TIVVY ARCHIVE

The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club


Tiverton Town 1 - 0 Banbury United

Saturday 05/02/2011   Southern League Premier Division
Tivvy Archive

Tiverton picked up a third successive league victory and with it moved out of the relegation places assuming Windsor & Eton’s record is expunged. Michael Nardiello scored the only goal of the game with three minutes remaining but it was Town goalkeeper Ryan Draper that was the star of the show, saving a first half penalty and making a number of further excellent stops.

Into the face of a strong wind Tiverton found it difficult to make headway in the early stages and it was Banbury that appeared to be the more progressive side. Less than two minutes in Draper saved when one-on-one with Marvin Martin but Tivvy did forge a couple of decent chances only for Joe Bushin to head over and then fire in a snapshot that Joe Murrell got down smartly to smother.

Even before quarter of an hour had been played Banbury won a penalty given when Adam Faux handled in the box. David Stone took the responsibility but his spot kick was struck poorly and Draper guessed correctly to bat the ball away, with the rebound eventually finding it’s way safely out for a goal kick.

United pushed on despite the setback and Tiverton were thankful for a fine last-ditch recovering tackle by Russell Jee which ensured the scores remained tied through until the interval.

The second period saw the Yellows with the advantage of the wind behind their backs and as the game wore on so the home side became more and more of a threat. However, Draper still had to make another fine save from Martin midway through the second half, underlining the ’keeper as the undisputed choice for the man of the match gong.

Tom Gardner shot from well outside the box as Tivvy began to exert their authority on the game but the ball cannoned off the top of the crossbar and over. And with time running out Murrell made an excellent one-handed stop to keep a sharp Bushin effort out of the net.

Tiverton won a sequence of corners as the game approached its climax and the Puritans became visibly nervous as they defended desperately in an attempt to preserve a point that they certainly deserved on the balance of play. But with just a few minutes remaining player/manager Mark Saunders found space on the left side of the penalty area and drilled a shot that was on its way in before Nardiello made absolutely sure from close range.


Tiverton Town: Ryan Draper, Ian Sampson, Alex Faux (Jak Martin 82), Liam Ellis, Tom Gardner, Adam Faux, Russell Jee (Mark Saunders 82), Michael Nardiello, Joe Bushin, David Steele (Ryan Leonard 46)
Goal: Nardiello 87

Banbury United: Joe Murrell, Ollie Stanbridge, Robbie Maddox, Delroy Gordon, Adam Learoyd, Malachi Farquharson, Joe Coleman, Declan Benjamin, David Stone, Marvin Martin (Jason Taylor 90), David Staff, Unused Subs: Aynsley McDonald, Luke Cray

Attendance: 255


This report ©2011 Tivvy Archive