TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 0 Hendon

Tiverton were finally able to win a league match, ending a run dating back to mid-November without claiming full points for an afternoon’s effort, thanks to a late, late penalty converted by Louis Morison. Victory was anything but straightforward, and Hendon will be wondering how they managed to lose a game in which they could and perhaps should have been out of sight by the hour-mark. But football is cruel and kind in equal measure, and the Yellows held on under intense investigation, allowing Morison to seal the deal at the very end, with Tivvy goalkeeper Lewis Williams the undoubted saviour.

Without Aaron Dawson and Austen Booth due to suspensions, and Tiverton team pretty much picked itself, with the only slightly round peg being Jordan Lam who was squeezed into a square hole in central midfield alongside Dan Hayfield, as Morison deputised for Dawson in a holding role. A 4-2-3-1 system may have been a more natural way to line up, but the extra assurance in midfield protecting a defence that has been questionable at best was the preferred and more logical choice as Town took the position that by not conceding you can’t lose. Lam took a while to settle, under-hitting a couple of passes out to Andy Watkins on the left in the early stages of the game, but he grew into the game in a first half that was, frankly, quite a difficult watch. There was scarcely an effort on goal, aside from a header by Quba Gordon which Williams was able to field, until a spark in the entertainment level which saw the game spring into life ten minutes before the interval.

Instigated by some tough yet fair challenges by both sides (and notably no complaints nor feigning of injury from anyone), with Craig Woodman at the heart of the action, Tivvy were finally able to test their attacking play, which has let them down almost as much as their defensive frailties over the past couple of months. JNelson Iseguan crossed, and Watkins headed a fraction off target, then the it was Joe Belsten's turn to deliver with the Watkins heading over the top. And a third chance – the best of the bunch from a Tiverton perspective, saw Watkins turn creator with a smart cross which Lam dove to head, straight at Hendon goalkeeper Fred Burbudge, fortunately or unfortunately depending on which side of the fence you may have been sitting.

After the change of ends Hendon turned the screw, and it may remain a mystery just how they didn’t score a few goals, or one at the very least. The mystery could be answered by looking towards Williams, who had a spell of excellence that any keeper would be happy with: a flying save off to his left to push away a fine free kick by Liam Brooks was the first of three wonderful stops; and a couple of minutes later Williams went off to his left again to save from the same player, this time from the penalty spot after the referee had penalised Alfie Pond  for hand ball. With Warren sliding away the loose ball before a player in white and green was able to capitalise on the rebound, Town could breathe a sigh of relief and work out a way to stem the flow which was looking to be classed as relentless. But before that, there was more work for Williams as Joe White broke the offside trap, raced onto a through-ball from Maurice Nugent, and faced the Tivvy shotstopper in a one-on-one situation where the odds fell heavily in favour of the attacker. No worries! Williams stood up and saved again, and got a piece of the follow-up effort too, allowing Warren to again push the ball from danger, with assistance from Pond.

Hendon had done everything in their power to break the deadlock, and a further chance fell to Eren Kinali, with Warren yet again defending with bravery and determination to deflect the shot narrowly over the crossbar. And with that, the Yellows finally upped their game, although the attacking play still left a bit to be desired. Hayfield and Lam both saw low drives skid a yard or two the wrong side of Burbidge’s left upright, and the Hendon number one saved well to keep out a shot from the hard-working Theo Simpson. Hayfield rammed a free kick straight into the wall following a foul on Lam, Iseguan sliced an effort horribly wide and almost out for a throw-in having cut in from the right onto his favoured foot, and Hayfield again, this time on target, saw Burbidge able to meet the challenge. So it seemed that the goal was heading for a nil-nil stalemate, and Hendon probably would have taken that (although even a point could have been considered a little disappointing given the chances they worked and ultimately squandered early in the second half). However, the script read differently, and with all four minutes of added time already played Iseguan broke through one last time, onto a Williams punt, with Tafari Moore in close attention. The inevitable tangle started well outside the area, continued until both players were inside the box, and ended with Iseguan going over and the referee pointing to the spot. It could have been given as a free kick either way, or not have been given as anything at all, but Tivvy were in no mood to look this gift horse in the mouth, and Morison ruthlessly crashed the penalty kick low past Burbidge to win the game. Hendon kicked off and the referee immediately blew for time. Tivvy had got away with one!

Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Joe Belsten, Craig Woodman, Louis Morison, Gary Warren, Alfie Pond, Jordan Lam, Dan Hayfield, Theo Simpson, Andy Watkins (Matt Wright 80), Nelson Iseguan
Goal: Morison 90+5p
Booked: Morison, Simpson
Sent off: None

Hendon: Fred Burbidge, Maurice Nugent, Tafari Moore, San Corcoran (Anis Nuur 76), Will Hall, Quba Gordon, Jayden Clarke, Hamza Semakula (Riccardo Alexander-Greenaway 84), Joe White, Liam Brooks, Eren Kinali
Booked: Brooks, Clarke
Sent off: Moore 90+4

Attendance: 335