REPORT: Spurs hit sweet spot as they unwrap Peppermints

JAMES Moxon’s sublime second-half effort sealed Newton Abbot Spurs’ spot in the last 16 of the Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup with a 2-0 win over Newquay on Saturday.

Moxon’s mouth-watering solo goal came on 69 minutes and put to bed any doubts about the outcome after Toby Pullman had given Spurs the lead in the first half.

‘It was a sticky game,’ Spurs boss Marc Revell said. ‘But because it’s a cup game we just had a little bit of constructive criticisms in [the dressing room] about why we weren’t fully at it today but I think with a cup match I’m sort of happy enough just to get through to the next round.

‘It was a slightly lower-par performance; I’m pleased for the lads to get into the next round and I won’t read too much into a slightly poorer performance because you do have weeks like it.

‘As long as we can keep our levels high in the league and do enough to get into the next round of the cup, I think that shows a sign of an alright side.’

Opening exchanges showed Newton would be the team setting the pace. Despite starting the much brighter of the two sides, Spurs were the ones to endure the first scare as Isaac Varga came close to opening the scoring. Varga shot underneath goalkeeper Joel Patchett but the ball trickled to a halt before it reached the line.

The first chance down the other end came from Pullman, who unleashed a venomous effort from range that stung the hands of Peppermints stopper Harry Ashton. The goalkeeper spilled the ball into the path of Moxon but he was forced to take evasive action as Ashton recovered well to smother the ball.

The breakthrough came at the midway point of the first half. Wide on the right, Owen Green persevered with a ball that looked to be rolling out for a goal kick, and he did well to hook a pass across the penalty area. The ball may have taken a touch off Moxon on its way through, but it ultimately found Pullman at the far post, and he made no mistake in slamming the shot home across goal with the defence on their heels and Ashton scrambling.

Newquay saw the last chance of the half go begging within 10 minutes of the break. Noah Teagle beat the offside trap and bore down on goal with only goalkeeper Patchett to beat. Patchett was wise to the break and was quick to close the angle on Teagle, who miscued his shot and scuffed the ball safely into the ‘keeper’s grasp.

The hosts flew out of the blocks from the restart and within minutes were awarded a penalty. Moxon, who had been threatening to score all afternoon, stepped up to the spot-kick and sent it high and wide of the net.

But Moxon was not going to be silenced. The talismanic striker finally reaped the rewards of his goal threat with a sensational solo effort on 69 minutes. Centre-back Lewis Breslan powered a strong header towards Moxon on the right flank, and he set off on a jinking run that weaved through several defenders as he burst clear of the last of the rearguard. Moxon smashed a left-footed effort beyond Ashton to double the Spurs advantage.

‘I think the other night [1-1 draw with Ivybridge Town] we got into more finishing positions,’ Revell said. ‘Today, there was poor decision-making which didn’t get us into that.

‘I don’t think we had seven or eight chances on goal because the final ball was poor, so the phase before that - the other night we had two or three sitters - today we didn’t even have that.

‘It was a situation where we were in and around the box and we just didn’t make the right decisions, and [as a result] Moxon had to make his own goal.’

Newquay were down but not out, and they pressed forward in search of a lifeline. A free-kick, 25 yards out and 15 minutes from time, was to be the closest they would come to scoring. Cam Turner curled the ball over the wall towards the top corner at the far post but, with Patchett rooted to the spot, the shot sailed inches above the crossbar.

Five minutes later, Patchett put paid to the Peppermints’ final attack. Alex Cole broke forward and showed immense strength as he wrestled off a defender and let fly and well-struck effort. Patchett reacted well to the shot and got down to hold onto a big save.

‘I was happy with our shape and I was happy with how we saw it out,’ Revell explained. ‘It’s that resilience and it’s that momentum that we will take into each game. We recognised where they were affecting us in the first half, which was going wide and sucking our full-backs out.

‘I think we nullified that in the second half and I think we dominated the game much more in the second half but credit to Newquay, I thought they were a fairly good side. They played out from the back, they were a threat on the switch and they were decent on the counter. I’m happy enough with 2-0.

‘They play on nicer pitches in Cornwall. Whilst they are industrious, I think they look to play more than teams with rugged pitches where it is a bit more brazen and bullish - when you play the Cornish sides, they play football.

‘I think it is nice to play in this cup because it’s a good indicator of where we are at in terms of the two leagues.’