Clevedon Town 2 Tiverton Town 1
On a freezing cold evening at The Hand Stadium, Clevedon Town finally saw off Tiverton to progress to the fourth round of the Errea Cup, scoring in the dying moments to secure a 2-1 victory over their Devon rivals. The combination of Liverpool and Chelsea live on TV in the Champions League, a bitterly cold night and possibly a general apathy towards the competition saw just 92 brave souls attend, Clevedon’s third lowest ever gate for a competitive match at The Hand. However, while lacking in guile and goalmouth action, you couldn’t fault the player’s effort on a night which saw former Clevedon players Ray Johnston, Nathan Rudge and Darren Mullins return to The Hand.
Tiverton manager Martyn Rogers had declared the competition to be a priority for the Yellows after they won the competition last season and both sides started at a fast and furious pace on a pitch that, despite the white frosty covering, played quite well considering the recent weather. It was the visitors who shone first and showed their ambitions by taking an early lead when Will Gardner’s superb long range effort was well parried by Danny Greaves but straight into the path of Chris Young who netted the rebound with ease. However things slowed up a bit after that and it was 17 minutes before Clevedon had their first clear chance when Mitchell Page’s through ball found Kyle Bassett whose shot was well turned aside by Ray Johnston.
Chances were few and far between though and the next real effort of note came in the 33rd minute and it led to an equaliser for Clevedon through Steve Cook. Geraint Bater played a through ball in for the striker which totally caught out the visitor’s defence and his well struck chip cleared the keeper with ease. There was little more to record of note in an opening half spoiled by an overfussy referee who seemed totally oblivious of the concept of playing the advantage rule, much to the frustration of players and managers alike…
The second half was equally lacking in chances and it was largely left to the fans to try and keep themselves warm as best they could on a bitter night. Both sides created a few half chances, with substitute Christian Sylvester’s 85th minute shot over the bar coming closest to breaking the deadlock when, as the game looked destined for extra time, much to the horror of the watching fans getting colder and colder on the terraces, a guardian angel came to their rescue with a winning goal right on time. Steve Cook twisted on the edge of the penalty area and sent in a superb shot which Ray Johnston just managed to tip onto his bar, but it was Matt Prosser who played the role of saviour by prodding the loose ball over the line for a winning goal which brought a huge sigh, as much of relief as joy, from the fans behind that goal. Ray Johnston and his defensive colleagues were convinced the ball hadn’t crossed the line but it was given by an assistant referee, possibly so relieved that he wouldn’t have to face an extra 30 minutes that he slipped over in the process, bringing a pantomine style end to the proceedings!! All in all a game full of effort but little subtlety but on a freezing cold night at least we didn’t have to endure extra time, and it was Clevedon, perhaps slightly fortuitously, who progressed to the next round.
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Green | ||
| 3 | Haines | ||
| 4 | Bater | ||
| 5 | Hendy (Capt) | ||
| 6 | Trought | ||
| 7 | Bassett | ||
| 8 | Leek | ||
| 9 | Prosser | 1 | |
| 10 | Cook | 1 | |
| 11 | Page | ||
| 12 | Symons | 11 | |
| 14 | Brigham | ||
| 15 | Sylvester | 3 | |
| 16 | Scott | 5 | |
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 11/12/07 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | Errea Cup |
| Opponents: | Tiverton Town |
| Venue: | The Hand Stadium Davis Lane Clevedon North Somerset BS21 6TG |
| Half Time: | 1 - 1 |
| Full Time: | 2 - 1 |
| Attendance: | 92 |
| Match Report: | Steve Small |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
| Notes: |
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Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |