Town made the long trip to Brixham leaving behind relative warmth and sunshine for the overcast skies and bitterly cold wind of Brixham's elevated pitch.
For the first time this season Town tried a more adventurous 2-3-1 formation with Jack in goal, Oscar and Alex B playing at the back, Charlie James and Rory in a 3-man midfield and Harry upfront. Alexander, Ethan, Jamie and Ben filled a packed Town subs bench.
In the early stages it was all Town with the play condensed into the Brixham half for a good 10 minute spell which meant Jack hardly saw the ball except for a couple of well timed dashes from his box to clear the danger. Town's midfield were strong in the tackle and playing some intelligent passes to supply Harry who was giving the Villa defense a difficult time. Town created 4 or 5 good scoring chances, but a combination of good goalkeeping and narrow misses kept the scoreline at 0-0.
There is a saying in football that if you dont score when you are on top you often pay the penalty, and sure enough it was Brixham who opened the scoring with one of their first shots on goal. The lead was soon doubled as a high ball into the Town box hit James on the arm and the ref pointed to the spot - a power penalty gave Jack no chance. Town kept working hard and created another good chance which James couldnt take, and just before half time the home side scored a scrambled third goal as Town failed to clear a corner.
Into the second half, and with players starting to show the effects of the bitter cold weather Town lost their concentration a little and conceeded another couple of goals as Brixham began to show some of the form that has propelled them to third in the table. Ethan, Ben and Jamie all came on to add energy from the subs bench and then Charlie took over in goal as Jack sustained a hand injury as a result of a Brixham player celebrating their 5th goal!
Into the final quarter and Town suddenly came back into the match and with James and Harry both recovered from earlier injuries looking to press forward again. And then came the Town "champagne moment" as Alex carried the ball forward from the back and after a couple of passes he received the ball in an advanced position and fired hard and low into the far corner to give Town a well deserved goal. Sadly the home side had the final word with a 6th goal just before the end to leave the final score 6-1.
Despite the final score, Town showed glimpses of their potential. James and Harry could both have been on the score sheet in the first 10 minutes, and who knows how the game may have turned out if they could have got an early lead. All credit to everyone, not just for the performance but also for keeping going in the freezing cold conditions. The return fixture at Coach Road this coming Sunday should be interesting! |
