Devon Cup

Tavistock ladies 3

Exe ladies 2

TAVISTOCK ladies' firsts started the quicker of the two teams in this competitive quarter-final match and could have scored the opening goal when chances fell to Laura Armstrong and Sarah Law, but both were unable to convert.

It was Exe who took the lead from a penalty corner, the goal came slightly against the run of play but it did give the Reds a warning of the potential that the visitors had. Tavistock hit back, again the goal coming from a penalty corner, Laura Armstrong sweeping the ball in with a reverse stick effort following the initial effort on goal being cleared.  

It was Armstrong who scored her second goal of the game to give Tavistock the lead early in the second half; the goal was another reverse stick effort following a good run down the right from midfielder Janice Scott.  

Tavistock welcomed back Katy Kelly to the side for her first appearance since giving birth just five weeks ago. Kelly slotted in well in the Tavistock back line; the Tavistock defence looked strong and transferred the ball well to start a number of second half attacks.  

Mount Kelly student Meg Benton gave another confident performance in the frontline linking up well with Law, Lamb and Armstrong.  

Exe scored an equaliser with just 15 minutes remaining of the game, which set up a tense finish with both sides looking for the winner but also desperate not to concede a goal.  

With less than three minutes left Armstrong played the ball down the left wing for Lamb to chase; even at this late stage Lamb showed the pace and determination to collect the ball out wide before cutting infield past two Exe defenders and finding herself with just the keeper to beat. This led to the inevitable outcome of Lamb moving the ball around the keeper before firing a shot into the open goal to claim the winning goal.  

The victory means Tavistock progress to the Devon Cup semi final where they face Plymouth University. This should prove to be an exciting game as the students currently sit at the top off the league just four points ahead of Tavistock.

White Eagles 2

Tavistock ladies 2

TAVISTOCK travelled to Tiverton expecting a tough game having already lost 2-0 at home to their match day opponents — but they did not seem prepared for the lightning start that the home side showed.  

The game could have been over in the first ten minutes had it not been for the excellent goalkeeping of player of the match Zoe Viggers.  

The Reds' keeper seemed to be putting on a one player performance to keep out the home side but could not prevent them from taking an early 2-0 lead.  

Tavistock increased their work rate and quickly adapted their tactics to minimise the counter attacking threat showed by White Eagles.  Tavistock did come close to pulling a goal back but both Becky Lamb and Emma White had their efforts saved.  The goal did come when captain Laura Armstrong unleashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.  

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first half with the home side looking to hit Tavistock on the break. With the higher intensity defending from the Reds it soon became apparent the home side were unable to create any clear cut chances on goal, their closest effort coming from a deflected shot that rebounded off the post.

The solid  defending from Colston, Pollock, Patterson and Boulle began to frustrate the Eagles from line who were unable to cause any concern for keeper Viggers.

Tavistock scored a deserved equaliser thanks to the persistence of Armstrong and Gaspar which led to forward Becky Lamb having a one on one with the keeper which she coolly converted.  Tavistock were awarded a late penalty corner but the attempt on goal went agonisingly past the post.  

The point saw Tavistock slip to fourth place, but they do have a game in hand which, with a win, could see them return to the top three with home games against the top two still to come.