TIVVY ARCHIVE

The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club


Tiverton Town 5 - 0 Walton Casuals

Saturday 24/10/2020   Southern League Premier Division
Tivvy Archive

Tiverton’s relentless stranglehold on top spot in the Southern League continues; Walton Casuals the latest victims of the free-scoring Yellows, who extend their impressive home record to four wins from four with sixteen goals scored and just two conceded. These sort of statistics reflect those from the later years in the Western League, but the opposition is stronger now, and the dominance that Tivvy are showing in front of their own supporters is testament ab team that is able to play with freedom and confidence, and has the ability to make their chances pay dividends. That freedom can be well illustrated by the frequent yet non-detrimental changes in formation: against Walton in was 4-4-2, with the significant tactical subtleties coming largely in the wide areas. Jordan Bastin started on the left, Chris Shephard on the right but with more tendency to drift inside. By the time Shephard succumbed to injury, the wingers had already swapped flanks, and Bastin thereafter stayed on the right, with Jordan Lam now hugging the left touchline. Elsewhere, it was much as one might expect: a standard back four, Louis Morison and Dan Hayfield in the middle, and Jared Lewington recalled up front to partner Alex Fletcher. Tivvy were set… well set. They probably didn’t expect things to be quite as easy, though.

The first 120 seconds aside, poor Walton Casuals didn’t really have a meaningful kick in the first half, such was the gulf in class on the day.  It was absolutely all yellow, with Bastin the first to have a sight at goal, but he was never quite perfectly balanced as he swivelled and shot over the bar. No need to worry though, as just eight minutes in and Hayfield’s clipped free kick into the box may or may not have been heading for Fletcher: we’ll never know as the Tivvy forward’s attempt to reach the ball was thwarted by a handful of his shirt in the grasp of Nathaniel Oseni – yellow card, penalty, duly converted by Town’s top scorer. Less than ten minutes further in and one became two with the pick of the goals from the afternoon. A devastating counter-attack was launched, Lewington doing superbly well to move the ball right to Shephard. Faced with a handful of options, Shephard advanced and then squared the ball to Fletcher, who in turn flicked it delicately on, leaving Morison with space to slot home inside the far post. Further chances came and went and it looked like a hammering could be on the cards: Leighton Fanshawe palmed over a shot from Hayfield, Lewington was denied by the Casuals goalkeeper, and then the same player nodded wide of the mark. And as if it wasn’t already desperate enough for the visitors, Oseni was sent off for a careless foul on Bastin in the middle of the park which could have been a straight red card but was merely a second yellow. There was still time in the first half for Lewington to loop a header onto the post, and interval thoughts were centred on how big the eventual winning margin would be.

If Walton were to make a challenge it needed to be soon after the restart that they showed assertiveness, but Tivvy were not going to allow them a sniff, and continued to control the tempo of the game, with Fletcher coming within a whisker of adding to his tally as he headed Egan’s cross wide of the mark. The dominance of the home side was largely down to the midfield duo of Morison and Hayfield, the latter excelling to a point where he had not only secured the man-of-the-match award inside an hour, but was also bringing back memories from the longer-standing Ladysmead supporters of the sort of performances witnessed by Steve Daly. High praise indeed, and fully merited thanks to such a dominant and driven midfield display – it may have taken Hayfield a little while to get fully into the Tivvy swing, but his recent form points to a player that has all the attributes to succeed and excel at this club. To se a midfielder controlling the game the way he did, with no pretence, was worth the entry money alone. So of course, Tivvy’s third of the afternoon would be from that man Hayfield, a free kick though the fragile defensive wall, into the bottom corner, and that was the game as good as won.

If Lewis Williams is on a clean sheet bonus then he eventually had to earn it, and saves from Mitchal Gough and Zidan Akers made him earn his keep, although and crazy goalmouth scramble had Williams thankful to Fletcher and then Hayfield for bailing him out as Adam Coombes had two shots in quick succession. This all came in a five-minute spell where the Casuals looked like they fancied putting up a fight, but once negotiated it was back to type. Lewington finally got the goal his excellent performance deserved as he was set up by Fletcher, and roles were reversed a few minutes later as Lewington set up Fletcher for the fifth of the game. It was all rather easy for Tiverton in the end, although praise is due for the ruthlessness they showed when it mattered, and for the balance of the line-up. There are tougher games on the horizon, but no better way to prepare for them. Tivvy will need the likes of Hayfield and Morison to continue their control in the centre of the park, Bastin to deliver the unexpected, and Fletcher to keep amongst the goals. Easy to write, not so easy to deliver.


Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Kyle Egan, Craig Woodman, Louis Morison (Aaron Dawson 70), Michael Peck (Cheick Diabate 70), Neil Martin, Jordan Bastin, Dan Hayfield, Jared Lewington, Alex Fletcher, Chris Shephard (Jordan Lam 32)
Goals: Fletcher 8p, 86, Morison17 , Hayfield 62, Lewington 82
Booked: Peck
Sent off: None

Walton Casuals: Leighton Fanshawe, Andrew Joshua, James O’Halloran, Nathaniel Oeni, Joe Morrison, Michal Gough, Tayshan Hayden-Smiih, Hamilton Antonio (Jacob Munting 83), Kyen Nicolas (Gabriel Odunalke 57), Adam Coombes, Zidan Akers
Booked: Morrison, Oseni, Joshua, Gough
Sent off: Oseni

Attendance: 264


This report ©2020 Tivvy Archive