TIVVY ARCHIVE

Poole Town 2 - 1 Tiverton Town

It was never going to be an easy start to the season. Chesham and Poole were two of the strongest teams over the past two abbreviated seasons, so to come away from these matches with just a single point in the bag would be considered slightly disappointing, albeit not too surprising. Following on from the goalless opener at Ladysmead, Tiverton travelled to Dorset to take on Poole’s Dolphins, naming an unchanged line-up in their quest to put a first enrty into the win column.

It was the home side who looked sharper and stronger throughout the first half, with Tony Lee suggesting early on that he would be the scourge of Tivvy throughout the evening. He helped himself to a couple of goals to continue his excellent form against his former clubs: a penalty following Gary Warren’s foul on Luke Holmes in the eighth minute, and then a 26th-minute header to convert Holmes’s cross.

Not without chances of their own, it was Tiverton’s profligacy that allowed Poole the buffer at the break. Olaf Koszela and Chris Shephard both failed to hit the target, Warren’s header lacked power and was easy for Poole goalkeeper Mark Childs to field, and Louis Morison was within a whisker of converting in the heart of a goalmouth scramble, but for Will Spetch to secure the crucial defensive clearance. The opening period concluded with Lee ramming in a shot that Lewis Williams held well, the conclusion of a sweeping move involving Corby Moore and Jack Dickson that went some way to underlining the fluency that the hosts were able to muster, and Poole’s advantage at the interval was largely deserved.

Beyond the goalmouth action, there was a rather more sinister aspect to the match which had seen Craig Woodman booked for Tiverton after an altercation with Jez Bedford, and Bedford himself curiously managed to avoid a yellow card for a careless foul on Aaron Dawson. If those cautions were to set a trend Warren wasn’t paying attention, and a silly challenge on Bedofrd led to an early visit to the shower for the Tivvy defender, sealing an evening he will be keen to forget.

Once Dawson had forced a first meaningful save from Childs early in the second half, the game opened out significantly. Wary of losing another player, Morison was replaced with Jordan Lam just a moment after he was booked himself, with Neil Martin already on for Woodman. Childs was again on form to thwart Matt Wright and at the other end Williams saved sharply to keep out Bedford. There was very much a sense that this game was far from over, and Tivvy threw what they had at Poole; Spetch again clearing off the line, this time from Koszela. Despite taking liberties defensively (Poole’s Moore, Bedford, Fletcher and Luke Burbidge all failed to capitalise), the visitors continued to seek a way back into the game. It nearly came when substitute Theo Simpson shot but rattled the crossbar, and a minute later Koszela finally did register for the Yellows from close range.

Alas! It was too late, and the remaining two minutes of regulation time and four of added time conjured no further chances of note for either side. Defeat left Tiverton with a single point from two matches and the prospect of taking on Beaconsfield on Saturday still seeking a first win of the season. The Rams will be in high spirits with wins at Kings Langley and Dorchester to their name as they open the campaign with a run of four away matches, so even though they would be less likely to provide the level of challenge posed by Chesham and Poole it is far from a straightforward fixture.

Poole Town: Mark Childs, Declan Rose, Will Spetch, Dan Bartlett, Jamie Whisken, Corby Moore, Tony Lee (Will Fletcher 77), Luke Burbidge (Sam Jackson 72), Jack Dickson, Jez Bedford, Luke Holmes (Sean Wright 88)
Goals: Lee 9p, 26
Booked: Spetch
Sent off: None

Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Joe Belsten, Craig Woodman (Neil Martin HT), Aaron Dawson, Gary Warren, Austen Booth, Louis Morison (Jordan Lam 64), Dan Hayfield, Matt Wright (Theo Simpson 75), Olaf Koszela, Chris Shephard
Goal: Koszela 87
Booked: Warren, Booth, Woodman, Morison, Shephard
Sent off: Warren 52