OPPOSITION NOTES- Tiverton Town

Heading into March, TIverton Town looked doomed for relegation under the leadership of Rob Drays but as the month approaches its end there is true optimism in the club.

Rob Dray stepped down as manager of Tivvy citing personal reasons after a run of just one win in 14 games and the club readying themselves for a season in the Southern League Division One where they haven't been since 2017.

After two defeats in a week against Walton & Hersham and Basingstoke Town where they conceded eight without scoring one, Dray's time was up with Town.

Since then there has been real optimism and hope that the Devon based side can complete a great escape and stay up as the table begins to converge on itself with six games remaining of the season.

Luton Town, Oxford United, Cheltenham Town and Torquay United midfielder Asa Hall who joined the club last summer from the Gulls stepped up to become player-manager and has since overseen a real change of fortunes that has given them a chance of staying up.

Since Hall has taken charge they have remained unbeaten in his four matches having conceded zero goals in addition to winning their last two.

A draw against free scoring play-off hopefuls Havant & Waterlooville, followed by a tricky test against fellow battlers Frome Town has been followed by wins against Winchester City and Swindon Supermarine that now sees them just one points off Chertsey directly above the dotted line and only the four points off Supermarine in 14th.

In their last match against Supermarine, Hall scored a direct free kick to give the Yellows a precious three points and now has them in touching distance of securing another season of Southern Premier Division South football which they finished in 14th in 2023/24.

The Yellows do not have the easiest run in starting with the fixture against City on Friday night, with a trip to title hunting AFC Totton, in addition to a tough visit against Taunton Town but the 38-year-old Hall will have galvanised the club that they can stay up.

Keeping clean sheets and plugging points will be crucial to securing their survival but also scoring more goals than the paltry 30 that they have netted in 36 games will be integral.

The next lowest scoring teams Frome Town and Poole Town are also in the relegation zone but even they have scored four and five more respectively than the Gold Army something which will need to change.

Their has been a clear improvement defensively however with Hall's appointment as those four consecutive clean sheets have matched what they had acquired in the entire season prior to the player-manager's arrival.

However despite this improved defensive resilience only Plymouth Parkway, Winchester City, Chertsey Town and stragglers Marlow Town have conceded more than their 63 goals highlighting the need to ensure things remain tight at the back.

The away side currently are 20th in the away table for the season with 16 points from 18 games, despite picking up two wins in their last four games on the travels against relegation rivals Chertsey and Poole.

They have picked up four wins, four draws and suffered 10 defeats on the road, with them also scoring the joint least amount of goals outside the Ian Moorcroft Stadium with just 14, the same as Frome.

In addition only Marlow have conceded more than their 38 which is the same as Swindon Supermarine showcasing the troubles they have away from Devon.

Tivvy's top scorer is a player well known to City having spent five separate spells at the club in Joe Parker.

The 30-year-old centre forward has scored nine times in the league this season having originally joined the Devon side on loan in January 2024 and Parker will be looking to get into double digits and help ensure his side pick up a third consecutive win.

In a side that hasn't scored many goals their second highest scorer is Gabe Billington who has scored three times having joined on loan from Exeter City alongside Matt Britton, while Hall including the direct free-kick winner on Saturday has scored twice.

In the reverse fixture back at the end of September, a low quality encounter was won by a penalty converted by City's top scorer Joe Hanks, nearly 20 minutes into the second half which settled the contest.

That win saw City win their fourth game in five games as they started the season off strongly, while Tiverton slumped to their fifth defeat in nine games to start the season.

Tiverton Town have given themselves real hope of staying up after an unbeaten month which has seen them keep four clean sheets and earn eight points and with just four points seperating eight different teams they will have the belief that they can stay up and complete a miraculous escape where they were certain for relegation prior to it.

Their lack of goals may cost them, but if they keep picking up points while every other team begins to slip up they could secure a ninth successive season in the Southern Premier Division South.

Asa Hall has given the squad a real belief and his nous in managing the side alongside his role as a midfield general will be crucial in ensuring that with six games to go they can get themselves over the line in tact.

With just one away game in charge since being appointed and Tivvy's form on the travels incredibly poor with their lack of goals and porous defensive record, Hall will look to continue to quash the doubters and ensure that they come out of Friday night out of the relegation zone and continue his unbeaten start in charge.