Carlsberg South West Peninsula League division one East

Crediton Utd 1

Okehampton Argyle 4

A FINE performance from Argyle produced a shock result at Lord's Meadow in front of a good attendance of 128 for this mid-Devon derby.

Crediton went into the game with two wins and a draw from their opening three games, whilst Okehampton had played four, and lost four, so this result was certainly an upset on the form books. However, Okehampton deserved their win with a gritty performance at the back and superb efforts in midfield from Luke Alden and up front from Brad Ausden.

The opening goal came midway through the first half as a fine series of passes released Jamie Palfreyman in the Crediton box. The midfielder squared the ball for Ed Squire, whose shot was blocked by the legs of home keeper Lee Waring, only for the ball to fall to Brad Ausden to ram home the loose ball.

The hosts drew level ten minutes before the break when Matt Woodward turned in a low cross from close range but Argyle edged themselves in front again just before the half time whistle. A flowing move saw Luke Alden beat a series of defenders as he carried the ball from the halfway line before playing in Brad Ausden on the edge of the box. The forward cut inside his defender and finished with a sublime strike for the goal of the game.

The second half started with Crediton having the better of the play and creating enough chances to think they could still get something out of the game, but the Argyle defence rode the storm and then began to put the pressure back on the home side.

Luke Alden was a constant thorn in Crediton's side and on 72 minutes he was brought down about 25 yards from goal. Brad Ausden played in a superb free kick for the alert Argyle captain Dale Chadwick to run onto and volley past Waring from close range.

Argyle manager Stuart Cann astutely used his substitutes Matt Sanders, Steve Kinsey and Ollie Crimmins to replace tired legs late in the game and in fact it was Kinsey who was on hand to complete the scoring in the 79th minute with a fine close range strike.

This was a great all round team performance from Okehampton with all the members of the squad contributing to a fine win.