Post by Dave on Sept 23, 2023 8:42:39 GMT
Match Referee The Legend Reg Cross
Final Score Teign Village 3 Totnes & Dartington 2nd 5
Match Preview.
I was born and grew up in Newton Abbot and first set my eyes on Teign Village when I was seventeen years old. I went there to look at a car that someone had for sale there.
My first sighting blew me away; there was nothing but hedgerows and then a street and then in a blink of an eye it is just hedgerows again. You turn off the Teign Valley road onto a very narrow single track road. Then when you come to a fork in the road you take the right one up a short hill. Then the road opens up wide with houses on both sides, but when you drive past the last houses you are back in an even narrower lane that takes you up to Hennock.
Little did I know back then that I would spend the last three years of my working life, driving through the village every day in a duel refrigerated long wheel based Mercedes Sprinter on my way to deliver to my last call of the day in Hennock. Many times on a Saturday afternoon I drove past when a game was on, but this will be my first proper visit to their ground.
The building of the village commenced around 1910 by The Teign Valley Granite Company to entice workers to come and live there. There were a lot of families from Wales called 'Jones' when the houses were first built. I see there is one “Jones” listed in the teams registered players.
The name originally planned for the street was 'Teign Villas' but the wall plaques (which were blue in colour) to be situated either end of the street arrived with the inscription 'Teign Village' in error. Teign Villas FC does have a nice ring to it
Teign Valley Football Club was founded in 1920 by local men, many of which worked in the local quarry, giving then the nickname “The Quarrymen”. That is 103 years ago and it is great to see this local village club still in existence and long may that continue.
The last time I covered a game featuring Teign Village was on the 2nd April 2022, away to Brixham Town in a Ronald Cup quarter final game which they lost by five goals to two. A game they were winning by two goals to nil at halftime. Brixham scored twice in the second half forcing the game into extra time. Brixham went on to score three more goals to win the tie. You have to go way back to the 10th November 2012 for the game before that I covered away to Foxhole United which they also lost.
Last season the club played in the Devon & Exeter league but have decided to return to the South Devon Football League this season.
Teign Village have made a good start to the season and are currently in sixth place in the league table on three points. Their record is played two, won one and lost one and have scored a total of seven goals, conceded six giving them a plus one goal difference.
On the opening day of the season they were at home against Newton Abbot 66 2nd and lost the game by four goals to one. Next up was a County Cup match away to South Zeal United 2nds which they won by two goals to nil.
Last weekend in their second league match they faced Kingsbridge & Kellaton United 1st and won the game by six goals to two, with Tom Beer enjoying his first hat-trick for the club.
Interestingly the last Totnes and Dartington 2nd game I covered was on the 14th April 2022 in the Ronald Cup final against Brixham town played at Stokes ground. A hard fought game that could have gone either way. Two all at halftime but Town scored the winning goal with just eight minutes left on the clock.
Totnes sit one place above Teign Village in the league table in fifth place also on three points, but they have played on game more. Their record is played three, won one and lost two, scoring a total of nine goals, conceded eight giving them a plus one goal difference also.
They lost their opening game of the season away to Liverton United 1st by four goals to three. In their next match at home against Paignton Saints 3rds they won the game by four goals to one. Last weekend they were on the road again away to Waldon Athletic 3rds which they lost by three goals to two.
While Teign Village will want to build on last weekend’s fine win, Totnes & Dartington will want to get back to winning ways. It’s a hard one to call but I am sure it will be a very entertaining game with plenty of goals in it. Totnes will be hoping their brand new VX3 kit will come in time to wear for the first time in this match.
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Match Report.
Firstly I want to say a very big thank you to both team managers today for all your help and cooperation. The warm and friendship from both clubs and all the players made it that bit more special for me.
I want to say a little bit about today’s match referee Reg Cross. This coming Monday is his 75th birthday. What a man to be running around a pitch for ninety minutes trying to keep up not only with the play, but young fit teenagers. I get to meet and talk with so many referees and have so much respect for Reg, I hope if you get him at one of your games, you will show him the respect he deserves.
No rain and even the sun popping out made it a pleasant afternoon to cover a football match. The pitch is on the small side and slopes down from the dugout side to the changing room one. But it is a lovely setting once you brave the lanes to get there.
I am sure the Teign Village manager was hoping his side could produce the form they showed last weekend, but on the day Totnes & Dartington 2nds were the better side and fully deserved their win.
Teign Village have many new players and some of them really stood out today, the more they play together the better they will get and they sure played their part today in producing a very entertaining match.
The match referee got the game underway and almost from the kick off Totnes had their first shot on goal. From the edge of the Teign box Scott Troth hit a dipping volley at goal, but Adam Couplands in goal for Teign Valley caught the ball with ease. Totnes’s James Spriggs hit an effort from twenty yards out, but his shot lacked and real power to trouble the keeper.
Against the early run of play Teign Village took the lead in the match. A good cross into the Totnes box from the right hand side by Ryan Owen found the head of Tom Beer to power home with a very good header.
Totnes went straight back onto the attack to get back onto level terms. From a long throw-in a header went just wide of the right hand post. Jordan Osman hit a powerful thirty yard shot that only just cleared the crossbar.
But the very best chance fell to Jordan Baxter. A long ball played him into the Teign box and with just the keeper to beat he looked certain to score. But he pulled his low shot just wide of the left hand post and behind for a goal kick.
Two players squared up to each other just inside the Totnes half, while I was keeping my eye on that, Scott Troth played a long through ball that bounced up and Ben Harnett-Davies was able to fire into the back of the net.
Teign’s Jack Leighton who really impressed me today, went on a very good run and got a shot away from the edge of the Totnes box that only just went wide of the left hand post.
Totnes were looking the more likely of the two sides to get the next goal. A good ball into the Teign box from the left hand side was met by the head of Ben Harnett-Davies close in, but his effort went wide of the right hand post. Another great cross into the Teign box from the same side saw Ben Harnett-Davies at full stretch to get his boot onto the ball, but he was inches short of doing so.
But Ben was then rewarded for all his hard work and another good ball was played to just outside the box from the right hand side this time. He hit an unstoppable shot into the back of the net giving Adam Coupland no chance of making a save.
In my opinion Teign Village were denied what looked like a certain penalty. Marco Mancuso was heading just inside the left hand side of the Totnes box. Ben Archer in goal for Totnes came running out to him. Just as Marco headed the ball over the keeper he was taken out by him and dumped in a heap.
Had it been given and converted both sides would have gone in at halftime with the score two all, the match referee blew up for halftime and for me the first half had flown by, always the sign of an action packed first half of football.
The second half got underway and another quick start by Totnes, with Jordan Baxter forcing the Teign’s keeper into making a very good save low down by the left hand post.
Teign Village won a free kick on the edge of the Totnes box, Tom Beer took the kick and went straight for goal, but his shot went wide of the target.
The Teign players were giving the ball away cheaply in their own half, it meant Jordan Baxter was able to test the keeper again who made a good save with his legs.
Jack Leighton then found his name going into the referee’s notebook, by blocking the ball the keeper had just released to kick out of his area. You can not do that these days.
To be fair to the Teign lads they never gave up and were able to score their second goal of the match. From a corner Danny Powell powered the ball home with a very good header. Could the Teign side get another and get back in front again?
Well the answer was yes when their keeper Adam Coupland had come all the way close to the halfway line to take a free kick. Now I may be wrong but I did not see another player get a touch on the ball. It looked to me the Totnes keeper jumped up high to get his hands on the ball that looked to be dipping in under the crossbar. Through the lens that compacts the view, I was sure the keeper was going to push the ball over the bar, but then it seems to have dropped over him and into the goal.
Sadly for the Teign side they were not able to hold onto their lead very long when they conceded a clear penalty. Up stepped Scott Troth to take the spot kick for his side. The keeper went the right way but the shot was low and just inside the left post, a perfect spot kick.
Totnes moved up a gear to try and score the winning goal and claim all the three points. From the edge of the Teign box Ben Harnett-Davies hit a good shot just wide of the left hand post. But they did not have to wait too much longer to get their forth goal of the match. A lovely low ball was played into the Teign box from the right straight to Jordan Baxter. He looked up and placed his shot passed the keeper and into the back of the net.
Not content with four goals Totnes went looking for more. The Teign defence were unable to clear the danger as three headers on goal were kept out but the danger was still there. The ball finally got cleared to just outside the box and Ben Towl hit a sweet powerful shot from there that flew into the right hand side of the goal.
The match referee blew up for the end of the match, as I said a great game to watch and the Teign lads really made a game of it. They will give any side in this division a good game and will only improve.
So well done to Totnes, the better side on the day, on today’s evidence, I can see you as title contenders this season.
