Buckland Athletic v Plymouth Argyle 23/03/11

AMY can you tell dad to make sure he puts the kettle on Ant and I should be coming over all being well to give our support to Buckland.

Come on you yellows

What a fantastic game of football at Homers Heath this evening, a game that had everything and the most dramatic of endings I have not witnessed for a very long time. Plymouth had one first team player in their starting line up Walton who I believe is coming back from an injury, all their other players looked like they were all youth team players.

Plymouth started the game the much better team, their passing and movement was first class and they sure looked a much better side then the one Torquay put out against Buckland. While Buckland’s play all looked a bit too frantic and hurried and I felt if any team was going to take the lead it would be Plymouth.

They did have a few good chances that both fell to their number eleven. On both occasions he got on the end of a ball over the top that put him clear in on goal. Only both times his shots were wayward and sailed high wide and handsome.

Buckland were certainly working very hard and looking to get the ball forward quickly every time they won possession of it. My man of the match Danny Gaze came so very close to getting the first goal. He ran onto a good ball to him and the Plymouth keeper came out and was someway of his line. Danny tried to get his shot over the keeper who jumped up and just got his hands on the ball pushing it up in the air and backwards over his head He had no idea where the ball had gone as it crashed against the crossbar and stayed in play.

But Danny Gaze made sure with the next chance that came his way, a ball played right across the Plymouth box from the right hand side and there was Danny to volley the ball into the net.

Plymouth had one more chance just before the break, the ball came back out too the edge of the Buckland box and Walton was there to fire at goal. I expect the ball finally landed in one of those moaning old buggers garden over at nearby Aller.

So halftime and once again Plymouth started the half much the better team and looked more likely to score a goal than Buckland. For a while Buckland’s game fell to pieces a bit and they were unable to find their front men or make the ball stick up front and found it a hard battle to try and win the midfield.

It came as no real surprise that Plymouth got an equalizer, a good low ball played in from the left hand side toward the back post and this time Walton made no mistake and blasted the ball into the net.

Buckland upped their game and started to get back on top and came close a number of times to getting a second goal. Then with what I thought was just one minutes left on the clock, there was that man Danny Gaze again to find the back of the net again.

Off came his shirt as he ran to the dugout to celebrate what everyone thought was the winning goal. Thankfully the ref did not go and book him. Just as the game was about to be restarted, a player must have asked him how much time was left and he indicated two minutes.

Unbelievably almost straight from the kick off the ball was in the Buckland box and the Plymouth number nine went and got a second goal for Plymouth. It certainly felt like a heart breaking moment for the Buckland players and fans.

The ref then blew for full time and the game went straight to penalties. Plymouth took the first one and it went to four all. Up stepped a Plymouth player to take their fifth penalty and the Buckland keeper who had gone the wrong way for all the other spot kicks, only went and saved it.

Up stepped penalty taker number five for Buckland who made no mistake and up when the cheers from a very large crowd of Buckland fans. Ant had asked me if I still really wanted to go over and watch the match tonight when he got home from work as I think he wanted to stay home. But on the way home from Homers Heath he said he was so glad we went and saw such a cracking game.

Well done Buckland and good luck in the final.
































On to the penalty shoot out.

Plymouth keeper beaten.




The Buckland keeper saves penalty number five.

what a cracking result,very proud to be a buckland boy ;D

Dave, it's Danny GAZE.

XXXXXL man told me about it ;D

Well we were the original Buckland boys were we not when PC Loram roamed the streets and clipped you around the ear if he ever caught you doing anything wrong around Buckland.

You should feel very proud indeed, I'm sure the buckland players would be the first to agree that the Plymouth side had a few more shall we say technically better players in it, but then that is what you would expect to be the case.

The reason I love watching Buckland playing I have said before on here, they only ever want to win the game and do all they can to make that happen.

Last night they never gave up in the second half when Plymouth were on top, just kept working hard trying to break their attacks down and doing all they could to set up ones of their own.

I forgot to say in my report that I thought Buckland should have been awarded a second half penalty, everyone in the ground saw the hand ball, just not that blind ref ;D