Match Preview: Southern League Premier South
Tiverton Town vs Basingstoke Town
When: Saturday 1st March 2025 Kick-off 3pm
Where: Slee Blackwell Solicitors Stadium, Tiverton Devon EX16 6SG
Tiverton Town (The Tivvy), Avg 2024-25 Home Att 362
The deeply frustrating loss and double sending-off last week, means our winless streak in the league now reaches seven games, as we head into a crucial game without our captain and goalkeeper.
We played Tiverton at Winklebury back in November last year, and Tiverton held a one-goal lead at halftime, but Stoke came flying back and a neat Dan Warre finish levelled the scoring. However as has been a problem this season, we conceded two late goals going down 3-1 at home.
Our Opponents
One of Tiverton’s new Manager Rob Bray’s first wins since he took over was that win against Stoke back in November. Bray was instrumental in the turnaround of Taunton Town’s fortunes where he spent six years, starting in 2016 as an assistant coach before taking over the reins in September 2018. He also had management spells at Bridgwater Town and assistant manager at Bideford Town.
Tiverton enter this match sitting in a precarious 21st place with just relegation-bound Marlow below them. Their record sits at Pld 31 Won 7 Drawn 8 Lost 16 and 29pts. Their goal difference is a massive -31. Their home record sits at 4 Wins, 4 Draws and 6 Losses. Their leading goalscorer is 29-year-old Joe Parker with seven league goals. Parker joined Tiverton towards the end of last season and was a former Newport County forward. Young striker Tor Swann, has two goals on the season, and spent his youth time at Exeter City & Torquay before spending time at Barnstaple Town & Buckland Athletic, before joining Tiverton. Six-foot Nathaniel Jarvis, joined in November, having scored five goals in ten matches this season for Welsh South outfit Newport City. Prior to that, he played for two seasons at Taunton Town, racking up 72 matches in the National League South. Bristol City youngster Kai Churchley is another young loanee at Ladysmead. He is an attacking midfielder who was born, and grew up in Cheltenham and played for Cheltenham Town at youth level before joining City at Under-16 level from Bishop’s Cleeve. Another striker Daniel Kiota, signed from Okehampton Argyle in December after his goal scoring exploits with Okehampton, Tavistock and Willand had seen him attract the interest of several Southern League clubs.
The midfield contains Matt Britton who joined from Swindon Supermarine two seasons ago and has added three goals this season. Asa Hall joined Tiverton after spending six seasons on the English Riviera with Torquay United to come to the Ian Moorcroft Stadium, where he will combine playing with coaching duties. He has amassed over 600 competitive games in a 19-year career that began at Premier League Birmingham City and has included seven EFL clubs, as well as three in the National League. Jeffrey Forkuo is another young player who has found a place in Tivvy’s line-up and was a former apprentice at Plymouth Argyle. Markus Day, a left-sided player, moved to Frome from Taunton Town, having joined Rob Dray’s Peacocks on the eve of the 2023-24 campaign after trialling successfully during pre-season. The previous season, he finished with a Southern League Division One South winners’ medal with Totton.
The defence has improved since we played them in November and contains two unconnected Jones. Firstly Josh Jones, regarded as an imposing centre-back Josh, 28, has barely missed a game for Town since moving to the Ian Moorcroft Stadium in the summer of 2022. Dylan Jones, is a versatile Welshman who first came to the Ian Moorcroft Stadium in the summer of 2022 following spells with Hereford, with whom he reached the FA Trophy final. Originally a midfielder, he now plays in more wide defensive role. Former striker Niall Thompson is a right-sided defender, and has been nigh-on an ever-present for Tivvy since moving to Ladysmead in the summer of 2021 following six seasons at Truro City. The former Torquay United youth player made 47 appearances in his first campaign, scoring 10 goals, and added a further 43 matches and three goals to that haul last season. Sam Gleeson, is a young defender whose impressive displays in the build-up to the 2024-25 campaign have seen him promoted to the senior squad. He made his first-team debut as a substitute towards the end of the previous campaign. Toby Down, son of former Bideford and Taunton player Ian Down, Toby made a solitary EFL Trophy substitute appearance for Exeter City, as a teenager in 2016, after coming through the Grecians’ Academy. He remained at St James Park until he was released in 2018, and has played for a number of local clubs, before joining Tiverton. In goal, it will be Joe Duncan who appears to be on an extended loan deal from Bristol City.
Our Basingstoke Town Side
The actual loss against Havant & Waterlooville will be more missed for the actions of the referee, who gave straight red cards to Simon Grant and then Billy Upton. Both players key to our side will now miss the next three key games (Tiverton, Chertsey & Sholing). Losing you captain and your ever-present goalkeeper, are huge parts of the spine of the team, and will be difficult to replace at a critical time of the season.
With last week’s loss, we still sit in fourteenth place with our record looking at a mid-table record of Pld 32 Won 8 Drawn 12 Lost 12 and 36pts, with our away record sitting at 3 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses, as we head to Devon. After much confusion around Liam Ferdinand’s fitness last week, at least he will have had seven days to rest his ankle, and will likely line-up with Jayden Brissett once again tomorrow afternoon. Robbie Gallagher & George Reid are possible winger options tomorrow on what could be a heavy grass pitch. Pele Koulsseoue could earn a start in a more attacking role after his midweek two-goal performance. Young Charlie Barlow, is likely to be an option off the bench.
With Rudy Allen’s play now just a memory, largely due to the emergence of James Dickson’s good play in the last couple of games, Dickson will likely join Sam Deadfield as the key components of our midfield tomorrow. Again how we set-up will depend if Ben Cook gets a starting, or bench role tomorrow. James Clark could also be an option here depending on how our defence sets-up as well. Aleks Kokoszka could be an option, but maybe part of Andover New Street’s FA Vase Qtr-final game tomorrow.
To lose the captain and heart of the defence for the next three games will be a big blow, so it will be interesting to see how we set-up tomorrow. Jack Ball will likely team-up with Scott Armsworth in the middle, unless we go with a back-five adding James Clark as the third centre-back here. On the flanks should be Markus Johnson-Schuster on the right, and Lewis Colwell on the left. Colwell has been a huge presence on the field since arriving and great news that his loan-deal has been extended.
Lots of gossip and rumour about who will take over the goalkeeping duties tomorrow afternoon, but going to leave it there, until the club confirms who it will be.
If Granty still makes the trip to Tiverton, I’ll happily buy him a pint in their clubhouse, to thank him for his services this season. The same offer of course goes to Billy Upton as well.
With two days of dry weather down in Devon, I’m hoping that the pitch will allow us to play some open, attacking football tomorrow afternoon, but with some clear defensive plan as well.
In recent games against lower teams, we seem to get dragged down to their level, so I’m really hoping we can change that form tomorrow afternoon.
Match Preview by Martin French..
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