Tavistock hold Huddersfield to a 0-0 draw

The Lambs of Tavistock AFC can feel very proud of themselves after a superb performance in earning a 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town in front of a big crowd at Langsford Park.

Huddersfield boss Neil Warnock is well known for his love of the South-West and regularly brings his teams to Devon and Cornwall for a pre-season tour. Tavvy were on the list this year and the Southern League outfit put on a terrific display.

“I’m really pleased,” said Tavvy manager Stuart Henderson. “We always knew it was going to be one of those games where we wouldn’t have a lot of the ball, naturally, with them being a Championship club.

‘We tried to set up a shape to stop them in certain areas and, most of the time, it worked well. It wasn’t like they were peppering us with shots and we felt we had a shout for a penalty after some good combination play.

‘It isn’t about results but we are naturally all competitive. We managed to get some youngsters on after around 70 minutes and a 0-0 result against a Championship club is obviously a good performance.

‘We learned a lot about our players. They were disciplined and dug in. It was great to play in front of a big crowd.”

The pattern of the game understandably saw Tavvy holding a compact shape and working very hard to deny their illustrious visitors clear-cut chances. When Huddersfield did breach the home defence, goalkeeper Aaron Dearing was in the right place to produce a top save.

The Lambs held on for an impressive draw and a great work-out against top players. Tavvy then moved on to a friendly at St Blazey, securing a dominant 3-0 victory.

The Southern League season kicks-off on Saturday, 12th August and Tavvy will welcome Bemerton Heath Harlequins on the opening day before a midweek trip to Willand Rovers on the Wednesday.

The August Bank Holiday will bring Cornish outfit Mousehole to Langsford Park and there is another home game on Boxing Day, with Bideford the visitors. Tavvy travel to Mousehole on New Year’s Day and finish their campaign with a home game against Yate Town on 27th April.

Ivybridge Town are also getting stuck into their pre-season preparations ahead of the South-West Peninsula League campaign.

The Ivies bagged a 1-0 win at Wendron United, thanks to a goal from Jack Alexander, and he was on target again in a 3-1 victory over Bodmin Town. Jake Lane and Connor Rush were the other scorers.

Ivybridge begin their league season with a visit from Sidmouth Town on Saturday, 5th August and what should be a tough encounter against a side that showed great improvements over the second half of last season.

The Ivies then travel to Dartmouth and host Newton Abbot Spurs in a busy start to the season.