OLLIE Aplin’s second-half strike was the difference on Saturday as Bovey Tracey edged a 1-0 Peninsula League win over Plymouth Marjon.

Aplin’s goal, which came on 72 minutes, was the culmination of relentless domination from the hosts and rounded off a superb week for his club.

‘[It was] not our best performance,’ Bovey boss Will Small explained upon full-time. ‘But it was a game we were fairly comfortable and never really looked like losing.’

In the familiar surroundings of their Mill Marsh home, Bovey Tracey made a quick start and it soon became clear that traffic would be one way. An early chance saw Tom Burt, on his return to the starting line-up, float a free-kick deep into the area for Simon Laughton, whose header sailed just high of the crossbar.

After the break, a pair of chances from Aplin and Brad Crocombe went awry before the ever-threatening Burt struck the crossbar for the second time on the hour mark, having latched onto a sumptuous dink over the defence.

Several more big chances were created before talismanic striker Aplin finally netted the only goal of the game. Left-back Neil Last wriggled free of the defence on the left flank and fired a square ball across the area for Aplin, who made no mistake in converting from close range.

‘Eventually we managed to get one’

‘We were just banging on the door and eventually we managed to get one,’ Small continued.

‘I think if we did the right things in the right areas it could’ve been a lot more comfortable. We created a lot of chances but we just didn’t take them. 

‘We were a bit toothless in the final third today, whereas we haven’t been like that in our last four or five games so it was a bit disappointing. 

‘We lacked tempo at times and were very slow and almost arrogant in a way in our performance in the first half but second half I thought we were a lot better and it was only a matter of time until the goal came.’

Despite absorbing pressure for much of the game, Marjon could well have snatched something from the tie as they saw two gilt-edged opportunities go begging. A heroic block from Bovey centre-half Lee Hildreth put a stop to a certain opener on 25 minutes, before Alangel Joseph saw a one-on-one chance to level at the death stopped by a fabulous Dom Aplin save.

‘We knew they [Marjon] would be a young side,’ Small said, ‘and we knew they would be well-organised and get plenty of men behind the ball.

‘The plan was to get the ball wide and try to get in behind them and we played some really good football up until we got in and around their box and then we couldn’t break them down, it was tough to get through and when we did we wasted our chances. 

‘But I think we dominated the game and I think we deserve the three points.’