Sidmouth Raiders Under-12s drew 1-1 with North Tawton.

The match was the first action for the Raiders players since December 19! In stark contrast, the opposition had played as recently as the week before.

To their credit, the young Raiders showed little sign of any rustiness and they started the first half brightly. Zak Lascelles was in lively effervescent form causing the North Tawton defence all sorts of problems with his persistent running and getting into great goal scoring positions. That all led to it being no real surprise when Zak Lascelles got on the end of a move created by a great Yan Mercan cross to finish with aplomb and that proved to be the only goal of the first half.

After the break the action was much more even and chances were created at both ends of the pitch. Ned Selley demonstrated just how he is growing in stature as the Raiders goalkeeper, making some terrific saves whilst defenders Jack Goodman and Yan Mercan gave their glovesman great protection.

However, just as it looked as Sidmouth were going to hold out for the victory a spell of pressure from North Tawton resulted in the equalising goal.

Raider’s debutant Joe Norris was brought into the fray and looked to be a very useful addition to the team offering plenty of skill and speed and Jamie Salter provided some deft touches.