Richard Luscombe ON a thrilling night of football and a fantastic advert for the Education Programme at Plymouth Argyle, the Pilgrims missed out in the Devon Midweek Cup Final after a last-minute winner for HM Naval Base.
Both sides reached this showpiece event held at Devon FA headquarters in Newton Abbot after scoring a barrage of goals in the earlier rounds but this was a tense affair from the beginning.
A lively crowd at Coach Road were given their first glimpse of a chance when Argyle’s Reece Thompson attempted a chip from distance that sailed a fraction over the bar. A Joe Lewis header then forced the Naval Base custodian into a fantastic save.
The game took a turn in favour of the Naval Base, as Gary Hird forced home the opening goal on 39 minutes. The Pilgrims battled tirelessly for an equaliser in a gripping second period, as Thompson again went close and a strong penalty shout was turned down.
Just as it seemed the final was lost, Thompson got his reward for a stoic display by heading in a fine leveller on 83 minutes to set up a grandstand finish.
Both sides had chances to grab the winner but the final twist fell to Hird, who bundled the ball over the line to seal an injury-time victory for the Naval Base. We send our congratulations to the champions and well done to the Education lads for a fantastic display.
The Plymouth Argyle Football Education programmes provide talented and enthusiastic youngsters with the opportunity to train and play as a football scholar in tandem with their academic studies. The course sees 16-18 years olds participate in a number of academic studies alongside a football scholarship run by Plymouth Argyle. The programme is designed to give people excellent academic qualifications that can take them into universities, overseas universities, employment and work places.
Both programmes benefit from highly-qualified coaches and players are also given guidance and support by ex-professionals including Lee Hodges and Jamie Day. This programme with Argyle Community Trust is an excellent first step on the way to a career in the sports industry and participants on our course have gone on to study at university, receive football scholarships abroad and be given trials at a host of professional football clubs.
For more information on the programme based at Home Park, please contact lee.britchford@pafc.co.uk or for the Cornwall programme, it’s mike.foley@pafc.co.uk
