Clevedon fire blanks in friendly defeats

They fell to a 2-0 loss at Shepton Mallet on Tuesday in a hastily arranged game after both teams saw their original opponents pull out due to Covid.

And the Seasiders went down 3-0 on Friday against a Chippenham Town team from three levels higher in the non-league pyramid.

Town began well at Shepton, but fell behind against the run of play when Dawid Regula slotted past Cam Pike on 16 minutes.

And it was 2-0 just before half time when Glen Hayer fired wide at one end, then Alex Kemsley conceded a penalty at the other and Regula converted from the spot.

Pike produced a good double save to keep Clevedon in the game after the restart and punched clear a shot from Clevedon old boy Callum Gould.

Ex-Bristol City youngster Archie Heywood was introduced just after the hour, with Elliot Feltham booked along with the Shepton keeper and replaced by Ollie Babbington.

Clevedon created three chances in the last 10 minutes as Pike picked out man of the match Morgan Williams who set up Kemsley whose shot was well saved, then Kemsley set up Babbington who was robbed before he could shoot.

Kemsley also played in Syd Camper, who saw the keeper make a fine save.

Morgan Williams (left) and Callum Gould (right) in action against Shepton Mallet (Image: pitchero.com/clubs/clevedontown)

Clevedon had Harley Wilkinson back in goal against National League South Chippenham and he produced a diving save from Aleefe Santos in the first minute.

Another Santos shot was cleared off the line by Camper and Wilkinson produced a double save before man of the match Kemsley cut out a dangerous through ball.

With their back line holding firm and a battling performance in midfield Clevedon were satisfied to see the scoreline remain blank at the break.

And they created a couple of chances at the start of the second half as Feltham was blocked as he chased a Kemsley pass and then saw a deft shot hit the keeper and cleared off the line after a quick Callum Kingdom free kick.

Chippenham stepped up the pace and an outstanding goal broke the deadlock as Santos fired past Wilkinson and into the top corner on 50 minutes.

Four minutes later it was 2-0 as Clevedon conceded a third penalty in successive friendlies, with Wilkinson diving to his right to save the spot-kick from Dan Griffiths, who reacted quickest to control the ball on his chest before tucking it home.

It looked as if the floodgates might open when Chippenham scored a third in seven minutes when a clearance was picked up by Kieran Parselle on the edge of the box and his shot bobbled into the bottom corner through a crowd of players.

But Clevedon weathered the storm and restricted the hosts to half chances, with a snapshot by Ollie Babbington on 87 minutes almost producing a consolation.

Clevedon are due to host Clevedon United on Saturday and the match is a 2pm kick-off, with admission set at £5 adults and £3 concessions payable by cash or card and under-16s free of charge.

Members of the armed forces, NHS workers and emergency services will also be admitted free of charge on proof of entitlement.