Almost the Perfect 10
Parkway v Bracknell Town | Match ReportPlymouth Parkway were victims to late heartbreak at Bolitho on Tuesday night, conceding a last second equaliser with ten men to draw 3-3 against Bracknell Town.
 Plymouth ParkwayBracknell Town 
3 - 3Full Time |
Full Match Report
Images: Lucy Arscott
The hosts had found themselves 2-0 up after ten minutes thanks to goals from Callum Hall and Dylan Jones, but a sending off for debutant keeper Matthew Wonnacott after 18 minutes ensured a gruelling 70 minutes for Chris McPhee’s side.
Parkway made three changes to the side who were narrowly bested by Swindon Supermarine on Saturday, with Wonnacott and Tylor Love-Holmes making their first starts.
Jones also returned to the starting XI, following trials with Brentford and Norwich City.
Bracknell made four changes following their defeat away to Gosport Borough, with Gabriel George, Joe Dandy, Darryl Harrison and Liam Tack replacing Luke Neville, James Dobson, Vaughan and Bowerman,
With McPhee looking for an immediate response after Saturday’s disappointment, Parkway started proceedings quickly, forcing a chance through Love-Holmes whose low shot forced Michael Eacott into an early save.
There was perhaps a hint of foreshadowing when Parkway were saved by the offside flag inside 3 minutes when freshly signed keeper Wonnacott missed his clearance under high pressure from Bracknell’s press, allowing Daniel Roberts to tap home – a lucky escape.
It was double-edged sword for Bracknell Town as Parkway took the lead just two minutes later with another belter from Hall.
It was almost a carbon copy of Saturday’s goal as the midfielder took a touch and powered a curling effort past the keeper into the top left corner for his third goal in three games.
The good times kept coming for McPhee’s side as they doubled their lead on the 10-minute mark through the returning Dylan Jones.
Tom Dean’s clever freekick from just outside the box curled round the wall and bounced off the post but was bundled home by Jones who did well to follow in.
But with Parkway cruising at 2-0 up after 18 minutes, a spanner was thrown in the works when Wonnacott was shown a straight red for cleaning out Roberts as the last line of defence.
A poor goal kick was headed straight back towards the box and with Roberts baring down on goal, Wonnacott made the challenge on the edge of the box and received his marching orders – forcing captain Shane White to step up and don the gloves.
The skipper was soon called into action twice in quick succession, getting down well to push behind a low strike from Joel Rollinson on the 30-minute mark and then dening the forward again a minute later after a sharp swivel in the box gave the forward time to get his shot off.
Despite White’s heroics, the Parkway defence was breached after 37 minutes. Rollinson whipped a cross into the box which was fumbled by the makeshift keeper, allowing Liam Tack to make it 2-1.
But 10-men Parkway refused to sink back, and they were rewarded when Taylor Scarff, who had scored his first goal for the Yellow’s just three days ago, smashed the ball into the bottom left following a corner to restore his side’s two-goal advantage going into half-time.
Bracknell were disjointed in offence for large periods of the first half but things started to click for them in the second half as McPhee’s side slowly began to set up shop.
The away side clawed one back after 58 minutes with a spectacular cross from the right wing from Teddy Howe finding Roberts at the back post, who headed home to put Bracknell right back in the mix.
The goal started an offensive onslaught from the visitors, but Parkway’s defence was holding strong.
Hall nearly wrapped up the three points for his side against the run of play after a strong driving run out of midfield from Jones found Hall in space to shoot, but his deflected effort soared agonisingly wide of the near post.
Despite Parkway’s defensive masterclass, Bolitho hearts were broken when the ball fell to Gabriel George in the box and was slotted into the bottom corner with the last kick of the game to make it 3-3.
Speaking after the game, Jones said: “I think there’s two sides to it. I’m obviously gutted for myself, the lads, and the fans but I think we showed a different side to ourselves.
“If we take that into the rest of the season we’ll be more than fine, so I’m gutted obviously but I’m also proud of the lads.”
Results went Parkway’s way on the night as 20th placed Tiverton dropped points and with Chris McPhee’s side travelling to league strugglers Marlow on Saturday, it could be a huge chance to jump out of the relegation zone.
Match Info
Plymouth Parkway:
1 Wonnacott, 2 Dean, 5 Scarff, 6 White, 7 Williams, 8 Hall, 10 R. Garside, 11 Jones (Watts-Barciela 87), 14 Love-Holmes, 17 Wright (Ismail 45), 20 C. Garside.
Subs: 3 Stevens (unused), 9 Ismail, 16 Shaw (unused), 18 Cunningham (unused), 19 Watts-Barciela.
Yellows:
Jones (35), R. Garside (72), White (75)
Reds:
Wonnacott (18).
Bracknell Town:
1 Eacott, 2 Howe, 17 George, 4 Knight, 16 Dandy (Vaughan 45), 6 Harrison (Dobson 45), 5 Herbert, 19 Tack (Burden 62), 14 Rollinson, 10 Boorn (Reivers 80), 12 Roberts.
Subs: 8 Neville (unused), 3 Burden, 15 Dobson, 15 Vaughan, 16 Sonoiki (unused).
Yellows:
Harrison (8), Dandy (9), Tack (52), Vaughan (62)
Parkway Partners
