Peninsula League Division One East

Saturday, August 13

ST MARTIN’S 3

CREDITON UNITED 0

ON a red-hot summer’s afternoon (August 13) Crediton opened their league campaign with a tough away trip to last season’s high fliers, St Martin’s.

On the back of an unbeaten pre-season Crediton arrived at Minster Park full of confidence. The pitch however, soon put pay to any chance of the expansive free flowing football seen in the impressive pre-season campaign.

It was certain to be more suited to a direct style as the ball was more like a hot potato on the bobbly dustbowl of a surface. Crediton donned their new “Italian style” kit for the very first time and handed a debut to Lee Riggs at centre half.

Undoubtedly the team selection was a big one, after several positive summer additions to the squad, Trenaman and Harris had many decisions to ponder.

They handed starts to returning players, Tonkin, Goss and Bilcock, after previous stints with the club and there were substitute appearances from two other new signings, Bradford and Stone.

Crediton lined up in a familiar 4-3-3 formation but with an unusual amount of height and power running throughout the team. Durrant was chosen to spearhead the attack with last season’s top scorer Richard Blake left on the bench as an impact substitute.

The game started brightly for the Kirton who dominated the Saints and pinned them back in their own half. The pace of Morish on the left was causing their right-back all sorts of problems and Durrant had their defence at sixes and sevens after adopting a number of “false 9” positions.

Both Morish and Durrant had good chances to open the scoring, the former, rounding the ‘keeper but firing wide from a narrow angle and the latter, forcing a great save from the young Saints ‘keeper.

Crediton looked to test the Saints stopper with crosses at every opportunity, after he flapped at an early cross-shot from McCann.

A series of corners lead to an ugly goal mouth scramble which somehow the Saints managed to clear. At the other end, Ace High raced clear for the Saints but just as he looked certain to score, he stood on the ball and the chance went begging.

This was the only real chance for the home side, as the new look back four looked solid and the midfield trio of Lee, Carpenter and Bilcock dominated the breakdown and turned defence into attack at every opportunity, pinning the Saints deep within their own half for the majority of the first 45 minutes.

The fact that Kirton did not go in at the break at least one goal to the good was probably the only disappointing thing of a very positive opening half of the season, with the manager’s team selection extremely justified.

The second half was the polar opposite of the first, with Saints storming out of the blocks, and Crediton on the back foot. Ten minutes into the second half a short backpass from debutant Riggs let former player Kev Pike nip in and slot past the on-rushing Tonkin into the far corner.

A disastrous start to the half, and the next 15 minutes were ones to forget for the away side. Saints doubled their lead on 60 minutes as a jinking run down the left from Pike, ended with a floated ball to the far post, where the right winger was left unmarked and on-hand to head home.

Two soon became three as Crediton conceded another soft goal, a looped cross from the right evaded the statuesque back four and allowed the prolific Ace High to head home from 15 yards.

That saw the end of the goal scoring and Crediton finally settled back into their rhythm after effectively giving the game away in the softest of fashion.

The attacking trio of Bradford, Blake and Stone were introduced to try and inject some impetus on proceedings and although performance improved, the Saints held firm and never really looked in danger of letting their lead slip.

A disappointing end to a day that started so brightly and on another day, if Crediton had taken their chances, the result could have been very different.

Nathan Keast