midfield partnership of Scott Welton and Stuart Rodger was dominant for Bramford and with Mattie McLaughlin and Stan Wragg stretching Harpers down the flanks and providing some excellent crosses, the visiting defence was frequently exposed. Gary Cox's handling and kicking was excellent throughout and the defence was standing up to some speedy breaks extremely well. Darren Smith and Aaron Boorman were generally in command centrally with both Mattie Pryke and Adam Turner getting in some timely tackles. Ricky O'Neill's vision and promptings were excellent and Ian Buxton's usual non-stop running always provided an outlet for Bramford. Ben Warne slotted in on the right midfield when Stan Wragg had to leave the field and gave a fine display, moving to left back late in the second period.

The second half was a great disappointment for Bramford with Harpers scoring twice in ten minutes early on, both goals being the result of defenders diving in on the very slippery surface. Even so, Bramford kept their heads up and pushed forward and really should have had a penalty when Ricky O'Neill was pulled back as he homed in on the Harpers' goal however, he stayed on his feet with the keeper saving his effort. A further incident could have seen a Harpers' player sent off when Ian Buxton was brought down on the edge of the box, the defender being the last player however, the decision was a free kick which came to nothing. Harpers scored a fine third from the left and then concluded the scoring when a penalty was harshly awarded for what seemed to be a well timed tackle on a, by this stage, very muddy surface. Dan Turner came on with fifteen minutes to go and tested the keeper with a fierce effort which was pushed round th epost for a corner.

Bramford should be very proud of their efforts in what was their first competitive match against Premier opposition and confidence in their ability will have been boosted considerably. Hopefully, the players have learnt from this experience which should provide a boost to their promotion aspirations. Our best wishes go to Harpers in their semi final and our thanks to Andy Wilding for giving the game the go-ahead despite all of our reservations about the surface.