TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 2 - 3 Dorchester Town

A run of four victories came to an end as Dorchester proved too stubborn for Tiverton in their midweek Ladysmead encounter. A hat-trick from Alfie Stanley proved the difference, with goals from Louis Morison and Jordan Lam twice reducing the deficit.

Dorchester offered little going forward in the first half, happy to keep Tivvy at arm’s length, and the defended resolutely throughout. Morison had three efforts on goal from distance, all of which were wildly off target, and the closest the Yellows came to breaking the deadlock was when Gary Warren thumped a header onto the crossbar, with Aaron Dawson’s follow-up effort then fizzing a couple of feet wide of the post.

There was little change in the pattern of the game immediately after the break, but the visitors nosed ahead from the penalty spot just past the hour mark, with Stanley sending Lewis Williams the wrong way. And it took just a further seven minutes for Dorchester to double their advantage, Stanley again making the most of a set piece with a wonderfully struck free kick from just outside the area.

Finally Tivvy rallied, the introduction of Lam pivotal in their move away from the long ball. It was Lam who was felled to give Morison the chance from the spot, an opportunity he didn’t waste. But with the home side pressing forward, Dorchester were able to capitalise on the extra space, and Stanley’s third goal of the night was spectacular indeed as he hooked the ball half the length of the field to lob Williams from inside his own half.

Further hope was granted to Tiverton when Lam squeezed a shot into the bottom corner and past Alan Walker-Harris, and with seven minutes of added time to play, an unlikely comeback was still possible. An equaliser very nearly came, but Olaf Koszela’s powerful shot was brilliantly headed behind by Callum Buckley, sealing the points from the Dorset side.

Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Joe Belsten, Kyle Egan, Aaron Dawson (Alex Moyse 72), Gary Warren, Austen Booth, Louis Morison, Dan Hayfield, Matt Wright, Olaf Kozsela, Theo Simpson (Jordan Lam 72)
Goals: Morison 79p, Lam 90
Booked: Dawson, Simpson, Booth
Sent off: None

Dorchester Town: Alan Walker-Harris, Oakley Hanger, Tiago Sa, Callum Buckley, Thiago Caze da Silva, Ben Hughes (Charlie Madden 56), Sam Bayston (Christos Papakonstantinou 74), Tom Purrington (Harry Hodges 88), Alfie Stanley, Billy Lowes, Flavio Tavares
Goals: Stanley 64p, 71, 82
Booked: Hughes, Da Silva
Sent off: None

Attendance: 325