A commanding performance from Buckden ensured they ran out comfortable 4-1 winners against Huntingdon Utd at the Rec. The home team made light of some indifferent recent results to put in a superb display right across the pitch, and the final margin of victory could easily have been more than three. There were several changes to the Buckden team following their disappointing defeat against Ashdon Villa in the cup last time out. Young goalkeeper Ryan White made his club debut, while Jack Bramley and Josh Smith were restored to the starting eleven. Robbie Williams came in to central midfield, while Jordan Mason started for the first time since the opening day of the season.
However, it was one of the survivors from the Villa game, Milton Mendes, who got the stripes off to a rapid start. Following a period of early pressure, Chris Weitzel picked the ball up just inside the opposition half and drove into the right-hand side of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful shot towards the far post. The Huntingdon goalkeeper made a decent save, only for Mendes to slam the rebound into the net. Within ten minutes, the rangy striker had doubled Buckden's lead, turning his marker inside out before finishing coolly across the keeper after more good work down the right, involving James Woo. It was a deserved lead, rewarding a combative opening from Buckden in which the central midfield pairing of Williams and Smith were particularly prominent, despite being outnumbered by Huntingdon's midfield trio. They could have gone even further ahead, Jack Bramley driving a left-footed shot wide after a strong run and Smith dragging a shot wide from the edge of the area after another excellent passage of play down the right.
As the first half wore on, the away side started to gain a foothold in the match and Buckden almost conceded on a couple of occasions, perhaps most notably when left-back Ryan Brown narrowly avoided putting the ball into his own net whilst under pressure after a low save from the goalkeeper sent the ball squirting across the six-yard box. Just as the balance of play seemed to be shifting, however, a long clearance from Chris Dennis sent Bramley racing clear and he nicked the ball past the opposition goalkeeper before rolling the ball into the empty net to take Buckden into the half-time break 3-0 up.
The second half was a rather more even affair. Buckden looked mainly to protect their lead and hit the opposition on the break using the pace of Woo and Dom Smith on the wings and Mendes and Bramley up front. Huntingdon began to lose their discipline in their desperation to get back into the game, leading to a farcical scene as their number 10 stormed off the pitch when it appeared he was about to be sent off after several dangerous challenges, only to reappear as a substitute later in the half! Buckden perhaps had the better of the chances in this period, with the otherwise superb man of the match Robbie Williams failing to convert from the edge of the area, scooping his effort over the bar. At the other end, the defending was resolute until, with fifteen minutes or so to go, an unconventional attempted overhead clearance from Jordan Mason put them under pressure and the bouncing ball was dispatched into the top corner of the goal by a United forward.
The Buckden management rang the changes in an effort to close out the game, with Charlie Ling and James Price offering fresh legs, and, in an inspired move, Ollie Day introduced as a false number nine in order to hold the ball up and allow Buckden to gain some respite by occupying Huntingdon higher up the pitch. Ling could have settled any nerves with ten minutes or so to go, but failed to convert a one-on-one, which kept the away side interested. In the end, however, the home team held out fairly comfortably, with Smith adding a bit of extra gloss to the scoreline with a swerving shot from twenty-five yards which the goalkeeper could only fumble over his head and into the net. The game ended 4-1, and the score accurately represented the extent of Buckden's dominance in what was arguably their finest performance of the season thus far. They will be hoping that this result serves as a springboard from which to launch a charge towards the top end of the table as the season develops.
