Basingstoke 3 - 1 Tiverton

Match Report

Saturday April 18th

At The Winklebury Football Complex

Basingstoke Town 3

Bello(pen)13 O'Loughlin 49

Cook 57

Tiverton Town 1

G.Collins 32

Darren Holmes

For their final away fixture of the season, the Yellows’ ventured to Hampshire and faced a Basingstoke side who before the game got underway still needed a point to confirm safety. Our hosts took all three points available, but this was a marked improvement on recent displays, with a plucky Tiverton showing plenty of pride in a losing cause.

Player manager and Goalkeeper John Ross, were both unavailable, so Steve Orchard and David Steele took the side and Australian Marko Radovanovic who deputised earlier in the season took the gloves. Brooklyn Wilkins and Gabe Billington were back in Yellow. Karim Coulibaly was also missing.

The Yellows’ made a game of this one and in a keenly fought opening half, they had the first attempt of the game. George Collins let fly from the edge of the box, as the ball came back out to him from a Tiverton corner, his shot skidding wide of the target in the third minute.

Tivvy were giving as good as they got and were proactive and positive in possession. However, a penalty was conceded in the 12th minute and protests were in vain, as up stepped Ore Bello who is in a rich vein of scoring form. He tucked his penalty away for his fourth goal in three games, to give Stoke the lead.

Almost serial conceders of immediate second goals, Tiverton though held firm. However, they were indebted to the focused and alert Jack Kennell for two goal-line clearances in rapid succession, as Basingstoke looked to make hay while the sun shined.

Withstanding a brief onslaught though, the Yellows’ regained their composure and started to knock the ball around with conviction. With us keeping possession nicely through the thirds', Toby Stephens speculatively connected with a shot, but was caught late and a free kick was the verdict.

A curling Corey Koerner effort was heading for the top corner and required Simon Grant in the Stoke goal to show his agility. He did this by springing across, high up to the top of his goal and parrying away from danger with Twenty Six minutes gone.

Corey Koerner with a busy Saturday up and down the pitch (Viv Curtis)

Some nimble footwork just beyond the half-hour mark from Charlie Wright, allowed him space to get a shot off from the edge of the area. This time however despite Grant palming away, George Collins was on hand to fire home the rebound to level and open his account for the club.

The hosts predictably looked for a swift response to Tivvy pegging them back and more impressive defensive work from Kennell was on show, when he collected the ball by his own corner flag. Under intense pressure from a couple of Stoke players, he skilfully manoeuvred his way past both, before offloading to Koerner to begin a counter attack.

In the 40th minute a marauding run from former Chesham and Farnborough midfielder Joe Grant, saw him skip challenges and this left Radovanovic exposed. However, the keeper came out strongly and decisively to save impressively with his legs.

Basingstoke were ending the half in the ascendancy, but it was the Yellows’ who came agonisingly close to going into the break with the advantage. The pressing Jacob Wellington, stealing the ball from keeper Grant’s clutches. All his cross needed was a Yellows’ player to slot home into an unguarded net. Stoke were first onto the ball unfortunately, as they recovered the situation.

An encouraging half finished with nothing to choose between the two teams in scoreline terms. It had been a determined and brave performance from the side, bearing in mind what had gone before.

When the players returned, Basingstoke had tweaked their line up, making a couple of substitutions and four minutes into the second period they were back in front. From a corner ex Yellow Joe O'Loughlin leapt the highest and directed his header past Radovanovic.

Despite some backs to the wall defending there had been a momentum swing and in the 57th minute our hosts had daylight between themselves and Tiverton, with a decisive third goal. 

Having been one of two changes at the break, midfielder Ben Cook timed his run to perfection as a corner came over and ghosted in at the back post. Providing a good technical finish to give the home side breathing space and put the Yellows’ back on their heels.

At that stage many would have anticipated the capitulation that has occurred in this type of situation throughout the season. On this occasion however the team dug in and kept an opponent in the ascendancy at bay. 

With a fraction over 20 minutes to play, Koerner recovered well to dispossess his man and then set a Tiverton attack in motion. He found Wellington down the flank, whose progress was promptly halted, as he was fouled with Stoke stretched.

Out on the home side's left in the 75th minute, following some slick passing, a foraging run from Liam Cartwright saw him combine with Collins. The Goalscorer flicked the ball through his marker's legs, but an alert piece of defending closed the door and prevented a One-on-One.

A couple of minutes later a promising display from Collins came to an end, when he was replaced by defender Kamil Wojtowicz, a product of Tiverton's under 18's. Similarly another young defender Jacob Fever made his first team bow, when he came on for Corey Koerner later in the game.

The Yellows’ built nicely from the back in the remainder of the match, with typically assertive defending from Brooklyn Wilkins, breaking up a dangerous Basingstoke attack and then bursting forward and exchanging passes with his Team-mates.

A cross in, from the tireless Toby Stephens who had shown real quality from his midfield birth, was met by Wright whose effort wasn't far away and found the outside netted stanchion of Simon Grant's goal in 86th minute. 

Our hosts went even closer when Radovanovic's crossbar was rattled by a scorching Cook shot, with the keeper stranded. There was only a minute of normal time remaining then and in time added on, Wilkins's well timed tackle, stopped a Stoke forward from being in on goal.

However, the Yellows’ didn't buckle in the face of a strong second half showing from Basingstoke and really put a shift in. This was a reassuring display, as they get ready for Two games on home soil to finish the season. The first of those being on Tuesday evening when we welcome Gosport.

Tiverton: Radovanovic(gk), Wilkins, Wood(c), Cartwright, Koerner(84), Kennell, Stephens, Billington, Wright, G.Collins(77) 

Subs: Wojtowicz(77), Fever(84), Horne, Sloan