Trophy triumph for the Tavistock Lambs

Wiping away the disappointment of a narrow defeat to Winchester City in the FA Cup, Tavistock marched through in the FA Trophy with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Larkhall Athletic.

The victory was important for both confidence and the coffers at Langsford Park, as progress in the FA Trophy brings in prize money for the club.

Tavistock manager Stuart Henderson said: “We had a little bit of unavailability and a bit of rotation but the lads reacted well after going behind to an early goal.

“It was a really good response to go in 3-1 at half-time and whoever gets the goal, the game swings. They pulled one back with around 25 minutes to go and we were shaky for five minutes, but then regained our composure.

“At times, we played some really nice stuff, scored some good goals. Fair play to the lads, they saw out the game and the extra revenue [from the FA Trophy] is vital for the club.”

Larkhall made the brighter start and got their reward when midfielder Max Williams surged through the home defence and rifled a super strike toward the bottom corner. Aaron Dearing did brilliantly to tip the ball on to the post but Harry Pritchard was on hand to slot the rebound.

The reaction, as described by the boss, was superb.

Jack Endacott restored parity with a clever hooked finish from a difficult angle and Tavi were in front just a couple of minutes later.

Endacott was again the catalyst, slipping a pass down the left flank for the run of Liam Prynn, who in turn found the run of Tallan Burns. The rampaging midfielder settled himself with a delightful first touch before lashing an emphatic finish beyond the visiting custodian.

The Lambs were now fully in the ascendancy and there was no surprise when they added a third, Prynn spinning beautifully in the danger are before steering a neat finish into the corner. A second-half goal from Larkhall briefly rocked Tavi but they soon regrouped to deservedly book their place in the next round.