TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 2 - 3 Wingate & Finchley

Considering the weather leading up to the match, it was a miracle Tiverton Town and Wingate & Finchley could even play out their first ever meeting. There was plenty of build up before the match. A heavy defeat to Devon rivals, Bideford, midweek only made this game more significant for Tiverton and just like the stormy conditions, the match itself took many dramatic twists and turns. For much of the first half, Wingate & Finchley were the dominant side using the pace and power of their right-back, Luke Ifil, to cause Tivvys defence all kinds of problems. It was, however, Tivvy who took the lead in the 45th minute when a misguided back pass from the Wingate defence put Levi Landricombe through to calmly slot home his 14th goal of the season. After the break, Tivvy went on the front foot again and quickly went 2 up in the space of 3 second half minutes when Max Smallcombe scored his first for the club in the 48th minute. A rebound from a Tivvy cross was volleyed low, by the Exeter City loanee, past the keeper's left.

Unfortunately for Tivvy though, their luck stopped there. Wingate continued to press hard and were finally rewarded with a goal in the 66th minute when Marc Weatherstone latched onto a pass from the centre, prodding it past Liam Armstrong to make it 2-1. Momentum was building for Wingate and just 5 minutes later, they were back in contention. Charlie Cole, who had looked dangerous all game, finally got his goal when he connected with a low cross from the right, firing Wingate level. Tivvy did their best to respond but by this point, the pitch had taken quite a battering and was disrupting both of the team's flow. Josh Key continued working hard on the right wing and only a few minutes after Wingate's equaliser, teed up Levi Landricombe who blazed over from close range. The match looked to be heading to a replay but football can be a cruel game and 3 minutes before stoppage time, a back pass from Scott Rogers ended up in the Yellow's net. After a couple bobbles and a sliced attempt at a clearance from Liam Armstrong, Wingate were 3-2 up. For the remaining minutes, Tivvy fought for an equaliser but it was in vain. Wingate go into draw for the 3rd qualifying round of the FA trophy, while Tiverton now look ahead to a league clash against Hendon.

Tiverton Town: Liam Armstrong, Josh Key, Callum Hall, Jamie Price, Ben Mammola, Tom Gardner (Joel Randall 77), Harrison Davis (Scott Rogers 68), Max Smallcombe, Tom Bath (Jordan Rogers 68), Levi Landricombe, Michael Landricombe
Goals: Levi Landricombe 45, Max Smallcombe 48

Attendance: 162