SWPL
premier division
Cullompton Rangers 2
Ivybridge Town are facing a tough task this week as they travel to champions-elect Bodmin Town, who are unbeaten in the league, tomorrow afternoon before taking on Plymouth Parkway at their place on Tuesday night writes Tim Leigh.
Ivybridge general manager Brian Howard said his side would have to be at their best to get results and admitted he’d have liked a win against Rangers on Tuesday to boost confidence.
As it was, they lost a tight game 1-2 despite scoring first and having the majority of possession, with the absence of goalkeeper Josh Oak proving particularly damaging.
Howard said: ‘We had quite a few players back on Tuesday but we were missing midfielder Lee Doel and goalkeeper Josh Oak, two big players for us.
‘We started off well and it all looked good early on, we took the lead but they equalised just before half time.
‘We dominated the second half in terms of possession but didn’t create many clear chances, then with about 10 minutes left there was a mix-up between our goalkeeper and defender which gave them the winner.
‘It’s disappointing, I felt a draw would have been a fair result and I was hoping for a win ahead of two tough games coming up.
‘We play Bodmin tomorrow, they’ve got a very strong squad and are everybody’s title favourites, then we travel away to Parkway on Tuesday night. We obviously beat them at our place earlier in the season so they’ll be looking for revenge.’
Town had beaten Rangers a few weeks before at their place, so it was a shame they couldn’t manage the double, especially after a good 2-1 win last weekend against ornish side Saltash at Erme Valley.
Second-half goals from Steve Sutton and Jordan Walton proved enough in a hard-fought encounter.
Howard was pleased with the result, saying: ’We ground out a result at the weekend, it was a good performance.