Walter C Parson SW Peninsula League Premier East

Okehampton Argyle 0 Newton Abbot Spurs 4

THIS was always going to be a difficult match for the young Okehampton Argyle side against a team pushing for the league title, reports Charlie Bond.

However, the team put in an encouraging performance in the first half and only trailed to a hotly disputed penalty at half-time. Okehampton manager Dane Bunny had resigned the previous Wednesday so the team were further disadvantaged but a new manager, Richard Washburn, formerly joint manager at Western League Barnstaple, will take the reins from next week.

Okehampton looked strong early on but didn’t really make any real chances and were lacking penetration going forward.

Newton Spurs’ experienced forwards looked dangerous but were well held by Argyle’s central defenders Steve Goss and Joel Thorne with help from midfielder Jamal Bokhammas tracking back. Sean Ayre looked strong in midfield for Argyle and battled hard to win and keep possession.

The game was changed on 36 minutes by what many people felt was a very poor refereeing decision. With Steve Goss defending against a Spurs’ forward on the very left edge of the penalty area, the ball was lifted against his hand by the Spurs player and the referee awarded a penalty even though there was absolutely no chance of a goal resulting from the attack.

Spurs made no mistake in converting the spot kick, giving Jack Arthur no chance. Okehampton fought back and went close when a shot-cum-cross from Josh Coles fizzed across the face of the goal and just wide of the post. However, there was no further scoring before half-time.

The second half was a different story as the visitor’s stronger-built players began to take control and Argyle rarely threatened. On 70 minutes, Spurs increased their lead when a free kick out wide went in off Sean Ayre.

10 minutes later, a long cross in from the left wasn’t dealt with by the Argyle defence and was headed past Jack Arthur for 3-0. Spurs added a fourth right on 90 minutes for a convincing victory. Toby Pullman was the star of the show for Spurs as he netted a hat-trick with Tyler Joint the other goal scorer on the day.

How things have changed for Argyle in the last few months- on November 6 they earned a win of their own by a four-goal deficit, beating Spurs 5-1 in the St Luke’s Challenge Cup. The reverse fixture in the league, at The Rec, is currently scheduled for April 5.

Midfielder Sean Ayre was named as the man of the match for Okey on the day.

Next up for Argyle is a home clash with another high-flyer in the form of Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police for a 3pm kick-off.

Stoke were also beaten this weekend, losing 3-1 at home to Bridport FC to fall four points behind the team from Dorset. Another SWPL fixture of note over the weekend saw first take on second, Sidmouth Town extending their seven-point advantage over Cullompton Rangers with an emphatic 6-0 victory. Louis Cane fired home a hat-trick for the leaders and was joined on the scoresheet by Liam Carey, Louis Spalding and an own goal.