CSWPL

premier division

Ivybridge Town 3,

Liskeard Athletic 0

Ivybridge Town general manager Brian Howard is looking forward to a tough game at Launceston tomorrow, and knows they will have to do without the services of star performer Mark Berry.

Launceston lost to Bodmin Town 2-1 on Wednesday night, with Howard saying that they were perhaps unlucky to have done so with the performance they put in.

He went on: 'Traditionally, it's not a place we've done well, we know it's going to be a hard game, but we've got Zimmerman and a couple of other players back, so we'll see what happens. Not having Berry is a blow, he's been outstanding this season.'

However, with four points from their last two games taking them back to the top of the table for the time being, Howard is very satisfied with how things are going.

He said 'We've taken 20 points from 27 available, and if you'd offered me that at the beginning of the season I'd have been delighted.

'We've got some very skilful lads, and although we're aiming as high as we can given we're top at the moment, realistically a top six finish would mean we've come a long way.'

Last Saturday saw Ivybridge take a first trip down to Newquay to face Godolphin, with Howard having dampened down expectation given they were missing four regular players before the game.

A bad situation got even worse when both Joe Truelove and Ben Smallridge limped out of the game, and with Godolphin controlling the first half, the only ray of light for Town was that they were only 1-0 down when the break came.

The second half, however, revealed why Ivybridge are in the position they're in, with Jordan Walton equalising in what was described by Howard as a great shift.

He said: 'This was an excellent point, four regulars out and then two more out once the game was under way, it's an excellent result and I'm more than happy, we deserved the draw.'

Howard did admit, however, to being less than satisfied with their showing on Tuesday night, as lowly Liskeard paid a visit to Erme Valley.

The eventual result was comfortable enough in the end, a brace from that man Walton and one from Jamie Middleton ensuring there were no slip-ups in a game the Bridgers very much expected to win.

This expectation, however, led to unease on the part of Howard, who felt his players didn't put in the necessary graft to break down a hard-working Liskeard side.

Howard said: 'Performance-wise I'm a little disappointed, I thought we took things a little for granted. You've got to earn the right to be a bit flash, a bit slick, and we didn't do the basics well enough in the first half.

'Credit to them, they came out and worked very hard, as you'd expect from a team down the bottom end of the table.'

Ivybridge will have to do without Howard's services for a couple of weeks as he takes a holiday, but he leaves with a friendly warning to his team, saying: 'I'm off for two weeks, and I've left them top of the table.

'They'd best still be top when I get back, or they'll be questions to answer.'

In other news, Ivybridge Town's reserve team, now playing in the premier division of the South Devon Football League, are in a somewhat unusual position.

Having played an unregistered player in their first game of the season, that result was declared null and void, and the SDFL also slapped a three-point penalty on them, meaning they played their 'first' game last Saturday already being minus three points.

Fortunately, Town managed to do their job and secure three points, edging out Waldon Athletic 3-2.

Howard described the incident as pure, human error and admitted everyone at the club was absolutely gutted, but said that, at the end of the day, it's just one of those things.