Parkway put their name in the hat after Gosport battle
Gosport Borough vs Parkway | Match ReportImages: Jack Appleby
Plymouth Parkway put their name in the hat for the next round of the FA Cup with a superb 3-1 away victory over Gosport Borough at Privett Park.
Mikey Williams had given Parkway the lead on the stroke of half time before the Boro levelled through Kris Campbell just after the hour mark, but with the game finely poised, Toby Down would rise highest in the 89th minute to restore Parkway’s advantage before Callum Hall would seal the victory in stoppage time.
It was another afternoon that would demonstrate the continued progression of Karl Curtis’ side, who had to ride a spell of pressure from the hosts before showing the quality and character to finish the game strongly.
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Curtis would make changes from the side that had beaten Poole Town on Bank Holiday Monday, with Taylor Scarff, Rocky Neal, Aaron Dearing and Ed Harrison all unavailable for the trip to Hampshire.
There would be full competitive debuts for Jack Brimming and Hayden Turner, with Leo McCormick continuing in goal following his impressive first appearance against Poole.
Gosport would start brightly on their 3G surface and it would be the hosts who would have the first real chance of the afternoon as Harry Rew, introduced early following an injury to Benny Read, would find a yard of space and force McCormick into a good low save to his left.
Parkway would settle into the contest as the half progressed, with the visitors enjoying long spells of possession and beginning to work their way through the Gosport shape.
Young Jack Brimming would look completely at home on his full debut, while Hayden Turner would work tirelessly at the top end of the pitch as Parkway looked to create the opening.
Turner would have the first real opportunity for the visitors as fine work down the left from Mikey Williams and Joel Sullivan would see the latter fizz a ball into the Cornishman, but leaning back, Turner would fire over the bar.
The game was beginning to develop into a proper cup tie, with both sides enjoying spells of possession and looking to find a chink in the armour of the opposition.
And Parkway would finally find the breakthrough just before the break. Turner would again be at the heart of the move as the number 11 would reverse engineer his cross back into the danger area, with the ball falling kindly to Mikey Williams.
Despite the best efforts of Kie Plumley in the Gosport goal, there would only be one outcome as the Wizard found the net and wheeled away in his now famous celebration.
It would be Williams’ 98th goal for Parkway and send the visitors into half time with a precious lead.
Gosport would come out for the second half with a completely different approach. The hosts would roll the dice, switch to a traditional 4-4-2 and introduce former Plymouth Argyle man Chris Zebrosky, and his strength and power would begin to unsettle the Parkway rhythm.
Curtis would later admit that he was impressed with the way Gosport approached the second half, and as the minutes passed, the feeling inside Privett Park was that the equaliser was coming.
Parkway would find themselves under increasing pressure and, on 57 minutes, Gosport would get their reward.
New signing Michael Fernandes would produce another excellent run down the left hand side before delivering into the area, and just as Parkway had done for the opening goal, Kris Campbell would be on hand to apply the finish and get the home supporters off their feet.
The game was now very much alive. Curtis would react immediately, with Hayden Turner and Jack Brimming both replaced on the hour mark by Reece Thomson and Callum Hall.
The changes would begin to give Parkway a new energy, with both Hall and Thomson helping the visitors get further up the pitch and slowly take the sting out of the Gosport pressure.
With the game level, Parkway could easily have allowed the hosts to continue dictating the contest, but this is a different Parkway side. Once the storm had been weathered, the visitors would begin to take the game back to Gosport.
On 75 minutes, Hall would find half a yard but couldn’t quite test Plumley, before Mikey Williams would burst back into life and link with captain Rio Garside.
The move would see Plumley deny Williams what would have been his 99th goal for the club. Jensen Ireland would then deliver a corner that would find Thomson at the back stick, only for Plumley to produce an acrobatic save to keep the scores level.
Gosport were still threatening, but Parkway were now growing into the final stages and looking increasingly likely to find the next goal.
And on 89 minutes, it would arrive. Rio Garside would deliver another superb corner and Toby Down would rise highest to meet it, guiding his header beyond Plumley and sending the Parkway supporters into raptures.
The number 6 had delivered again. His third goal of the season had put Parkway within touching distance of the next round, but Gosport were not finished.
The Boro would throw everything at Parkway in the closing stages, with even Plumley making his way into the penalty area for an injury-time corner.
Parkway would defend with bodies on the line before the ball broke and Hall would suddenly have a clear run at goal. With the goalkeeper stranded up the pitch, there would be no mistake from Hally as he calmly found the empty net to make it 3-1 and notch his third goal in four games, his 45th for the club.
The final whistle would follow shortly afterwards, confirming Parkway’s place in the next round of the FA Cup.
This was a true FA Cup tie.
Two good sides, momentum swings, pressure, quality and a late winner, but perhaps most importantly, another example of how this Parkway side is beginning to look like a group rather than a collection of individuals.
After six league games, three wins in a row and 13 points, Parkway have now added an FA Cup victory on the road to the start of the Karl Curtis era.
There is now the small matter of discovering who stands between Parkway and the next chapter of the competition, with the FA Cup draw scheduled for Monday afternoon.
For those who couldn’t make the journey to Hampshire, the Trees Transmission away-day special is available to listen back to.
Listen back to the Gosport Borough v Parkway commentary:
https://plymouth-parkway.mixlr.com/recordings/3203617
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