TIVVY ARCHIVE

Harrow Borough 1 - 2 Tiverton Town

This game completed a hectic schedule of four games in seven days for the Yellows, who have impressively accumulated nine points from the 12 on offer. Despite now not being arithmetically safe, the omens are looking very good now for Tivvy in extremely gruelling quest for survival.

Arriving at the Rogers Family Stadium on the back of success against Winchester three days previously, Tivvy manager Leigh Robinson brought River Allen back into his 11 and there was a start for Marcio Neves. With games having come thick and fast, the manager has utilised his squad.

Dropping to the bench were Matt Britton, who is nursing a hamstring pull, and Jack Rice, who arguably had covered more ground than any Yellows’ player in the three previous games.

Harrow came into this one with three straight victories to their name, but with relegation all but confirmed, with them only able to reach a maximum of 45 points by the season’s end and a minus 30 goal difference.

Tiverton looked bright when the game got underway and played the ball nicely through the team, with Allen finding time to switch play across the field, and Dylan Jones enjoying success down Boro’s right. The hosts, too, were knocking the ball around confidently in the early exchanges.

Two long-range efforts, the first from Allen and the second from Niall Thompson, showed the Yellows’ positive intent, though they did not disturb home goalkeeper Tyler Tobin unduly, as both sailed over his crossbar.

With the team on the front foot and stretching Harrow in the final third, two corners were won in quick succession. From the second, Tivvy had their first serious attempt on goal, Tobin getting down well to save a well-directed and powerful header.

There were some very promising signs, with Dylan Jones, Neves and Allen involved in a superb piece of interplay that only a timely intervention from Reece Yorke stopped from reaching the predatory Joe Parker.

The hosts were also having some joy and Yellows’ goalkeeper Zak Baker was twice called into action but was not tested, claiming well in a crowded area from a corner and then collecting a weak shot from Lonit Talla. Seventeen-goal winger and ex-Chesterfield player Reece Mitchell also possessed a threat.

Then we self-destructed as there was hesitancy between Jamie Richards and Baker around our box and Excellence Muhemba took full advantage. He nipped in and took the ball round Baker before slotting home – 1-0 to Boro after 29 minutes and a setback for the Yellows.

The side quickly refocused and Parker was once again denied a clear run to Harrow’s goal by some impressive covering round by Jack Tutton.  Parker and Javan Wright's work-rate had also hurried the home side’s backline into some last ditch-clearances.

A string of Tiverton corners at the end of the first half did not amount to a goal, but an Alfie Moulden volley was well blocked. It was the hosts that led at the interval and a real test of character for a Yellows’ team who would need to demonstrate all their resilience to get the win they so desperately required.

Rice replaced Neves at the beginning of the second half as Tiverton took to the field with it all to do. The tempo noticeably increased in the game, and it was an often frantic affair.

The team was incisive in their build-up play, and pressing and closing down Harrow at every opportunity. It was the hosts who created the first chance after the break, though, a swift break ending with Muhemba heading over.

A few minutes later, following some good work down the flanks, a low driven ball in from the byline was met by the onrushing Wright, who turned home. The equaliser gave us a real foothold in the game, but, at the same time, three points was all important in the scheme of things.

A penalty award to Harrow was most definitely not on the agenda, but, although contact on a Boro player seemed minimal, the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped goal scorer Muhemba, but Baker, so often our saviour this season, guessed right and kept the ball out. His temperament has often belied his tender years.

The sense of relief seemed to spur the Yellows on further and, just before the hour mark, a Yorke slip following a good high press saw Parker one-on-one with Tobin. Unusually, though, on this occasion he fired wide and the score remained level.

Tiverton were now in the ascendancy but had to remain mindful of Harrow on the break. Dylan Jones’ marauding runs and his sense of adventure were constantly a cause for concern for the hosts.

Parker, using Jones as a decoy after he had played the ball inside to him, saw a shot blocked with the Welshman demanding the return ball.

Then Parker drew a save from Tobin, who got down well to deny the ex-Newport County man. Boro then had a chance of their own, but Reece Deakin, on as a substitute, was foiled by Baker. The game had a breathless ebb and flow to it.

With just over a quarter of an hour left, the Yellows’ pressure told as Yorke's trip gave the visitors an opportunity from the penalty spot to take a crucial lead. Rice was Tiverton’s penalty taker and he, like Mahemba, saw his penalty saved in a similar fashion, by Tobin.

In a pulsating conclusion, both sides threw caution to the wind, Jones and Thompson bursting forward at will for Tivvy, and Harrow producing some really good football in attacking areas and forcing a couple of corners, Carlo Garside, unable to get a good connection on a header, had a half-chance for Tiverton.

The referee decided to add on seven minutes at the end of normal time.

In a dramatic end to the game, there was a Boro corner that was defended well and then a strong appeal for a penalty on Moulden, who was booked for simulation.

We had entered the final minute of additional time when a low cross into the box found Dylan Jones, who forced the ball into the net from close range. A jubilant Yellows wildly celebrated as there were only seconds were left to play.

It finished 2-1 and, despite safety not being totally confirmed, we are very much in the box seat now to stay up, a terrific effort from the team and the coaching staff!