SWPL

premier division

Ivybridge Town general manager Brian Howard called on his team to keep the mo­mentum going when they tackle a derby against Elburton tomorrow afternoon writes Tim Leigh.

The Bridgers put their slow start to the season behind them in the past week as they racked up 10 goals in two games, demolishing Porthleven 7-0 in the FA Vase before netting three against Torpoint.

Howard had warned his rivals that a hiding was coming and Corn­ishmen Porthleven, who play in the league below, proved the unlucky ones as a high-class performance from Town saw them make their Vase debut a day to remember.

Lee Doel was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick in a superb performance.

Bridgers ‘keeper Josh Oak made the first save as Porthleven started well, but as soon as Luke Brown opened the scoring it was all one-way traffic.

Doel, Joe Truelove and James Rowe added goals to give Ivybridge a commanding 4-0 lead at the break.

Two more from Doel, plus another by Stev­ens, completed the rout in the second half.

Howard said: ‘We played really well against Porthleven, I know they’re a league below but we just played them off the park.

‘We’ve now got a nice home tie to look forward to against Barnstaple Town in the next round.

‘It will be tough, they’re fourth in the Western League, but anything can happen on the day.’

Tuesday night’s league game against another Cornish side in Torpoint proved a sterner test, with the scores being level at half-time after Doel’s opener was cancelled out 10 minutes before the break.

The second half saw Town step up a gear, with left-back Marc Bonney, who was superb all night, coming forward for a corner to steer home the Bridgers’ second with a right-footed finish before Doel scored his fifth in two games to give Town breathing space.

Howard was pleased with the result, which saw Ivybridge leapfrog Torpoint and move up to 11th in the table.

He said: ‘It was a hard-fought win. We played well, particularly second half, and I thought we deserved the victory.

‘Hopefully we can keep the momentum going, we’ve got a trip to Elburton this weekend, always a good game, then we’re hoping for a really big crowd when Parkway visit next Friday, which should be a cracker.’