TIVVY ARCHIVE

The unofficial archives of Tiverton Town Football Club


Tiverton Town 5 - 1 Weston-super-Mare

Monday 24/04/2000   Southern League First Division
Nigel Davis

Having been crucified by the Cinderford result - well we were all very cross about it - Tivvy's slim hopes of promotion were resurrected on Easter Monday by this hammering of Somerset rivals Weston-super-Mare. When Teletext then reported later on in the evening that Moor Green had been beaten 4-0 at Racing Club Warwick‚ the recovery seemed complete. However‚ it looks as if this result was false and that‚ indeed‚ Moor Green had been the four-goal victors.

So‚ back to Tivvy's performance - and a bounce back to winning ways. Yet it all started with shades of deja vu. Conceding an early‚ early headed goal from a set piece is something we should have been wary of after Saturday. But‚ just five minutes into the game‚ there was Sean Wharton to nod home unchallenged from Lee Relish's free kick.

It turned out to be against the run of play as‚ like Saturday‚ Tivvy took the game by the scruff of the neck and launched attack after attack on the visitor's goal. And we didn't have to wait too long for the equaliser. Following Psycho's killer goal in the previous home game against Moor Green‚ the same Varley/Smith partnership popped up to level the scores 14 minutes later as Tivvy were quick to break. This time‚ again from a Pete Varley right wing cross‚ Smith steamed in at the far post to lash the ball left-footed back across the face of goal and into the far corner of the net. After scoring his first goal of the season Stuart had stated that he wondered why he didn't score more as it felt so easy to do so. He obviously wasn't wrong!

An injury to Weston's Lee Rogers three minutes later saw him replaced by Norman Parselle and‚ just before half time‚ we saw the unlucky Rogers stretchered off into an ambulance‚ the fears being that he had broken his leg.

Weston's scorer‚ Wharton‚ soon became the villain of the game‚ committing a handful of nasty fouls‚ some of which went unspotted by referee Lee Probert. But he did see the foul by Nicky Marker on Wharton who was booked for his troubles. Then in the 44th minute‚ Wharton hacked Scott Rogers to the ground but‚ with play being waved on‚ Pete Varley cracked the ball home from the edge of the box to give Tivvy the lead. Before play restarted‚ Wharton was yellow-carded. There was still time for Kevin Nancekivell to see his shot strike keeper Mike Kearns on the leg and‚ in the sixth minute of injury time‚ Dominic Richardson's shot beat Kearns but Grantley Dicks scampered back to clear. And‚ with the last kick of the half‚ Phil Everett lobbed Kearns unfortunately just as the whistle blew for half time.

Apart from a couple of brief spells of Weston pressure‚ it was all Tivvy after the break. They extended their lead inside two minutes having won a corner down the right. Scott Rogers swung the ball over and it was cleared back to the wing. Most players would have let the ball go out for a throw but young Scott stretched out a leg to trap it before returning it back into the middle where Pete Varley was on hand to flick the ball home off his head to make it 3-1.

Tivvy then had numerous chances to extend their lead‚ Kevin Nancekivell and Phil Everett both finding Kearns too agile to beat. Up the other end‚ Paul Tatterton was in the right place to clear the ball off the line. Then Kevin Nancekivell was dragged to the floor inside the box by Wharton but‚ to everyone's surprise‚ no penalty was given.

Luke Vinnicombe joined the fray‚ replacing Dominic Richardson in the 72nd minute and‚ two minutes later‚ Stuart Smith was denied his second of the game by the fingertips of the flying Kearns. With Wharton again involved in an off-the-ball incident (again unseen by the officials) it was to no surprise that he was replaced by Jason Price with thirteen minutes to go. Better to be taken off than sent off‚ perchance?

Scott Rogers then became the third miscreant of the afternoon‚ using up more of Mr Probert's pencil and‚ with six minutes remaining‚ Pete Conning came on for Nicky Marker.

With the game now into its penultimate minute‚ Luke Vinnicombe finished off a series of one touch passes on the edge of the Weston box by crossing the ball to Pete Varley who completed his hat-trick‚ volleying home from six yards. Then Kearns was caught out (as he has been in other matches) drifting too far off his line. Steve Daly, who had struggled a bit with the pace of the game, had the ball in front of the microphone point. He looked up, saw Kearns out of position and curled the ball into the top left hand corner from a good 40 yards to set the seal on a classic victory.


Tiverton Town: Paul Edwards, Dominic Richardson (Luke VFinnicombe 72), Neil Saunders, Paul Tatterton, Nicky Marker (Pete Conning 84), Steve Daly, Kevin Nancekivell, Peter Varley, Phil Everett, Scott Rogers, Stuart Smith
Goals: Smith 14, Varley 44, 47, 89, Daly 90+2

Attendance: 868


This report ©2000 Nigel Davis