Report by Johnny Davies

A cold affair at Kayte Lane saw Bishops Cleeve settle for a point at home to ten-man Willand Rovers.

The first half was a slow one, with both sides playing long ball football and neither Willand Rovers or Bishops Cleeve having a clear-cut chance.

It was also a disappointing one for Willand Rovers as their number 8 was shown a straight red just before half-time.

The second half of the match saw more action, but mainly action for Bishops Cleeve as they pushed ten-man Willand Rovers back a lot but just couldn't create the right chance to grab a goal in the match

The full-time whistle then blew at Kayte Lane, with both sides sharing a point in a cagey affair.

The opening 5 minutes were slow, with both sides playing long ball football and most of the action being in there.

Neither Bishops Cleeve nor Willand Rovers were creating chances, but they were both working hard.

The first chance of the game came after 11 minutes, but it wasn't for the Mitres.

A free kick into the box by Willand was met well, but the headed attempt was tipped over brilliantly by Lewis Clayton in the net.

As the 20th minute mark approached, action was not picking up and Cleeve had not registered a shot on target yet.

However only a few minutes later, Cleeve managed to find their feet in the game.

Ethan Dunbar came close, hitting the post after a long throw into the box fell to the number 9.

Matt Bower then also had a shot, hitting it from outside the area but missing the target.

With ten minutes to go in the match, clear-cut chances were still not coming for either side but action was heating up with Matt Liddiard going into the book.

As the first half was coming to a close, Willand were reduced to ten men when Ashton Hewitt was shown a straight red for violent conduct.

The half-time whistle then blew and Bishops Cleeve went back into the tunnel with high spirits as the better side were reduced to ten men.

Cleeve kicked off the second half and started off by looking lively, creating a chance just 2 minutes in.

The advantage in numbers was paying off for Cleeve as they were creating chance after chance in the opening ten of the second half.

Nothing was coming yet for the Mitres, but they were looking a lot more lively than the first 45 minutes.

New signing James Harding made his debut for the club as he replaced Dunbar in the 59th minute.

An unfortunate moment then occurred for Will Turner as the substitute came on for 9 minutes, but then was forced to go off through injury.

With 20 minutes to go, the score remained at 0-0 but Cleeve were the side coming close to an opener.

Willand came very close in the 78th minute when a shot was dragged just wide of the post, still no goals were showing in the game however.

Cleeve came close with five minutes to go as Noah Parker played a low ball into the box for Harding.

Harding laid off the ball for captain Ross Langworthy, but his shot was tame and saved by the Willand keeper.

With the last minutes approaching, Cleeve came close again, but the Willand keeper made a great save to get it out for a corner.

Cleeve earned an indirect free-kick in the 91st minute, but their effort was blocked and nothing came from it.

The full-time whistle then blew, and it was a point-a-piece for Cleeve and Willand

Bishops Cleeve's next game will be at home to Thatcham Town on Tuesday the 3rd December.