SDFL division one

reserves 2,

Dartmouth AFC 2

Dartmouth maintained their unbeaten start to the season by earning a hard-fought point against top-of-the-table Bovey Tracey.

The visitors were still without midfielder Liam Ford, and the influential target man Dan Broadway was also missing from the squad.

Nevertheless, Dartmouth started the brighter of the two sides.

Some good early pressure failed to result in any real goal scoring opportunities being created, despite the best intentions of winger Richie Baker and full-back Steve Mason.

Karl Baker nearly forced a goal from nothing when his clever turn resulted in the home 'keeper having to react quickly to save at his near post.

The first goal of the afternoon arrived on the half-hour mark when the Bovey striker reacted quickest to deflect the ball home after goalkeeper Sam Davies had made an excellent save.

The goal knocked the away side's confidence, but they responded very well by leveling the scores just before the half time whistle blew.

Mark Forrester found Freddie Smith, who continued his run to pull back for Karl Baker, who dispatched clinically under the legs of the 'keeper and into the net.

The second half started much the same, with the midfield trio of Ryan Frost, Scott Mcroy and Forrester looking to feed the ball into the channels at every given opportunity.

In a frantic 15 minutes, Bovey restored their lead after what appeared to be an elbow caught Kevin Causley in the face, but unfortunately the referee failed to spot it inside the Dartmouth box.

Feeling aggrieved, the visitors continued to pile pressure on the home defence, but had to rely on the centre-back pairing of Causley and Jordan Frost to deal with the dangerous Bovey counter-attacks.

With 20 minutes remaining, it was Karl Baker again who produced a moment of magic to strike into the far corner of the net and level the scores.

With both sides pushing for the winning goal, Sneap let his aggression get the better of him as he was shown his second yellow card to see Dartmouth reduced to 10 men for the remaining five minutes.

The whistle sounded to bring the game to an end, with Dartmouth managing to walk away with a point while not being at their best, which managers Chick Havlin and Gary Lobb appeared to be satisfied with.

Dartmouth reserves managed to snatch a draw against third-placed Waldon Athletic, thanks to goals from James Lee and Charlie Smith in a feisty encounter.

This week Dartmouth travel to North Devon to face Braunton in the last 16 of the Devon Senior Cup, while the reserves are in home action against Paignton Saints in the league.

The firsts kick off at 2pm, and the action at Longcross gets under way at 2.30pm.