Axminster lost out to Otters

AXMINSTER Town made an unwanted return to their old ways when they slipped to a narrow defeat at Ottery St Mary.

The Tigers have been resurgent of late and travelled to Ottery for the East Devon derby with plenty of optimism, but they shipped a sloppy first half goal and then proceeded to dominate the game in territorial terms, but without ever carrying a threat.

That said, much credit should be given to the Otters, who played for the final third of the contest with 10 men after their goalkeeper was injured and, with all three substitutes already used, one of the front men ended up between the posts!

Despite the control they exerted, the Tigers could well have lost by a greater margin, had it not been for some smart saves by keeper Chris Higgs as the Otters carried a constant threat on the break.

Higgs was named Man of the Match with a very close runner-up, Ray Colvin.

A disappointed Tigers’ boss, Nick Ogden said: “This was a great opportunity for us to put some pressure on the sides immediately above, but the lads were flat, and, as much as we tried to get them up, it just wasn't happening.

“We went with an attacking formation but the final ball let us down and Ottery looked like they wanted it more than us. We will never stop trying, though, and the players know they are better than what we showed at Ottery .”

Next Saturday’s meeting with promotion-seeking Stoke Gabriel has an earlier than usual start time, the Sector Lane game kicks off at 12.15pm.