The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club
Tiverton Town 2 - 1 Cirencester TownSaturday 24/11/2007 Southern League Premier Division | Tivvy Archive |
A seemingly endless wait for a home win finally came to an end on Saturday as Tiverton Town picked up maximum points against Cirencester Town thanks to a debut goal from loanee Paul Hinshelwood. A run of five matches over the course of thirteen weeks had seen Tivvy pick up just a solitary point in front of their own supporters, and the wafer thin squad was further stretched with the loss of Jak Martin and Luke Clarke along with injury keeping Will Gardner on the sidelines, and Chris Vinnicombe missing the match through suspension. In came Hinshelwood with fellow Torquay United player Darren Mullings and Danny O’Brien from Yeovil as Town scraped a team together in their effort to avenge the defeat suffered against Cirencester two weeks earlier. The visitors started the game with more confidence and moved the ball around the midfield briskly, but soon found themselves kept at bay by the Yellows defence as Tiverton gradually found their feet and came into the match. O’Brien showed his willing to run with the ball at his feet, and would go on to cause Matt Shaxton, Ciren’s left wing back a host of problems throughout the first half, while Tom Knighton once again delivered an excellent performance with his persistence and came away with a goal to justify his showing. That goal came just three minutes into the match as he raced through the defence to pick up on an inch-perfect pass from Chris Young and guided his shot, with the help of a deflection, wide of Matty Bulman and just inside the right hand upright. Tiverton were denied a chance to double their lead just a few minutes later when the linesman flagged Young offside despite the ball arrowing towards Knighton on the opposite side of the pitch. The flagsman was quick to acknowledge his mistake, but the moment had passed and the lead remained at one. Knighton and Hinshelwood combined well shortly after but O’Brien’s cross at the end of the move eluded everyone and ran out of play for a goal kick, but Tivvy were very much on top against a lacklustre Centurions outfit. The visitors did find some forward momentum but player/manager Adi Viveash nodded wide of the mark from Shaxton’s free kick, and Nick Stanley reciprocated when he met Andrew Chapman’s corner. Steve Robertson made it a hat-trick of off-target headers when he half-heartedly glanced Chapman’s cross well wide, while Cirencester’s only other chance of the first half fell to Shaxton, but he could only fire straight at Ray Johnston. Tiverton had enough opportunities to extend their lead in an open first period, and Mulling’s headed Hinshelwood’s corner over the top and Tom Gardner did exactly the same when Knighton floated in a sumptuous free kick from out wide. Knighton had a shot blocked at point blank range and then saw an effort ruled out after he was adjudged to have fouled Viveash in the build up. More pressure came from the home side on the resumption of the game, and Mullings was desperately unlucky to see his cross deceive everyone and bounce off the post, and then Young’s strike was deflected beyond Bulman only for Alex Frost to hack the ball clear from beneath the crossbar. But just three minutes into the second half Cirencester equalised against the run of play. Dan Wallington sent in a corner from the left and Stanley rose at the near post to level the match. This marked the third goal in the last four games that Town have conceded from a corner kick, and must be a cause for concern. Cirencester then almost took an unexpected lead but Johnston kept out Stanley’s shot after Gardner had fluffed his attempt to clear, and Tivvy were soon back on the offensive. The Tiverton lead was restored just before the hour mark when Hinshelwood fired a rasping shot from the edge of the area through a sea of legs, with both Knighton and Young having efforts blocked in a goalmouth scramble in the lead up, and Knighton would later drag a shot disappointingly wide when he had wriggled into a good position through the inside left channel. At the other end hearts were in mouths as the Tivvy offside trap comically failed, leaving Nathan Haisley free inside the area with just Johnston between him and the equalising goal. With time to consider the options Haisley lifted the ball over Johnston, but just too high and the ball clattered the crossbar and bounced straight to the goalkeeper with the Town defence breathing a huge sigh of relief. Lee Groves replaced Young and took just eight minutes to earn himself a booking, while Mullings was also shown the yellow card following an off-the-ball tussle with Michael Jackson, but Tiverton were able to see the game out with reasonable comfort, and elevated themselves three places up the league table in the process. Tiverton Town: Ray Johnston; Paul Hinshelwood, Paul Wyatt, Matt Villis, Nathan Rudge, Tom Gardner, Danny O’Brien, Radley Veale, Chris Young (Lee Groves), Darren Mullings, Tom Knighton Goals: Knighton 3, Hinshelwood 57 Booked: Mullings 81, Groves 85 Sent Off: None Cirencester Town: Matt Bulman; Dan Wallington, Andrew Chapman (Jon Else 61), Nathan Haisley, Adi Viveash, Alex Frost, Chris Collins, Michael Jackson, Steve Robertson (Chris Davis 54), Nick Stanley, Matt Shaxton Goals: Stanley 48 Booked: Jackson 81 Sent Off: None Attendance: 251 |
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