WESTERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Shepton Mallet 1, Ivybridge Town 1

IVYBRIDGE Town returned to action with their first fixture for a month in a 1-1 draw away to Shepton Mallet in the Jewson Western League on Saturday, December 14, writes Graham Hambly.

It was the first game for Ivybridge since a 1-1 draw at home to Brislington on November 16. During that time, they have suffered two postponements and a blank Saturday when they did not have a fixture.

Saturday’s match did not have the best start for the visitors as Shepton Mallet were awarded a penalty in what Ivybridge considered a harsh decision for a challenge on Dylan Gould in the fourth minute. Charlie Bateson did the necessary from the spot to give the home side an early lead.

Ivybridge settled well after that setback and deservedly equalised in the 39th minute with an excellent finish by Sean Thomson for his seventh goal of the season.

In fact, Ivybridge joint manager Wayne Gamble reckoned his side were on top at that stage, adding: “We created some good chances and could have killed off the game.”

That view was supported by the fact that Shepton goalkeeper Owen Crawford was awarded his side’s Man of the Match award for pulling off some fine saves.

However, he was fortunate in the closing stages to see a great effort from Brody Pawley crash against the crossbar.

There were some good overall performances by the Ivybridge side with Jordan Duffey having a sound debut in goal, while Curtis Legrice was outstanding in defence and the Ivybridge Man of the Match award went to Sam Hillson for his commanding display at the back.

Elsewhere in the Western Football League, there were two other score draws between Barnstaple Town & Paulton Rovers and Bridgwater United & Brislington FC.

Portishead Town continued their march up the table, now sitting in second, following a comprehensive 5-1 home win over Torpoint Athletic, whilst Buckland Athletic conceded twice in the first five minutes at Homers Heath and succumbed to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Gloucester-based Oldland Abbotonians.

On the fixture front for Ivybridge, the away match at Saltash, which was postponed on November 29, has been rearranged for Tuesday January 14 with a 7.45 kick-off.

Ivybridge complete their pre-Christmas fixtures with a home match against Welton Rovers on Saturday (December 21).

Although Welton are bottom of the table, having lost all 23 league matches, Gamble has warned his side against any complacency. He says: “We are looking forward to the game, but we will be showing Welton due respect and not taking them for granted.”

Following that, on boxing day, Gamble’s greens visit league leaders Brixham AFC before beginning 2025 with a game against Wellington at Erme Valley on January 1.

A trio of away games come after that, travelling to Devon rivals Buckland Athletic (04/01), Street FC (11/01) and then to Saltash for the aforementioned fixture on the 14th.

Other games on boxing day in the Western League include Brislington (8th) vs Portishead Town (2nd), St Blazey (18th) vs St Austell (16th) and Wellington (10th) vs Buckland Athletic (7th).