Report

Saturday 27^th October 2012

Buckland Athletic 3 Bridport Town 2.

A crowd of 121 gathered at Homers Heath on a rather sunny but bitterly cold Saturday Afternoon to see Buckland take on Bridport, the two teams had already met this season in the FA Cup and Buckland were victorious on that occasion, but could they repeat it only a few months down the line?

The starting line-up for Buckland was;

Kenny Griffiths, Ash Edwards, Mike Booth, Lucas Burgess, Ben Carter, Cameron Kelly, Liam Moseley, Simon Revell, Gavin Hammon, Chris Wright and Jamie Mudge.

And the substitutes were;

Danny Lewis, Danny Gaze, Liam Drew, Dean Stevens and Antony Lynch.

The game got off to a quick start and with the pitch having an extra zip on it; it allowed both sides to play some fast football. It was Buckland who broke through first though and took the lead in the 19^th minute through Gavin Hammon. After good midfield play was made by the home side the ball was crossed into the the box and a glancing header from Gav put the ball past his marker and into the net from about 10 yards out.

Further chances for Buckland soon arrived with Jamie Mudge hitting just over the bar and Liam Moseley shooting just wide of the goal.

As half time approached Buckland got their second with 41 minutes on the clock and looked to be going into half time in a very strong position. Gavin Hammon was almost the name on the score sheet but the Bridport keeper denied him of this. However the goalkeepers save when across goal to where Jamie Mudge was stood. Mudgey’s first touch was not the best but on the second time round he rifled the ball into the net from less than a yard out!

Half time was now upon the spectators and everyone headed into the clubhouse for a warm drink on this cold afternoon.

Play got back under way and the game had got settled into a slower rhythm with the majority of possession being kept in the midfield areas. Bridport were beginning to come into the game a little more and were pushing to try and get themselves back into the game.

 In the 72^nd minute Bridport did pull one back, many people would argue they did not deserve a goal but I thought they had battled well so far and the goal was a worthy reward.

But less than 60 seconds later bad news got even worse for the home supporters. After Ash Edwards handled the ball in the box, the referee (who had had an atrocious game so far) awarded a penalty to Bridport. Up stepped one of their players and calmly slotted the ball to Kenny Griffiths right and Kenny could only watch the ball go past him as his dived the other way.

Time was now precious to both teams and both Buckland and Bridport were looking to grab the 3 points with a late winner. Buckland were the first to trouble the opposing defences again with a whipping cross coming in from Jamie Mudge. A scramble in the box followed thought with both Gavin Hammon and Chris Wright both leaping for the ball, consequently their efforts were way over the crossbar.

With 3 minutes left on the clock Buckland gave it one last push and to the delight of the Yellow Army the winning goal was scored. Once again Jamie Mudge created space for himself down the right hand wing and got himself in a position to cross the ball into the box. With several yellow shirts in the area it was hard to know who was going to challenge for the ball. A strong cross was kicked in and stood at the far post was usual Captain and substitute for today, Danny Lewis. He leapt up and headed the ball home from about 6 yards out.

A loud roar echoed around the Heath and the following celebrations brought a big smile to many Buckland faithful supporters.

The clock ran down and the referee brought an end to proceedings for the afternoon, another 3 points were secured for Buckland before they hit the road again to Ilfracombe on Tuesday.

My man of the Match- today’s man of the match was selected by management team Antony Lynch, Tom Kelly and Andy Hill and they selected Buckland striker Chris Wright.

Amy.

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