The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club
Tiverton Town 0 - 2 Bath CitySaturday 06/11/2004 FA Trophy | John Reidy |
George Bernard Shaw´s character Professor Henry Higgins may have evolved into the language expert that wanted to ‘Talk To The Animals´ but he first emerged from the comparative obscurity of Shaw´s ‘Pygmalion´ when Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe adapted the story for their musical ‘My Fair Lady´. When the tale was brought to the silver screen Rex Harrison in the lead role did his best to sing the character´s defining song‚ ‘Why Cant´ the English....´‚ a lament for the crucifying of the English language as spoken by some of the contemporary populace. How the poor man would have cringed today to see the written word being adulterated by ‘Text Language´! i´m sure U no wot I meen! But that is one of the problems with a living language‚ particularly one with the loose rules of grammar that English has. The use of abbreviated forms is nothing new really. At various stages of my life there has been a particular abbreviation that has been part of my life and has generally been accepted in the context in which it has been used. Motorcycling chat was full of CC´s - cubic capacity - when discussing engine sizes. When I became involved in the canine world of dog shows the ultimate prize was a CC - Championship Certificate - awarded to the best of each sex in the top shows. Three of them and your animal became Champion Whatever of Wherever. More recently‚ and appropriately in view of Tivvy´s opponents in their first foray into this season´s FA Trophy‚ my use of such letters has reverted to the more generally accepted idiom of Roman Numerals. V = 5‚ X = 10‚ L = 50‚ C = 100. So......CC would = 200...Strange how that pair of letters should crop up in my life once more for they represent exactly the number of my first team match reports that will have appeared when this one makes it onto the site. Never before have I so wanted a match to inspire me‚ and with The Yellows recent cup form‚ I was optimistic! And when Tivvy poured forward from the kick off to win a corner on the left side in the first 60 seconds it looked as if all the hopes of the home fans might be realised. The kick was over-hit to the far post and though chased and put back into the danger area the delay was enough for the Roman defenders to re-organise and clear the threat comfortably. Neither side seemed prepared to take time exploring their opponents tactics‚ strengths or weaknesses and the contest evolved into an open game. The two sides clearly had different approaches both in their formation and modus operandi. City´s flat back four were as straight a line as you could wish to draw with a ruler. Numerically matched in midfield‚ with John Williams and Scott Partridge buzzing in and around the Tiverton defence in front of them they were able to play some quick passing football leaving the home side to back peddle to the edge of the penalty area where the Yellows then had the numerical advantage. But even when Tivvy did win back possession they were reliant on being able to find Jamie Mudge or Kezie Ibe as they waited to be fed with decent balls out of defence. The Tiverton midfield were lively enough‚ battling and fighting to disrupt the forward momentum of their visitors but they were seldom successful and it was Mark Ovendale that was the busiest of the keepers‚ bringing the first significant save of the match in the 13th minute when he saved well after Mike Trought pounced on a partial clearance to drive his shot in through a crowded penalty area. From the keeper´s clearance Town looked sharp on the break but Mudge´s first touch let him down and City were back in possession. Now if the preceding words seem to paint a grim picture it is a false illusion. Tivvy were creating chances. David Steele in particular was getting forward well on the right wing and‚ though to a less extent Chris Vinnicombe was also applying pressure wide on the left and when a Tiverton corner out on the right was defended out to Steele he had a chance to test Steve Perrin in the Bath goal just as Trought had done earlier but hoisted his shot high over the crossbar. Partridge‚ Williams and Jimmy Benefield were keeping the Tiverton Back line fully occupied without being able to pierce the defensive wall and at the other end too often the crosses that were pouring into the City box were either behind the yellow shirted side´s front runners or to the heads or feet of the visitors rearguard. Tiverton´s most threatening moves‚ in fact came through their attempts to break through the middle. The 32nd minute saw Kevin Wills chip a ball forward for Mudge on the right of centre field but the Tiverton striker´s shot was deflected and then scooped away from Perrin for a corner. But Tivvy´s vulnerability from such set pieces against them is matched by their inability to capitalise on those in their favour and this one went the way of so many....cleared away safely and comfortably. A good build up through midfield involving Shaun Goff‚ Mike Booth and Wills a minute later was brought to an end when Wills tried to carry the ball past the final City man - and failed as a boot was flicked out to touch the ball off his toe. Williams could well have broken the deadlock in the 35th minute when Tiverton failed to clear convincingly from a Bath free kick that was lofted into the penalty area. Both teams showed their talents at the game of head tennis before the ball was eventually brought down by the Roman´s attacker who thumped his shot wide of Ovendale´s goal. His comparatively diminutive partner‚ Partridge‚ who it seemed relied much more on his nippiness than strength had been receding in threat but still managed to stake a claim for the award for the final piece of action in the first half as he collected a silly yellow card for mouthing off at the referee after having had the decision go against him as he tangled with Nathan Rudge in the final minute before the break. Just as Partridge had become steadily less of a threat for the visitors towards the end of the opening 45 minutes‚ Ibe had also lost effectiveness as he became tied up by Trought and Steve Jones at the heart of the Bath defence. But the break either refreshed Ibe or caused the City men to loose concentration as right from the restart Ibe had an excellent chance to put Tiverton in front. Working an accurate 1-2 with Wills he was through on goal and cutting in from the left with only Perrin to beat but fired hard and low into the side netting. Three minutes later there happened an incident which was perhaps to be the turning point of the game. Nathan Rudge‚ king pin of Tivvy´s back line‚ hobbled off (groin injury?) to be replaced by Tom Stocco. It took only a few minutes to see that the Tiverton defence without their skipper were considerably more fragile. The 54th minute saw Williams caught offside as the ball was touched through to him but the referee awarded the free kick to City for a foul that had been committed as the ball was played through. The kick‚ just outside the Tiverton penalty area was touched wide to the left and Williams spurned another chance by firing high when the cross came in. Partridge had possibly been told at the break that he had ten minutes to get back into the game....he hadn´t and that might have been the reason that he was replaced by former Exeter City starlet Reineir Moor. Moor who had played a game for Tivvy pre season (at Crediton) wasted no time in making his mark on the game. A long clearance from the back by City looked to have travelled too far and become a mere formality for Rob Cousins to shepherd back to Ovendale. Between the two of them they managed to miscommunicate their respective intentions Cousins was unclear as to whether Ovendale wanted to have the ball touched back for a big boot clearance. Ovendale‚ close to the edge of the area didn´t make it clear as to what he wanted‚‚ the touch or the shield. In the event neither happened and Moor nipped in to poke the ball past the keeper with his first touch and stroke it along the ground and into the goal with his second. The Romans were on the march‚ their Legions of fans - well that might be literary licence but there were a fair number - were vocally boisterous. Tiverton were playing catch up and changes had to be made. Paul Milsom was brought on in place of Goff‚ indirectly as the new man was used to add strength‚ and weight (ample) to the forward momentum while the comparative lightweight Wills was dropped back into the more central midfield role vacated by Goff. It made little difference. Ibe threatened briefly as he twisted and turned his way into a shooting position only to have the ball hacked away for a corner as he tried to tee up his shot. It was flattery to deceive as from the kick City broke on the left. Graeme Power played the ball forward for Moor and the fresh man further stamped his influence on the game as he drove in a low cross that was met by Benefield at the near post and‚ despite the pressure of a marker‚ turned past Ovendale for the killer goal. With half the second period to run there was still time for a recovery but it failed to materialise. Bath were content in the knowledge that unless Tiverton were able to ‘magic up´ a surprise‚ they could contain them comfortably‚ Steve Winter was brought on to replace David Steele‚ back to his Cheshire Cat impersonations - suddenly fading from sight‚ but that failed to provide the mystical touch. Indeed when Ibe battled to win the ball on the left‚ touched it inside to Mudge who then spread it wide again into the path of Winter‚ the Tiverton substitute´s shot was worthy of a nomination for the day´s Oscar in the category of ‘highest miss´. Tiverton rarely looked like fighting their way back into the game. Milsom added bulk at the front but little else. His one noteworthy contribution was a weak shot that trickled across the goal and wide after he had gone round the outside of his marker after receiving a long ball from Wills. Wills also split the City defence with a ball through to Mudge who again tried to set up Ibe only for last week´s hero to miss the target. City‚ frankly‚ cruised into the second round. Tiverton ambled out. Back in the glory days‚ and even before them‚ the Tiverton players and fans had two ‘Club´ songs. ‘The Bells Are Ringing....´ and for less auspicious occasions, the Goodies ‘Always Look On The Bright Side´. Difficult though it might be I´ll follow the theme of that second song with my parting thoughts. This time last season Tiverton were out of three out of four of their Cup competitions. This season this is the first defeat in such a tie. OK the second may come next week, but being still in three at this stage has got to be an improvement........tra-la, tra-la, la, la, la. lah. Tiverton Town: Mark Ovendale, David Steele (Steve Winter, 68), Chris Vinnicombe, Mike Booth, Nathan Rudge(Tom Stocco, 46), Rob Cousins, Kevin Wills, Iain Harvey, Shaun Goff (Paul Milsom, 59), Kezie Ibe, James Mudge. Subs not used: David Hallett, Jamie Densham. Yellow cards: Rudge, Wills. Bath City: Steve Perrin, Jim Rollo, Graeme Power, Steve Jones, Mike Trought, Bobby Ford, Jimmy Benefield, Gary Owers (Yan Klukowski, 81), Scott Partridge (Reinier Moor, 55), John Williams, Alex Sykes. Subs not used: Steve Tweddle, , Sam Bailey. Justin Shuttlewood Yellow Cards: Partridge. Att: 699 Referee: Mr. P. Grenfell (Penzance) |
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