Clevedon Town 4 Tiverton Town 0
Seldom have I seen Clevedon dominate a match as they did against a disappointing Tiverton side to give their supporters a late Christmas present with a convincing 4-0 win at The Hand, to secure a second win from three matches against Tivvy in the space of just a fortnight. With Mike Green leaving for pastures anew, Mike Trought dropped into his full back place and with Danny Haines playing almost as an orthodox winger, it was as strong an attacking line-up as Phil Bater could muster.
Both sides started slowly as they settled down but despite enjoying more of the play, Clevedon failed to make too many early opportunities and neither keeper was really tested until the home side took a 30th minute lead through Kris Leek. Clevedon were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area and about 3 yards from the touchline but despite the awkward angle Kris Leek slammed in a free kick through the narrowest of gaps to beat Ray Johnston on his near post. The Seasiders were now in control of the game and Mike Symons, Josh Brigham and Scott Hendy were all thwarted as Clevedon pushed forward in search of a second goal. Tiverton looked completely out of sorts and rarely tested Danny Graves, although there were shouts for a penalty as half time approached. Nothing more came in terms of goals and the half time cup of tea arrived with Clevedon well in control but with only a single goal to their credit.
The second half started as the first period had ended with Clevedon doing the pressing and with Danny Haines, Kris Leek and Kyle Bassett stretching the visitors defence all over the place. Mike Symons was unlucky not to add to their lead in the 52nd minute when his superb turn and shot from 30 yards just clipped Ray Johnston’s crossbar and Kyle Bassett and the effervescent Kris Leek came close before Will Gardner’s long range effort for Tiverton went straight into the arms of Danny Greaves. Clevedon finally increased their lead on 65 minutes when Kris Leek, back to his bubbly best, sent in a scorching long range effort which Ray Johnston could only parry into the path of Mike Symons, who joyfully smashed the ball home for his first goal since the opening day of the season.
That long barren spell disguised the sheer hard work that Simmo puts into his game and it was a wonderful moment for the hard working striker who never dropped his head or work rate in that time. He could have added to the score line himself before setting up Steve Cook in the 70th minute to make it 3-0 after a great turn and run into the box, and then unselfishly picking out Cook. Eight minutes later and it was déjà vu as Symons again made a run into the box before slipping the ball into the path of Steve Cook for his second of the match and Clevedon’s fourth. After that Clevedon went in search of more goals but Mitchell page missed their two best chances before a late flurry from the visitors saw the home defence go into overtime for a few minutes blocking several efforts by the visitors to gain a bit of pride and dignity from a match they simply never looked like winning.
In the end the final score line was 4-0 as Clevedon went on to record their first ever win and goals, against Tiverton in a Southern League match. We don’t normally award man of the match medals in this column but Mike Symons deserves it today for all his hard work and unselfish play that led to him scoring one and making two others. Well done Simmo!
Gallery
Team Sheet
| No: | Name: | Sub: | Goal: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greaves | ||
| 2 | Brigham | ||
| 3 | Trought | ||
| 4 | Leek | 1 | |
| 5 | Hendy | ||
| 6 | Scott (Capt) | ||
| 7 | Bassett | ||
| 8 | Cook | 2 | |
| 9 | Prosser | ||
| 10 | Symons | 1 | |
| 11 | Haines | ||
| 12 | Page | 11 | |
| 14 | Davies | 3 | |
| 15 | - | ||
| 16 | - | ||
| 17 | - | ||
| Own Goal | - |
Match Details
| Date: | 26/12/07 |
|---|---|
| Competition: | British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division |
| Opponents: | Tiverton Town |
| Venue: | The Hand Stadium Davis Lane Clevedon North Somerset BS21 6TG |
| Half Time: | 1 - 0 |
| Full Time: | 4 - 0 |
| Attendance: | 223 |
| Match Report: | Steve Small |
| Photographs: | Tony Merrett |
| Match Sponsor: | - |
| Match Ball Sponsor: | - |
| Notes: |
Downloads
| Appearances & Goal Scorers | Word Document |
|---|---|
| Team Sheet Matrix | Excel Document |