Yellows push past Robins to progress in the FA Trophy

Match Report

FA Trophy First Round Qualifying

Saturday August 29th

At The Sports Ground

 

Bideford 1

Reay 40

Tiverton 2

Howe 5 J.Wellington 59

Darren Holmes (Words)

Viv Curtis (Pictures)

Much to the delight of a very healthy travelling support, Tiverton delivered a second opening round victory in a cup competition. They followed up the previous Saturday’s home FA Cup win against Ivybridge, with success on the road versus fellow Southern League side Bideford, in the FA Trophy.

Goals came from Owen Howe and Jacob Wellington for the Yellows' and Archie Reay got one in reply for the Robins’. The side were good value for the result and few could have argued if they would have won this game by a wider margin. Squandered opportunities almost came back to haunt the Yellows', as Biddy ended the game in the ascendancy.

Asa Hall and his coaching team’s Matchday eleven saw all three centre backs included, in a formation that tactically or otherwise saw one change from the line up that progressed in the FA Cup versus Ivybridge with Corey Koerner’s place being taken by Louie Slough. Koerner and Karim Coulibaly were amongst the replacements.

After having the better of the opening play, it was Tivvy who raced into the lead. A teasing ball over the top had Owen Howe collecting it in the clear, and despite the host’s defenders trying desperately to recover and dispossess him and some offside appeals, the striker’s composed finish went beyond keeper Luke Gwilliam.

Five minutes had passed at that point and the Yellows' continued to pose the greater threat. Although it must be said when Louis Smith was called up on, his handling was very impressive. Gradually Bideford grew into the game, but the alert Smith was there to head them off at the pass, on the few occasions, danger arose.

Howe should have extended our advantage in the 13th minute, but with the goal at his mercy couldn’t get a good connection on the ball. Whether it was a trickier playing surface than it looked only the players will know, but throughout the game there were very few composed touches in the middle third.

From a well orchestrated set-piece halfway through the first half, Finn Roberts headed back into the area and Mason Winter on the volley, flashed wide and then in the 27th minute Aaron Wellington didn’t get the best of contacts on his shot from inside the area, but his bobbly effort awkwardly bounced up to cause Gwilliam brief alarm, as he clawed the ball back from the goal-line.

Around ten minutes before half time, a scorching strike from Harvey Sneap, just outside Tiverton’s box was only a whisker away from a Bideford equaliser. In the 40th minute the home side did draw level. Archie Reay, a seasoned performer in this division, headed home Harvey Field’s highly inviting cross, to make it 1-1.

The Yellows’ had lost their lead and Caleb Pryce-Hall minutes later, through injury. His withdrawal brought in Karim Coulibaly. The half ended without any real danger to either goal. Our hosts will have left the field the happier of the two sides, having levelled; however, Tivvy had had the better of the game and the chances.

The beginning of the second half replicated the first, with Asa Hall’s men making the early running. This time five minutes after the restart following the award of a free kick down by the corner flag, out on Bideford’s left, Robert’s curling delivery found Jacob Wellington. His precise header looped into the opposite corner, to put his side back in front.

A passage of intense pressure from the yellows entailed at least three good opportunities to put the game to bed, with the returning Coulibaly being provider on two of those occasions and highly involved in our build-up play, as we threatened to turn the screw.

His skilled footwork and willingness to run the channels turned the hosts around and found pockets of space that troubled their backline.

Squaring the ball to Howe, who connected well, but shot centrally to make Gwilliam’s save a routine one, then tricking his way past his marker, before playing the striker in, but he scuffed his shot and then a series of efforts from a number of players from a corner were just one telling connection away from giving us a bit of a cushion.

On 57 minutes though Asa Hall’s men owed a huge debt of gratitude to Smith, who produced an outstanding reaction save to deny Jamie Hearsey what would have been an equaliser against the run of play.

Almost an hour into the game, the Roberts and Jacob Wellington combination nearly came up smelling of roses again, but on this occasion Wellington’s header, arrived at him with Robins’ defenders at close quarters and this forced his aerial attempt off target.

Because of this our hosts were still very much in the game and the game was even more in a precarious state, with one Bideford goal taking the game straight to penalties, with no replay and no extra time, being the playing conditions of the FA Trophy.

The lively ex-Yellow Javan Wright perhaps should have forced a save from Smith, but opted for a more difficult outside-of-the-boot finish and gave Tivvy fans a moment of relief as the Tiverton number one watched the ball wide of his post.

With the side still in the box seat, the Robins were starting to present more of a danger in the final third, and despite the continual threat of Coulibaly being an obvious cause of concern for them, Bideford started playing with an authority that had been missing for a large bulk of the game. This was sure to be a hangover from their 7-2 loss to Shaftesbury in their previous outing.

Tiverton’s inability to put their foot on the ball and take the sting out of the game caused unnecessary stress, and it required a strong defensive focus, mainly a solid backline effort from Ed Palmer, Louie Slough, Matt Wood and Mason Winter.

It got a bit niggly with the Robins asserting pressure, but finding a resolute Yellows and both Slough and Jacob Wellington were booked as tempers briefly threatened to boil over. In the 81st minute with one eye on Monday’s home league clash at home to Exmouth and seeing this one out, a double substitution was made.

Asa Hall and Finn Roberts made way for Jack Kennell and Billy Tucker, but apart from a few excursions into Robins’ territory, it was Biddy who finished the game, the stronger.

In the 85th minute an excellent piece of handling from the ever alert Smith down at his post with Biddy players circling, after a shot on the turn from Aaron Taylor kept the North Devon team at bay. Lots of balls were played across the face of the Yellows’ goal, but Tivvy prevailed and sent their travelling support home very happy.

Getting over the line in cup competitions is perhaps more important than the overall performance and equally if you compare how many times we capitulated from initial winning positions last term, it is a definite positive. This is still work in progress though and another tough examination looms on Bank Holiday Monday, in the shape of Exmouth Town, as Tivvy are back in league action.

Tiverton: Smith(GK), Winter, Wood, Palmer(C), Slough, A.Wellington, Hall(81), J.Wellington, Roberts(81), Pryce-Hall(42) , Howe

Subs: Coulibaly(42), Kennell(81), Tucker(81), Keates, Flowers