TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 2 Kings Langley

The Yellows now find themselves just two places above the drop zone, although five points separate them and Gosport Borough who currently occupy 20th place, after a third successive league defeat in a row, after defeats at Farnborough and at home to Chesham United previously, has not set the panic alarm ringing at maximum decibels throughout the club but in the same breat it`s not far short of it as again the Yellows came up short. Play-off contenders Kings Langley left a sun drenched Ladysmead with all three points after a goal in the first half from Rene Howe and then Steve Ward in the second secured the victory, Levi Landricombes twentieth league goal three minutes after the visitors took the lead turned out to be nothing more than a consolation. Josh Key and Stewart Yetton returned to the starting line-up, Key missed the defeat to Chesham through illness while Yetton was deemed only fit enough for a place amongst the substitutes, in place of Callum Hall and Tom Bath and legendary defender Tom Gardner racked up his 600th Yellows appearance of a career that has seen him a part of the set up at Ladysmead since the start of the 2005/06 season. The visitors, meanwhile, fresh from a two-one victory at home to Hartley Wintney in midweek that had hoisted them in to the play-off places, named an unchanged starting XI.

The visitors enjoyed the lions share of the possession early on but it was their keeper Alex Tokarczyk (however that`s pronounced) that was the first of the two custodians called in to action, diving to his right to brilliantly keep out a close range Stewart Yetton header after the returning Key had managed to dig out a cross and as the Yellows continued to press for an opening goal, it was a smidgen against the run of play when the visitors struck first as Rene Howe beat Armstrong with a fine shot from the edge of the area on eighteen minutes.

Their lead lasted just three minutes though. Key again was heavily involved as his surging run forward run was illegally halted and Levi Landricombe, playing at Ladysmead for the last time this season as he misses the Harrow Borough and Beaconsfield matches, caught Tokarczyk out and squeezed his free kick in through a plethora of legs for league goal number twenty. The visitors though finished the half the stronger of the two sides, Andronicos Gergiou was foiled on two ocassions, firstly by a last ditch block from Jordan Dyer and then Armstrong tipped away his fiercely hit drive from a tight angle after he had ghosted past several challenges.

As entertaining as the first half was, the second period took a while to get going. Steve Colwell passed up two bites of the cherry to put the Yellows ahead for the first time, his first shot well blocked Langley captain Jorell Johnson before the second was sliced well wide and as had previously happened the visitors re-took control and eventually, eleven minutes from time, scored what turned out to be the winner. Rene Howe and second half substitute Rohdell Gordon combined and although Gardner blocked Gordons` initial effort, the ball sat up perfectly, from a Langley point of view, for Steve Ward to volley home and secure all three points. The Yellows almost snatched a point, as they had done in the reverse fixture back in September as River Allen struck late to secure a two-all draw, in the dying seconds as a free-kick from halfway was headed goalwards by Michael Landricombe and brother Levi sent a spectacular overhead kick only inches wide.

Tiverton Town: Liam Armstrong, Josh Key, Jordan Dyer, Jamie Price, Ben Mammola (Callum Hall 90), Tom Gardner (Max Smallcombe 82), Michael Landricombe, Steve Colwell, Stewart Yetton (Tom Bath 78), Levi Landricombe, Harrison Davis
Goal:.Levi Landricombe 21

Attendance: 209