TIVVY ARCHIVE

Gosport Borough 0 - 5 Tiverton Town

The Yellows ended their recent poor run of form in emphatic fashion against bottom of the table Gosport Borough to condemn the hosts to consecutive defeats by the same score; mention of any such victory is usually regarded as a foregone conclusion but any five-nil win away from home is no mean achievement though, especially after the recent downturn in form and the result and performance will certainly have gone a long way toward restoring any damaged confidence within the group. First half goals from brothers Landricombe as well as a Jamie Short tap in were added to in the second half by Jared Lewington’s first for Tivvy and Jordan Rogers’ first league goal since his injury. The fit again wing back Nick Hurst returned to the starting line up, maybe or not a coincidence that the Yellows had not been at their best during his absence, allowing Short to revert to his preffered attacking midfield role, Tom Bath dropping to the subs bench ,while the hosts had added four new faces to their ranks, including the son-in-law of manager Martyn Rogers, forward Craig McAllister.

Goals away from home had been hard to come by recently, in fact you have to go back to the 2-1 victory at Dunstable at the end of November to find the last time they had registered on the road, so when Levi opened the scoring on twenty-five minutes, firing home at the back post after getting on the end of a long throw in, the relief was obvious, especially after gilt-edged chances for eventual Man of the Match Jared Lewington to open his Tivvy account and the scoring come and gone. One became three in a matter of two and a bit minutes though and any nerves were more than duly settled. The returning Nick Hurst was instrumental in both, firstly, his pinpoint cross was headed home emphatically by Michael Landricombe, with shades of reminiscence of the first goal at Salisbury in last seasons play-off final, and then Hurst sent a rasping left foot drive which Tom Price in the Gosport goal could only tip on to the crossbar allowing Short all the time in the world to tap in number three while the previously unduly troubled or tested Martin Rice, making a first return to Gosport since having made 17 appearances for them in 2016, made a smart save on the stroke of half time, diving low to his left to keep out Jack Breed’s effort.

Whilst the match had already seen a first for the season, Michael Landricombe’s goal, the second half would eventually add some more. Levi, returning to full fitness, thought he had added his second of the afternoon and the Yellows fourth six minutes after the interval, volleying Ollie Knowles cross home only to have his celebrations spoilt by the sight of an offside flag before he was eventually replaced by the fit again Jordan Rogers. Lewington has quickly endeared himself to the Tivvy faithful, as well as his team mates with his performances after making the step up from Buckland and it was only going to be a matter before he opened his account and so when he duly did just that on seventy-one minutes, bundling home a Callum Hall delivery for Tivvy’s fourth, his own, his team mates and the fans joy was clear for all to see. The biggest cheer of the afternoon though, was still to come.

After the kind of injuries often seen in a car accident, the speed of Rogers’ recovery has been not far short of miraculous after the unfortunate incident at the Yellows next league opponents, St. Ives Town, back in October. His only previous goals for Tivvy were the hat-trick he had scored in the 8-1 Devon St. Lukes victory over Buckland back in September and so when he arrowed arguably the best goal of the day in to the far corner, left footed, after tricking his way past two defenders, again the joy and delight of all involved was clear, and nothing more than Rogers deserved for all his hard work and determination.

Tiverton Town: Martin Rice, Nick Hurst, Callum Hall, Jamie Price, Ben Mammola (Owen Irish 74), Tom Gardner, Jamie Short (Tom Bath 68), Ollie Knowles, Jared Lewington, Levi Landricombe (Jordan Rogers 68), Michael Landricombe
Goals: Levi Landricombe 25, Michael Landricombe 34, Jamie Short 36, Jared Lewington 71, Jordan Rogers 87

Attendance: 218