Post by Dave on May 6, 2022 8:57:42 GMT
The Fred Hewings Cup Final
Match Officials. Sid Westwood-Andy Distin-Jake Mitchell
Final Score Ivybridge Town 3rd 5 Paignton Villa 2nd 1
Match Preview
You turn up for training, you turn up on the match days and work hard and give everything you have got. But the results you were hoping for do not happen as often as you would have liked them too. But you do not give up because you are a part of a team and as a team you win and lose as one.
That really sums up how it has been this season for Paignton Villa 2nds. A great bunch of lads playing under their manager Samuel Cogger for a club that was founded way back in 1926.
But all that hard work and effort has not gone completely unrewarded because for the first time in the clubs history, Paignton Villa 2nd have reached the final of the Fred Hewing Cup. That in itself is no mean feat and the big question is can they go one step further and win the cup.
I have had the pleasure of covering two of Paignton Villa 2nd game this season. The first one was back on the 23rd October when they faced Babbacombe Corinthians at home in a league match which they lost by four goals to two. They later beat the Corries and knocked them out of the Fred Hewings Cup also played at home by six goals to two.
Report On That Game
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/917/paignton-villa-babbacombe-corries-23rd
The second game I covered was their Fred Hewings Cup semi-final game at home against Chudleigh Athletic 3ds played on the 23rd April. A game they were determined to win and did by three goals to two.
Report On That Game
davesworld.proboards.com/thread/1001/fhsf-paignton-villa-chudleigh-2022
I have not covered any games featuring Ivybridge Town 3rds this season. I did cover one of their 2nd team games away to Torquay Town in the third round of the Herald Cup. They lost the game by one goal to nil but looked a good passing side as you might expect.
How Did Both Clubs Reach The Final
Neither team featured in the first round of the cup. In the second round Paignton Villa 2nd were awarded a home walkover due to the Galmpton United reserve side pulling out of the league.
In the second round played on the 29th January Ivybridge 3rds were away to Kingsteignton Athletic Reserves and thumped them by seven goals to one.
In the quarter finals as stated played on the 26th February, Villa 2nd were at home against Babbacombe Corinthians and won by six goals to two, an excellent result for them. Ivybridge 3rds were at home on the same day against Newton Abbot 66 Reserves, they won the game with ease by seven goals to nil.
Into the semi-finals played on the 23rd April Villa 2nd faced Chudleigh Athletic at home and won by three goals to two. Ivybridge were also at home against Watts Blake & Bearne Reserves and won the match by six goals to one.
After all the singing in the dressing room after their semi-final victory, Villa 2nd were brought back down to earth last weekend when they were away to Torquay Town and lost the game by five goals to nil. But Town are one of the best teams in the 2nd division and were playing the bottom placed club in the league table and were expected to win. Ivybridge 3rd were at home in a division four league match last weekend against South Brent FC 1st and won by three goals to nil.
There might be two divisions separating both teams, but looking at games won this season and the amount of goals Ivybridge 3rd has scored in the Fred Hewings cup, they will come into the game with no fear and will fancy their chances of lifting the cup at the end of the match. Should they win they had better save any celebration drinks unto Saturday night as they have a home league fixture on Saturday against Discoveries Devon 1st.
Paignton Villa will need to be strong at the back and give as much service as they can to Ash Beetschum who will score goals when he is given the chance. Samuel Cogger will be hoping he can crown his first season as the Villa 2nd team manager with a cup victory, may the best team win.
Match report.
It is one thing getting to a cup final, but it is another thing actually winning it. I have to be 100% honest and say there was only one team really in it. The Villa lads worked hard and gave it their best shot, but they were out played all over the park. I said in my pre match report that Villa needed to be strong at the back. Yes they made some very important tackles at times, but on other occasions they were just to static and allowed balls to be played passed them to the ever running front runners in the Town side to get on the end of.
The match referee got the game underway and for the first five minutes it was an even affair but slowly Town started to get on top and started to look threatening. Towns Harley Battle hit a 25 yard effort that flew well over the crossbar.
Town won a free kick just outside the Villa box, the ball ended up bouncing low just in front of Adam Taylor in goal for Villa who did very well to hold onto the ball. From another Town free kick that was sent to the back post, Jamie Rose looked certain to score, but miss headed the ball sending it wide of the left hand post.
Town then took the lead and it was a rather lucky goal. The ball came into the Villa box from a corner and took a number of touches and rose up in the air and looked to be going in. Adam Taylor leaning backwards did well to claw the ball down and stop it going over the line, but the ball fell down close to the right hand post for Gary Dickson to force in.
The town goal then lead a bit of a charmed life, Jay Horn was played into the box and got a shot away that was blocked by the town keeper; two further shots were fired at goal that also ended up being blocked on route to the back of the net.
Villa then went further behind, town played a long ball forward and the Villa defender completely missed his kick, the ball ran passed him and Harley Battle was on it in a flash. He was clean in on goal with only the keeper to beat which he did.
The movement and pace of the Town forwards were just to much to handle for the Villa defence. But Villa came very close to getting a goal back. Jay Horn hit another good shot at goal that was blocked, the ball came back to him and he seemed to have all the time in the world for a second shot, he got one away only to see that effort blocked as well on the goal line.
Villas defence were playing a high line and were caught out again by a defence spitting pass that played in Towns Lewis Dickson, who fired a low shot into the back of the net.
Up the other end and Tom Armstrong was picked out in the right hand side of the Town box by Jack Wilkinson, he got a shot away that only just went wide of the right hand post.
Once again a very static Villa defence allowed another ball to be played between them for Craig Brenton who really should have put his side four nil in front, but he failed to take his chance. A few of the Villa players heads visibly dropped as they must have felt there was no way back for them. The match referee then blew up for halftime.
The town players made the long walk back to the dressing room while the Villa players stayed out on the pitch. Manager Sam did his best to rally his players and install some believeth back in them.
It Villa thought they had an up hill to climb it got even stepper just after the second half got underway. A very loose ball out of defence was played straight to a town player who played in Craig Brenton who picked his spot and fired home. Craig came close again to scoring from a corner, but could not keep his header down and it sailed over the crossbar.
Villa then had their best spell of the match, but try as they might they could not get the ball into the back of the net. Jay Horn hit a wild effort from the edge of the box that went well wide of the left hand post. Villa came so close to scoring but once again their luck in front of goal was not there for them.
Towns sub Callum Collings was played in on another good through ball, but he was only able to hook his shot over the bar.
One of Villas best moves of the match with some very neat passing saw Ash Beetschen lay the ball back to the edge of the box to Tom Armstrong, but sadly for him the shot just cleared the crossbar.
Villas Ben Norton was rightly booked for hacking down from behind a town player, the resulting free kick saw Adam Taylor pull of the save of the match.
Villas passing to the front men was simply poor and the passes were easily dealt with by the town defenders, but villa did get a goal back. They won a free kick just out side the town box that was taken by Jay Horn. He lifted his shot over the wall into the bottom right hand corner of the goal; the goal keeper was routed to his spot.
I was just writing the goal down in my notebook and looked up to see the ball in the back of the villa net again to make the score five goals to one.
After a tough season in the league, the villa lads came be proud of reaching the final of the Fred Hewings cup. But they faced a very good passing side with so much pace in it tonight and it proved to be an impossible task. Not sure why town are not at the top of the division four table.
My thanks to Sam and the Ivybridge team manager for filling in the correct numbers on the team sheet. Sadly not the best photos I have ever taken, it happens sometimes.
