South West two

Torbay 1

AFTER a heavy defeat at Torbay early in the season, a transformed Tavistock B  hosted Torbay B.

From the moment the whistle blew the Tavistock side was in motion – clear communication, hard work and unselfish passing saw them quickly mounting attacks. Six minutes in, Campbell broke up the right and crossed to Russell who took his chance, pushing the ball past the keeper for the lead.

Tavistock kept pressing and after 15 minutes Maxa extended the lead with a cracking strike that rattled the backboard. The few intrusions into Tavistock’s defensive zone were solidly intercepted by Cull, Gunther, and Bicknell, with sweeper Anning seldom troubled.

Reminding Tavistock not to get over-confident, Torbay earned a penalty corner. The strike deflected off a defender’s leg and into the goal, putting the game back within Torbay’s reach with a score of 2-1 at half time.

The half-time talk from coach Dale Wood did the trick. Tavistock came out even harder and the second half proved remarkable for Will Russell, who scored a further three goals, quickly putting the match beyond doubt. The midfield worked exceptionally hard — captain Honey distributed well and Whitehead, Campbell and and Kirwin tackled hard — every attempt by Torbay players to get past resulted in a swarm of Tavistock shirts invariably retrieving the ball.

Up front Tavistock were pleased to have Venton back following an ankle injury. His often unorthodox style and tenacity caused confusion and allowed Maxa and Russell to get in a number of shots, along with Dom Walker who was unlucky to be denied with only four minutes to play.

The man-of-the-match was never in doubt – Russell not only scored four goals, he earned them. The 5-1 win means Tavistock now overtake Torbay in the league, moving up to sixth.