TIVVY ARCHIVE

The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club


Tiverton Town 5 - 0 Wimborne Town

Saturday 19/09/2020   Southern League Premier Division
Tivvy Archive

What an oddity that Tiverton went into their opening day encounter against Wimborne employing a system which had not been tried and tested through the pre-season games. From playing a reasonably settled 4-2-3-1 system, the Yellows surprised by lining up with a back three, Craig Woodman between Neil Martin and Michael Peck. That left Kyle Egan as an obvious and willing right wingback, and Jordan Bastin on the left flank, perhaps less enamoured with the idea of having to defend, such is his want to press forward.

Ahead of the back line there was Aaron Dawson and Dan Hatfield, so no change there, and that partnership is something that the club must strive to maintain and develop. Both are very good visionary midfielders, and both provide the team a balance that will largely go unnoticed until they are not there. Dawson’s positional intelligence, and Hayfield’s range of passing offers the team something a little different – maybe of the ilk of Conning and Daly of yesteryear.

Up top, four into three doesn’t go, and it was Chris Shephard that missed out, with Jared Lewington and Alex Fletcher supported from deep by Andy Watkins. There was something pleasing about seeing a Tivvy number 7 playing behind the forwards; it was like the good ol’ days when Kev Nancekivelll played the same role Watkins was charged with.

Fletcher was unquestionably the star of the show, causing Wimborne a number of problems even before he scored the first of his three goals five minutes before half time. Keen running saw the striker breach the offside trap with regularity, and a sharp shot on the turn forced smart save from visiting goalkeeper Billy Terrell, who got down quickly to his left to turn the ball onto and around the post. A heavy touch allowed Terrell to smother when Fletcher looked to be through, and the Tivvy number ten was inches away from turning in a drilled cross at the far post. All the while Wimborne offered a good deal themselves, and Jake Sinclair should have done better than to stab an effort over the bar from just six yards out. Lewis Beale saw a low shot saved by the outstretched right foot of Tivvy goalkeeper Lewis Williams, and shortly afterwards the same player rounded Williams but ran the ball out of play under pressure from Woodman.

The game had promised goals, and we got three of them in a crushing six-minute spell before the break. Fletcher won a penalty when his cross was handled by Dan Strugnell, saw his spot-kick brilliantly saved by Terrell, and reacted first to head the rebound into the net for the first goal. Bastin then added a second with an inswinging free kick which Peck just missed, and then so did everybody else, and Fletcher put the Yellows into a dominant position with his second and Town’s third, the shot deflecting off the back of Billy Maybury and past the luckless Terrell.

The scoreline at the interval absolutely flattered Tiverton, but after the break the home side were much more in control, seldom under the same threat from Wimborne. Substitute Jack Lovell dragged a shot hopelessly wide, Maybury struck a free kick straight into the wall, and an acrobatic effort from Charlie Gunson was comfortably held by Williams. But largely the action was confined to the end Tivvy were attacking, with Lewington twice going close, with a header which went narrowly over, and a curling effort from an angle which also missed the target.

Bastin’s set-piece deliveries had been of mixed quality, but he was the provider for Dan Hayfield to score on his debut, sending in a corner which Terrell flapped at, allowing Hayfield the time at the far post to fire home. And Fletcher, who had been denied his hat-trick a minute earlier when his powerful shot struck Lewington, claimed his third by brilliantly turning home Egan’s pinpoint cross.

It was the perfect start for Tiverton, although the glut of goals at the end of the first half took the wind out of Wimborne and made the second period much easier than it perhaps may have been. The Dorset side were game, and very much in with a shout until the 40th minute; the final score therefore not really a fair reflection on the strength of the sides.


Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Kyle Egan, Craig Woodman, Aaron Dawson (Louis Morison 72), Michael Peck, Neil Martin, Andy Watkins (Chris Shephard 63), Dan Hayfield, Jared Lewington, Alex Fletcher, Jordan Bastin (Ed Butcher 78)
Goals: Fletcher 39, 45+1, 83, Bastin 43, Hayfield 74
Booked: Dawson, Egan
Sent off: None

Wimborne Town: Billy Terrell, Daniel Strugnell, Billy Maybury, Callum Chugg, Scott Arnold, Louis Kellaway, Curtis Young, Luke Holmes (Jack Lovell 46), Jake Sinclair (Jamie Henry 79), Charlie Gunson, Lewis Beale (James Langdon 78)
Booked: Sinclair
Sent off: None

Attendance: 302


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