Merthyr vs Tiverton Town Report

The well known saying a game of two halfs certainly applied to this game as Tiverton started well and a neat one two between Nelson Iseguan and Dan Hayfield was foiled by Jamie Cogman in the Merthyr goal as he gathered the ball at the feet of Iseguan.

The first corner of the game went Tivvys way after five minutes but it ended up in the arms of the Merthyr keeper. A good move down the line involving Craig Woodman and Nelson Iseguan split the Merthyr defence but the resulting cross landed on the roof of the net and went out for a goal kick. Another Tivvy attack saw Iseguan shoot into the side netting from a tight angle. Tivvy were having the majority of the play and a great pass from Owen Howe put Jordan Lam through on goal but Cogman in the Merthyr goal saved well with his feet to deny Tivvy the lead. A minute later and a Woodman corner found Gary Warren at the far post who headed Tiverton 1-0 up. The home side were in total control of the game and on twenty five minutes another fine Tivvy move was finished off by Owen Howe scoring his first goal since his return to the club to make it 2-0.

This seem to wake Merthyr up and a Corey Shephard shot from distance made Lewis Williams pull off his first real save of the game. With thirty minutes on the clock Louis Morison was shown a yellow card for a late Challenge and Eliot Richards received a yellow card for his reaction to the challenge. Five minutes later and Tivvys Owen Howe was shown a yellow card for a late Challenge. Merthyr made a change as they tried to stop the Tivvy pressure bringing on Lewis Powell who replaced Adam Davies. The last real chance of the half fell to Howe but the Tivvy striker saw his shot curl just wide of the goal .Tiverton went in at halftime with a deserved lead after a good first half performance.

Tivvy got the second half underway but it was Merthyr who started the half well and got stronger as the game went on. In their bid to get back in the game they replaced Evans with Thomas . The game was halted while Lam received treatment after a firm but fair tackle left him on the ground. When the game restarted Alfie Pond was booked for a foul and Aaron Dawson was also shown a yellow card which looked like it was for something he had said to the ref.

Merthyr were having a much better second half and were looking the more likely to score the next goal.

Merthyr's Thomas was the next player to find his name in the refs book. The visitors continued to dominate the game and they made another change with Phipps replacing Richards. Tiverton responded by making a double substitution with Olaf Koszela and Matt Wright coming on and Iseguan and Howe going off. Lam was the next name to go in the refs book as the Tivvy man committed the latest foul of the game. With time running out a mix up in the Tivvy defence let in Toby Raison to make the score 2-1. The visitors went all out for a equaliser and on eighty three minutes they got it when Lewis Powell found the back of the Tivvy net to give Merthyr the equalising goal their play deserved.

Tiverton made a change bringing on Chris Shephard who replaced Jordan Lam. But Shephards time on the pitch was short lived as he and Merthyr player Corey Shephard were both sent off by the referee. There was seven minutes of added on time and it was Merthyr who looked the more likely to score but it was not to be and the game finished Tiverton 2 Merthyr 2.