Sunday 11th January 2009

• Opponent: Braunton
• Fixture type: Hansen Cup
• Venue: Away
• Result: Lost 5-3
• Scorers: Simon Adams (2), Vincent Bott

Match Report

The home side were by far the livelier during the opening exchanges with Buckland looking very lethargic and disinterested. Within the first 8 minutes Braunton were two goals ahead, both coming from close range strikes as the Buckland defenders seemed to be chasing shadows. Luckily the home side took their foot off the gas, which allowed the visitors to regroup and slowly get their game up and running. Midway into the half Simon Adams was given a good through ball by Matt Horn. His pace took him clear of the defenders and as the keeper came to confront him, he unselfishly squared the ball for Vinny Bott to score with the simplest of tap-ins. Buckland could have drawn level 5 minutes later as Simon Adams once again crossed for Vinny Bott, who was about to shoot from close range but was just denied by a fine tackle by a Braunton defender. Only minutes later a long ball into the Buckland penalty area was mis-kicked by a defender and a waiting striker slid the ball under the advancing keeper to give the home side a 3 – 1 advantage. With 15 minutes to the break, Simon Adams raced onto a good pass and drove the ball low under the keeper to bring Buckland back into the game. Amasingly, Buckland levelled the scores with just minutes to play before half time. Simon Adams controlled the Braunton keeper’s goal kick on his chest and smashed a shot into the roof of the net from 25yds.

The second period was evenly contested until the home side edged ahead as their centre forward avoided the off-side trap and calmly scored with 20 minutes remaining. Victory was finally sealed in Braunton’s favour 10 minutes from time with a shot from close range.

Man of the Match: Simon Adams (striker)