Bovey Tracey AFC “beaten by the better side” in FA Cup clash

BOVEY Tracey AFC hosted an FA Cup fixture for the first time ever on Saturday, August 8, only for Exmouth Town to come along and rain on their parade.

Home boss Ben Gerring, who saw two yellow cards and was dismissed from the sidelines, accepted that Bovey were “beaten by the better side.”

He added, “The scoreline tells you everything you need to know, it was a fair result.”

The Moorlanders were “super competitive” in the first half though and they actually had the better chances.

It was a “very bitty” affair, often lacking in quality, and Bovey skipper Owen Stockton went close with two headers from set-pieces.

Young centre-half Harvey Coggins, who Gerring labelled as “outstanding [in the] first half”, also could and perhaps should have done better when he found himself in space at the far post.

In what was a lively clash with plenty for the officials to deal with, the first really heated moment came as the halftime whistle went.

Ollie Aplin caught an Exmouth man in the chest seconds after it was blown and Bovey were perplexed that he was still shown a yellow for the incident. Gerring was particularly vocal about it and when it looked as if all had settled down, with the manager nearly off the field, the ref called him back to card him in “mindboggling” fashion.

He gave his players a good talking to at the break but it didn’t have the desired effect with the Southern League side breaking the deadlock.

Alex Cairo was on hand to hook home from a messy corner with less than 100 seconds on the clock and just a few minutes later, a “wild challenge” in the area presented them with a chance of a quickfire second, Tom Bath calmly dispatching from the spot.

Fullbacks Lewis Perring and Charlie Stevens were the two sacrificed as Gerring looked to stem the flow and change Bovey’s shape, Charlie Castlehouse and Zico Kendall going on in their places.

The move of the match set Bath through one-on-one with Andy Collings and whilst the goalkeeper couldn’t deny him, the upright could.

Not for the first time that afternoon, the linesman raised his flag to call over the man in the middle. After their discussion, Gerring was shown a second yellow and then a red, again for something he’d said.

A rare bright moment for Bovey saw the two subs link up well with Stuart Bowker then getting involved, beating his man before curling an effort just wide.

The host’s man of the match Cieran Bridger was looking “to get the ball down and play” and earned the plaudits of his manager as a result, but it was just one of those days for the team.

Time was running out at this stage and so Exmouth’s third goal was the final nail in the Bovey Tracey coffin, Aarron Denny beating Collings to the loose ball and then knocking it into the empty net.

Despite defeat and disappointment, Gerring still gave a level-headed assessment post-match.

“I wouldn’t say we were unfortunate. We need to wise up and we need to stop causing ourselves problems, [we were] beaten by the better side nonetheless,” said Gerring.

He continued, “It comes down to moments and we had at least two or three really good moments and we’ve blazed them, not even close, blazed them over the bar. So that’s where we need a bit of calmness.”

Whilst he denounced his first card as “quite bizarre”, Gerring declared: “I’ve got to take [the red] on the chin. But [the frustration is] not towards the players, it was just me and my mouth.”

Moving forward now and Bovey find themselves in a position they’re not really familiar with.

“We lost three games last season and now we’ve lost two on the spin, now I get to see who is a character and who goes missing. And I get to find out what I’m about as a manager as well, it’s not panic stations, absolutely not.

“I want to get us back on the ball, we’re not playing the conditions well enough and I’m not sure we’re confident enough to start stringing some passes together. They’re an honest group, we’ll get together and work Tuesday and no matter what, I know this group will give their all and I’m not about to change things now.

“We certainly need to be more streetwise but we’ll do that, we’ll learn as we go and I’m more than happy with the 16 [players] that we’ve got.”

Cal Leech is still out injured and a hobbling Louie Roberts was an unused substitute on the day so the return of those two to Bovey’s midfield is sure to be a boost.

Bovey will dust themselves off and go again on Saturday, August 15, when they return to league action and visit Street FC at The Tannery Ground.