TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 1 Wimborne Town

Tiverton Town will feel they missed a good opportunity to return to winning ways in the league as they were held to a draw at home to Wimborne Town, both goals coming within sixty seconds of each other a quarter of an hour into the match. Matt Kemble bundles home for the visitors before Aaron Dawson grabbed an instant reply with a clever shot from just inside the area, but neither team was able to build on periods in which they were in the ascendancy, meaning a point apiece, a point that isn’t a great help to either team at this stage of the season.

Wimborne were significantly livelier early on and Kemble fired a shot over from close range when he should have hit the target, an early warning for Tivvy who were struggling to clear their lines as the Magpies exploited the wings to good effect. And Max Cream went close on twelve minutes when he met a cross from the right, but crucially Paul Kendall was in place to hack the ball off the line.

With Wimborne pressing it was no surprise when they deservedly took the lead just a couple of minutes later. Alex Parsons found space on the left to cross as Kevin Hill was slow to close down, Tom Jeffes beat Kendall to the header, and although Tiverton goalkeeper Chris Wright was able to save, the rebound fell perfectly for Kemble inside the six yard box, this time Wimborne’s main striker making no mistake.

The goal acted as a wake-up call for the Yellows, and the visiting players had barely finished congratulating each other when Joe Bushin wriggled free and moved the ball left for Dawson. The loanee quickly jinked back inside and with the outside of his right boot managed to curl a fine shot beyond Jason Harvell and into the bottom corner of the net.

And so we were level again, and that is the way things were to stay, thanks largely to Scott Arnold, the Wimborne skipper, who cleared off the line from Hill’s header as Tivvy began to exert some sustained pressure. Arnold had, moments earlier, been cautioned for an agricultural chop on Michael Nardiello, and later in the first half managed to escape further punishment when he launched himself into a hefty challenge that left Dawson sprawled on the turn inside the centre circle.

Bushin and then Liam Ellis both put in shots straight at Harvell either side of the break, while for their part the visitors came close as Jeffes’ low shot narrowly missed the target. Both sides had good chances to win the game inside the final few minutes, Kendall for Tivvy reaching a deep free kick from Ellis but volleying wide as he stretched, and for Wimborne both Parsons and George Webb might have done better, but Wright saved both attempts, the latter sparing Kendall’s blushes as the Tivvy defender had carelessly lost possession deep inside his own half of the pitch.

Tiverton Town: Chris Wright, Liam Ellis, Alex Faux, Kevin Hill, Paul Kendall, Tom Gardner, Josh Searle, Russell, Jee, Michael Nardiello (Ian Sampson 71), Joe Bushin, Aaron Dawson
Goal: Dawson 15
Booked: None
Sent off: None

Wimborne Town: Jason Harvell, Scott Arnold, Ryan Wignall, Mark Jamison, Dan Strugnell, Brad Magookin, Max Cream, George Webb, Tom Jeffes, Matt Kemble (Jordan Cole 73), Alex Parsons
Goal: Kemble 14
Booked: Arnold 28
Sent off: None

Attendance: 213