TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 3 Taunton Town

After both sides had needed stoppage time goals to secure a point in their previous matches, the Yellows to maintain their unbeaten start at Harrow while the visitors came back from 3-1 down at home to Hendon, Taunton inflicted a first defeat of the season on the Yellows as goals from Matt Wright, Ollie Chamberlain and Matt Buse, River Allen`s superb strike proving to be nothing more than scant consolation, saw the Peacocks gain revenge for the play-off semi final defeat, the last time the two sides had faced each other, by the same scoreline and leapfrog the Yellows into second place in the league standings on goal difference.

Jordan Rogers replaced Harry Evans for his first start of the season, while the visitors welcomed Brett Trowbridge, re-joining from Street, back into their squad. Both sides took a while to settle, the Yellows early cause not helped as Tom Gardner, making his 577th appearance, limped out of proceedings as early as the twelfth minute with a hamstring injury and Southampton loanee Harrison Davis came on in his place, before the first real opening of the match fell Tivvys way. After some pinball between Emmerson and Tom Bath after a Josh Key cross had caused chaos, Bath stabbed the loose ball goal wards only to see Shane White in the right place to hack the trickling shot clear from underneath his own crossbar while the Peacocks first meaningful attack eventually brought about their opener.

A Ben Adelsbury free kick was excellently tipped over by Armstrong and from the resulting corner referee Martin Underhay penalised and cautioned Price for a foul and pointed to the spot, Matt Wright firing straight down the middle to open the scoring on twenty-three minutes as Armstrong dived to his left. River Allen then spectacularly drew the sides level fourteen minutes later, volleying into the bottom left corner of Lloyd Irishs` net from fully 25 yards after a Levi Landricombe cross was only partially cleared by Emmerson.

That was about as good as it got for the Yellows though, any second half forward forages were fairly comfortably dealt with by the Peacocks back-line and keeper Irish was disappointingly never really tested after the break, the closest the hosts came to scoring was when Allen narrowly missed out on connecting on a deflected Ethan Phillips delivery. Matt Wright turned provider just before the hour when his left-wing cross was headed home by an unmarked Ollie Chamberlain with the help of the underside of the crossbar and Matt Buse sealed the victory deep into second half stoppage time, sidefooting home an Andy Neal, who had to settle for a place among the substitiutes on his return to Ladysmead, ball across the penalty area.

Tiverton Town: Liam Armstrong, Josh Key, Nick Hurst (Harry Evans 83), Jamie Price, Ben Mammola, Tom Gardner (Harrison Davis 12), Jordan Rogers, River Allen, Tom Bath (Ethan Phillips 76), Levi Landricombe, Michael Landricombe

Goal: River Allen 37

Attendance: 749