BOVEY Tracey AFC came from behind to eliminate step three side Tiverton Town in a “blood and guts” St Luke’s Challenge Cup tie on Tuesday, March 11, a result they “thoroughly deserved” in the eyes of assistant manager Leigh Robinson.

Tiverton, who are bringing up the rear in the Southern League Premier South, made four changes to their starting XI that lost 4-0 to Weymouth Town FC on the weekend whilst Bovey had three alterations of their own. Club captain Cliff Walters, Ollie Aplin and Alex Gray made way for Louie Roberts, Stuart Bowker and Levi Landricombe.

Rain fell from minute one to minute 90 at the Western Counties Roofing Ground and, in Ben Gerring’s final game of his suspension, the Moorlanders struck the woodwork in a matter of seconds.

Jack Brimming broke down the right flank and his cross was missed by the Tiverton defence, Landricombe taking control and firing an effort off of the inside of the post.

No sooner had I finished making a note of this near-miss and the visitors had taken the lead at the other end, Giles Basson with the goal.

Bovey remained undeterred though and they continued to move the ball well, Brimming a constant threat on his wing. After he was “unusually rusty on Saturday” in the words of Robinson, the youngster was able to “Go up a gear and people that have watched him this season will have seen just how dangerous he can be, he’s absolutely electric when he gets it right.”

Their equaliser came with 10 minutes on the clock and Brimming was heavily involved, pulling it back for oncoming midfielder Callum Leech who showed smart feet before finding the far bottom corner.

The two sides went back-and-forth for a while, attacking prowess being met by resolute defending at both ends. An intriguing development saw Tiverton put goalkeeper Dom Aplin under pressure from corners, forcing him to punch clear every time.

On the topic of goalkeepers and Stuart Bowker’s header looked goalbound before John-Morgan Ross reacted sharply to claw it onto the post.

At the half-time interval, Bovey will have been frustrated with just the one goal but there were plenty more opportunities to come as the teams turned around.

Bassoon couldn’t quite believe he didn’t have a second to his name, breaking through and shooting only for Aplin to make an athletic stop.

The goal-frame then thwarted Bovey once more, Roberts heading a superb Landricombe cross off of the bar. Before Tiverton could fully get rid though, Bowker, whose setup work for the original move was crucial, swept home the go-ahead goal.

Rather than resting on their laurels, the home side went in search of a more comfortable lead. Leech strode onto a half-clearance and drilled it in at the near post to make it a brace for him on the night.

Landricombe had the next best chance, a miscued Ross kick falling straight to him but was caught off guard and slightly rushed the shot.

The final nail in the Tiverton coffin came courtesy of Brimming, his pinpoint cross being headed in by substitute Ollie Aplin at the far-post for 4-1.

A late panic from Bovey allowed Aiden Horne to reduce the arrears and they weren’t far from a third goal either but it was too little too late for the higher-ranked side.

Bovey Tracey’s reward for toppling another outfit above them in the football pyramid is a semi-final tie against Plymouth Parkway, the team currently second bottom in Tiverton’s league. Bideford AFC and Holsworthy are the duo still going other side of the draw.

Robinson felt as if his side weren’t at their best in the weekend’s win over Bishops Lydeard so this was far more like it.

He said, “We were well worth the win in what was an entertaining game for the neutral, we created plenty of chances, got four goals but should have been more in the end. The application was superb, I thought we thoroughly deserved.”

This isn’t the first time in 2025/26 that Bovey have faced a team from above them in the pyramid.

Robinson explained; “We come into these cup ties with no fear, that was the case again here. We understand that we’re a club on an upward trajectory and we’re happy to go toe-to-toe with whoever comes against us.”

Any confidence that the Moorlanders may have lost when they were beaten by Bridport FC a couple of weeks ago, they have regained it ahead of the reverse fixture on Saturday, March 14, a truly mammoth game in the SW Peninsula League East title race.

“This will give us a big boost ahead of Saturday. We’ll go into the game with the perfect combination of a good cup win, real confidence and a clean bill of health.

“Especially with how this year has been, nobody is short on football so there is no fatigue to worry about at the minute because of the lack of games. It was nice to go full pelt.”