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U8 ARGYLE
DARTMOUTH…5 BUCKLAND ATHLETIC…3

BUCKLAND slipped to a second defeat in three games at rainswept Dartmouth on Sunday.

Set against the poetic backdrop of a large Lidl supermarket, the game turned in the second of three periods when the talented home side fired in four unanswered goals.

Buckland started brightly, once again utilising the 2-4-0 system which was inspired by Roma manager Luciano Spalletti’s pioneering tactical approach born in 2005.

Beck, played in by Joey’s perfectly-weighted pass, lashed in a fierce drive from a wide angle which narrowly cleared the angle of post and bar, and Georgia was in great form on the left.

Jamie and Declan were rock solid in defence, coolly starting Buckland’s passing moves from the back.

But Dartmouth took the lead against the run of play after a spell of ping-pong in the Buckland box, Gabriel powerless to prevent the goal.

Buckland needed to find some magic from somewhere and it came from the boots of birthday boy Beck, who embarked on a mazy run down the right before shooting across the excellent home keeper into the bottom corner for a brilliant solo goal.

The goal would never have come about had it not been for Harry’s sheer bravery – the midfield dynamo took a real stinger on the back of his thigh to give Beck the chance to attack. Ouch!

Manager Paul rang the changes at the break, with Josh replacing Gabriel in goal and Mason and Brad joining the action.

But despite their best efforts, the new line-up couldn’t stop the home side taking a 5-1 lead.

Buckland narrowed the deficit with a remarkable penalty double from Mason. He dispatched his first spot-kick, awarded for handball, to the keeper’s left, and when the man in black pointed to the spot again minutes later, he tried a different approach.

Mason outfoxed the bemused goalkeeper by cunningly shooting at the crossbar, allowing the ball to balloon into the air before dropping over the goalie’s head and over the line. It was a piece of penalty perfection more usually seen from the likes of Lampard, Le Tissier or Jimmy Bullard (who tried something similar on Saturday, less successfully).

Mason was cruelly denied a hat-trick in the final minute when his free-kick strike was controversially ruled out on the grounds that the referee had signalled an indirect set piece.

Manager Paul was delighted with his team’s performance and felt the result did not reflect his side’s display.

“The team did very well today, despite the scoreline” he said. “Darren and I have brought a continental approach to our football, hence the Roma-inspired 2-4-0, which worked a treat. I’m a great student of Italian football, and Darren loves pizza and that, so we know what we’re doing.

“In fact, only the other day I heard one of the fans say that us taking over was the best managerial appointment since Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson were put in charge of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon of the Home Guard, and there’s no higher praise than that.”

Paul was also unhappy with the controversial decision to deny Mason his hat-trick. “I checked with Don, who’s our refereeing expert, and he said there’s no such thing as an indirect free-kick in U8 football, so I’ll be including that in my report. Having said that, the ref got a much better peep out of his whistle than Don ever did, so he probably knows more about the rules as well.”

Don refused to be drawn into the escalating row, and issued a short statement to the waiting media. “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!," he said. "They don’t like it up 'em!"

Buckland goals: Mason (2 pens), Beck
Players of the week: Mason, Josh, Joey