Tavistock 1st 5 Hornets 3 IT was the last league match of the season. Tavistock, who had already gained promotion, needed to win by three clear goals against the top of the table Exeter side Hornets to clinch the title. Tavistock started off the slower out of the two sides. Hornets were first to the ball and were threatening the Tavistock defence, however this was calmly dealt with by Lethbridge, who cleared the lines confidently. Against the run of play Tavistock created their first chance on goal through some slick passes up front from Vinson and Rose leaving Rose to smash home his first of the game. This raised the spirits of the home side who were now feeling more confident and which led to numerous short corners; this led to Tavistock scoring a second through a Lethbridge strike at the top of the D and increasing Tavistock's lead. Hornets were not put back by this however and continued to battle hard and were rewarded by a goal. Tavistock then became complacent and just before half time they let slip some sloppy defending to allow Hornets to score a second just before half time. After a stern half time team talk Tavistock came out with the desire to win the match. Hornets however had the same idea and came out wanting the victory more, leading to them scoring a third goal and taking the lead for the first time in the game. This was the wake up call for Tavistock and sparked off a revival that Hornets could not handle. Through a short corner Lethbridge hammered home his second of the game to bring the scores level. Tavistock then continued to play excellent hockey and controlled the middle of the park. Rose soon conjured up another piece of brilliance and took the ball wide of the defenders to power a shot into the back of the net, giving Tavistock back the lead. Another goal was soon to follow from a deflected shot from Vinson in the air and into the goal. This gave the Tavistock the confidence that they needed and with only a few minutes left on the clock were desperately trying to score another to give them the title. However time was against Tavistock and the final whistle blew with the score at 5-3 to the home side - unfortunately leaving Tavistock missing out on the top place by one goal. However, promotion was already gained, meaning that next season Tavistock will be playing in South one division. Man of the match for Tavistock: Kevin Lethbridge.
