Tiverton Town U18’s travelled to take on Bovey Tracey in the semi-finals of the Devon County Cup. Creative play and gritty determination from the central midfield pairing of Charlie Syvret and Zak Moran combined with the attacking presence of Cody Stansfield and Ollie Rowland saw the Tiverton U18’s dominant the first half.
The introduction of Dawson Payne upfront later in the first half had an immediate impact with Dawson scoring the first goal through a close range finish. Tiverton were then unlucky not to go two nil up after more good play from Dawson. A strong performance from the centre back pairing of Sunny Webber and Kamil Wojtowicz nullified most efforts from Bovey Tracey with Tyler Kelly and Max Metherell (Captain) working tirelessly in the wingback positions. However, a late first half goal by this strong Bovey Tracey side saw the two teams go in level at halftime.
Bovey Tracey struck early in the second half and then quickly pressed home this advantage to score a further two goals. Dan Wilson, arriving at halftime from another semifinal match, provided fresh legs in defence and despite the deficit, Tiverton rallied and again started to dominate the match. Jack Trevelyan and Harrison Jordan were a constant threat on the wings and a combination of excellent passes saw Cody set up Dawson for a second close range finish igniting this cup tie. In goal, Jaq Sussex made several fine close range stops to deny Bovey Tracey a further goal as Tiverton pushed men forward to try and narrow the deficit.
The defence continued to deal with the Bovey Tracey attacking threat with an outstanding high-energy performance by Max at left wing back that earned him Player of the Match. Tyler was an ever present threat now playing in a more advanced role with Tiverton creating several close chances with only the crossbar denying a further goal. However, despite an exceptional performance by this much depleted Tiverton U18’s side it was not to be their day with Bovey Tracey eventually winning this classic cup match 4-2 at Full Time.
Next Sunday therefore sees the final league game of the season for the Tiverton Town U18’s when we welcome Culm Sampford to the Slee Blackwell Stadium in a 2pm kick off.