Parkway Suffer Opening Day Defeat
Walton & Hersham Match report | Match ReportPlymouth Parkway opened their 2025/26 season with 6-3 defeat at the hands of Walton & Hersham.
A debut brace from Rocky Neal and a magnificent volley from Mikey Williams weren’t enough to seal to points for Parkway, despite having led twice in the game.
 Walton & Hersham FCPlymouth Parkway 
6 - 3Full Time |
Full Match Report
Images: Thom Lang
Speaking after the game, Parkway boss Chris McPhee said: “I’m not a happy man.”
“Throughout the game, it was very much an up and down performance. There were some good moments. In the first half I felt our plan was well executed, we were high up the pitch, trying to get pressure on their back line, executing a high press and winning the ball off them several times. Arguably, we should have punished him a little bit more in that regard.
“But to go in at half time at 2-2 after giving them two goals in that first half, don’t get me wrong they played some good stuff, but the two goals they score come from some big errors from us.
“I felt coming out the second half that we were in a good place. We executed a high press, winning the ball back, and Mikey scored a great goal off the off the back of winning it high. That should have been the moment where we kick on and it was almost the opposite.
“We’ve got ourselves in a position where we can win the game, and we completely dropped off. It was worrying for me, and obviously we’ll go back and look at it, look at the foot, and try and identify areas where we can be more effective. But first and foremost, we just have to be willing to defend, as we did last week (against Truro). It was chalk and cheese compared to last week.
“(Weymouth at home) will be a good test, not just in the individual game, but how we can recover from such huge disappointment, such a low performance in the second half, and try and to bounce back.
“There were times last season where we really bounced back well, and we’ve got to draw on those experiences and those moments.
“It’s our first game of the season at home on our patch, and we’ve got to make sure this year our ground is a fortress, and it’s somewhere where teams don’t look forward to coming.”
It had been a busy summer for The Yellows, with 12 news faces signing on for the season. Five of these fresh faces donned Yellow for the first time with Rocky, Mack Allan, Jack Veale, Max Edgecombe and Jensen Ireland, all earning a starting spot.
Parkway were happy to let the Swans have the ball early on, as both teams found their feet at the sunny Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub.
AFC Bournemouth loanee Allan was called into action within the first ten minutes, producing two great saves to deny the hosts an opener.
A strong save with his feet denied Johl Powell’s fierce right footed effort from just inside the box and then a minute later the youngster got a good hand to Ethan Light’s header at the back post following a swift corner.
A mere minute later, Parkway struck.
James Watts-Barciela won possession back in the Walton & Hersham third and weaved his way past two Swans defenders before sliding Rocky through on goal.
The forward took a touch out of his feet and passed the ball into the bottom right corner to give Parkway a surprise 0-1 lead.
But as quickly as Parkway had struck, Walton hit back.
Debutant Jack Wood found himself in space cutting in on his left from the right wing and fired a venomous shot into the bottom right corner past a helpless Allan to restore an early parity just 15 minutes in.
Three minutes later, the hosts took the lead and in truth, it was a gift of a goal.
Wood robbed Taylor Scarff of possession outside of the area, a rare mistake from the Parkway centre half, rounded Allan and slotted home into the bottom left corner to completely turn the game on its head in the space of six minutes.
The goals gave Walton a threatening confidence with the hosts dominating possession and the chances, but Parkway held their ground and were rewarded just before half time.
Williams won the ball back out on the left wing before clipping an inch perfect ball over the Walton back line for Rocky to run on to.
Josiah Barker rushed off his line to clear the danger but Rocky got there first, lifting the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net to bring the Yellows back to 2-2.
The second half started just a sharply as the first, and it was Parkway who scored early again.
The high press reaped its rewards again as Rio Garside regained possession before finding Rocky on the edge of the area.
In a reverse of their second goal, the former Truro City man found space before chipping a perfect ball over the backline for Williams to run on to and smash through Barker to give the travelling side the lead once more.
However, Parkway didn’t learn their lesson and they were pegged back, again almost instantly.
Dawid Rogalski held the ball up well on the penalty area before laying the ball back for Powell to strike home via a cruel deflection, taking it away from a full stretch Allan.
With the score level at 3-3, the home side were reduced to 10 men after Thabo Kuaho received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card, 56 minutes in.
Yet it was Walton, not Parkway who kicked on from this moment.
The home side made it 4-3 just minutes later with Wood sweeping home a cut back from Ania Nuur to secured his hattrick.
Walton then took the game away from Parkway, increasing their lead to 5-3 after freshly substituted Diamond Edwards bundled home a rebounded effort to score with his first touch on his debut.
The game was then truly put to bed in the 80th minute with Wood smashing home his fourth at the near post after Parkway were carved open defensively.
Despite a stinging result against one of the favourites to win the division, there are plenty of positives to take forward for Parkway.
McPhee’s Yellows return to Bolitho for the first time this season on Tuesday to face freshly relegated Weymouth.
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