A hat trick from Andrew ‘Rocky’ Neal steered the Peacocks to their third pre-season victory as they beat Tavistock 3-0 at the Viridor Stadium this evening (31st July).
Three fine saves from Tavistock keeper Josh Oak and one from Lloyd Irish kept the scoreline blank at the break before Town came on strong in the final quarter. Neal latched onto Ryan Brett’s pass to round Oak and Steer home the opener after 73 minutes and then doubled the lead with a great chip over the keeper just two minutes later. A handball in the box then gave Neal the chance to notch his treble from the penalty spot which he did confidently for the third goal of the night with eight minutes remaining.
Reaction | Manager Leigh Robinson remarked: “We had to be patient tonight but it was a good win in the end. It’s always hard coming into these games off the back of two games against pro sides and you could see that the intensity wasn’t quite there first half. Tavistock defended well and threw bodies in front of everything but didn’t really carry a threat going forward after the first 20 minutes and therefore we got stronger as the game went on. Rocky was unlucky not to score in the first half when the keeper made a hell of a save but he kept going and got his rewards which will do his confidence the power of good. I think it’s fair to say that the fans have already taken to him due to his work rate and goal threat!”