TIVVY ARCHIVE

The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club


Shortwood United 1 - 0 Tiverton Town

Saturday 11/03/2017   Southern League First Division
Simon Ellis

Whilst it must be remembered that a whole season is rarely affected by the outcome of a single match, it was the manner of the latest defeat that left such a sour taste in the mouths. To put it in to context is simple: Shortwood had not won a league match at The Meadowbank since October and only Evesham had failed to score there before last Saturday.  Captain Will Morford scored the only goal of the game ten minutes before the interval, and but for the heroics of Man of the Match Joe Perry in the second half the margin of victory could have been greater, Tivvy were lucky to get nil.

Jordan Storey replaced Tom Gardner in the only change from those who comprehensively saw of North Leigh last time out, a change with upcoming matches against play-off rivals in mind, no doubt. Officiating at this level has been the subject of many social media outbursts over the course of this season and whilst the job they do is a difficult one, inconsistency in decision making is rife. Owen Howe barged to the floor by larger-than-life central defender Nick Peare on five minutes was as clear-cut a penalty as you are ever likely to see, and whilst the view of referee Robin Cox may have been obscured, it was right under the nose of one of the young assistants, who was uninterested in the Yellows' claims.

Aside from that, Nick Pearce and ex Tivvy defender Ed Weeks dealt with everything else that Tivvy's forwards could muster with considerable ease and it was Shortwood's front three who were causing all the problems. Only minutes before they took the lead, eventual goal scorer Morford put one on a plate for Haydon Turner who blazed over from close range, and when the goal did arrive it was a beauty. Nick Humphry's ball in was only partly cleared and Morford's left foot volley from a tight angle flew high into the top corner despite the best efforts of Perry.

Perry did brilliantly well to prevent the Yellows falling further behind at the start of the second half and whilst second half possession stats would have been hugely in Tivvy's favour, their route to goal was blocked, most spectacularly when Weeks flung himself in front of Levi Landricombe's close range volley, which was as close as the Yellows came to rescuing anything from a disappointing and below par afternoon.


Tiverton Town: Joe Perry, Jamie Price, Nick Hurst (Teigan Rosenquest 84), Ben Mammola, Steve Kingdon (Tom Bath 71), Jordan Storey, Jamie Short Michael Landricombe, Owen Howe, Levi Landricombe, Scott Rogers (Ben Carter 79)

Attendance: 64


This report ©2017 Simon Ellis