Mitres on the Road: Devon delight for Bishops Cleeve at Tavistock

It was another long trip for the Mitres on Saturday as the travelling faithful departed Kayte Lane at 9:30 with a three-hour trip to Devon on the agenda. Tavistock was the destination with an entertaining trip leaving weary legs in dying need of a stretch once we'd arrived at Langsford Park. The main bar is located outside the ground, across the car park from the main turnstile, though our destination was the main building to the left of the pitch, housing the changing rooms downstairs and the hospitality area upstairs. 

It was a rather warm welcome,  once our names were ticked off we were shown to our seats and offered complimentary drinks and Jaffa Cakes in their bid to boost their hospitality ratings and climb up the off-field table. We arrived in good time and had a decent chunk of time to kill, doing so with a little media team walk around the ground to take in the sights and establish a home for the next 90 minutes before returning to our ivory tower. 

I suppose the only shame sits in our visit coming over the winter months as the view upon arrival and from within Langsford would undoubtedly be ethereal with the trees full and the sky blue. 

Langsford Park from the hospitality area

There was two seated stands, one either side of the players tunnel, with us and the teams sharing a route into the ground. On the far side of the pitch was a small covered terrace where we'd eventually set up camp before moving next to the Cleeve's dugout for the second half.

Not much happened in the game in all honesty, there's really, in a very literal sense, very little to write home about. Many of the opening minutes were spent looking up. Head tennis and plenty of volleys rendered the pitch a tad moot with neither side able to, with my apologies for the cliché, get it on the floor and play football. The deadlock was broken in the 17th minute with the first and only shot of the opening half in the form of Joe Selman's header which beat Dearing for the only goal of the game.

And that just about wraps up the first half action. 

And that just about wraps up the second half action.

Well, that's a bit harsh on my part, the second half was a bit more eventful as the home side pushed for an equaliser and Cleeve defended their lead while pushing for a second. Our best chance came after captain Ross Langworthy was played through on goal and looked to get the ball round the keeper but was tackled just before he could shoot, but somehow a goal kick was given rather than the slightly more obvious corner.

The hosts' best opportunity to pull level after a poor blind pass across goal went straight to the opposition but rather than shoot or work an opportunity...they just harmlessly passed it off the pitch. Bryan Stalley had an opportunity to double the Mitres' tally when a cross was palmed out to the youngster but the subsequent lob was just off target.

And that really is that. Not the most exciting Mitres on the Road this time I'm afraid but it was an important result and a valuable three points taken back to Gloucestershire. In previous seasons, the Mitres wouldn't come away happy from that sort of game, but they won in tough conditions and climbed to fourth place.