All's Well That Ends Well

CLOWN: I will show myself highly fed, and lowly taught ...
(All's Well That Ends Well, Act II)

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 17 April 2014 at the DCS Stadium
Result	Stratford Town 2 Tiverton Town 4
Competition	Southern League D1 South & West (Step 4)
Hopping	Ground 532 on the lifetime list and chosen because of the random effect of gravity on a tetrahedron.
Pre-match preparation
I'd picked out four games of interest for this evening’s entertainment, all of which had something important to play for, for at least one of the sides involved. Stratford Town are in mid-table in their first season after promotion from Step 5.  Tiverton Town are third, but not yet mathematically certain of a playoff place, and points are important in determining home advantage.  They have already played once this week, a home win on Tuesday.  The International Space Station is due to pass overhead at 9.03pm for a four-minute pass from the West and Mars, Jupiter and the Moon should also be visible if the skies are clear.  Post-match note: it was too cloudy for any of the skygazing.
This match in one sentence
Tiverton handed out a lesson in clinical finishing and have done well to win two midweek games in their pursuit of promotion.
So what?
Tiverton's position is strengthened and they could still take the overall title.  Stratford are 10th and safe.
The drama unfolds
This was a good game for the passing neutral.  Keenly contested at a decent tempo on a lovely playing surface.  This new stadium provides one of the best facilities at this level.  Stratford could have taken the lead with a shot on the turn from Tyrone Fagan and they will have to reflect on the number of missed chances over the course of the match.  Tiverton struck twice in quick succession to take control of the game.  Firstly, a neat one-two worked for full back James Richards to get clear in the area for a neat finish.  0-1 after 16mins Then Michael Nardiello buried a diving header from a right-wing cross, just after he had been denied by a fine defensive block.  Yes, the same Michael Nardiello, the youngster with Manchester United (and later, West Brom), whom we all tried to sign on loan for our lower league sides during the early years of Championship Manager.  By all accounts, he is hoping this spell at Tiverton will be a stepping stone back into the full-time game after a horrendous time with injury.  0-2 after 21 mins Tiverton were now in command.  Their link-up play around the box was far superior and they creeated a chance for Dan Smith whose shot curled just wide.  Their defence was also called into action, though, as Stratford occasionally threatened, often through Richard Gregory.  Time for the scene-setter clip, which has the bar rattled by Tiverton's impressive Josh Searle.  Stratford are in blue. The same player shot just wide from the right-hand side before the break.  0-2 at half-time Stratford started the second half brightly and were back in the game through leading scorer Gregory.  The ball sat up nicely for him and he buried it.  1-2 after 52 mins A superb block by Callum Burgess denied Nardiello again before Fagan shot over the bar from a good clear chance and this was probably the turning point.  It was not long before a Nardiello header, again from the right, was nestling in the net, and then a shot from Marcus Martin added a fourth,  Game over, and no chance of a "2-3 or not 2-3" blogpost title.  1-3 after 74 mins, 1-4 after 78 mins The game ebbed away with substitutions but there was time for a final consolation for the home side in stoppage time.  A deep cross from the left (by Fagan, I think) was headed nicely back across goal and Simeon Tulloch was there to head in from close range.  Stratford deserve credit for their part in this entertaining game.  As the King of France put it in Act V, "Praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dear."  (Look, readers, be fair, it was either this or that line about all the men being merely players...)  Final score 2-4
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Huddle Stats
No huddles tonight. 2013-14 Summary so far: P W D L GF GA Pts Pts per Game Huddlers 13 5 4 4 13 9 19 1.46 Non-Huddlers 26 11 3 12 40 44 36 1.38 Twin Huddlers 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 1.00
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Tiverton came and won with a green goalkeeper.  Stratford's stopper was hard to classify but I am ignoring the black content and going for pink as the dominant colour. 2013-14 Summary so far: 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, -1pt for a goal conceded and +5pts for a clean sheet P W D L GA (-1 each) CS (5 each) Pts Pts per Game Grey 10 6 2 2 9 5 36 3.60 Red 2 1 0 1 2 1 6 3.00 Green 9 5 0 4 11 2 14 1.56 Yellow 4 1 1 2 8 1 1 0.25 Orange 3 1 1 1 6 0 -2 -0.67 Radioactive Bile 3 1 0 2 6 0 -3 -1.00 Pink 6 1 3 2 14 0 -8 -1.33 Blue 3 0 1 2 6 0 -5 -1.67
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!