TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 1 Beaconsfield Town

All manner of permutations were being discussed around the terraces about who needs to beat who to guarantee survival on the season finale prior to kick-off and as it turned out a point on the final day of the 2018/19 season was enough, without needing `favours` from elsewhere, to ensure the Yellows remained amongst the Southern League elite for another season. Tom Bath, who scored the opener in the two-nil victory at Beaconsfield back in September, opened the scoring in the forty-fifth minute before Charlie Losasso struck a wonderful free-kick just after the hour to earn Beaconsfield a draw on their first ever visit to Ladysmead.

The starting eleven was as they were from the Bank Holiday horror-show at Dorchester, Tom Gardner, Michael and Levi Landricombe were again absent meaning manager Martyn Rogers was left with no chance for change although Ethan Phillips gave the options from the substitutes bench a little more depth, which also included Scott Rogers who would eventually make his 395th and final Yellows appearance after announcing his decision to retire from playing. Reece Yorke replaced Thomas Gogo for the visitors in the only change after going down one-nil to the Met. Police previously, and it was them that made the better start to the match and were unfortunate to not go ahead as early as the eighth minute when Losasso struck a free kick from fully twenty-five yards that bounced over off Armstrongs` crossbar.

The Yellows achilles heel this term and one of the reasons they`ve spent a large part of the season at the wrong end of the table has been their inability to convert periods of superiority in to goals and the latest and last match of the season was no different. Not that Beaconsfield were under the cosh but at least three good opportunities came and went before Bath struck his ninth league goal of the campaign just seconds before the half ended. Captain Jamie Price powered a header out of defence which sent Bath in on goal and while defenders stood waiting for a referees whistle, for an alleged use of a hand against Bath, he finished clinically past the exposed Rams keeper Constable.

Yetton headed a Smallcombe cross wide at the start of the second period and a glorious opportunity to further extend the lead was gone before a period of sustained Beaconsfield pressure brought about their equaliser. Charlie Losasso had already struck the frame of the goal with a long range free kick, his second attempt however, after Man of the Match Callum Hall was penalised, found the top corner for a wonderful equaliser despite the best efforts of Yellows keeper` Armstrong and despite chances for both sides to take the lead in the minutes that remained, most notably when Hall capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Constable and Yorke but could only stab the ball wide of the unguarded goal, a share of the spoils about the right result on the day.

Tiverton Town: Liam Armstrong, Josh Key, Callum Hall, Jamie Price, Ben Mammola, Jordan Dyer, Max Smallcombe, Steve Colwell (Scott Rogers 65), Stewart Yetton (Isaac Furness 83), Tom Bath, Harrison Davis (Ethan Phillips 57)
Goal: Tom Bath 45

Attendance: 206