After an unbeaten pre-season campaign, confidence was high at Bulpit Lane as Hungerford Town opened their league season against fellow relegated side Tiverton Town.

The Crusaders handed full debuts to seven players, while returning duo Ryan Clarke and Kyle Bailey were also named in the starting XI. Only skipper Matt Berry-Hargreaves and Remarni Medford-Smith remained from last season's side, highlighting the scale of the summer rebuild.

The game itself was a tight and fiercely contested affair, with both teams finding the net in the first half.

Hungerford almost made the perfect start inside the opening ten minutes. Kyle Bailey let fly from long range with a superb effort that had Tiverton goalkeeper Smith beaten, only for the ball to skim the top of the crossbar.

Tiverton gradually settled into the contest and should have taken the lead shortly afterwards when Finn Roberts met a Thorne cross, but the forward could only head wide from a promising position.

The visitors eventually broke the deadlock after 22 minutes. A slick move down the right flank ended with Roberts delivering a dangerous low cross into the near-post area, where Louis Jagger-Cane reacted quickest to guide the ball home and put Tiverton ahead.

Hungerford responded in excellent fashion. Quick, incisive play caught the visitors off guard and created space inside the penalty area for full-back Fraser Bell. The youngster took a touch before drilling a powerful effort beyond Smith via the inside of the far post, marking his debut with a memorable goal and bringing the Crusaders level.

Tiverton continued to apply pressure, but Hungerford arguably finished the half the stronger side and could easily have gone into the interval in front. A sweeping move involving Nana Owusu and Sheldon Wright carved open the visitors' defence, only for Nmams Nwachuku to be denied by an excellent save from Smith.

The home side carried that momentum into the second half. Wright again tested the Tiverton goalkeeper early on, forcing another sharp stop, before Smith had to be at his very best to tip over an audacious cross-shot from a Brad Smith free-kick that nearly caught him off his line.

With Hungerford now on top, clear-cut opportunities remained limited. The hosts felt they should have been given a helping hand by the officials with 15 minutes remaining when a Tiverton defender appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area. Appeals were waved away, much to the frustration of the home crowd.

In the closing stages, substitute Sam Tanner delivered a superb ball across the six-yard box that almost found fellow substitute Ackeem Stewart, who came within centimetres of applying the finishing touch and snatching all three points.

While the winning goal never arrived, there was plenty of promise in Hungerford's performance. Against a Tiverton side expected to be challenging towards the top end of the table this season, the Crusaders showed organisation, resilience and attacking quality in equal measure.

On another day, they may well have taken all three points. As it was, they had to settle for a share of the spoils, but there were plenty of positives to take from an encouraging opening-day display.

Team: Clarke, Bell, Medford-Smith, Berry-Hargreaves, Bailey (Franklin), O Smith, Stallard (Kamdeo-Fotso), B Smith (Squires), Wright (Tanner), Owusu, Nwachuku (Stewart)

Star Man : Fraser Bell
Attendance : 373

Photo : Oliver Fordham