Carlsberg South West Peninsula division one east

Alphington 4

Tavistock AFC 2

THE Lambs had to make changes to the team as Martin Piper and Stuart Clark were unavailable.

Andy Meeds took over in goal with Harry Southcott taking up the right back position.

The conditions were not conducive to playing good football with a strong wind blowing diagonally across the pitch on a heavy playing surface that got worse as the game progressed.

The hosts made a blistering start while the visitors were slow out of the blocks. Alphington really took the game to Tavistock and made the visitors pay for their sloppy start, with the Alphas in complete control, scoring three times in the opening 16 minutes.

The first goal came in the 8th minute when a shot from 25 yards from Peter Darke sailed over Lambs' keeper Andy Meeds, before dipping into the far corner of the net. Just two minutes later the home team were awarded a penalty when Josh Robbins was adjudged to have committed a foul in the penalty area. Shaun Densham fired the spot kick low into the corner of the net off the inside of the upright.

The Lambs then gave themselves a mountain to climb when they failed to clear their lines following a corner kick, and Ryan Leverton was on hand to force the ball home from close range.

In the 19th minute the Lambs were awarded a penalty kick for a foul in the area, but to add to their woe Kelvin Fyneboy hit the spot high over the cross bar. The Lambs were now starting to have an equal share of possession but were finding it difficult to get their passing game going on a difficult playing surface.

The Lambs reduced the arrears in the 23rd minute when Jack Thomas produced a fine run and finish. The comeback looked on when ten minutes later the visitors scored their second goal; a long searching ball from Thomas found Lewis Edwards on the right wing, who cut inside his full back and rifled a left foot shot low into the corner of the net.

In the 42nd minute Aaron Hulme made a powerful run past two defenders, but his shot was well saved by the keeper. A minute later a fierce shot from Fyneboy was blocked by a defender and deflected harmlessly into the arms of the keeper.

Then, just as it looked like the Lambs were coming to grips with the conditions they suffered a further set back — a minute before the interval they conceded another goal when a long ball over the top of the Lambs' defence found Kyle Howell, who slotted the ball home to give the Alphas' side a two goal advantage at the interval.

Early in the second half Andy Meeds made a fine save to prevent the Lambs going further behind.

Both sides had their moments during the half, but the Lambs were unable to produce any real cutting edge in front of goal. They were being out worked by the hosts and their resolute defending kept scoring chances to a minimum.

Tavistock substitute Jarryd Kelly saw his fierce shot go just over the bar after a corner kick and in the 76th minute Aaron Hulme got into a fine position but the ball bounced awkwardly and came off his shin and was easily saved by the keeper.

The home side defended admirably to comfortably hold the Lambs at bay to deservedly take the three points.

This was a really disappointing day for the Lambs as the performance was well below the standard required to compete with the top sides in this division.

The team never really got started and failed to adapt their style of play to suit the conditions of the playing surface. The home team did what was necessary by playing the long ball out of defence, into space beyond the visitors' back four. With the home team's determination and commitment of their front runners they caused the Lambs defence a problem throughout.

Manager Kevin Hendy was really upset by this performance and said: 'The team did not turn up today, but we will get it right.'