The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club
Bromsgrove Rovers 1 - 1 Tiverton TownSaturday 06/10/2007 Southern League Premier Division | Tivvy Archive |
Tiverton Town had every reason to be optimistic going into the match at Victoria Road - they had played Bromsgrove Rovers on five previous occasions and won all five, including a 5-0 hammering in their last league meeting. But history counts for little and the Yellows have undergone some major changes since the last meeting between the sides four years ago. For their part Rovers were almost in a state of disrepair, missing key players all over the park due to injury, and their patchwork side would need to be on top of their game to deny Tivvy a sixth straight win in this fixture. Despite the reshuffled side it was the home team, attacking down the hill that opened the game sharpest, and but for some crucial last-gasp defending they might have found themselves a goal to the good within five minutes. Kevin Banner, ultimately the home side’s saviour scampered free down the left flank and his low cross was deflected out for a corner by Tom Gardner with livewire striker Nathan Lamey lurking, and the resulting corner was hacked off the line by Jak Martin, denying Jermaine Clarke just inside the post. The Yellows, for their part, saw little of the ball in the early exchanges, and a weak 20 yard effort from Glen Gould was one of few chances for the visitors as they struggled to impose themselves on the game. Lamey was once again in the thick of the action moments later but could only deflect Sam Alsop’s shot wide of the mark; the linesman had already raised his flag for offside, however, and the chance was gone even before it arrived. Through large parts of the first half the match became bogged down in midfield, and Carl Cliff-Brown saw yellow for an elbow on Matt Birley, while Rovers’ resources were further stretched as they were forced into and early substitution, Wayne Dyer replacing Clarke only half way through the opening period. Banner fired in a low shot from distance just beyond the half-hour mark which Ray Johnston in the Tivvy goal gathered comfortably, and as the interval drew closer Tiverton finally woke up and managed to pressure Chris Taylor’s goal. Tom Knighton saw a brace of chances go begging, the first when he latched onto a long ball only to lift the ball over Taylor and agonisingly wide, and then just a minute later Taylor palmed the young striker’s powerful shot over the crossbar. Matt Villis headed over from the corner that followed, and it looked at that point as if the stalemate would remain through to the half time whistle. But with momentum behind them Tivvy kept up the pressure, and on the stroke of half time took a controversial lead. Cliff-Brown skipped past the challenge of John Snape, the linesman, who was right on the spot signalled a foul against the Town player, but the referee turned down the assistance from his assistant and waved play-on. Snape was now a yard behind play as Cliff-Brown cut in from the right touchline and blasted a swerving shot towards the near post. Taylor got a good hand on the ball but the ferocity of the shot meant that the luckless ‘keeper could only divert the ball into the net. Snape, understandably was furious that a foul wasn’t given and was shown the yellow card for remonstrating with the officials. Tiverton led 1-0, and with Martin hoofing another Bromsgrove effort away from danger the interval finally arrived. The second half followed much the same pattern as the first, with the home side making more forward progress, but the ball primarily being knocked around from one team to the other with little guile or conviction. Again it was Knighton that looked the most likely to bother the Rovers defence, but when his effort was bravely smothered by Taylor, and the custodian also pushed away Chris Vinnicombe’s rasping free kick Tivvy were spent as an attacking force. Lamey neatly headed on a cross from Banner on the hour, but Dyer, as tall as he is could have done with a couple more inches, and his sliding effort was in vain as he just failed to get what would have been a decisive touch from ten yards. And it was Dyer again, who talked his way into the referee’s notebook seconds earlier that again saw a chance go begging as he skied an effort from the edge of the area with Rovers now piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Dyer headed wide with ten minutes still to play, and Tivvy, clinging on, were keen to run down the clock as much as the referee would allow, and maintain their one-hundred percent record against Bromsgrove. Martin pushed this tactic beyond the extreme and was rightly booked for hacking the ball the length of the pitch when the referee had already stopped play for a Town free kick with just five minutes left on the clock. And then the home side got the equaliser they so dearly craved and so richly deserved, albeit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. A cross from the right hit Tom Gardner on the arm, leaving the referee with little choice but to award a penalty kick, and Banner stepped up to drill the spot kick low to Johnston’s left to bring the game level. This was Banner’s third successful penalty of the season, and equally as late into the game, although somewhat more important than his penalty against Bedford on the opening day of the season. There was just time remaining for Marlon Walters to shoot agonisingly wide, and the final score of one apiece was greeted more by the travelling supporters than the locals. An unpretty game between two sides that have a lot of work to do before they can pretend to be challengers at the sharp end of the table was brought to a close, Tiverton’s perfect record against Bromsgrove was ended, and few people were genuinely happy with a point, for varying reasons. Bromsgrove Rovers: Chris Taylor; Matt Birley (Paul Lloyd 45), Jamie Petty, John Snape, Chris McHale, Marlon Walters, Sam Allsop, Mark Taylor (David Bridgwater 72), Jermaine Clarke (Wayne Dyer 24), Nathan Lamey, Kevin Banner Tiverton Town: Ray Johnston; Luke Clarke (Lewis Irish 90), Chris Vinnicombe, Matt Villis, Jak Martin, Tom Gardner, Lee Groves, Will Gardner, Carl Cliff-Brown, Glenn Gould (Paul Wyatt 77), Tom Knighton Attendance: 363 |
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