SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH

Tavistock A.F.C. 0 Yate Town 1

FOLLOWING a recent victory in the FA Cup at Ilfracombe, Stuart Henderson’s Tavistock A.F.C. came into this fixture with two new men added to the squad, writes Luca Sperti.

Josh Bernard and Jack Matthews were both announced on Friday, with the duo coming in on loan from Championship side Plymouth Argyle.

The Pilgrim Pair both started on the bench in this encounter with Yate Town, the only change to the XI seeing Iestyn Harris replace the unavailable Jacob Bowker at right-back.

Yate captain Joe Guest provided the first big chance of the game, his fierce effort destined for the top corner being tipped over by Aaron Dearing.

Ben Steer was at the heart of a Tavistock penalty appeal but the referee remained unmoved in and amongst the protestations.

There were no major chances for Tavi in the first 45 but with the game goalless at the break, all was still to play for.

Yate continued to control the game as the second half began- crosses into the box and efforts from distance keeping Dearing busy.

Just before the hour mark at Langsford Park, the visiting team opened the scoring. Yates’ pressure paid off thanks to former Bristol Rovers man Lucas Tomlinson.

A beautiful cross from the left by Wyatt, near the dugouts, was whipped right into the box. The cross fell right into the path of Tomlinson, who this time made no mistakes calmly stroking the ball into the bottom left corner, for his second of the season. A minute later, Tavi picked up their second card of the afternoon as Ruben Kane was cautioned for a foul in the middle of the park.

The away side continued to push forward, keeping Dearing busy in the Tavistock goal. Heading towards the last 15 minutes, Henderson made a triple change in an attempt to shift the flow of the game.

Jack Matthews and Josh Benard both came on for their Tavistock debuts, replacing Tom Stone and Enrique Tiamuna. Jack Endacott also made his way onto the pitch in the place of Ben Fowles, with the former Tiverton man fitting into the left-wing position, after a change in formation.

Tavi fans did get a chance to celebrate but it was short-lived, they thought they had drawn level after a Ben Steer corner was flicked on by the Yate captain, only for it to go just inches wide of the far post.

Both teams continued to make substitutions in the final 10 minutes and they made their impact. That being said, the hosts were unable to find the elusive breakthrough in spite of strong work from Endacott in particular.

With the final whistle, Yate picked up three points in the first league game of the season after an impressive display. The next fixtures to come after this one, on Tuesday August 13, saw Yate take on Bishop’s Cleeve and Tavi travel to Falmouth.