Buzzing at Chagford

By Stuart Coombs

Fresh off of the first three points of the season, Sidbury headed into their next league clash against the visiting Chagford with a buzz, and started last Saturdays (27th Aug) game with a very high intensity, playing some very neat football, and maintaining the lions’ share of possession for the first fifteen minutes of the half. Frustration began to set in, however, after the home side missed opportunity after opportunity and the ‘gulls started to cease playing their own style of football and resorted to trying to force play, trying to knock over extravagant, unnecessary passes and running at players, instead of playing short ‘pass and move’ football, and it looked as if a relapse to last weeks first half, of playing with a lack of effort or energy was on the cards. The visitors began capitalising on this, but were kept at bay by Man of the Match, Richard Bacon, and the rest of the ‘gulls solid defense, keeping the score line unopened at half time.

Sidbury started the second half with a point to prove, feeling as though they hadn’t done themselves justice in the first half, and settled back into their own style of play to once again begin dominating possession, leaving the visitors chasing shadows in the midfield. An excellent display of football led up to the home sides opening goal, as right winger, Jake Preece received the ball on the edge of the Chagford box and beat both centre halves leaving only the goal keeper between him and his first goal of the season. He selflessly, however, scooped the ball over to the left, where winger Dan Churchill was running through into the box, allowing him to smash the ball past the stranded Chagford keeper and break the deadlock.

This seemed to ease tensions amongst the home side as the impressive display of football continued, opening up more opportunities to increase the lead. The best of which fell to the returning Danny Green as he played a neat one two with his brother beat the keeper, and left an open goal that Danny managed to roll the ball across the face of and out for a goal kick. Chagford began to pull themselves back into the game, refusing to give up the three points that easily, and were looking more and more like scoring as the minutes counted down, leaving Manager and assistant Mel Coombs and Jeremy Schofield biting their nails on the sideline.

Relief washed over them, as in the 90th minute, sweeper Stu Coombs dispossessed the Chagford striker with a decent tackle, leaving him space to run into, and after beating one defender, played a one two around the next, breaking into the box and hitting a wonderful strike that forced a deflection from the recovering Chagford defender which put the ball into the near corner, wrong footing the visitors goal keeper. The game finished 2 -0, with another well earned 3 points for the Seagulls, leaving them looking forward to their midweek game against Exmouth Amateurs on Wednesday 30th.