DJM Royal Oak U15s Woodford Colts 1 Tavistock Thistles 2 On a miserable rainy day, Tavistock started the match playing uphill into the wind. They spent the first 20 minutes soaking up pressure without really creating any chances, so Thistles rang the changes by switching Ben O'Neill into midfield and bringing Cadan Lowther back into central defence. The decision paid dividends immediately. Niall Murphy lofted a free kick into the box and O'Neill rose high to head the ball into the path of Louis Wilson, who finished neatly to give Thistles the lead. Tavistock defenders Ed Argles, Jay Lambert, Lowther and Murphy were now better organised and comfortably dealt with Woodford's forays, but keeper, Jack Haigh was required to superbly tip a free kick over the bar just before the interval. Meanwhile, midfielders' Sam Newton, Jonny Hake, Wilson and O'Neill, upped the pace and started to create more chances for strikers Tom Parry and Sam Walker. Thistles started the second half in the ascendency. The introduction of Scott Carr and Scottie Reroma added impetus and Tavistock soon made their dominance count . A flowing move saw Carr slide the ball across the area towards the on rushing Reroma, who failed to make contact, but the ball was swept home by Hake who was following up. But at 2-0 up and looking comfortable, the game suddenly turned when the referee awarded a penalty. The Colts captain blasted the spot kick over the bar, but by this time a number of Thistles players lost their discipline and focus, including Hake who was shown the yellow card. Now the impetus was with Woodford. Haigh was called upon to make another excellent save from a direct free kick, but moments later he unfortunately deflected the ball into his own net. For the rest of the game the away defence remained solid and organised, and Thistles held on for a victory that saw them leapfrog Woodford in the final table.
