Terras, Torment, Asa Hall's Young Tiverton Squad.

Match Report

Saturday February 7^th

At The Slee Blackwell Solicitors Stadium

Tiverton Town 0

Weymouth 4

Reid 27 Brooks 53 Burrows 62 Bearwish85

Att: 410

Darren Holmes

Tivvy Rattling the bar directly from a corner. (Viv Curtis)

The nail's in the coffin are starting to be applied on The Yellows' difficult campaign. A decent first half display promised more than it eventually delivered. An early second half goal adding to Weymouth's narrow lead at half time and seemingly demoralising the team and ending the match as a contest.

Change's from Tuesday night's defeat at the Slee Blackwell Solicitors Stadium, saw Toby Stephen’s, Brooklyn Wilkins, Matt Wood and Karim Coulibaly make the starting Eleven. Jaydon Biss, Jack Kennell, Will Collins were amongst the substitutes and Zack William’s was unavailable.

Tiverton had to be on their guard early on. A timely well executed tackle from Asa Hall and a top drawer save from John Ross, were required during a nervy opening Four minutes.Another vital challenge from the combative Brooklyn Wilkin’s a few minutes’ later, emphasised the Terras’ threat.

Karim Coulibaly then jinked past his marker and along the byline and hit a speculative but dangerous flashing cross, across the face of the box, on the quarter of an hour mark. Although it was the first time we had posed a serious threat with Wellington close to contact before it was nicked away from him and it seemed togalvanise us.

Down then swept up at the back, from a Terras’ goal kick. Controlling neatly and setting the wheel’s in motion for a Tivvyattack, by releasing Coulibaly. His cutback was just taken away from Aiden Horne who was waiting to pounce, around the penalty spot.

With 26 minutes gone, the visitor’s started to mount sustained pressure on John Ross’s goal. He twice denied them. The returning Tor Swann let fly through a packed area and Ross had to parry away. Then as the ball was recycled, a powerful shot from outside the boxforced an excellent reaction stop from the Tivvy keeper, as he flung himself high to the top corner of his goal.

The Terras’ then forced a corner, which was met by ex Plymouth and Exeter veteran strikerReuben Reid. And with little pressure on the ball, his header flew past Ross to give Weymouth a 1-0 lead in the 27^th minute.

In response to going behind, Five minutes after the goal, Toby Stephen’s who had been spreading the play nicely, found Coulibaly, whose quick feet once again got the better of his marker and only a desperate block, resulted in the awarding of a corner, rather than him making further inroad’s into the away side’s area.

On 35 minutes following a free kick from distance taken by John Ross, the ball was only half cleared by Weymouth and as the ball dropped out of the air, Hall half volleyed goalward’s but his attempt was charged down.

That was the last significant action of a half that maybe was lacking a little in quality, but it was a game that we were still very much in and there had been a few encouraging sign’s during it, that kept both the player’s and the fan’s believing that all outcome’s were still very much possible. However, just before the interval the Yellows’ were dealt a blow, as Hall who was caught earlier in the half by Terras’ captain Tom Bearwish, made way for Jack Kennell. 

When play resumed, following the intervalTiverton started brightly. Corey Koernerembarked on a promising run, that included a nutmeg on Tor Swann, momentarily turningWeymouth round and achieving a throw in, deep into our visitor’s territory. The creative Toby Stephen’s continued to pull the strings for the Yellows’, as they looked to restore parity.

But despite those probing moment’s at the start of the half, the pendulum was noticeably swinging back to the away side, before that deflating second goal arrived. A vital tackle from Down and a solid block from Kennellarrested some of the danger and then a well positioned Terras’ player fired over to temporarily ease the pressure in the 50^thminute.

Weymouth we’re knocking on the door and from a second corner forced in quick succession, long serving defender Calvin Brook’s bundled the ball home In the 53^rdminute from close range. The impact of conceding that goal seemed to knock the belief out of Asa Hall’s young side and they didn’t recover from that setback.

Matty Burrows’ a player who seems to enjoy playing against us, had a hand in the away side’s Third and Fourth goal’s. His emphatic strike through a crowded area, grabbed a thirdfor the Terras’ and the ex Wimborne wingerwould later play a big part in the visitor’s final goal.

There were plenty of alarming moments’ prior to the final whistle for the Yellows’, who struggled at times’ to leave their half.Coulibaly back defending in Tivvys’ box, as the Dorset side penned us in, had a coming together with experienced striker Brandon Goodship. Looking for a reaction Goodshippushed Coulibaly and Wilkin’s then dished out the same treatment to the ex EFL man. Yellow’s for both was the respective punishment’s.

A few shot’s whistled past Ross’s post and Tiverton’s number One also claimed a few crosses, fighting off the close attention’s of Terras’ player’s in doing so and getting down well to gather a low, driven shot from the edge of the Dee.

A goal saving, last ditch tackle from Wood, brought penalty claim’s from a healthy away support, but the centre back’s judgement was good and his strong contact was on the ball and not on his man, so play correctly continued. That occured with just over Fifteenminutes of normal time left.

Shortly before that Asa Hall who had joined Steve Orchard in the technical area for the second half decided with consultation from his right hand man, on a double substitution.Aiden  Horne was replaced by Will Collins and Jaydon Biss came on for Brooklyn Wilkins.

Weymouth continued to press, although Tivvywere enjoying more possession in their opponent’s half. The aforementioned Fourth goal happened when Burrows who’d an outstanding second half, darted over the half way line to collect the ball in the final third with Biss in close pursuit.

Both players’ showed good pace, but it was the winger who managed to take the ball to the byline, evading a desperate lunge from the Yeovil loanee and pulling the ball back for Tom Bearwish to round off the scoring in the 86^th minute.

The Yellows’ gallantly avoided concedingfurther goal’s in standing firm, with our opponent’s maintaining their pressure for the Eight minutes that with time added on was left to play , but the Terras’ had inflicted a biggest home defeat on Asa Hall’s team this season and for long periods’ of the game we were second best.

Tiverton will now focus on Tuesday night’s Devon Bowl Quarter Final, away at Ben Gerring’s Bovey Tracey and will be intent on putting a disappointing day behind them.

Tiverton: Ross(gk), Wilkins(73), Wood, Down(c), Koerner, Billington, Hall(45), Stephens(83), Wellington, Coulibaly, Horne(73)

Subs: Kennell(45), Biss(73), Collins(73), Jordan(83)