A gloomy Saturday afternoon in Plymouth saw bottom of the table side Plymstock United welcome Budleigh Salterton to Dean Cross in what turned out to be an entertaining game as the hosts lifted themselves from bottom of the table.
The match was barely a minute old and the hosts had a glorious chance to open the scoring as Joe Jasper beat the Budleigh goalkeeper to the ball, knocking it past him with an open goal to aim at but Jasper could only poke the ball wide of the target.
Plymstock started strongly and dominated the opening proceedings and they came close again moments later as Lewis Dickson shot through a crowded penalty area with his shot deflecting wide of the goal.
The side bottom of the table were on top but they knew it would mean nothing unless they could take one of their chances but much to their frustration the chances came and went without the ball ending in the back of the net.
James Sharkey in goal for Budleigh had to be alert as he pushed an effort from Mark Loudon onto the bar and then moments later Joe Jasper put an effort just wide following a great delivery from Brandon Jefferies.
Football is all about taking your chances and for Plymstock it looked like all the missed chances would come back to haunt them as Budleigh slowly started to get back into the game. With just ten minutes remaining in the first half the visitors were given a penalty as Charlie Goldsworthy fouled Shaun Joash. Callum Monks stepped up to take the penalty but as he fired his effort straight down the middle he could only watch as Kori Truscott saved well with his feet holding onto the ball to prevent any follow up effort.
As the half came to an end, both teams had chances in a match which could go either way with it looking like a game which would be remembered for the missed opportunities.
Just like in the first half, Plymstock had a golden opportunity to open the scoring within the first minute and the hosts once again took control of the match for the opening period of the half. Loudon hit a shot from distance which looked like it was going in until it whacked the post and away.
The majority of the second half saw the two teams cancelling each other out with clear chances being few and far between.
The visitors had their best chance of the half when a long shot from Harry Gibbings deflected and wrong footed the home custodian but Truscott saved well with his feet to keep the game goalless.
As it looked like the match was going to end in a stalemate it took a moment of magic with five minutes to go to secure all three points. A long ball forward was flicked on by a defender finding Matt Goodwin who volleyed over the visiting keeper and into the back of the net to the delight of his team mates and club secretary Dave Baskwill who went running down the side of the pitch in delight.
The Stockies climb off the bottom of the table but they know their work isn’t done yet as they travel to the new bottom of the table side Newtown next week. For Budleigh they fall to their third defeat in a row and will be looking to return to winning ways in midweek.
Plymstock United team: Kori Truscott, Charlie West, Charlie Goldsworthy, George BirkBeck, Brandon Jefferies, Clark Drew, Mark Loudon, Sam Short, Lewis Dickson, Elliot Prangnell, Joe Jasper
Subs: Joe Eke, Jordan Hogan, Matt Goodwin, Spencer Guest, James Yates
Budleigh Salterton team: James Sharkey, Finley King, Shaun Joash, Callum Monks, Harrison King, Timothy Bradshaw, Harry Gibbings, Charlie Skinner, Kyle Bassett, Jordan O’Shaughnessy, Rohullah Mohammadi
Subs: Nathaniel Hawkins, Simon Withers