The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club
Swindon Supermarine 1 - 2 Tiverton TownTuesday 04/09/2007 Southern League Premier Division | Tivvy Archive |
From disappointment at home to jubilation away - our first trip to Hunts Copse on the outskirts of Swindon to play Supermarine gave rise to a game that had everything. The opening exchanges were all one-way as the home side raced down the right flank, Carl Copp delivering a top notch centre that was scrambled clear by Jak Martin inside the first minute. Swindon didn’t have to wait long for their opener though, as a teasing free kick glided in from the left wing was turned home by Ashley Edenborough from close range. Tivvy were a goal down and had barely touched the ball! But undaunted the Yellows got moving and from a corner on the right Tom Gardner was upended on the edge of the area just as he was about to pull the trigger. Carl Cliff-Brown put the resulting free kick over the top, but Tivvy had upped the tempo, jumped a few gears and were playing some encouraging football. Supermarine were also playing nicely, with slick passing opening up the wide areas, and both Copp on the right and David Stroud on the left were seeing plenty of action. Indeed, Stroud should have doubled the lead but he glanced a header inches wide, and then Edenborough was denied by the excellent Ray Johnston. Midway through the first half came the turning point - a fifty-fifty challenge between Cliff-Brown and Leigh Henry ended up with both players floored, and the referee rushed in to show the Tivvy player a yellow card, having already booked him just moments earlier. It was harsh, but Tivvy would have to play out the remaining hour with the reality of having a player less. It forced Town into a plan B of sorts, with no focal point in attack the wide players - Chris Vinnicombe and Jak Martin - were forced to push forward more, and Lewis Irish had to offer more support to the otherwise lonely Paul Wyatt up front. A blessing in disguise maybe, for Tivvy started to play with a real passion, led by the galloping Vinnicombe and the scampering Wyatt. Defying the odds Tivvy outplayed their hosts for much of the remainder of the first half but were unable to find a breakthrough, only a weak shot from Wyatt, and a header from Nathan Rudge going anywhere near the goal. But the second half continued as the first ended, with Irish dribbling through the heart of the Swindon defence before his shot was smothered. Matt Villis had raced forward on that move and was in a much better position, but Irish, it turned out, could be easily forgiven. But before his mini one-man show Johnston was again at the centre of the action, denying Justin McKay when a 2-0 lead for the home side looked a certainty. And then the show really began. Wyatt cracked a shot inches over the top, Tivvy passed and moved and ran and battled, and spread the play like it was a training session, finally getting the breakthrough with twenty minutes remaining. A flowing move, starting with Villis on the right side of defence, took in James Palmer in the centre of midfield before moving swiftly out to Vinnicombe wide on the left. Two passes and a matter of a few seconds opened the game a stretched the Swindon defence, and Vinnicombe’s cross was met on the volley eight yards from goal by Irish. 1-1 and fully deserved, with Irish grabbing his first competitive goal for the club a little more than fifteen minutes after he looked exhausted and ready to be replaced. He wasn’t replaced, and ten minutes later popped up again to secure all three points for Town, capitalising on a weak headed backpass to slot the ball into the far corner from the edge of the area. Supermarine didn’t know what had hit them, and by the time they were losing they had already replaced Edenborough, their main attacking threat with the rather fancy yet particularly uncreative Andy Caton. Wyatt finished the night off with a snapshot which went straight at King, and the Yellows were justifiably given a standing ovation from the pitch at the full time whistle. Swindon Supermarine: Tom King; Kyle Lapham, Danny Allen, Chris Copp (Andy Caton 81), Leigh Henry, Cedric Abraham, Chris Taylor, Justin McKay, Ashley Edenborough (Enoch Boateng 71), Josh Jeffries, David Stroud Tiverton Town: Ray Johnston; Jak Martin, Chris Vinnicombe, Matt Villis, Nathan Rudge, Tom Gardner, James Palmer, Will Gardner, Carl Cliff-Brown, Lewis Irish (Chris Young 90), Paul Wyatt Attendance: 156 |
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