Tigers' all-round great display
AXMINSTER Town produced an all -round excellent display against high flying Royal Marines AFC but were ultimately undone by individual errors that consigned them to a 4-2 Sector Lane defeat.
AXMINSTER Town produced an all -round excellent display against high flying Royal Marines AFC but were ultimately undone by individual errors that consigned them to a 4-2 Sector Lane defeat.
A bizarre decision to award the visitors a 10th minute penalty was pivotal in the contest, the spot kick being converted and, in the next quarter of an hour, the militarymen tucked away a further brace of goals. One of them was from former Tigers' star Sam Dibling.
Town were back in the game thanks to a penalty from Alex Wheatley and they bossed the second half, deservedly getting back to 3-2 when Mike Hancock powered a header home from a superbly delivered Wheatley corner.
Pressing for an equaliser, the Tigers were caught by a lightning break that ended with Chris Higgs dropping a corner and the loose ball being tucked away to seal a 4-2 win for the visitors.
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Tiger's boss Ray Self was very up beat post match saying: "We can only be delighted that, for large periods of the game, against a class side who have an attack surely worthy of a higher level of the game, we were always in the contest. We paid the price of inexperience in as much we allowed a penalty award against us to unsettle us, during which time a more experienced opponent punished a number of individual errors.
"But we showed great character to battle back and were probably worthy of more than a two clear goal defeat."
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Town are back in action tonight (Wednesday) with a friendly at Portland in which Self is looking to blood a few of the youngsters. Saturday's Town team included no fewer than five aged 19 or younger and a couple more will be involved at Portland, including under-18 goal keeper Del Strawbridge.
On Saturday the Tigers have the chance to complete a season's double over then current leaders Stoke Gabriel who they host at Sector Lane, having beaten them 2-1 at South Devon earlier in the season.
