FA Vase 2nd Rd Buckland Ath V Newport(IOW)FC 12th Nov 2016

[Dave]

The Buildbase FA Vase Trophy 2nd Round

Buckland Athletic V Newport (IOW) FC

Saturday 12th November 2016 Kick-Off 3pm

Venue Homers Heath

Gate 163

Match Referee Timothy Burley Referee Assistants Derek Fox & Alan Hoon

Final Score Buckland Athletic 1 Newport (IOW) FC 0

Match Preview

Today’s Visitors To The Heath

When you hear the word Newport you think of the one in South Wales, but there is another place with the same name on the Isle Of White. Its football club was formed in 1888, and in 1898 became founder members of the Isle of Wight League. From 1927 until 1986 they played in the Hampshire League when they then joined the newly formed Wessex League.

A second-place finish in 1990 saw them promoted to the Southern League, initially in the Southern (later renamed Eastern) Division. In 2001 they were promoted to the Premier Division after winning the Southern League east division but were relegated straight back again.

The club started to struggle financially and in December of the 2003–04 season the club was placed in administration. For the 2004–05 season the club was moved into the Isthmian League Division One.

The following season they finished in a relegation position but were spared the drop due to Banstead Athletic‘s resignation from the league. Due to another reorganisation of the National League System, they were moved back to the Southern League, playing in Division One South and West for the 2006–07 season

In 2008 ownership of the club was fully transferred to the supporter’s trust. The club was relegated back to the Wessex league at the end of the 2007–08 season after finishing bottom of Division One South and West of the Southern league. The club has since remained in the Wessex League Premier Division.

The club has big plans to move up the football ladder again and enjoy playing their home games at St Georges Park and they are also the Isle of Wight official football team, which represents the Isle of Wight at the bi-annual island games.. The ground has one seated stand and shelters at each end. Capacity for the ground is 3,200. The record attendance for a home game involving Newport (IOW) F.C. is 3,112, vs Portsmouth F.C. in a pre-season fixture in summer 2007.

In the league this season so far Newport have played seventeen games winning five, drawn eight and lost four. They are currently in twelfth place in the league table on 23 points and have scored twenty one goals, conceded twenty one giving them a zero goal difference.

Buckland as we know also have big plans to move up the football ladder and are currently in forth place in the Premier Division of the Western League. They have played seventeen games winning twelve, drawn three and lost three and are on thirty six points with a plus twenty five goal difference.

On paper this is a game Buckland should win, but they will need to start better than they did against Plymouth Parkway in the last cup game I watched at the Heath. A game they lost in the first half and should have won in the second one. Because Buckland finished in the top four of the Western League Premier Division last season, they only entered the Vase in the last round – but went to former winners Sholing and won 3-0

Torquay United have encouraged any of their own fans who will not be travelling to their away match to get over to the Heath and support Buckland, so hopefully there will be a bumper gate at the Heath today which will help the club who have to fund Newport's travelling costs which will probably be in excess of £600.

Match Report




Before the start of the game a minutes silence was held and when the referee blew for the start of the match, Buckland came out of the traps flying. Wave after wave of Buckland attacks which the Newport defence stood up to well. Newport hardly got into the Buckland half during the first half, but when they did you always felt Buckland might be made to pay for not creating and taking enough chances to take the lead.

Buckland Liam drew hit a good shot from the edge of the Newport box but was unable to keep the ball down and had to stand and watch it fly high over the crossbar. On one of the few excursions into the Buckland half, Newport’s Connnor Kelly took a shot from the edge of the Buckland box that also flew over the crossbar.

Buckland came close to taking a first half lead when Jarad Lewington was played into the right hand side of the box, but his effort went just wide of the right hand post. Next to come close to opening up the scoring was Buckland’s Charlie Johansen who was also played into the right hand side of the Newport box. He hit a good low shot across the Newport keeper Gary Streeter( a giant of a man) to the far post that only just rolled past the post and behind for a goal kick.

Buckland’s Lloyd Gardener went on a fine run from just inside his own half down the left wing and fired a power shot at goal that was well tipped over by Gary Streeter. From the resulting corner Jared Lewington out jumped the Newport defence, but his headed effort was just a bit to high and cleared the crossbar.

That was it for the first half and Buckland went in at the break wondering why they had not taken a good lead into the second half. But credit must be given to all the Newport players who worked their socks off and frustrated the home side.

The second half got under way and straight away Buckland were on the attack again and it was not too long before they took the lead. It was a goal that I’m sure the Newport players might have felt they were rather unlucky to concede.

Richard Groves hit a shot inside the box with so much power, the ball crashed onto the crossbar with such a thump it might have been heard in Torquay. The ball came flying back off the bar and hit the keeper very hard in the face and then hit the back of the net. I’m sure Richard will claim the goal, but the keeper needed treatment after such a hard knock in the face.

I like many others felt shortly after Buckland took the lead they should have been awarded a penalty when Jared Lewington was hacked down in the box, but match referee Timothy Burley waved away all the appeals and gave nothing.

Newport upped their game and started to look very dangerous as they looked to get back into the game, they looked like getting back onto level terms when Liam Triggs had a clear sight of goal. He took the shot well and pulled out a fine one handed save from the Buckland keeper Grant Fisher.

Liam then had another good effort cleared off the Buckland goal line as Buckland desperately held onto their slender lead. With Newport pushing up so high up the pitch they always looked in danger of getting caught out by a long ball over the top. One such ball played in Jarad Lewington who from the edge of the box tried to lob the advancing keeper, but this giant of a man was never going to be lobbed and easily for him made the save.

Buckland are through to the next round and were made to work extra hard by a very good hard working Newport team that gave everything they had and were beaten in the end by goal that some may say was a fluke, but we should not forget just how well the shot was hit in the first place.

Not sure how big the gate was, it looked decent enough and the prize money will most certainly come in handy.