Bovey Tracey Vs Bishops Lydeard 17th August 2024

[Dave]

Match Referee Ashley Harris

Referees Assistants Nigel Lawrence & Alex Crawley

Final Score Bovey Tracey 3 Bishops Lydeard 1

Match Preview

For me there is something very special about Boveys ground, it is picture perfect and I just love taking match photos there. I can not believe it is a whole year since I last covered a game there on 19th August 2023, when they played against Torridgeside AFC. Bovey won the game by five goals to nil, not the first time I have seen them score that many goals in a match. In the 2018/2019 season Bovey scored 120 league goals in total which is a record for the old Division One East.

Last season Bovey finished in a very commendable second place in the league table behind runaway leaders Ivybridge Town, but sadly there was only one promotion slot. Can Bovey go one step further this season? Half the squad this season are new players at the club and frequent goal scorer Ollie Aplin has left the club to rejoin Ivybridge. In the last game I covered I was very impressed with Joseph Alange, but it looks like he is also no longer at the club.



Bovey did not make the start to the new season they were hoping for when they faced local rivals Newton Abbots Spurs at the rec. Spurs Toby Pullman and Callum Noyce scored two goals each in the game and Bovey were reduced to ten men when defender Mike Humphreys was sent off for having to much to say to the match referee.

Bovey were then awarded an away walkover due to Axminster Town AFC being unable to raise a side. On that note I am pleased the league has done what it can to support one of its league teams and with the latest news that former player Mark Scott has agreed to take on the management of the first team, hopefully Axminster’s fortunes will improve.

I do not believe I have ever covered a game featuring Bishops Lydeard AFC so it will be a first for me. The village of Bishops Lydeard is located 6 miles north west of Taunton and is nestled at the foot of the Quantock Hills. I have been there once myself when I visited the Bishops Lydeard Mill and Rural Life Museum.

What about the football club? The club was established in 1912 and have enjoyed a number of honours along the way.

Taunton & District League

Division One champions 1991–92, 1992–93, 2002–03
Division Two champions 1960–61
League Cup winners 1952–53, 1988–89, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01
Seward Memorial Cup winners 1952–53, 1960–61
Rowbarton Charity Cup winners 1961–62

Somerset County League

Premier Division champions 2015–16
Division One champions 2007–08
Division Three champions 2004–05
Division Two & Three League Cup winners 2005–06

After winning the Premier division in 2015–16, they were promoted to Division One of the Western League. At the end of the 2022–23 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division East of the South West Peninsula League.


So Bovey have played just the one game so far this season but are in 10th place in the league table on three points as a result of the Axminster game. This will be the Bishops forth game of the season; they lost their opening game away to Torrington by two goals to nil. Two home games followed, a two all draw against Cullompton Rangers and a one all draw against Crediton United. They come into the game in 11th place in the table on two points.

Both teams will be looking for their first win of the season, Bovey will need to be stronger at the back than they were against Spurs and hope that their strikers get their shooting boots on. May the best team win.

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Match Report.

Before the start of today’s game there was a minutes silence in respect of former Secretary, Chairman and true Bovnian Derek Hart who sadly passed recently. Bovey has won their first game of the new season and they did it by hard work, determination and pure desire to make sure they claimed all three points. I thought the Bishops looked good in the first few minutes of the game, but Bovey soon got on top and never looked back. Bovey looked strong on the ball, battled for every single ball and maybe could have won by a higher scoreline.

The match referee got the game underway and the Bishops looked to set up any early attack but it came to nothing. It was Bovey who had the first shot on goal, a twenty yard Jeesie Howe effort that went wide of the right hand post.

Bovey did have an early scare in the game when the Bishops got a good shot away from outside the box that Rhys Williams in goal for Bovey did well to beat down with his hands. The ball was loose in the box and there was a bit of a scramble but the ball was finally cleared away to safety.

A good move down the left hand side of the pitch resulted in a shot that Joe Holland in goal for the Bishops did well to save low down by the left hand post. The Bishops won the first corner of the game but could not make anything from it.

Bovey then took the lead in the match after a neat passing move played in Neil Last who tried to chip the ball over the keeper. The keeper managed to get a hand on the ball but knocked it down just past the left and post and from a tight angle Lewis Perring forced the ball home.

Bovey were now enjoying a very good spell in the match and very soon doubled their lead after winning a free kick out on the left hand side. The ball was fired low at goal and from my angle the keeper seemed to spill the ball and Jesse Howe was there to fire the ball home.

Neil Last thought he would try his luck from the halfway line, but he missed the target by some way. Bishops Mason Raymond was played into the right hand side of the Bovey box but his effort went wide of the right hand post.

Bovey’s Lewis Perring turned neatly inside the Bishops box and got a shot away that was palmed away by the keeper, Kai Swann picked the ball up and shot at goal, but the keeper was able to make another save. The keeper then did well to cleanly catch the ball after Jesse Howe got an over head shot away that was goal bound.

Bovey were working so hard closing the Bishops players down and giving them no space to play. The Bishops Callum Chivers hit a very wild twenty yard effort that went well wide. James Cottrill did come close to getting a goal back for the Bishops with a shot from the edge of the box that ended up coming down on the top of the crossbar and behind for a goal kick.

One final effort before the halftime break, Kai Swann hit a twenty yard effort just wide of the right hand post. The referee blew up for halftime, Bovey were deservedly in front and at this point I could see no way back for the Bishops.

The first good chance of the second half fell to Bishops Marky Jones who took a shot from just inside the right hand side of the Bovey box. Rhys Williams did very well to get down low by his left hand post and push the ball behind for a corner.

Strong work down the left hand side by Lewis Perring earned Bovey a corner. From the resulting corner kick, Mitch Thomas headed the ball over the crossbar. Bovey then made it three goals to nil when Jessie Howe got a shot away that seemed to hit the keeper and loop up into the air. It seemed to take ages for the ball to finally drop into the back of the net.

Lewis Perring then went on another strong run into the Bishops half and was brought down by Callum Chivers who then became the first player to be booked in the match.

Bovey should have gone even further in front when Jessie Howe was played in with just the keeper to beat, the gasps were loud around me when he put his shot wide of the left hand post.

The Bishops were doing their best to try and get back into the game, Tai Bewes hit a shot from the edge of the box straight into the arms of the keeper. Bovey’s Leon Aggett had his name taken after bring down a Bishops player just outside the left hand side of the box. The free kick was fired low towards the left hand post and saved by the keeper.

The Bishops then scored a consolation goal after winning a free kick out on the right hand side. The ball was fired into the Bovey box and the keeper managed to push the ball back out but was headed into the back of the net by Tai Bewes.

Bovey remained strong to see out the remaining minutes of the game and if they work as hard as did today in future game should do well this season.

Many thanks to Bovey who gave me a season ticket today, I will be back to use for sure. Acts of kindness from both Bovey and Stoke & Torbay Police recently make me feel my efforts are appreciated and that means a lot to me.