Southern one

Tavistock 1

Okehampton 2

OKEHAMPTON travelled to their derby competitors to rekindle their league rivalry following Tavistock’s relegation last season.

For Okehampton it was a strong line-up, welcoming back Luke Miller and Nick Luxton to reinforce the midfield.

The game started at full throttle with both teams being able to move the ball around the back, and it was Okehampton’s front line of Jack Watson, Timon Chapman and J osh Speak, who pressed more effectively, restricting Tavistock from getting the ball out of their half in the early stages of the game.

The domination of possession from the visiting midfield saw Tavistock repeatedly break down play in the 23 metre area, and as the frustration grew Luxton saw yellow and Oke were reduced to ten men. Oke’s mounting pressure eventually paid off and following some strong work between Miller, skipper Luke Liversidge and young Ed Howard, Timon Chapman executed a clinical strike to see Okehampton take the lead.

Tavistock began to rebuild and held firm increasing the amount of possession in their midfield; their equaliser came from a turnover of possession and saw them break into Oke’s D and slot the ball home.

Neil Rowland’s sterling defensive efforts along with the joint man of the match Rob Hall kept the Tavistock front line at bay for the rest of the half.

As the second half started Tavistock managed to get a foothold in the game and asserted some pressure resulting in a succession of short corners which were expertly dealt with by the Okehampton defence, the highlight being a goal line save by Hall on the left post.

Midway through the half the pace of the game started to catch up with both teams and some tired tackling started to appear from both teams. Okehampton started to drop deeper and deeper allowing Tavistock to press higher up the pitch but some sound defence work from the midfield trio of Liversidge, Miller and Paterson kept them at bay.

The game became stretched as the half went on resulting in chances for both teams. The tireless front three of Speak, Chapman and Watson got some reward when a well worked move resulted in the ball finding Chapman who struck a delightful reverse shot past the Tavistock keeper to make the score 1-2 and take Oke into the lead.

With just six minutes left on the clock most team’s heads would have dropped but Tavistock kept going until the end, keeping the Okehampton defence of Cooper, Hall, Bourne and Gers busy. The final whistle was met with relief from Okehampton who recorded their first win of the season.