SWPL premier division

Ivybridge Town 1,

Plymouth Parkway 0

Ivybridge will be desperately keen for victory in their derby encounter with neighbours Elburton Villa on Tuesday after suffering the heartbreak of an extra-time semi-final defeat to Plymouth Parkway in the Walter C Parson Cup writes Tim Leigh.

This match was the second time in five days the two teams had met, with Ivybridge deservedly winning the league match on Sat­urday by a solitary goal.

On Thursday, however, Parkway were the ones left smiling after they scored two goals in extra time to seal their place in the cup final.

Howard admitted his side were bitterly disappointed, saying: 'Sometimes it's just not meant to be, an that's what it felt like.

'It's harsh on any team to lose like that, but tremendous credit to the boys, we made it to the semi-final, we beat them on Saturday and we've got five league games left now to get as many points as we can.'

The match saw Park­way take the lead on 10 minutes after Town defender Phil Brom­head slipped to allow Landricombe to score, but a fantastic free kick by Todd Hanrahan levelled matters midway through the half, ensuring it was all square at the break.

On 55 minutes Park­way went down to 10 men, but they took the lead soon after through former Town striker Andrew Neal. Again Town came back, Lee Doel making it 2-2 with 20 minutes left to play.

However, just as Howard thought his side would go on to win it, Bromhead got in a tangle with Neal when he was the last man and the referee decided to show what all Town supporters will feel was an exceedingly harsh red card.

This led the game to extra time, where Ivy­bridge goalkeeper Josh Oak handed Park­way the advantage when he let a deflected shot squirm past him in the goal.

With Town chasing the game, Parkway made the game safe five minutes from the end of extra time. A disappointing result, but Town gave it their all and should be proud of their efforts.

Howard was full of praise for his team following victory in their league encounter, which saw them remain in second place, just one point ahead of Bodmin in third.

He said: 'It was a hard game but we just about shaded it.

'It was very even-stevens first half, we opened the scoring on 50 minutes after a good bit of skill by Luke Brown, who crossed for Mike Smith to finish calmly.

'From then on it was defences on top, our defence was outstanding again.'