Saturday, Septmber 21 . Ian Moorcroft Stadium . 3pm
Tiverton Town v Winchester City
Pitching In Southern League, Premier Division South
A FIRST victory of the season away at fellow strugglers Frome ten days ago has given the club a brief respite and – dare I say? – a little optimism when Winchester City visit the Ian Moorcroft Stadium on Saturday.
That is one monkey off the team’s back, and a home support starved of a win since we resumed in pre-season will be willing their team on to break their home hoodoo and loosen the hands of the monkey who has denied the Yellows’ loyal fan-base the right to celebrate since April’s last-day win against Sholing.
The signs were very encouraging last time out at Frome in a pretty dominant display from Tiverton with, crucially, an end product. In fact, we should have won more convincingly and could have put the game to bed on chances created in the first 45 minutes. The mixture of good goalkeeping and near misses kept our hosts in the game.
It was not Joe Parker’s night as he was often a whisker away from adding to his account. However, Dylan Jones’s exceptional goal and captain Matt Britton’s decisive header at least meant that other players demonstrated that they were capable of chipping in with goals, which is fundamental, as one threat, or the focus on one threat, is not particularly hard to defend against at this level.
Big plusses for the Yellows were the performances of Javan Wright and Theo Jeremy. Wright was strong, pacy and busy in committing defenders; Jeremy’s flair and confidence saw him produce an eye-catching display. It would be wrong for me to put pressure on the youngster, but his individual ability stood out on the evening. Dylan Jones is playing as well as ever.
Only one point separates us and our Saturday visitors, although it must be pointed out that Winchester have now been victorious twice in this season’s Emirates FA Cup, their latest victims being divisional rivals Hungerford, and have played a game fewer than the Yellows. The Craig Davis-led Citizens will present a formidable challenge to Leigh Robinson’s men.
Home-grown talent like attacking midfielder IK Hill is beginning to flourish amongst a squad with experience aplenty. Goalkeeper Luke Cairney’s displays have often been admired at this level. Establishing himself as Poole’s number one over many seasons, Cairney is now a top gloveman for our opponents.
Jamie Barron has been on patrol in the middle of the park for Winchester for ten of the last eleven seasons and is an inspirational figure. Other key experience at this level is provided by fellow midfielder Dan Bartlett, formerly of Poole and Wimborne.
Defender Callum Buckley is a big player for the away side and, in an impressive Non-League career, the 28-year-old played higher up the pyramid for Weymouth and was part of Dorchester’s defensive unit over a number of seasons. Also in the squad is ex-National League utility man Jordan Rose; performing for the likes of Stockport County, Rose has a host of other top Non-League clubs on his cv.
Winger Trevor Caborn is a precocious young talent who won many plaudits during his first campaign in the Southern League Premier South. The wide man is definitely a weapon in the final third for the visitors. Young gun Olly Balmer is a goal threat and the striker is one of a number of emerging technical attacking talents. Luka Chalwell and Devon Arnold both have demonstrated very good ability at this level.
With Gloucester City arriving next weekend, the Yellows will be eager to overturn a disappointing home run in the next two fixtures in the division. We welcome Kai Churchley, an attacking midfielder or forward, on loan from Bristol City as Leigh Robinson hopes to make further progress after the vital win and encouraging display at Frome.
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