Tiverton Town 0 – 5 Basingstoke Town – Match Report.

Match Report by Karl Hills
Photography by Steve Gridley

After reaching the NHDFA Saturday Senior Cup Final on Tuesday night, Basingstoke Town headed to Devon to face Tiverton Town, looking to transfer that enthusiasm into the league and begin to climb the table. Liam Ferdinand (8′, 45′), Ben Cook (14′), and Scott Armsworth (18′) scored four first-half goals, giving ‘Stoke an enormous lead at halftime. But they weren’t done yet; skipper Cook finished the thrashing in the 48th minute, returning three valuable points to RG23. The home team appeared to settle the quickest, with a corner and a number of further attacks that came to nothing and did not test ‘Stoke’s debutant ‘keeper Mack Allan, in for the suspended Simon Grant after his red card appeal was unsuccessful.

However, Ferdinand put the visitors ahead after 8 minutes, and ‘Stoke had no chance of catching up. Lewis Colwell darted away down the left flank, but was killed just outside the area. Sam Deadfield, whose deliveries into the box would cause Tiverton problems throughout the afternoon, stepped up and fired the free-kick into the near post, where Ferdinand had sprinted across his mark to head in. (0-1) The hosts attempted to retaliate with a free-kick, but new Stoke custodian Allan comfortably collected the ball into his box before any danger could emerge. His clearance, however, fell at the feet of a Tiverton player, who hit the ball straight back towards the ‘Stoke goal in the hopes of a striker running onto it, but Allan was there to claim the ball once more. Two minutes later, ‘Stoke doubled their lead.

The goal came as a result of a brilliant team counter-attack by Stoke. Ferdinand on the right side broke up Tiverton’s attack, dispossessing both Dylan Jones and Sam Gleeson before racing away to initiate the attack. He passed the ball to George Reid, who touched it to Cook, who immediately returned it to Reid. Reid approached the byline before making a low cross into the area. Ferdinand dropped it, and the ball fell to Cook, who hit it first time from roughly eight yards out into the bottom right corner. (0-2) Tiverton looked to respond quickly after conceding the first goal. The Stoke defence first cleared a long throw from the left, but the ball ended up at the feet of Niall Thompson, who let fly from around 30 yards, but Allan once more comfortably collected.

As the 18th minute passed, Ferdinand, who was causing havoc for the Tiverton defence, was taken down while chasing a long ball. Deadfield stepped up and blasted another magnificent cross into the box, this time met by the head of Armsworth, giving Stoke a three-goal lead and sending the travelling crowd into raptures. (0-3) The hosts made a couple of early changes to try to get back into the game, but ‘Stoke were shutting them down at every turn, while it appeared like they would add to their total every time they advanced. Deadfield tried his luck from a distance and witnessed his effort sail over the bar, while Ferdinand shot straight at Joseph Duncan. But the fourth – and game-killing goal – was not far away.

Stoke had a throw-in to the left. Colwell aimed to send it long into the hosts’ area, but it fell short to James Dickson, who returned the ball to him. His first cross was blocked, but his second was successful when he found Ferdinand at the near post, whose flicked head landed neatly into the bottom right corner of the Tiverton goal. Ferdinand scored second, while the visitors scored fourth. All before halftime. (0-4) Tiverton chose route one from the restart following the fourth goal, but their shot from the halfway line lacked the power to worry Allan in the ‘Stoke goal.

With no further notable efforts, the referee called time on Stoke’s outstanding first half. HT Tiverton Town 0–4 Basingstoke Town The hosts restarted the second half, but only three minutes later, their afternoon took a turn for the worst as ‘Stoke scored their fifth goal – and what a goal it was. ‘Stoke had a corner from their right, which was initially clear, but Cook was there and, in true Paolo di Canio style, hammered the ball on the volley into the left-hand corner of the net, leaving Tiverton custodian Duncan immovable. (0-5).

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The visitors intended to add to their tally, but a Deadfield free-kick from the right of the hosts’ penalty area flew narrowly past the near post, and Ferdinand’s deflected effort fell into Duncan’s palms. The hosts were still attempting to claw their way back into the game, but most of their efforts were snuffed out by a resolute ‘Stoke defence, or any that did get through were either not troubling Allan or were comfortably gathered. The visitors’ best chance to score a sixth goal came in the 85th minute. Robbie Gallagher beat his man and rolled the ball across the six-yard line for the oncoming Marcus Johnston-Schuster, but he could not connect with the ball and the ball rolled out for a goal-kick.

Stoke had a couple of corners in the final minutes that went for nothing, and the referee called time on the game, resulting in a tremendous outcome for Stoke. FT Tiverton Town 0–5 Basingstoke Town What a tremendous result for ‘Stoke, with a superb overall performance. Allan kept a clean sheet in his debut. Stoke were merciless. They remain 14th in the League, although with a bit more breathing room than those below. Their next important game is against Chertsey at the Winklebury Football Complex on Saturday, March 8th, 3pm KO. It’s also Legends Day at the club! More information is accessible at btfc.co.uk/legends.

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