KJM SPORT REPORT Buckland Athletic 1 Millbrook AFC 0

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Created on Sunday, 16 April 2023 15:07

Last Updated on Monday, 17 April 2023 16:24

Published on Sunday, 16 April 2023 15:07

Written by KEVIN MARRIOTT Cornwall football's touchline ace

An 80th minute "worldie" from Sam Stayt left Millbrook empty-handed despite an impressive display at Homers Heath.

Five days after a gruelling and morale-sapping defeat in the Cornwall Senior Cup final, which went to extra time and penalties, the Brook could have been excused for being flat in their Western Premier encounter at Homer's Heath.

That was not the case as Macca Brown’s side again underlined their spirit by coming close to getting at least a point from an entertaining match.

Brown said: “Obviously the result was disappointing, to lose to an absolute worldie of a strike with just 10 minutes to go is a kick in the teeth, but I’m as proud of the lads again as I was after the cup final.

“Especially when you consider six players who played in the final were not available at Buckland, and then we lost Foz (Jake Foster) after 20 minutes with what looks like a torn quad, I thought the lads were superb.

“There was always going to have to be a reaction to something at Buckland, unfortunately for us is was reacting after a huge disappointment and it would have been really easy for us to still be feeling sorry for ourselves.

“I’ve got to admit I found it tough to find that motivation but the players really did put that behind them and deliver, but that’s not a surprise given their character.

“Buckland is one of those places where it’s really easy to be beaten before you step onto the pitch, because they’re such an impressive club, people everywhere, and we had a young team that could have been eaten up by the surroundings.

“But they focussed on the game and the game only, and they know there’s nothing to fear on that front and we reminded them of that before the game.

“The game itself was pretty open to be honest and both teams had some great chances to score in the first half, but were quite wasteful.

“The second half started in the same manner, and as the half went on Buckland certainly applied a bit more pressure and threw more bodies forwards, but we held our nerve and didn’t change things and were taking risks ourselves because we were a real threat on the counter.

“Kieran (O'Melia) had an unbelievable chance but the ball just typically bobbled as he went to strike it from eight yards out and him and Knighty (Ryan Knight) were our biggest threats really, and honestly with 10 minutes or so to go the game could have gone either way.

“But what a goal to win it for them, it reminded me of that Steven Gerrard goal in the 2006 FA Cup final, he’s got no right really to be shooting from there but fair play, what a hit.

“I think Chris (Wearing, keeper) was unsighted with so many bodies and it flew in the corner.

“But what a reaction from us again, we go up the other end and Kieran has his own wonder strike tipped onto the bar, and another opening in injury time that he tried squaring to Joe Short for a tap-in but couldn’t quite get his angles right, which was a shame because I thought we deserved a point.

“With Buckland operating in the top three, I think we can be happy with our record against the top six sides this season.

“We’ve beaten Mousehole, Helston and Bridgwater, and taken points from Buckland and Barnstaple, and the three defeats against teams currently in the top three were all tight games decided by one goal.

“Eleven points from a possible 18 against the top six is not bad going but now we look forwards to the final two games that are against sides around us, and that’s where we need to improve and the onus is on us to go and win those games.

“Six points will give us 43 points, which is two less than last season but with two less games played, so we still have that in our sights as a target and we have to do the business.”

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