FA Cup EPR Buckland Ath V Plymouth Parkway 6th Aug 2016

[Dave]

The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Buckland Athletic V Plymouth Parkway

Saturday 6th August 2016 Kick-Off 3pm

Venue Homers Heath

Match Referee Lewis Ibbeson Referee Assistants Iain Mc Guffog & Stacey Ford

Admission Charges £7 adults, £4.50 concessions, £1 u16's.

Final Score Buckland Athletic 2 Plymouth Parkway 3

Match Preview

Buckland’s new manager Ellis Laight is well aware of Buckland’s chequered history against Plymouth Parkway. He knows his team will have to be at their very best if they are to win this game and then face Bridgwater Town away as their reward.

Last season Buckland knocked Plymouth Parkway out of the FA Cup beating them by five goals to one. But in 2014 in the extra-preliminary round, Plymouth Parkway beat Buckland by four goals to one at Bolitho Park.

Buckland are hoping to finish high enough up the table this season to win promotion to the Southern League and Plymouth Parkway also are looking to move up the football ladder.

In May local Plymouth businessman Mark Russell took over as the new chairman of Parkway and he wants to see Parkway progress up the football pyramid, first by securing promotion to the Western League.

The appointment of former Plymouth Argyle Manager Paul Sturrock as the clubs football advisor, proves just how ambitious the club is. A Good number of new players have been added to the Parkway squad for this season, including former Argyle apprentices Josh Grant and Mason Hughes, but brothers Levi and Michael Landricombe have moved on to the Southern League club Tiverton Town.

Josh Grant and Mason Hughes

Plymouth Parkway traveled to the Heath with several key players unavailable due to suspension, injury and holidays, but they know the ground well and just how good the opposition is. They will believe they have a good chance of winning the game and once again taming the mighty Buckland.

This will be the first competitive game for new Buckland manager Ellis Laight, I’m not sure he would have wanted it to be an FA Cup game, but he will want that first win under his belt. There has been movement on the player’s front at Buckland as well and one new player that impressed me in one preseason game I watched was Richard Groves who joined the club from Bideford AFC. Another player that has been very impressive in the preseason games is Charlie Johansen, he joined the club as a 16-year-old from Totnes & Dartington last season and looks to be in fine goalscoring form.

Richard Groves

Charlie Johansen

Let us all hope it is a cracking game of football and one that will want the fans coming back for more when the league games get underway. Buckland need and deserve all the support they can get if they are to fully fulfil all their dreams this season.


COYY


Match report

Is there any better feeling after working hard all week, waking up on a Saturday morning so looking forward to a game of football in the afternoon? Even better when it is a cup game where the winner takes all, well at least goes into the next round.

For me it was also the opportunity to see Homers Heath now after all the work that was been done on the ground to take it up to the standard required by the Southern League. I set off for the game nice and early to give myself enough time to take some up to date shots of Homers Heath. Our brand new road makes the journey from Paignton to the Heath so much easier and quicker than it used to be.

The sun was out in force and it was close to 26 degrees and the crowd of 184 were all looking forward to an all action game. If I was asked to sum up the game in one sentence I would say “Buckland lost the game in the first half and should have won it in the second one” You can not give a team like Plymouth Parkway a three nil halftime lead and the Buckland manager will be asking why his players did not play in the first half the way they played in the second.

Parkway started well and were at Buckland from the off, but the first good chance fell to Buckland when Gavin Hammon turned neatly in the left hand side of the Parkway box and played an inch perfect pass to his team mate Richard Groves who was just inside the box and very central. Richard hit a good powerful shot but the ball was always rising the second it left his boot and flew over the crossbar.

Parkway were just looking to hit long balls from the back up to their tall striker and main danger man Mike Smith. One such long ball played Mike into the right hand side of the Buckland box and from a tight angle he hit a good low shot across Grant Fisher that only just went wide of the left hand post.

Buckland could not get their passing game together and were guilty of some very sloppy passing that put them under far more pressure than they should have been. Poor Gavin Hammon was not being fed the sort of balls he thrives on and meanwhile the danger signs were out for all to see as far as the Buckland defence were concerned.

Parkway nearly took the lead when a ball was fired across Grant Fisher from the right hand side and he had Liam Drew to thank for sticking out a leg and preventing the ball going over the goal line.

Gavin Hammon at last found himself inside the Parkway box with the ball at his feet, but he only managed to scuff his shot that tamely went behind for a goal kick.

But it was Parkway who looked the most likely to take the lead and Mike Smith should have done better when he was in on goal with just Grant Fisher to beat. He tried to lob the ball over Grant, but Grant was able to reach up and make a clean catch.

Minutes later the ball was played into the Buckland box from the left hand side of the pitch and headed into the back of the net by John Heveran, but where was the Buckland defence?

One nil down and nothing to get to worried about just yet I thought to myself, and Bucks won a free kick just outside the Parkway box. The kick was taken by Richard Groves who failed to even test the Parkway keeper firing his effort well over the crossbar. Bucks won a corner and Jared Lewington rose well in the box and his headed effort only just went wide of the left hand post.

Parkway then scored again, a good low ball was played into the Buckland box for Mike Smith to fire home. Up the other end and a great though ball played Charlie Johanson into the Parkway box, but keeper Den Smith had read the danger and rushed out and stopped the ball going past him with his legs.

NO NO its three nil now, another long ball pumped down the right hand side and Liam Head failed to deal with it when it looked certain he world and a simple ball was played into the box for Josh Grant to fire home.

The referee blew up for halftime and I thought to myself Buckland won’t play that badly in the second half and if they could get an early goal in the second half they might just be able to save the day.

Parkway had the better of the play in the first five minutes of the second half, Josh Grant hit a powerful shot from the edge of the area that only just went wide of the right hand post.

But then the game changed when Gavin Hammon found himself deep in the right hand side of the Parkway box and coolly got the ball past Den Smith into the back of the net. It was all one way traffic now and then there was one of those moments were you ended up feeling a missed chance has sealed Buckland’s fete.

Charlie Johanson found himself bang in the middle of the goal and only had to hit the target to score, you would have put money on him doing just that, but he screwed his shot wide of the left hand post.

But hope was restored again when Gavin Hammon headed the ball home but the clock was ticking down and there was only seven or eight minutes left of the second half. The ball was back in the Parkway box and from just a yard out, Jared Lewington somehow managed to scoop the ball up and over the crossbar.

Buckland sub Jordan Ewing hit a powerful twenty five yard effort over the crossbar and up the other end Mike Smith was clean in on goal and chipped Grant Fisher and also the crossbar. The referee blew up for fulltime and Buckland found themselves out of the FA Cup.On the balance of play over the whole game Plymouth Parkway deserved their victory, good luck to them in the next round.

Its only the first game of the season and the manager would have learnt a lot about his players today. He will need to get them starting games better then they did today if they are going to compete near the top of the table.