After the drama of last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Taunton, we go west again for the second of three away fixtures in ten days. This will be our second trip to Tiverton, and the third time we’ve played the Yellows this season. We won 3-0 at Ladysmead in the FA Cup back in those lazy-hazy-crazy days of Summer – a brace by Will and one by Matt Neale, and won the reverse league fixture at the Wyatt Homes Stadium in October by the same score – goals by Will, Jez and Josh. That was just before Tivvy changed manager and brought in Rob Dray who had been so successful at Taunton.

After finishing 14th, four points above the drop zone last season, Tivvy have disappointingly been in the bottom six all of this season. They’re currently 20th with a W5 D8 L13 GF 25 GA 51 record; at Ladysmead their record is W3 D4 L5 – those victories were over Winchester (2-1 in September), Poole (3-1 in October), and Walton & Hersham (1-0 in November). However, dig a little deeper and we’ll see that this is going to be a tough encounter for Tim’s team.

At this time of year, the pitch at Ladysmead is notoriously heavy and not conducive for playing free-flowing football, and will probably be prepared, understandably, to maximise home advantage. Third-placed Gloucester struggled to overcome the long grass in late September before winning by the only goal of the game; it took Totton until the 92nd minute to score in mid-December; and Merthyr had to come from behind to take a point in early January. That draw was one of four in The Yellows’ last five games, the others were all away at Chertsey (2-2), Plymouth Parkway (0-0), and last Saturday at Hanwell (1-1), all decent points. The other result was a 2-1 loss at Marlow.

Are there any players we should keep an eye on? Joe Parker is a regular goal-scorer and bagged the winner against The Swans of Walton. But the man in form who has scored four of Tivvy’s five goals in their last eight games is midfielder Gabriel Billington, a 20-year old loanee from Exeter City.

That excellent battling performance at Taunton on Saturday means Wimborne are now unbeaten in four: a 1-0 win at Sholing, a 1-1 draw with Gloucester and a 3-1 win over Marlow at The Wyatt Homes Stadium were the others. It leaves us sitting 14th with a W8 D5 L10 GF 29 GA 38 record; on our travels the record is W2 D2 L7. In the current form table (last six games), we’re 10th while Tivvy are 20th. Top of this table? Frome W4 D1 L1, followed by Taunton W3 D3. For The Magpies Toby Holmes is off the mark on his return, Will Fletcher’s confidence will have gone up another notch after his 88th minute contender for goal of the season, and Jack Lovell will be keen to get back on the scoresheet after his “goal” against Marlow wasn’t spotted by the officials. Not a bad strike-force to choose from!

This game marks the start of a period of nine games in 29 days for Wimborne, four at home and five away, so expect Tim to rotate his squad to keep legs fresh.

How have we fared on our visits to Devon? In the Southern League, Div One South & West and Premier South, we’ve visited Tiverton for league games ten times: we’ve won once, drawn three, but lost six. The last season the two teams were in the same division, 2021-22, both teams won their home game 1-0. We’ve had more success there in FA competitions though: in the FA Cup we won 1-0 last season to set up that home tie with Torquay; and repeated the victory this season 3-0; in the FA Trophy in 2016 we won 1-0. Which means that under Tim’s management we’ve played at Ladysmead twice, and won twice.

I always enjoy my visits to Ladysmead. It’s a proper non-league ground with great volunteers and officials. Tiverton have recently announced ambitious plans to upgrade their stadium, including the installation of a 3G pitch in the summer and new changing rooms behind the main stand. So it’s a last opportunity to see the ground like this.

Those plans probably means there’s even more pressure on Dray and his team to get out of the relegation zone. With Wimborne one of the five teams delicately balanced a mere one or two points above the bottom four, both teams will want to get something from this game – it has all the ingredients for being a competitive cracker.

Tiverton’s ground: Ladysmead, Bolham Road, Tiverton, Devon  EX16 6SG – approx 90 miles.

There are places available on the team coach – contact Paula if you’re interested.

Admission prices: Adults £11, Concessions £8, U16s £1.

Average att: 354

Weather forecast: sunny intervals; 6oC; 20% chance of rain.