PARKWAY V SHEPTON MALLET - MATCH REPORT

[RobinVanParkway]

FT: Plymouth Parkway 4 (M.Williams 10, Krac 14, 48, Carter 26)

Shepton Mallet 1(Manning 38)

PARKWAY BACK ON TOP

With a good crowd of 178 in attendance, Parkway played their first home game for 3 weeks against mid table Shepton Mallet. One change was made from their midweek FA Vase victory at Romsey Town with Jamie Lowry replacing Elliot Ward in midfield. Jack Calver was unavailable and new signing Craig Duff was named among the substitutes.

 

Parkway made a quick start with Jordan Copp shooting wide inside 2 minutes with Shepton Mallet hitting back with a free kick being fired just too high on 8 minutes. Billy Palfrey then saw his shot from around 18 yards punched away by keeper Jonny Hill on 9 minutes before Parkway took the lead on 10 minutes. A strong drive forward from midfield by Lowry saw him link well with Shane Krac who found Mikey Williams wide on the right. Williams continued the momentum cutting inside and curling a fine shot into the top left hand stanchion from around 20 yards.

 

Parkway continued to dominate with Lowry’s range and weight of passing from midfield a telling feature and soon doubled their lead. On 14 minutes another flowing move and clever movement saw Krac play a neat one two and calmly side foot into the bottom right hand corner from around 15 yards. Shepton Mallet offered little going forward with the tricky Tyrone Tucker-Dixon looking the most likely threat. Parkway continued to exploit the wide open spaces in midfield with Lowry, Krac and Palfrey dictating play forcing Shepton Mallet to defend deep.

 

On 17 minutes a precise cross field ball from Aaron Bentley found Copp free wide on the left with his first time cross finding Krac whose snapshot was blocked and cleared away for a corner. Parkway continued to play incisive football and increased their lead on 26 minutes. The lively Krac won the ball from a hesitant Shepton Mallet midfielder and slid the ball in to Carter who slotted home with aplomb from around 12 yards. Bentley then saw his header from a corner fly just wide as Parkway continued to dominate, defending comfortably from the occasional Shepton Mallet counter attack. Parkway suffered a blow on 35 minutes when the ever dangerous Williams pulled up with an injury and was replaced by Tiegan Rosenquest. With Parkway still reorganising, the visitors pulled a goal back on 38 minutes. A free kick from the left saw Liam Watson win a free header at the far post with Kyle Moore palming the ball away and the loose ball being stabbed home from close range by Shea Manning.

 

Parkway’s early tempo and intensity dropped for a period as Shepton Mallet, encouraged by their goal, began to come more into the game. The aggressive Manning was sin binned for dissent on 40 minutes as the visitors continued to push forward and should have reduced the lead further on 43 minutes. In an almost carbon copy of their goal, Watson again directed a far post header back into the danger area with Tucker-Dixon somehow heading up against the bar from point blank range. After an outstanding first 30 minutes from Parkway in which they completely dominated the game, with Lowry particularly impressive, their play became disjointed in the last 15 minutes with their inability to deal with a couple of set pieces giving the visitors a foothold into the game.

 

A few words must have been said at half time as Parkway started the second half strongly. On 46 minutes Copp broke free on the right with his shot being blocked at the near post by Hill when other options were available. Continued Parkway pressure saw them awarded a free kick centrally 25 yards out on 48 minutes. Krac stepped up and curled his kick high into the top right hand corner giving Hill no chance. With Parkway well in control, another perfectly weighted ball from deep by Lowry on 50 minutes saw Palfrey break forward in to the 18 yard area only to be denied a shot by a fine covering tackle and brave goalkeeping. Palfrey was soon in action again on 58 minutes, heading just over from a right wing corner as Parkway continued to threaten.

 

Just after the hour mark both sides began to ring the changes with debutant Duff replacing the effervescent Krac and Aaron Saviour replacing Joe Morgan for the visitors. On 68 minutes Duff almost marked his debut with a goal firing an angled drive narrowly wide of the far post from around 12 yards after more good play along the right by Copp. With Shepton Mallet offering little threat, the tempo of the game once again dropped with Parkway content to retain possession allowing Rob Farkins and Nick Milton, under no pressure, to play out slowly from the back. On 75 minutes Manning was replaced by Jack Fillingham for the visitors with Antonio Costa coming on for Ryan Lane for the hosts. With Parkway rarely under pressure defensively and continuing to dominate possession in midfield, the game gradually petered out with the final action on 87 minutes seeing a Parkway effort being ruled out for a clear offside.

 

A competent, controlled performance from Parkway with an outstanding first 30 minutes setting the tone and effectively sealing the game despite periods of sloppiness in the latter parts of both halves. With leaders Bradford Town being held to a draw at Cribbs, the win sees Parkway return to the top of the table with a vastly superior goal difference. Not normally one to mention officials, but the performance of the referee who controlled the game in a sensible, unfussy manner is worthy of note. Parkway now make the short to trip to Newton Abott on Tuesday to take on Buckland Athletic with the improving Westbury United the visitors to Bolitho Park next Saturday.

 

Match report courtesy of Graham Lloyd

 

[Bruegel the Elder]

I’ve no idea who Graham Lloyd is but this is one quality report. He could be writing for the regional or even national press, certainty better than some of their incumbents!

[THE BALD ONE]

He's a top bloke that Graham.  I do believe he writes for the Plymouth Evening Herald now.

[RobinVanParkway]

2 hours ago, Bruegel the Elder said:

I’ve no idea who Graham Lloyd is but this is one quality report. He could be writing for the regional or even national press, certainty better than some of their incumbents!

Graham is an avid supporter of Plymouth Parkway and has been writing our reports for around three years. He is always unbiased and writes it as he sees it. His work has found its way on the League websites and now his work has been recognised by the Herald and his features are a regular place in the sports section. Graham is a key member of our Media Team and his superb reports fit in nicely alongside the YouTube videos.