CREDITON UNITED 4 - WALDON ATHLETIC 1

CREDITON First Eleven welcomed the league’s new boys, Waldon Athletic, to Lords Meadow on Monday, September 24, looking to bounce back from their narrow 2-1 night defeat against Axminster on September 21.

Waldon arrived somewhat as an unknown quantity, but have started the campaign brightly, most notably picking up at 2-2 draw at last season’s champions St Martin’s.

Crediton were looking to kick-start their own season, after a mixed bag of results so far this term.

Gaffer Trenaman reverted to a back three, with himself making way for the returning Durrant, who was away on his 11th stag do this year, some people are beginning to question if he actually knows the stag or just loves a beer.

Snow also returned at LWB, replacing Townsend, who has missed a good length of this season already.

Waldon started the game the brightest, with right-winger Harris causing problems.

The opening goal came in the ninth minute and it was of no surprise that it was Harris himself, who broke the deadlock.

After playing a neat one-two with Bond, he beat Waring with a swerving drive from 20 yards, however the Kirton ‘keeper will have been disappointed with his efforts, as it appeared he was wearing his gloves with holes in again.

It was a slow start from the home side, who were struggling to cope with midfield runners from the visitors. They did however get a bit of a foothold in the game and were handed a lifeline just five minutes later, when the impressive Pike was brought down inside the box.

Durrant stepped up, only to see his initial effort saved, however the rebound fell kindly to him and he made no mistake in slotting home, much to the relief of the home fans.

Crediton were beginning to grow in confidence and started to create the better of the chances, White and Durrant combined in a slick manoeuvre which set Ord clean through on goal, he looked certain to score but was denied by a brilliant outstretched leg from visiting ‘keeper Glanville, who was already having a blinder.

The same trio combined again, with Crediton carving the visitors open at will when they upped the tempo, but once again a fine stop from Glanville kept the scores level.

Ord was beginning to wonder what he had to do to score and moments later missed another glorious chance as the home side made a mess of their finishing during a goalmouth scramble.

Waldon still had their moments and Waring had to be alert when Bond tested him with a snapshot from the edge of the box.

As half-time arrived it remained 1-1 but it was Kirton who felt they should have been ahead, despite not really getting out of third gear.

The second half saw Trenaman revert to a back four in a bid to nullify the three-on-three situations seen regularly in the first half.

Skipper Lee, dropped in alongside Goss, leaving Pike and Skinner in the full-back slots, with Durrant dropping deeper into midfield and the wing backs, Snow and Yao, now operating as wingers.

Crediton started the half slowly once again and neither side was able to grab a foothold in the game.

Snow snatched at a chance on the left, before Ord once again found himself in the clear, this time the ‘keeper was a spectator as Ord fluffed his lines and dragged the ball wide.

It was starting to look as though Crediton would live to regret all these missed chances and it was Waldon who nearly regained the lead, Gatting found himself in the clear but was denied by a great save from Waring, who must have changed his gloves at half-time.

Then it was the home side who thought they were in front, a free kick from distance was thrown into the box and it was Lee who rose highest at the back post, heading back across to his centre-half partner Goss, who tapped home. However, the flag was up and the goal was disallowed, as Goss had strayed into an offside position.

It was starting to look as though it wouldn’t be Kirton’s day, however they were handed another lifeline in the 75th minute, when Snow was upended in the box, this gave Durrant a second chance from the spot and he made no mistake this time, hammering the ball past Glanville in the Waldon goal.

The substitutes were having a real impact for the home side, with Townsend and Heritage providing the extra legs in midfield and roadrunner Leach causing problems, with his energetic introduction.

This goal gave Crediton some momentum and two, soon became three, as Snow finally found his shooting boots, curling home from the right-hand side of the box after an audacious “dummy” from Pike, to give Kirton some breathing space.

As the game entered the final stages the visitors were forced to throw numbers forward and nearly found a way back into the game when MacEwen broke from midfield, but his 20-yard drive clipped the outside of the post and Crediton were almost home and hosed.

Crediton’s back four were looking more resolute and as the clock ticked past the 90-minute mark they added a fourth at the other end.

A short back pass was gobbled up by festival-goer Heritage and he made no mistake, sliding the ball between the ‘keeper’s legs to add some gloss to the scoreline.

A much-needed win for Crediton, after a tough run of games and a couple of narrow defeats.

They have now played six, won three and lost three in the league campaign, so will now be looking for some consistency to climb up the table.

Dave Lee