Macron Devon and Exeter premier

Oke Argyle 4

Exwick Villa 2

OKEHAMPTON Argyle hosted their first ever match on an artificial pitch this weekend when taking up the offer to use the new 3G pitch at Ashbury for their fixture against Exwick Villa.

Exwick started well, which was to be expected as they boast their own 3G facility in Exeter, and their short passing style was soon creating chances. Their breakthrough came when a short back pass from Steve Kinsey was seized upon and the Exwick forward calmly slotted the ball past Lewis Slade to take a 1-0 lead into the half time break.

The interval allowed Okehampton to regroup and they controlled most of the play in the second half. After 55 minutes a powerful run from Ed Squire down the right wing saw him square the ball to Corey Burns, who took the chance to continue his goal scoring run since being moved into the forward line.

About a minute later, Ben Bickle curled a 25-yard shot into the corner of the goal to put Okehampton into the lead.

On the hour mark, Red Cann went over in the box and the referee gave Argyle a penalty despite the protests of the Exwick team.

Steve Kinsey made up for his earlier mistake with a well struck penalty to take a 3-1 lead which should have been enough to see out the game. Exwick had other ideas though, and on a rare break they drew a free kick just outside the box. A clever quick pass saw a first time shot fly past Slade to leave the score at 3-2 with 20 minutes left. Argyle’s fitness was the deciding factor as they took back control and had a couple of close attempts before Toby Gostling scored the goal of the match with a 40-yard effort that flew over the keeper’s head making it 4-2. Ed Squire stung the keepers hand with a long-range effort and Ben Bickle narrowly missed another long-range effort before the final whistle.

This was a good win for Okehampton, who currently sit fifth in the division at the half way point. The challenge will now be to fit in the remaining 15 matches by the end of the season, especially as the reserves, whose game at Sandford was cancelled, also have 14 more games to play.

n Argyle are away to Clyst Valley on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.

Derrick Brett, headteacher at Okehampton College, voiced his support for the prospect of schools having access to a 3G pitch:

He said: ‘The prospect of having an all-weather facility of the nature being proposed is very exciting. Our current grass track does not afford our students the opportunity to perform to their very best, while our football pitches can be un-useable for long periods of time during  the wetter parts of the year.  

‘The availability of a 3G pitch and track would allow more students the chance to partake in more activities throughout the year as well as providing us with  the opportunity to host inter-school competition with the other schools in the Multi-Academy Trust.’