Parkway Produce Performance of the Season at Bottom Meadow
Bracknell Town vs Parkway | Match ReportAfter two home postponements caused by the wretched South West weather, Plymouth Parkway finally packed their bags and climbed back aboard the football train with a trip to Sandhurst and a visit to one of the form sides in the division, Bracknell Town.
With minutes in short supply, Parkway had planned to use training sessions to bridge the gap, but those preparations were disrupted by the late withdrawal of Mikey Williams following a night of illness. That opened the door for Reece Shanley to make his first start in yellow following his move from Willand Rovers. There was also a start between the posts for Luke McCormick, with Zak Baker recalled by parent club Plymouth Argyle, as Parkway escaped the rain and headed for the blue skies of Berkshire.
 Bracknell TownPlymouth Parkway 
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Bracknell arrived in buoyant mood. Eight wins from their last 12 league outings and a fine midweek victory at Havant & Waterlooville spelt out the challenge facing Parkway, and the Robins showed their quality early on. The opening ten minutes belonged to the hosts as Max Herbert and Seb Bowerman pulled the strings in midfield, elegant in possession and purposeful in their movement.
With a high front three, Bracknell fashioned a couple of half chances, one in particular seeing Parkway appeal for offside, only for the flag to stay down. McCormick was forced to rush from his line and get a vital hand to a goalbound effort, keeping the visitors honest. It was a slick start from the Robins, but Parkway were growing into their task, competing in every area and asking questions of their own.
On 12 minutes, Parkway struck. James Watts-Barciela, playing the matador role to perfection, danced away from two Bracknell shirts before releasing Callum Hall. Hall fed Rocky Neal, whose initial effort was parried, but the ball fell back kindly for Hall to finish from six yards and give Parkway the lead.
If that goal unsettled Bottom Meadow, it was truly rocked two minutes later. Once again Watts-Barciela beat his man and delivered a delicious ball into the danger area, where Neal was on hand to ripple the net from close range and put Parkway two goals to the good.
Bracknell, visibly shaken, almost found themselves further behind when Watts-Barciela bore down on goal once more, only for his effort to fall tamely into the arms of the home goalkeeper.
To their credit, the Robins stuck to their game plan and looked for a route back into the contest. Herbert almost found it, his effort squeezing through a crowded penalty area, but McCormick reacted superbly low down to parry away the danger. Parkway were now forced to manage the game sensibly, with Hall and Watts-Barciela both working tirelessly to protect their full-backs as Bracknell tried to build momentum down the flanks.
There was a late concern before the interval as Ryan Brett suffered a head injury as the half ticked into added time, but Parkway navigated the closing moments of the opening period. Brett’s afternoon was over at the break, with Will Sullivan introduced and Hall dropping into midfield.
As so many times this season, Parkway had a lead to protect. Something they have struggled to do on occasions, particularly away from home. But buoyed by the recent win at Uxbridge, this felt different.
Bracknell enjoyed the bulk of possession after the restart, yet Parkway looked renewed, confident, and fully committed to the task at hand. There was a clear understanding of the situation and a hunger not just to protect the lead, but to secure a rare clean sheet.
The hosts looked to change the script with the introduction of striker Jack Mazzone, but Parkway responded intelligently. Taylor Scarff was introduced as Chris McPhee shifted to a back three, nullifying the threat and adding further resilience. There were moments to manage, moments to defend, but the half wore on without any real alarm.
As the clock wound down and the blue skies faded, the smiles in the Parkway away end remained firmly in place. To a man, this was Plymouth Parkway’s finest performance of the season.
With the job done, Parkway know there is still plenty of hard work ahead in a campaign that very much has life left in it. If the rain eases and Plymouth dries out, attention now turns to making Bolitho Park a place to secure safety, starting next week with the visit of Berkhamsted.
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