Parkway progress in County Cup at Elburton
Elburton Villa vs Parkway | Match ReportBy Mike Parrish
Plymouth Parkway progressed into the next round of the Devon County Cup with a 2-0 victory over Elburton Villa at Haye Road.
Hayden Turner opened the scoring in the first half before captain for the evening Callum Hall added a second shortly after the hour mark to secure another cup win for Karl Curtis’ side.
 Elburton VillaPlymouth Parkway 
0 - 2Full Time |
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With the quick turnaround from Saturday’s FA Cup victory at Gosport Borough and a league trip to Sholing to follow, Curtis used the opportunity to rotate his squad while also giving important minutes to several returning players.
Taylor Scarff, Ed Harrison and goalkeeper Aaron Dearing all returned to the starting XI, while Jack Brimming and Ethan Wright were handed starts and dual-registered Freddie Chapman was also included.
Scholarship student Leo Orford was also introduced from the bench, continuing his involvement around the first-team group and providing another example of the opportunities available through the Parkway Scholarship programme.
In front of a healthy Haye Road crowd, Elburton started brightly and looked to make the most of their opportunity, with the hosts creating a number of half chances during the opening stages.
Parkway would grow into the game, however, and continued to look dangerous whenever they found space in the final third.
The breakthrough arrived in the 37th minute. A trademark third-man run from Hall would see the midfielder find Turner inside the area, with the striker doing well to get the ball out of his feet before finishing from eight yards to give Parkway the lead.
Elburton would respond positively after the break and almost found a way back into the contest on 50 minutes. Logan Felton was presented with a golden opportunity inside the Parkway area, but with time and space, the Elburton number nine could only direct his effort straight at Dearing.
That proved to be an important moment. Parkway soon wrestled control of the game back and began to dictate the tempo, with the second goal arriving on the hour.
Good work from Wright down the left saw the ball reach Hall via a deflection, and the captain made no mistake from 15 yards, firing beyond former Parkway goalkeeper Tyler Coombes to double the advantage.
From there, Parkway managed the remainder of the evening comfortably. A host of substitutions followed, with Orford among those introduced as Parkway saw out the final stages.
Speaking after the game, Curtis highlighted the opportunity the fixture provided to utilise his squad and continue the positive momentum built during the opening weeks of the season.
“The game provided us with a really good opportunity to utilise the squad and look to continue our good form, which in return has provided some excellent results since the start of the season.”
The Parkway boss was particularly pleased to see three players return to the starting XI, while Turner and Hall both got on the scoresheet.
He also singled out Brimming for his performance and reserved special praise for Orford after another opportunity with the first team.
For Parkway, it was another positive evening, three days after the FA Cup victory at Gosport and with Saturday’s league trip to Sholing now firmly in sight.
The County Cup campaign continues, while another opportunity has been taken to give the wider squad minutes and provide a pathway into first-team football.
A 2-0 win, progression into the next round and another evening of positive work for Curtis and his squad.
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