East Cornwall­ premier

Sticker 2

Bere Alston United 1

BERE can count themselves unlucky not to come away from high flying Sticker with a share of the spoils after this closely fought encounter.

It is testament to the strength in depth being developed at the club that, despite missing several key players, Bere were able to match their hosts for long periods and after a fairly even start managed to grab the lead in the 15th minute when Markus Pethick's cross was slotted home by Jason Cordice at the near post. Unfortunately Bere were unable to build on that lead and Sticker were level within two minutes when Kyle Friendship's low shot was well saved by Jack Dixon only for Ben Rosevear to smash home the rebound.

For the remainder of the half Sticker had Bere pegged back and forced Jack Dixon into a series of saves with Aaron Rockey in an unfamiliar central defensive role also on top form to keep the Bere goal intact. However, Sticker's relentless pressure finally told when on the stroke of half time Chris Kitson was on hand to fire the home side in front after his initial effort had been well saved by Dixon.

Immediately after the restart Bere twice went close from Chris Bray and Jason Cordice and Sticker's Chris Kitson had another goal bound effort well saved by Dixon.

Sticker again had the lion's share of possession in the second half and several times came close to increasing their lead with Bere applying the pressure in the closing minutes but falling just short of grabbing an equaliser.

Overall, on the balance of play, this was a fair result but Bere can be pleased with their efforts and content in the knowledge that they can compete with the best teams in this league on a regular basis.