Saturday, January 4 . 3pm . Ian Moorcroft Stadium
Tiverton Town 1 (Jenkins 62)
Merthyr Town (Jarvis 75)
Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South
WINTRY conditions, a heavy pitch, some rain, and even a bit of snow during the game did little to detract from an entertaining and pulsating game of football. Merthyr, riding high at the top of the Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South table and unbeaten since the August Bank Holiday, provided formidable opposition and the Yellows rose to the challenge.
Josh Jones captained the side on his return to the starting 11 in the absence of the injured Matt Britton. Dylan Jones also came back into the team after illness; Nat Jarvis was available to lead the line; and Jeff Forkuo was also included in the line up for the first time since recovering from injury.
The Martyrs are, by some distance, the highest scorers in the division, notching their 71st goal during this game and reaching that amount from only 23 games. Leading the race to the Golden Boot is Ricardo Rees, who has 20 goals from 18 games; fellow front men Kane Simpson and Lewis Twamley are into double figures.
Taking that into consideration, you can see what a perilous task it was. A strong contingent of Merthyr fans were in attendance in anticipation of witnessing their side extending their long unbeaten run and probably a bit more.
A busy opening to the game saw both teams playing at a high tempo. Tivvy goalkeeper Joe Duncan was called into action early on, tipping over for a corner, and resilient defending at both ends saw a series of blocks and clearances – both aerial and on the floor – preventing any scoring.
The hardworking Joe Parker fired wide and then ex-Yellow Simpson’s effort brought a routine save from Duncan as the sides traded blows. Marcus Day, with probing runs, looked dangerous, but it was the alert Duncan who reacted quickly to once again foil the Martyrs, diving at Simpson’s feet.
On a pitch not really conducive to flowing football, both sides demonstrated good quality in the final third. On 37 minutes, following some good build-up play involving Dylan Jones, Day, Parker and Thompson, the Yellows stretched Merthyr but, although the ball did find its way into the net, a Nat Jarvis hand meant it was disallowed.
Less than five minutes later, Rees was in the clear after an incisive pass cut through the Tiverton backline. However, Duncan thwarted him with an exceptional piece of goalkeeping, quickly closing down the space between him and Rees and then spreading himself to save with a strong leg in displaying razor sharp reactions to keep us level at the break.
Lewis Twamley, in particular, stood out for the Martyrs and his movement and ability on the ball posed a lot of questions, along with the predatory Rees. Although some went unanswered, the combination of Josh Jones and Toby Down was, in the main, solid and these are promising signs.
Niall Thompson was very proactive in pushing back another former Tiverton man Noah Smerdon, with his accelerating running forcing him to defend and curbing the accomplished attacking full-back’s natural instincts.
When we resumed, for a ten-minute spell after the break, Tiverton showed a concerted attacking intent and were in the ascendancy, the referee awarding a few corners, a throw-in by the corner flag, and a free-kick outside the box.
The Yellows seemed to sense their moment and a second goal was chalked off, with offside being the verdict. A Josh Jones flick-on forced a corner and the in-swinging delivery from it caused a frantic scramble for the ball. The end result meant the ball went beyond Merthyr goalkeeper Jamie Cogman, although the linesman raised his flag and denied a 50th-minute opener. Not all agreed and it definitely was close and a talking point.
Cogman did manage to get his hands on Thompson’s stinging driven shot minutes later and he did well as it moved in the air and his vision was impeded by players in front of him.
The Martyrs then regained some control with some excellent interplay through the thirds. The quick-footed Cole Jarvis shot powerfully towards goal from inside the Tivvy area, but once again Duncan was equal to the effort and palmed to safety. Some resilient defending was required as bodies on the line in the box ensured the side’s stayed level.
Josh Jones gave a commanding performance and Down read play well and, with impressive timing, made necessary interventions and interceptions. The customary overlaps and bursts down the flanks by Dylan Jones and Thompson meant we were always a threat on the break when Merthyr threw men forward.
Former Merthyr player Jones was making quite a few inroads down the Martyrs’ right and his ball-carrying gained a corner. From that corner, following some intense combat in the area, Oli Jenkins, much to the delight of the home support, stabbed the ball into the net from point-blank range.
Jenkins celebrated joyfully, as he ran and skidded into the corner. As celebrations go over the Christmas period, this one would have impressed the judges a little more than the ones on Boxing Day. Jenkins’ consistency in an unfamiliar role in a three-at-the-back has been notable and the classy; the competitive Weston-super-Mare loanee has caught the eye in recent weeks.
Merthyr, though, responded in a determined fashion to protect their unbeaten record and to maintain their lead at the summit. On 63 minutes, Parker, who had put a real shift, in was replaced by Javan Wright, and two minutes later, Duncan replicated his heroics with excellent reflexes in superbly saving an attempt from no more than ten yards out, with his body moving instinctively to his left and preventing a certain goal.
The visitors were dominant for almost ten minutes at this point, hitting the crossbar through Twamley and bringing yet another save out of inspired Bristol City loanee Duncan. Our rearguard also cleared off the line from midfielder Keiran Evans.
In the 75th minute, it looked very much like Duncan’s point-blank save had frustrated our visitors once again, but this was an extremely short-lived relief as Jarvis finally broke Tiverton’s resistance in tapping home as the ball came across to him from the rebound.
Day was substituted ten minutes later having impressed again after his man-of-the-match performance at Plymouth Parkway, Exeter loanee Gabe Billington joining proceedings.
Forays down the wings from Thompson and Dylan Jones continued to threaten, with both teams determined to take all three points.
The defences, however, were on top and there were no chances of any real note for the last five minutes and six minutes added on by the officials.
It was a fantastic effort from Rob Dray’s men to draw with the Southern League Premier South’s top side and an exciting game for the supporters.
In my opinion this was the best footballing side we have played against and the lads can be proud of this performance.
Havant & Waterlooville are the visitors next Saturday, a match that will, once again, not be easy. Play-off placed at the moment, they drew at home on Saturday against another play-off side, Dorchester.
For the Yellows, a winning mentality will need to be restored soon and a good platform for that to happen has been built with draws against Chertsey, Parkway and Merthyr.
The Merthyr fans helped to provide an excellent atmosphere at the Ian Moorcroft Stadium and added to an exhilarating afternoon.
Yellows: Duncan; Thompson, Jenkins J Jones, Down, D Jones, Forkuo, Hall, Day, Jarvis, Parker. Substitutes: Wright, Billington, Churchley, Bernard, Britton.
Attendance: 374.
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