A RIP-ROARING second-half display saw Bovey Tracey thrash Dartmouth 6-0 in the Peninsula League Premier East.
Mitch Thomas’ goal before half-time saw the second half nicely poised for an entertaining battle until a sensational scoring spree put the Moorlanders well out of sight.
Dartmouth started the better of the two sides. Ryan O’Callaghan saw the first chance of the game go begging as a stooping header bounced awkwardly in front of Bovey goalkeeper Dom Aplin and struck the post.
The woodwork was still shaking when the visitors struck it again five minutes later. The ball was slid to Robbie Bowker in acres of space on the edge of the area, and his first-time effort cannoned off the inside of the upright with Aplin beaten.
Lee Hildreth came agonisingly close to opening the scoring on 22 minutes when he tried his luck from inside his own half. The centre-back spotted Darts stopper James Weeks marauding from his line and fired an ambitious effort which had the ‘keeper scrambling backwards. In his manic back-pedalling, Weeks did well to parry the ball onto the underside of the bar.
Weeks was called into action again on the half-hour mark, when he produced a phenomenal diving save to tip a towering header from Hildreth over the bar.
Bovey went in front four minutes later, with what turned out to be the last action of the half. A ball along the left found Thomas, who drove forward and drilled a composed effort across goal with his left foot.
Hosts accelerate after the break
The Moorlanders flew out of the blocks after the break and struck the underside of the crossbar again as Andy Davies fired a sumptuous right-footed effort with the outside of his boot from distance. Had it found the net, it surely would have been an early contender or goal of the season.
Ollie Aplin netted the second on 65 minutes. A small scramble in the area resulted in the talismanic striker swivelling on the spot and blasting into the bottom corner at the unguarded near post. The strike opened the floodgates on Dartmouth and chalked up Aplin’s seventh goal of the season in all competitions.
The goal of the day came 15 minutes from time. A wayward ball, waist-high, found Brad Crocombe 25 yards from goal, and he lashed a mouth-watering volley which dipped into the top corner with Weeks well beaten.
Two minutes later, Bovey started to run riot as they added a fourth. Neil Last got the better of a poor offside trap and thumped home with aplomb. Dartmouth heads visibly dropped.
Dartmouth’s only chance of the second half came with five minutes to go. Ben Towler broke through one-on-one with gloves-man Aplin as he latched onto a long ball forward. With Aplin rushing out to close the angle, Towler rounded the ‘keeper and ballooned his effort into the trees.
With full-time looming, Last netted the fifth with a curling effort from range. The 29-year-old drove wide on the left before shifting the ball onto his right foot and curling home a beautiful strike.
But there was time for one more, as Tom Burt bundled home the sixth goal of the evening. Several deflections off deflated Darts defenders allowed the sprightly winger through on goal, and he beat the ‘keeper before walking the ball home.
‘Everyone’s buzzing,’ says Small
Upon full-time, Bovey boss Will Small said: ‘[It was] very good and very pleasing. A clean sheet, some great goals in there, great team goals as well, great impact from the lads off the bench and everyone’s buzzing. It’s a great result and nice to win a derby and keep a clean sheet.’
‘After the [Newton Abbot] Spurs game [a 2-1 away defeat] we had a bit of an honest chat with each other and said that we have the talent in the group but the talent alone isn’t enough, we’ve got to turn up and we’ve got to work hard. It’s taken us a little while to get used to each other and I think in the last couple games, things have clicked, the lads’ attitudes have been spot-on, work rates have been really good and I’m really pleased with how we performed having been a bit disappointed after the Spurs game.
‘We’ve got real strength on the bench and lads who are chomping at the bit to come on and make a difference, and the competition for places in the squad is huge.’