South West Peninsula League Division One East

CREDITON UNITED 1 - EXWICK VILLA 1

CREDITON hosted local rivals Exwick Villa, on March 22, for a second time this season following a 1-1 draw at the sports hub back in August, with the pitch looking in its best condition since late October.

Creddy were able to field a strong squad with long-term absentee Lawrence Khoo even making a return to the bench after five months out injured.

The game started with the hosts getting the ball and trying to pass their way up the pitch, with the visitors looking for more direct play into their tall strong strikers. The game was only 15 minutes old when Nathan Keast did his “jammy hammy” (meaning trendy) and had to don the gloves from the bench.

Five minutes later a shocking backpass from Craig Skinner saw Matt Trenaman having to rush the clearance which saw him get smashed late, meaning he had to kick with his left foot for the rest of the match.

This did not deter Creddy however, and after a few close shaves, they took the lead on 36 minutes.

A long ball forward from Michael Broom put Richard Blake through and he just got there ahead of Fred Tonkin in the vistior’s goal and the prolific front mans finish went in off the underside of the bar.

This saw Creddy ramp up the pressure for the final 15 minutes of the half.

More hamstring misery struck on 39 minutes after a burning run down the left flank when Morish was struck.

Tyler Cooke was agonisingly close to breaking his scoring duck, when after a fine run his low strike from 25 yards hit the inside of the post and was away to safety.

Blake then had a shot well-saved by Tonkin and also did well to tip a Durrant header over the bar to leave the score 1-0 at the break.

The second half saw a switch in momentum with the visitors starting to dominate the middle of the park and saw the hosts get more stretched.

After a good period of possession Villa drew level on 64 minutes. Harry Taylor unleashed a low strike from 22 yards that beat Trenaman and nestled in the bottom corner.

From here on out both teams had half chances but could not quite get that golden chance. The visitors struck the bar from a looping header and Cookey hitting the post for the second time with a driven effort. Both sides huffed and puffed in the final 10 but could not find that winning goal.

Crediton will feel they should have won based on their first half dominance, but Villa will feel they merited their point based on their second half superiority.

Nathan Keast