South Devon League Div 4 Chudleigh Athletic Res 3 Chagford Res 4 THIS fiercely contested, bottom of the table encounter, played on an increasingly sticky pitch, was never going to be pretty and so it proved. Both teams went at each other with hammer and tongs from the first minute, as Chudleigh opened the scoring. The early goal appeared to rock Chagford and for a brief spell it seemed as though Chudleigh would run riot. It was Matt Diffey who calmed the Moormens? nerves as he stormed though to poke home a deserved equaliser. With a reluctant but encouraging Will Hutchison deputising for the injured Fuhrer, in the visitors? goal, they managed to settle in to some reasonable play. Mid-way through the half, Steve Brown broke from midfield to grab a Chagford second goal. In the 53rd minute, Chagford looked safe as Fred Mertten?s quick free-kick caught the home ?keeper unawares. Unfortunately, this spurred the home side and they drew themselves level at 3-3 within 20 minutes and looked to win the game. Time seemed to drag, tempers spilled over and some would have settled for a draw. Not Matt Merttens though ? having persuaded his manager to keep him on, he duly obliged with the promised winning goal. A cracker that flew past a despairing ?keeper but gave all a nervous 15 minutes as Chudleigh fought for another equaliser. This game was all about guts, with talent only evident in minor doses. However, both teams should take heart from their ?never say die? attitudes and neither deserve to go down from this division.
