Ivybridge U14s 3
Tavistock Town U14s 3
WITH key players away, this was always going to be a difficult fixture for Town, which only increased as the teams were allowed to play on the Ivybridge Mens huge first team pitch.
With new recruit Milligan marshalling the defence, confidence grew and Tavistock started to play attacking football. Against the run of play, Ivybridge broke away and Esson crossed for Rowell to score. Tavistock were soon level when Barriball volleyed home from a pin point Tugwell corner. The game was then end to end, with McDonald, the Tavistock keeper, pulling off three excellent saves to deny the home team taking a half time lead.
The frantic pace continued into the second half, with chances at either end. After a long spell of pressure on the Tavistock goal, Ivybridge were awarded a controversial penalty which was scored by Esson.
Again, Tavistock dug deep with Shalgosky and Cole working their socks off in midfield. Hamill almost equalised when he ran 70 yards, beating three players but was thwarted by a last-ditch tackle by the Ivy defence.
The skillful Tugwell was replaced after suffering an ankle injury, which resulted in some players being moved unfamiliar positions. As another attack looked promising, Barriball crossed, and the ball sailed into the back of the net to give Tavistock a deserved equaliser.
Ivy then put Tavistock under intense pressure and it was all one way traffic. With a missed opportunity to clear, Tavistock were made to pay as Boxall smashed the ball home to put Ivy 3-2 up with four minutes to go. Tavistock's centre forward, Rowe, almost snatched an equaliser when he beat the defender to the ball, only to see his shot go agonisingly wide. With one final effort, Tavistock performed the best move of the match, when Shalgosky and Rowe combined with neat one touch passing, which lead to Barriball being put through to score a last minute equaliser.