The long wait for the Yellow Army is nearly over, as Gary Johnson’s side take on Buckland Athletic in their opening pre-season friendly on Friday evening.
Homers Heath will be the venue as United favourites old and new take centre stage tomorrow, with The Gulls making the short trip to the outskirts of Newton Abbot for the first time since 2019 to take on their Western League opponents.
Who’s the Boss?
It’s been all-change at Buckland this summer, as new boss Dan Hart was appointed as the successor to outgoing manager Paul Froude.
Having begun his career as a scholar at Plymouth Argyle, Hart represented a number of clubs on the non-league circuit including Plymouth Parkway, Saltash and St Austell, before going on to cut his managerial teeth with South West Peninsula League side Launceston, who he led to an 8th-placed finish in Premier Division West last term.
After taking the reigns at The Bucks, Dan will now be looking to fulfil both his own, and his new club’s potential, with Southern League status undoubtedly amongst Athletic’s long-term ambitions.
How have they been doing?
Having finished 10th out of 19 teams last time out, a mid-table standing may not have set too many pulses racing amongst the club’s loyal supporters, however their superb run to the last-16 of the FA Vase certainly did.
After disposing of Camelford (3-0), Falmouth (3-1) and Wellington (2-0) all with relative ease at Homers Heath, Ben Carter’s late winner against Egham in front of another bumper home crowd saw Froude’s side travel away for the first time in the competition, as they headed to Milton Keynes to take on Newport Pagnell Town.
In a match that was again not for the faint-hearted, Owen Stockton’s stunning second-half strike put his side within touching distance of a Quarter-Final place, however, after conceding a 93rd minute equaliser, further heartbreak was to follow, as Buckland bowed out 4-3 on penalties.
Player to Watch
Long-serving midfielder Richard Groves began his career at Oxford United, where he progressed through the youth ranks before going on to make a name for himself at non-league Brackley, Weymouth and Bideford amongst others.
After making the move to Homers Heath in 2016, Groves has proven himself to be a versatile player with an eye for goal, with the 31 year-old registering an impressive 15 goals from 36 appearances last season.
Played for Both
United’s new first-year pro Jack Winsor gained some valuable senior experience in-between his exploits for The Gulls’ U18s in 2021/22, as he made seven appearances for The Bucks.
Winsor was an integral part of the TUAFC Under-18 side that won the treble last season, with the young Gulls securing the South West Counties Youth League in addition to the Gary Else Memorial League Cup and Wotton Printers Devon U18 Youth Cup, in which Winsor scored the opening goal in a 6-0 victory.
An impressive season for Jack – during which he netted five goals for the youth side – was rounded off with the youngster receiving further recognition at the end of the campaign, when he was awarded the Player of the Season accolade.
Previous Encounter
The two sides last met in a Pre-Season friendly ahead of the 2019/20 season, during which Gary Johnson’s side ran out 3-0 victors at Homers Heath.
The first half produced a stalemate, before United were awarded for their possession in the second half, as goals from Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala, Ben Wynter, and Owen Price saw them run out clear winners.
Buckland Athletic v TUAFC | 08/07/2022 7.30pm KO | Homers Heath, Kingskerswell Road, Newton Abbot. TQ12 5JU