Tiverton Town 1-3 Sholing

Scorers : Matt Wright 4 / Joe Adams 14, Claudio Herbert 37, Dan Mason 77

Date: Saturday 18 September 2021, 3pm – Emirates FA Cup Second Round Qualifying

Venue: The Ian Moorcroft Stadium, Ladysmead

Tiverton Town: Lewis Williams, Alfie Pond, Joe Belsten (Kyle Egan 53), Aaron Dawson, Gary Warren, Austen Booth, Jordan Lam (Andy Watkins 70), Dan Hayfield, Matt Wright, Olaf Koszela, Louis Morison (Nelson Iseguan 61)

Yellow Card:

Sholing: Ryan Gosney, Ryan Cluett, Marv McLean, Charlie Wagstaffe, Dan Miller, Rob Nicholls, Claudio Herbert, Byron Mason ©, Dan Mason (Nathan Gray 86), Joe Adams, Jake Cope. Unused subs : Mitch Byrne, Lochlan Colquhoun, Tomasz Gruzweski, Conor Whiteley, Luke Deacon

Yellow Card : Claudio Herbert, Charlie Wagstaffe, Jake Cope

Referee: Mark Senior Assistants: Bailey Walker & Brian Lee

Attendance: 314

Man of the Match : Joe Adams

Boatmen pulled off a Cup Upset with a come from behind win at Southern Premier side, Tiverton Town. Despite conceding an early goal, in an end to end first half, Joe Adams got the equaliser and then Claudio Herbert put us in front. Sholing continued to hit the home side with rapid attacks in the second half and our place in the 2nd Qualifying round draw was secured by Dan Mason on 77 mins.

Dave Diaper was back in charge and kept the same starting line-up from the win against Lymington in midweek. Stu Green & Brad Targett missed out through injury and although Conor Whiteley was on the bench, he wasn't going to be risked.

The game started at a rapid pace and inside 60 seconds, Tiverton win a corner which Sholing clear comfortably. With Sholing now on the front foot, Tiverton goalkeeper, Lewis Williams, had to be at his best to prevent the Boatmen from opening the scoring on 2 minutes. From Ryan Cluett’s corner he found the head of Byron Mason who just puts it over the bar. A minute later Tiverton were given too much space and full back Alfie Pond was able to swing a ball in from the right and centre forward Matt Wright rose unchallenged and headed the ball past Ryan Gosney.

With 10 minutes on the clock Tiverton looked to have doubled their lead when Centre Half Gary Warren’s powerful header was saved by Ryan Gosney. On 11 minutes a challenge by Claudio Herbert sees Louis Morison needing treatment and referee Mr Senior produces his 1st card of the game for the Sholing midfielder. Once again Gary Warren’s header is scrambled away from the Sholing goal line. However, one minute later the Boatmen are back on level terms Claudio Herbert fired up after his caution makes a clinical run and he picks out JOE ADAMS who slotted the ball home for first senior goal.

The match became pretty much end to end with Sholing counter attacking Tiverton’s forward press mainly down the left. Ryan Gosney’s poor clearance allowed Matt Wright the opportunity to give Tiverton the lead but his shot was way off target. Then likewise at the other end goalkeeper Lewis Williams decided to play football outside the box rather than clear it and Dan Mason outmuscled him but fired over an empty net from 20 yards.

On the half hour mark Ryan Gosney once again had to be at his best to keep out Olaf Koszela’s long range effort. Then like Déjà vu it was Lewis Williams who had to be at his best to deny Jake Cope’s effort. Finally smart work down the left from Ryan Cluett finds Joe Adams on the edge of the box and he coolly slides the ball to his right into the path of CLAUDIO HERBERT who drills the ball past Williams and celebrates with his traditional celebration.

Sholing nearly switched off and what looked like a clumsy challenge on Olaf Koszela referee Senior was unmoved by it and the Tiverton appeals and waved away their claims for a penalty. HT 1-2

On 47 minutes Charlie Wagstaffe finds himself the 2nd Boatman in Referee Senior’s book for a trip on Jordan Lam. Tiverton continue to press, and the resulting corner is cleared but falls to Louis Morison who curls his shot over the Sholing bar. Jake Cope once again has a darting run at the Tiverton defence, but he decides for the single option and has his shot blocked with Sholing players in better positions.

Olaf Koszela is adjudged to be fouled on the left edge of the Sholing box Ryan Gosney ensured the wall covered his near post and Koszela curls his kick just wide of that upright. Once again, a counterattack sees Jake Cope’s effort deflected but Lewis Williams reacts to the deflection to prevent Sholing a third goal.

Yet again it is Jake Cope trying to break down the Tiverton defence and puts his effort narrowly wide. 60 seconds later the tie is sealed and Sholing score their third with DAN MASON scoring his seventh goal in seven games, drilling his shot under the keeper.

Tiverton Manager Scott Roger’s frustration was boiling over and referee Senior intervened with a lengthy lecture. Sholing continued to press for a fourth rather than sit back and defend, but where denied by a linesman’s flag. With the clock showing 2 minutes of the ninety to play, another chance for Dan Mason to double his score for the day. But he is denied by Lewis Williams block, but as the ball is cleared the Sholing striker is left injured and because of cut foot can no longer continue. Nathan Gray replaces Dan Mason for the final 2 minutes and 4 minutes stoppage time. With Tiverton looking for some pride they continue to seek a second goal, but Ryan Gosney denies Austen Boothe’s header with a superb save. FT 1-3

Report by Greg Dickson

Dave Diaper’s thoughts: "Tremendous performance, we had to dig in when we had to. Their forward play was superb. Their No 9 Matt Wright was different class, it’s the 1st time I’ve seen Dan Miller & By Mason have something physical against them which was effective. We started poor first 10 -15 minutes we were average to say the least. It was important to get the equalising goal"

"We were then able to catch them on the break and then we played some good football, and it was a fair result at the end of the day. We were able to match their pressure and Gos played really well and everyone put in a good shift today. We deserved the win. It’s never easy in the FA Cup from our point of view it is slightly easier if you are playing someone from a higher league because it is a mental thing as well. But it would be good to get a home draw, we have spent the best part of the season coming down to Devon so it would just be nice to get back to Hampshire to be honest."

For a Match Report from a Tiverton Fan, click here

Next Game : Gosport Borough v Sholing - Hampshire Senior Cup - Wednesday 22 Sept 7:45pm

Photos courtesy of HR Media (swipe to view pics)