TT PREVIEW

Thomas Kelly – @tommyktufc

Tom looks back at previous Buckland (a) fixtures

13th July 2019

Buckland Athletic 0-3 Torquay United (1038)

TUFC: 1. Shaun MacDonald, 30. Matt Buse, 5. Jean-Yves Koue Niate, 8. Asa Hall (c) (23. Louie Slough, 70′), 16. Ryan Dickson (4. Kyle Cameron, 27′), 7. Ruairi Keating (20. Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala, HT), 10. Armani Little (22. Jacob Evans, 70′) 14. Frank Vincent (26. Trialist B, 63′), 11. Jake Andrews (24. Josh Baxter, 70′), 19. Jamie Reid (25. Owen Price, 70′) 18. Olaf Koszela (2. Ben Wynter, HT). Sub not used: 21. Andy Collings.

“I was impressed with Buckland really, they gave everything they got. They played to their 100%. We wasn’t quite sharp enough in the final third.” Gary Johnson Post Match Intertview.

Our first ever encounter against Buckland Athletic took place nearly 6 years ago as Gary Johnson’s recently promoted Torquay side made the short 5 mile journey to Homers Heath, where over 1,000 supporters watched the Gulls continue on from their 5-0 thrashing of Bideford just a few days prior, with goals courtesy of Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala, Ben Wynter & Owen Price seeing the goals secure victory 3-0.

On a warm afternoon with the beers flowing from the clubhouse and the BBQ sizzling away, Buckland showed great defensive resolve to frustrate the Gulls and keep the score goalless going into the final half hour of the game, however it was the substitutes who changed the game for United with Kalvin Kalala providing a moment of magic, driving past four Buckland players before slotting the ball home to give the Gulls the lead on 65 minutes.

Kalala was involved again for our second goal, keeping the ball in play from a cross which Ben Wynter tapped home before SDC youngster Owen Price rounded off the scoring towards the end of the game against the club he would later sign for a few years later!

A lovely first outing to Buckland and one that many Gulls fans would want to see again during future pre-season schedules.

Torquay would have a decent pre-season, losing only once against Exeter City in the final pre-season game at Plainmoor before playing out a season where COVID would end the Gulls very unlikely play-off dreams as we finished 14th on PPG in our season back in non leagues top flight.

Because of the COVID pandemic, like most other lower league divisions, the Western League was abandoned and all results were made null and void. At the time of abandonment, Buckland found themselves in 13th place, well clear of the bottom of the table but 18 points clear of 5th place. It wouldn’t be until the 21/22 season until Buckland would play a full season of football again.

8th July 2022

Buckland Athletic 0-1 Torquay United (1050)

United: 1. Mark Halstead (13. Trialist B HT’), 2. Dylan Crowe (12. Brandon Quinn 68′), 3. Dan Martin (22. Trialist C 14′), 4. Tom Lapslie (17. Joel Greenslade 68′), 5. Ali Omar (16. Callum Thomas 68′), 8. Asa Hall (c) (25. Jack Winsor 60′), 11. Kieron Evans (24. Lewis Brooks 60′), 14. Brett McGavin (15. Kai Swann 70′), 18. Olaf Koszela (20. Jayden Gilbert 74′), 19. Trialist A, 21. Dean Moxey (23. Trialist D HT’).

“I think it was great to kick it [the season] off in front of a crowd like that, having an occasion like this makes you realise just how important this club should be in Devon and Cornwall.”

Dan Hart, Buckland Manager Mid Devon Advertiser.

It was a beautiful sunny and warm Friday evening in South Devon for a game of pre-season football as Torquay United kicked off their pre-season schedule with a 1-0 victory against Buckland with Olaf Koszela scoring the only goal in a game where Torquay made wholesale changes in the second half with a mixture of first teamers, youth players and trialists all playing a part in the evenings proceedings.

Once again over 1,000 fans turned up for this game and with plenty of fans still queueing to enter the stadium before kick off, the game was delayed by 15 minutes to allow everyone to get in before the game started.

The only goal came from one of our own as Olaf Koszela managed to get the better of his strike past two Buckland defenders and the keeper into the bottom right corner of the net to seal victory for the Gulls.

As we’ve come to expect from Buckland, they made things difficult for the Gulls and defended resolutely to keep themselves in the game causing then trialist keeper Rhys Lovett on his toes on more than one occasion.

Harry Hodges, son of former Gulls player Lee Hodges also played a part in proceedings to further strengthen local ties between the two clubs.

Juist like in 2019, Torquay would have a relatively good pre-season results wise, the only blemish being a 5-0 thrashing at home to Plymouth. A goalless draw at home to Newport County and (another) pre-season victory at home to Exeter City set the Gulls ahead of what proved to be a challenging season for all associated with the club as the Gulls would be relegated on the final day of the season back to the NLS.

For the Buck’s, it was a 5th place finish, drawing just twice in a 36 game season, however with no league play-offs that year, the Buck’s prepared for another season in step 5.

12th July 2024

Buckland Athletic 0-0 Torquay United (1781)

UNITED 1st Half: James Hamon, Dean Moxey, Austen Booth, Ollie Tomlinson, Lirak Hasani, Matt Carson, Finley Craske, Oscar Threlkeld, Ben Seymour, Brad Ash, Dan Hayfield.

UNITED 2nd Half: Trialist A, Roddy Collins, Trialist B, Trialist C, Jay Foulston, Jordan Dyer, Sam Dreyer, Ed Palmer, Lirak Hasani, Jacob Wellington, Austen Booth.

“There were some good bits of play and also some not so good bits of play. We surrendered possession an awful lot around the edge of their box and our final ball was not as good as it could have been, but that can be rectified on the training ground.”

“We had two very mixed teams and a good night. The pitch was excellent and we thank Buckland for having us. It’s such a cliché and a boring response but pre-season is not about results, it’s all about being ready to go on August 10.”

Paul Wotton, Torbay Weekly.

A monumental day in the history of Torquay United Football Club. The first game under the Bryn Consortium, the first game since exiting administration & since the strategic partnership between the two clubs earlier this year, this would prove the start of annual pre-season games between the two clubs for the foreseeable future.

It would also be the debut of the now infamously nicknamed “cursed shirt”. We should have known then what was to come!

Where the last two fixtures in July had produced such beautiful weather conditions, last years game provided completely the opposite with grey skies and rain lingering before pouring into the second half, the stage was set for the new era of Torquay United Football Club to begin. We were hoping it would be raining goals, instead It became rather a damp squib.

Torquay started strongly though with Lirak Hasani’s overhead effort hitting the woodwork early on before Austin Booth’s header rattled the crossbar, both from deliveries from Matt Carson.

It was certainly all Torquay in the first half but not without a few warning shots from the hosts as former Gulls in Jared Lewington & Sammy Stayt giving new Gulls number one James Hamon something to think about as the rain became to become heavier and leaving the majority of the 1700 fans in attendance looking for cover.

With changes aplenty to start the second half, there was no real flow to the game with marathon man Lirak Hasani providing the Gulls best effort albeit off target.

For Buckland, it was another impressive outing and the Bucks enjoyed a decent season in the Western League, ending the season in the final play off spot (5th) but fell to defeat in the semi finals away to the eventual play off winners in Brixham AFC.

It’s great to see the relationship between Buckland Athletic & Torquay United beginning to grow and I think it’s a win win situation for all involved to be playing the Buck’s as part of our pre-season schedule.

Come rain or shine, a good crowd is guaranteed which is good for the coffers for Buckland. Homers Heath is an excellent ground for the level, has a great clubhouse, plenty of beer and refreshments available. It’s a bit of a pain to park but you’re guaranteed a warm welcome from the staff and volunteers who continue to make non-league football tick.

It was always a no brainer that when we first played them in 2019 that this should be an annual fixture (even Gary Johnson said so!) and I’m glad to see that the Bryn Consortium have built a bridge (not literally!) to ensure a positive and prosperous relationship with both clubs going forward.

Hopefully both clubs will be celebrating promotion come the end of the season, but let’s focus on the now and enjoy what is set to be another fantastic pre-season fixture between the Buck’s and the Gulls!

Football is back!