TAVISTOCK 2

CREDITON 2

ON a fantastic Langsford Park playing surface Tavistock hosted Crediton looking to bounce back from an away draw with Okehampton. Crediton on the other-hand were looking to improve on an away defeat to Galmpton.

From the opening minutes it was evident to see that Tavistock would be playing on the front foot dominating possession, with Crediton adopting a 3-5-1-1 formation, putting men behind the ball and trying to play on the counter attack.

Tavistock made a quick start spreading the ball to their pacey wingers at every opportunity and created early chances which Josh Robbins and Carlton Farnham failed to make the most of.

During the opening half-an-hour Tavistock probably had around 70 per cent possession but the best chance fell the way of the visitors when a swift counter attack ended with Matt Woodward heading wide when well placed.  

This proved costly as straight down the other end as Tavistock took the lead through Jarryd Kelly who slammed home the loose ball from 10 yards.

The final 15 minutes would be crucial for Crediton not to concede and fall two behind and had goalkeeper Nathan Keast to thank when he saved a powerful drive from outside the box from Dan Follett.

Crediton held out until the break and went in one behind.

The second half started as the first had finished with Tavistock dominating possession and playing some really attractive passing football.

Chances came and went until the crucial moment of the match. In the 58th minute Josh Kites' under hit pass was collected by Josh Robbins and his vicious shot could only be parried by Keast and Jarryd Kelly was on-hand to tuck home and give Tavistock a seemingly unassailable lead.

At this point it looked a case of how many Tavistock could score. But in the 65th minute Crediton player/manager Matt Trenaman picked up an injury and substituted himself for Josh Badham and this resulted in a more attacking outlook.

In the 71st minute Tavistock centre-half Luke Rundle inexplicably tried a square ball on the edge of the area and although Martin Piper made a terrific initial save, Badham was able to tuck home the rebound.

This gave Crediton confidence and to the surprise of everyone in attendance they drew level five minutes later through a fantastic 45-yard pass from Steve Avery who found Richard Blake unmarked 12 yards out who powered the header home to send the away players and fans into hysterics.

The final 15 minutes saw Tavistock reassert themselves but they could not get that illusive winning goal.

Undoubtedly two points dropped for Tavistock and one gained for Crediton but an enthralling game of football to watch.

Disappointing result after

positive first half

CREDITON 1

LIVERTON UNITED 3

ON a mild afternoon at Lords Meadow, Crediton to build upon a fine away draw at Tavistock the previous week, with the visitors looking for back-to-back away victories after a win at Plymstock.

For the second week in a row Crediton had to make do without leading scorer Kenny Ord.

Both teams lined up with a 3-5-2 formation and from the off was a fiery and fractious match which limited the amount of attacking flowing football.

In the opening half Crediton were the better of the two teams having the lion share of possession without creating many chances. At the other end Liverton rarely threatened.

The deadlock was broken in the 31st minute when a Richard Blake through ball released Ben Pike who drilled home from just inside the box.

The rest of the half was fiercely contested with both sides receiving a yellow card apiece.

If the first half was anything to go by you would have thought a home win would be of good value, but this all changed in a whirlwind 15 minute spell for the visitors.

After sustaining some pressure a square pass fell for Ollie Aplin who swept the ball home from 10 yards to level the scores in the 55th minute.

This goal galvanised the visitors and led to their best spell of the match.

After a fortunate deflection, Aplin slotted home his second from eight yards to put the visitors into the lead.

The most contentious decision of the match came in the 66th minute when, after being fouled, Ben Pike stuck out a leg to trip a Liverton opponent up.

Liverton's Aidan Mackin took exception to this and pushed Pike in the chest three times with aggression.

To the surprise of the crowd the referee booked the pair when it seemed a red would have been the correct punishment.

Two minutes later a deep free kick was headed back across goal by Cameron Kelly and Aplin was on-hand from two yards out to complete his hat-trick in the 69th minute.

Crediton tried to reassert themselves in the game and struck the post through Blake and had two efforts cleared off the line.

The game finished on a sour note when a Liverton player stupidly tried to hold onto the ball when Dave Lee was trying to get the ball back and kicked the home player resulting in a red card. An ugly melee ensued but this happened in the 92nd minute and the game was over.

For Crediton, after a positive first half, this was a really disappointing result; for Liverton, an excellent away success, which has them heading in the right direction - up the league.

Scott Joy 

Carlsberg South West Peninsula News