Devon and Exeter League division one: Lympstone 1, Wellington Reserves 1
The Reserves left Lympstone hugely disappointed and a little battered and bruised following their second successive away league draw. Despite being the better side for the majority of match, they just couldn’t capitalise and get the win.
From the kick off, Wellington were a little sluggish and were soon trailing. A throw-in down Wellington’s right was simply taken without any pressure and moved inside allowing an easy shooting chance. The resulting shot was cruelly deflected past helpless keeper Rob Hall.
Wellington rallied well from the early setback and created lots of half chances and opportunities. The best of which came in the 29th minute. The lively Oli Holman gathered the ball on the edge of Lympstone’s box and wriggled his way past three defenders. With just the keeper to beat from eight yards and the ball on his favoured left foot, he elected for power over placement and his shot sailed over the bar.
The second half began with the slope and the wind in the visitors’ favour and, for most of the half, it was pretty much all Wellington.
Chances were coming at regular intervals with the best one arriving at the feet of Tom Hawkings on 65 minutes. Holman squeezed a through ball beyond the opposition’s packed defence and Hawkings latched on to it, and got his shot away. The keeper parried it clear but only to the feet of Luke Woodgate who saw his shot at the open net cleared by a scrambling defender.
Josh Hawkings replaced the injured Dan Woodgate on 68 minutes and player-manager Paul Pocock came on for a very bruised and battered Ash Saunders.
With eight minutes remaining, the deserved equaliser arrived. After some sustained pressure, Pocock burst into the area, collecting a pass from the left, and quickly despatched a neat clinical finish for 1-1.
Wellington continued to work hard for the win, and went close through Holman. But no winner was to come. In the dying seconds, the home side’s striker grappled an unsuspecting Jamie Fleet to the ground. This resulted in a coming together of both players who were red carded and the game ended 1-1.
While not beaten, Wellington were disappointed. Their over-eagerness is resulting in poor decisions in the final third and costing them – something which will undoubtedly be the focus of the coming week’s training.
