TIVVY ARCHIVE

Tiverton Town 1 - 0 Hartley Wintney

Tiverton ground out a narrow victory against Hartley Wintney which was just about deserved, but hardly delivered with inspiration. The performance was decent enough, albeit lacking a cutting edge, and perhaps the players could be forgiven as the day brought about emotions that trumped the importance of a Southern League fixture: two minutes of reflection for lives lost in the name of freedom, and then, after seven minutes, a minute of reflection and hope for former Tivvy striker Alex Fletcher who fights a rather different battle following an horrific accident last week.

The match was one that could easily be misconstrued had one looked only at the statistics. Hartley Wintney had a number of corners, particularly in the first half, which would suggest an attacking bent from the visitors. Tivvy had zero corners in the whole match but were the only team to have shots on target, with Lucas Vowles conjuring the decisive strike fifteen minutes for time.

Vowles’s all-round performance meant he was a worthy selection for the man-of-the-match award even before his goal: his skill in the outside-right position in the first half could have and perhaps should have initiated a breakthrough, only for the final ball fail to sit neatly for the men in the middle. Nevertheless, Niall Thompson twice forced Adam Desbois into action with low saves that were ultimately comfortable but needed to be dealt with carefully on a pitch where a bobble was almost inevitable. Desbois’s opposite number Lewis Williams didn’t need to concern himself so mush with the bobbles, but caught well when possible, and punched effectively when necessary. A clean sheet on his one-hundredths appearance in goal for Tiverton was welcome and came without the need to make a save throughout the afternoon.

Desbois wouldn’t have got close to a Joe O’Loughlin drive late in the first half had it been on target, but it was the Tivvy left wingback who provided the attacking momentum that led to the only goal of the game. Down the flank, O’Loughlin’s initial ball was perhaps overhit, retrieved by Ollie Mehew, and then centred. Vowles seemed to have all the time in the world, then no time at all, and finally enough space to prod the ball past Desbois.

The goal sparked wild celebrations and sparked a hint of The Row rallying, with a free kick from Josh Webb curled a foot or so over the crossbar. However, despite sitting deep and playing out the remaining time with caution, Tivvy seldom looked under threat, and we able to see out time to seal a third successive league victory to move up to seventh in the standings.

Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Joe Belsten (Dylan Jones 72), Joe O’Loughlin, Lewis White, Jamie Richards, Josh Jones, Leighton Thomas (Tom Purrington 72), Matt Britton (Louis Morison 72), Lucas Vowles, Niall Thompson, Ollie Mehew
Goal: Vowles 77
Booked: Belsten
Sent off: None

Hartley Wintney: Adam Desbois, Louis Paget (Richard Jones Jr 82), Josh Webb, Harry Cooksley, Matt Drage, Toby Nevile, Zidan Akers, Ben Purcell, Jacob Bancrodt (Kyen Nicholas 57), Kingsley Eshun, Paul Hodges (George Spiers 87)
Booked: None
Sent off: None

Attendance: 307