SWPL

Premier Division

Bodmin Town 3

Ivybridge Town put in one of their best displays of the season to win a seven-goal thril­ler and put a dent in Bodmin’s title chances at the same time.

Off the back of a bad run of form and with Bodmin Town chasing the title, Tuesday night’s game could have got ugly after the Bridgers went 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes, as general manager Brian Howard admitted.

‘After the first 10 I thought we could be looking at a cricket score’, Howard said.

‘However, then Sam Stevens scored a superb hat-trick, including one overhead effort, and we were 3-2 up before half time.

‘It was probably our best display of the season and I didn’t see the performance coming, to be honest.

‘I’m delighted, it’s good for the club, we had a great crowd and it’s put us on a high, hopefully we can carry on.’

With the first had being such a see-saw affair, anything could have happened in the second half, but it was Ivybridge who maintained their momentum, netting a fourth goal through Lee Doel.

This gave the Bridg­ers a two-goal cushion, but an 82nd-minute penalty ensured a nervy finish for the home side, who kept their composure to seal a victory which delighted the hosts and disappointed the visitors in equal measure.

Howard said if his team had played more games in that manner maybe they would have been challenging for the title instead of Bodmin, and this performance certainly shows what the team is capable of when they get things right.

Howard did, however, admit to having team concerns over last night’s match against Camelford, as due to injuries and suspensions he was anticipating fielding some second-team players.

After that there is just two games left for Town, both at home. They host Newquay on the evening of Tuesday, April 26, then welcome Helston Athletic the following Wednesday, May 4, to close what has been a topsy-turvy season out.