The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club
Tiverton Town 0 - 0 PortsmouthMonday 30/07/2001 Friendly | John Reidy |
As the scoreline might suggest‚ this was a very close match against a full strength Portsmouth team‚ and as a neutral spectator said on the way home‚ "It was difficult to see who was the league side in the second half." Tivvy can take heart from this performance‚ and to most who watched it was a moral victory. Richard Pears made his first start in these friendlies following an impressive performance against Swansea three days earlier‚ but came off almost immediately with achilles damage. Portsmouth had most of the possession in the first half and were that little bit quicker‚ but for all that‚ they rarely threatened the Tivvy goal. The impressive Gary O´Neil hit the bar on 22 minutes and brought a fine save from Paul Edwards ten minutes later. Paul Edwards also saved well from a Nigel Quashie free kick. Tivvy had their chances - one such was a lovely move started and finished by Steve Daley when his shot went narrowly wide following a lovely cross from Dave Toomey. Steve Ovens´ persistance saw him beat Lewis Buxton near the corner flag and pass to Steve Winter who crossed perfectly to Kevin Nancekivell only to have the ball flicked on for a throw in. The last kick of the first half fell to Scott Rogers‚ who shot superbly from 20 yards‚ but ´keeper Tardie got down well to save. Antony Lynch started the second half in place of Dave Toomey‚ the only change that Martyn Rogers made. Tivvy enjoyed much more possession in the second half‚ but could not make it count in front of goal. Just about all of the crowd of 733 thought that Tivvy had won themselves a penalty when on 75 minutes Kevin Nancekivell was brought down‚ but referree Guy Beale adjudged it to be just outside the area. Nicky Marker´s free kick went over the bar. Tivvy upped the pressure in the final 15 minutes and went very close again when the impressive Scott Rogers won a corner and from that‚ Neil Saunders went very close to scoring‚ but his effort went just over. Line up: Edwards‚ Winter‚ Saunders‚ Paul Tatterton‚ Marker‚ Rogers‚ Nancekivil‚ Pears (Ovens)‚ Toomey (Lynch)‚ Daley‚ Leonard. Portsmouth: Tardie‚ Panopolous‚ Vincent (Pitt)‚ Hiley‚ Moore‚ Buxton‚ O´Neil‚ Brady (Migiloranzi)‚ Crouch‚ Bradbury (Vine)‚ Quashie‚ Knight. |
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