Saturday, January 25 . 3pm. Ian Moorcroft Stadium
Tiverton Town v Wimborne Town
Pitching In Southern League, Premier Division South
TWO emphatic losses, our early departure from the Emirates FA Cup and Leigh Robinson's final game in charge at the hands of Saturday's opponents are bookmarks in our season.
However, here is an interesting fact: since the away league loss at Wimborne, Tiverton have picked up more points than the Dorset side, 15 points to the Magpies’ 13.
Other direct comparisons saw both sides defeated 6-0 away at Merthyr and losing at Marlow.
Bringing us up to present day, the Magpies drew at Taunton in their last outing whilst we left Hanwell with a share of the spoils. A look at the current table sees the Magpies in 14th place, six places ahead of the Yellows, having played three games fewer.
Tiverton arrive at this game with quite a few changes in personnel since the last meeting back in October. From the match day squad of 16 involved in that game, nine players are no longer at the club. Those that were, though, will be intent on readdressing the balance at the weekend.
Rob Dray and his coaching team can point to only one loss in the Yellows’ last five games. Despite this, all of the other four matches have been drawn and, because of this, ground has been lost on those above them and Frome have pretty much thrown down the gauntlet and are poised to go above us if we do not pick up some wins soon.
Tim Sills, Rob Dray’s opposite number, was a notable striker in his playing days. Particularly prolific at Torquay, he twice scored 20 goals in a season for them.
Talking of strikers, a player who has always been a major force where goals are concerned is Toby Holmes, who made his name at Wimborne, scoring more than 130 goals in League and Cup competitions in just three seasons.
That goalscoring achievement saw him attract the likes of Salisbury, Taunton – where he played under Rob Dray - and Poole, and his name has remained in the goals column. He has recently returned to the Magpies from Poole.
Will Fletcher, formerly of Dorchester and Poole, is a talented marksman and has scored seven in the league, but the goals have been shared around and that has probably led to the recruitment of a proven centre-forward.
Vastly experienced midfielder Josh Carmichael played four times for Bournemouth and was professionally attached to the club between 2011-2016. Loans at Gosport, Welling, Havant & Waterlooville and Torquay over that time gave him plenty of experience in higher non-League circles and the classy orchestrator in the middle of the park was latterly a mainstay of Weymouth’s side over two seasons.
Matty Burrows, whose technical ability shone in the FA Cup tie, is a wide player who was signed from Totton and spent his formative years at Weymouth. Midfielders Jez Bedford and Matty Neale are proven performers in this division with plenty of nous and creativity. Both have played previously for Poole and, in Bedford’s case, Dorchester, as well.
Ex-EFL veteran goalkeeper Ross Flitney has played the majority of the Magpies fixtures this term. Formerly with Gillingham, the gloveman is 41 now and played for many a season at non-League giants Eastleigh. He played three games for Brighton in the 2003-4 season and made more than 50 appearances for Barnet.
Captain and centre-back Sam Jackson has a lot of knowhow in this standard of football with the Magpies’ Dorset rivals Poole and Dorchester. With ex-Gosport and Salisbury defender Sam Roberts and former Poole defender Harvey Wright in front of Flitney, there is a solid backbone to the side.
Turning back to Tiverton, there was enough to give us hope in the way we performed at Hanwell. Joe Parker was very close to his best and Marcus Day was particularly impressive off the bench. Gabe Billington and Sam Gleeson gave very mature displays, and the established players were in good form.
A promising cameo from new signing Dan Koita in a short substitute appearance also bodes well for upcoming games.
The Yellows are definitely capable of returning to winning ways and know that the remit is to do this sooner, rather than later.
So let’s get behind Rob Dray’s men as they look to turn things around.
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