Oh, what a pleasant sunny Spring afternoon Saturday was, with Budleigh Salterton 2nds travelling to Bickleigh FC, Tiverton to take on Elmore 3rds in a Devon & Exeter Football League – Division Four match, their aim being to complete a league double over the opposition, writes SpursTom.
Manager Luke Iddon was forced to shuffle the team, including having to name himself in the Robins’ starting line-up. Thankfully, he was fortunate to have striker Jack Hocking available, for he turned out to be the jewel in the side.
Within the first minute, Hocking pounced on a rebound for the game’s first goal but sloppy marking helped Elmore to retaliate with quickfire goals to lead 3-1. It was Hocking again who pulled it back to 3-2 going into the break.
The moment that turned the game came on 58 minutes, when the home ‘keeper brought Hocking down and was dismissed. Hocking completed his hat-trick with the penalty.
Twice, Matt Brown was called upon to pull off brilliant saves for Budleigh before the amazing Hocking added his fourth for a 4-3 lead. The final successful strike of the encounter saw Ryan Fell curling a beauty on 83 minutes, making sure the Robins returned home with all points.
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