Brilliant Barum advance in the FA Cup

Wow!

Barnstaple Town were 2-0 down at Tavistock, a team playing a division above in the football pyramid, and turned it around to secure a sensational 5-3 victory in the Emirates FA Cup.

Barum have enjoyed a positive start to the Western League campaign, while Tavvy have been slightly off colour in the opening weeks, but the hosts were still strong favourites to make home advantage count at Langsford Park.

Alex Battle underlined the pre-match predictions with a neat opener for Tavvy and the same man doubled the advantage after powering through the Barnstaple defence. The Barum response, however, was nothing short of incredible.

An own goal halved the deficit for the visitors, who then survived a strong penalty shout to level matters before the interval. Merson Ham was the scorer for Barum, calmly steering the ball into the net from the edge of the penalty area.

The turnaround was seemingly complete when the in-form Stuart Bowker made it 3-2 from a goalmouth scramble after the restart and he then pounced on a goalkeeping error to extend the lead for a jubilant Barnstaple.

Tavvy replied with the next goal, a superb 30-yard free-kick from Battle to complete his hat-trick and one player who did not deserve to end up on the losing side. However, despite losing Harvey Dennis to a red card, this was Barum’s moment in the FA Cup spotlight.

Substitute Harry Foster grabbed the decisive fifth in stoppage time, tapping home from close range to send the travelling support into delirium. Well played Barnstaple Town.

Ilfracombe Town welcomed the ever-dangerous Saltash United to Marlborough Park in the Western League and the Bluebirds once again demonstrated that this could be a campaign to remember.

Ilfracombe raced into a 2-0 lead, Tyler Evans-Loude notching the opener before Rory Paine rifled home a free-kick. The Ashes did grab a consolation after the break to set up a tense finish but the day, and the points, belonged to the Bluebirds.