Marine 1 Bideford AFC 1 (4-5pens)

Match Report from Pete Crockett

MARINE PAY THE PENALTY IN TROPHY EXIT

(Bideford win 5-4 on penalties)

After a month of away fixtures Marine’s supporters relished the return to home soil, the arboreal surrounds of the Imagine Cruising Stadium. The visitors, Bideford AFC, arrived on a grey, glowering afternoon. They had disposed of Mousehole in the previous round and arrived intent on making life difficult.

It was Bideford who threatened first. On ten minutes, Jack Winsor nodded the ball down to Jamie Hearsey, only for his shot to be scrambled off the line by Owen Foye — a remarkable intervention. The escape stirred Marine. Within a minute they had the lead.

Max Hemmings, crisp in the pass all afternoon, sent Sid Gbla down the right, and the winger’s low cross was perfect for JOE SELMAN, who drove home with conviction.

For a spell Marine moved the ball fluently, switching play, and probing. However, Bideford had their own weapon: the long throw of Finn Roberts, each one arcing unsettlingly into Marine’s box.

There was a scare for the visitors when Josh Grant’s mishit cross almost embarrassed the back-pedalling visiting goalkeeper. Then Bideford’s Alex Moyse shot just wide of the top corner. Just before half time Marine’s Josh Grant seemed to be clipped from behind in the box; the referee waved Marine penalty appeals away.

The lead always felt precarious, and so it proved. On 52 minutes Jamie Hearsay, lively on the flank, sent a ball to the far post where Jordan Ewing nodded back, and JAVAN WRIGHT finished from close range.

It was now a game of chances, not all of them taken. The visitor’s Jamie Hearsey, again, forced Luke Purnell into a sharp stop. Then came Marine’s big moment: Sal Abubakar, breaking down the right flank had four teammates in support against a lone defender. Yet his cross, weak, was cut out by the sole defender Oliver Gardner.

Moments later Marine substitute James Harding, rounded the keeper but from a tight angle, fizzed his shot agonisingly across goal. Then the visitor’s Javan Wright, at the other end, drove against the base of the post.

The final quarter of an hour became a blur of frantic industry, but composure was absent. The penalty shoot-out that followed went against Marine with a 5-4 result in Bideford’s favour.

There were consolations for Marine. Max Hemmings was tidy in midfield; Dayo Sonoiki was energetic; whilst both Sam Turl and Jamie Edge were solid at the back. Yet the frustration lingered — the decision-making in the final third, at times, was too fevered, too imprecise.

Bobby Wilkinson, the Marine manager, felt the same: moments of promise undone by poor choices or mishit passes when it mattered. Still, perspective is needed. A few months ago Marine had neither a manager nor more than a handful of players. Progress is not linear, and this, for all its disappointments, was one more step on the developmental journey.

On to next Saturday and a return to the league programme.

Attendance: 225

Manager:	Bobby Wilkinson
Line-up:	Colours: Blue & White Hoops
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1	Luke Purnell [GK]
2	Sam Turl
3	Owen Foye			14	Piotr Petrynski 75’
4	Josh Grant
5	Rocco Sughayer			15	Tawana Changa 60’
6	Dayo Sonoiki			17	Brooks Leipus 75’
7	Sal Abubakar
8	Jamie Edge
9	Sid Gbla
10	Max Hemmings (c)			12	James Harding 60’
11	Joe Selman	12’		14	Frankie Monk 60’

Editors Star Man: Sam Turl
Subs not used: None

Manager:	Sean Joyce
Line-up:	Colours: All Red
No	Player	Goals	Card	No	Substitute	Goals	Card
1.	Shaun Semmens [GK]
2.	Archie Reay
3.	Alex Byrne (c)
4.	Alex Moyse
5.	Oliver Gardner
6.	Sam Wright
7.	Finn Roberts			15.	Charlie Wright 80’
8.	Jack Winsor
9.	Jordan Ewing			14.	Jordan Ewing 81’
10.	Jamie Hearsay
11.	Javan Wright	54’

Editors Star Man: Javan Wright
Subs not used: 12. Henry Richards, 16. Louie Slough, 17. Aaron Taylor