SOUTH WEST PENINSULA LEAGUE PREMIER EAST

Okehampton Argyle 4 Honiton Town 1

AFTER dropping all three points in mid-week against lowly Torrington, Okehampton Argyle needed a strong display last Saturday to keep them in the running for the league title, writes Charlie Bond.

Honiton Town are lying in the lower half of the league but are a strong fast side and have only been beaten by the other title contenders by the odd goal.

Argyle were without centre-half Steve Goss and young Joel Thorne was tasked with replacing him. The match was only 5 minutes old when a back pass to Argyle’s keeper fell short and was seized on by Honiton’s fast striker Joe Chamberlain and he made no mistake with a good finish past Jack Arthur.

Okehampton immediately responded and equalised three minutes later when good play by Dan Koita found Luke Mortimore whose flick-on put Josh Coles away to finish with a shot in off the visiting keeper. On 19 minutes, Argyle took the lead after a period of good play. A lovely lay-off by Koita found Luke Mortimore who turned his defender and finished well into the corner of the net.

After 29 minutes, Argyle increased their lead with a wonder strike from Luke Reynolds. After a period of pressure, Honiton cleared their lines but the ball fell to Reynolds who volleyed it over the keeper’s head from 45 yards. This was a deserved reward for Reynolds who was having a great game in midfield.

The second half saw Argyle dominate but despite a lot of pressure, no further goals came until the 86th minute. A good move down the left found Josh Coles on the edge of the box and his fierce shot was parried by the Honiton keeper for Luke Alden to put in the loose ball.

Man of the Match for Argyle was Luke Reynolds who had an outstanding game in midfield and Dan Koita also deserves a mention for a really hard-working performance up front. A worry for Okehampton is that Reynolds had to leave the field with a knee injury in the second half and this may keep him out for upcoming games.

Next Saturday, Okehampton are at home in the FA Vase to Bristol-based side Thornbury Town from the Hellenic League, with a 3pm kick-off. Home advantage has been awarded to Argyle by the FA as Thornbury were unable to host the fixture due to a firework display.

Cullompton Rangers jumped ahead of Argyle in the standings following that mid-week defeat and have a league clash on Saturday- a win would extend their lead to four points over Argyle having played three more games.