Ivies stumble in opening Western League game

Ivybridge Town will look to get their season on track with two successive away matches after suffering a 2-0 opening day defeat at home to Bridgwater United in the Jewson Western League.

Superior finishing by Bridgwater saw them win with a goal in each half from Jack Taylor. Ivybridge travelled to Barnstaple on Tuesday evening and then an FA Cup visit to St Blazey, who lost 8-0 at Brislington on the opening day.

Despite creating a number of attacking opportunities, Ivybridge struggled to find the clinical finishing touch necessary to get the better of Bridgwater goalkeeper Liam Kingston. The visitors achieved the vital breakthrough in the 32nd minute when Taylor scored following a determined run by the impressive Freddie Haden.

Any hopes of a second half revival by Ivybridge were dashed in the 62nd minute when Taylor added a second with an accurate shot on the turn. Ivybridge continued to press forward in search of a goal but struggled to break down the visitors.

Jordan Powell took the Ivybridge man of the match award, starting at central defence alongside skipper Scott Pocock and later switching to right back to cover for Curtis Legrice, who was unavailable for the opening game.

Ivybridge joint manager Wayne Gamble remained in a positive mood after the game, saying: “I am not too downhearted about today. I felt the result did not tell the story of the game. In my opinion the best team lost but we were naive at times.

“We had the best chances, but they took theirs. We are not going to get as many chances as we did last season. If we have two or three each game and do not put them in the net, we are going to be punished.

“The first goal was vital, and it was a case of us not being sharp enough around the box. We played against a good side today and we held our own.”