Tavistock miss out on a place in final after shoot-out heartache

After a goalless draw at Ladysmead, in which defences were on top, the Lambs were denied by the heroics of Tiverton goalkeeper Ollie Saunders, who saved from Tavi’s Josh Grant, Ed Harrison and Tallan Burns as the Yellows won 3-2.

- STUART JAMES

TAVISTOCK’S hopes of reaching the Devon St Luke’s Challenge Cup final were ended in the cruellest of fashions as they were beaten on penalty kicks by Tiverton Town.

Tavistock goalkeeper Josh Oak saved two penalties himself as both goalkeepers excelled in the shoot-out, but the defeat was harsh on a weakened Tavi, who had created the better chances over the course of 90 minutes, even if the home side dominated possession.

“Tiverton were at full strength and we were missing four players, so we rotated the squad and used a few of the development boys,” Henderson said. “Sam Rutter was outstanding on the night along with a number of other players like Sean Thomson and Oscar Massey, who played 90 minutes and showed up well.

“It shows we have a bit of depth to our squad. Territorially, I thought they had the better of the first half but, second half, they didn’t really cause us too many problems and we had the better chances.