BOVEY Tracey AFC manager Ben Gerring labelled his side’s latest victory as a “misleading scoreline” and this was an opinion shared by the majority in attendance at the Western Counties Roofing Ground.

The Moorlanders were able to round off an already impressive week with an eighth league win of the campaign, extending their stay at the SW Peninsula summit.

It was far from a classic performance from the home side though and Gerring pointed towards the events of the days prior as a primary cause. “A lot of bodies were hurting from two really tough games, last Saturday and Wednesday, you could see us limping over the line.”

On a cloudy day, the first half passed by with very little to report on, opponents Okehampton Argyle nullifying Bovey’s threat well whilst squandering a pair of good chances of their own at the other end.

Snapshots from Ollie Aplin and Cieran Bridger were the extent of Bovey’s danger, Josh Webber receiving a yellow card meanwhile for one of a few bizarre refereeing decisions.

After a few second-half minutes reminiscent of the first 45, Bovey got their breakthrough courtesy of Owen Stockton. The former Buckland Athletic man was on hand to convert when a Lewis Perring corner wreaked havoc in the penalty area.

As both sides turned to their benches, it was Argyle’s turn to deliver an inviting corner, ultimately failing to equalise but sending a warning sign to Bovey all the same.

Stuart Bowker was sent on by Gerring in the place of Levi Landricombe and the experienced forward had an instant impact.

Callum Leech broke forward, rounded goalkeeper Jack Arthur and his effort was cleared off the line, only as far as Bowker who gratefully accepted the gift from close range. This decisive second goal wasn’t without controversy though, an Argyle player having been hauled down in the build-up with manager Richard Washburn labelling it as a “blatant foul.”

The match officials still weren’t in the clear yet as they had a part to play in Bovey’s third goal as well but not before there were some words exchanged here, there and everywhere.

Gerring and Washburn appeared to be going back and forth on the touchlines, attracting the attention of the linesman, and skipper Perring was sin-binned for something he said to the man in the middle, much to the chagrin of Gerring.

Despite being down a man, the league leaders continued to push forward and having scored the winning penalty against his former club in the St Luke’s Bowl on Wednesday night, midfielder Bridger managed to notch both a goal and an assist.

Bowker had gone early and was clearly offside so he stopped, as did the Oke defence, allowing Bridger to run on to his own through-ball and eventually slotting beyond Arthur with all of the time in the world.

Argyle’s frustration was with whether Bowker had affected the play or not and also, with the ref blocking off one of their defenders. Either way, it was a bizarre moment.

Three swiftly became four as Aplin got in on the act, remaining composed to further demoralise the visitors.

Gerring admitted that, at half-time, he “had to have some stern words with our lads, we were definitely out on our feet and so I had to be tactical with that.”

He continued, “4-0 as I said was harsh on Okehampton but I’ll take it and it finishes an unbelievable month. I think it’s five wins, two cup progressions, sitting top of the league.”

Winning and winning emphatically when you’re nowhere near your best is perhaps the signs of a title-winning side and Gerring will settle for nothing less.

“We want to finish first. Second for us is not even being considered. From day one, we’ve made it very clear that that’s what we want to achieve as a club and anything less is going to be failure.”

The club are certainly going about it the right way, boasting a record of eight league wins and a draw thus far. Next up is a really intriguing game as fourth-placed Cullompton Rangers come to town on Saturday, October 4.