Joyce looks back with pride at great result
Manager Sean Joyce believes Bideford's positive approach was the key to one of his finest results as a manager.
Last weekend's 7-1 Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division drubbing of Chippenham Town in Wiltshire was not the biggest win of his 15-year tenure – but it was one of the best.
During a decade at Southern League level, Chippenham had never suffered a defeat like it – and, as boss of the Robins since 1998, Joyce rated the result as "definitely in the top five" of his all-time list.
"It was a great performance to do that to a Southern League team," he said. "Funnily enough, we probably created more chances at Frome and won 1-0.
BRAND NEW FORD B-MAX ZETEC 1.0 ECOBOOST FOR ONLY £7685*
View details
DRIVE AWAY A BRAND NEW FORD B-MAX ZETEC FOR ONLY £7685.
1.0 100PS Manual
WITH:
Electric Windows & Mirrors
Quickclear Heated Windscreen
15" Alloy Wheels
Bluetooth with Ford Sync
Fog Lights
Terms:
*Drive away from only £7685 and then pay nothing for 24 months!
4.9% APR
Conditions Apply
Contact: 01626 240583
Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013
"The chances came and we took them. The goals came at good times. They were going in left, right and centre."
After a cruel home defeat to Chippenham at the Sports Ground with two late goals in November, it was a sweet way to gain revenge. "The way they won the game then and they way they celebrated in the dressing room left a bitter taste in the mouth," Joyce added.
"No disrespect to them, they're going to be enjoying it when they win that way. I've had some beatings in the past and it can take four years to get your own back. To do it in three months is brilliant."
Strikers Dean Downing and Kevin Squire scored twice each and Aaron Harper-Penman, Matt Bye and Matt Andrew completed a remarkable result.
"I think we have been due [a big win] for a while because we have always created chances," Downing said.
"Nobody expected it to happen but we know, if we take our chances, we can score six, seven or eight. We're just not clinical enough."
All that changed last Saturday at Hardenhuish Park, although the Robins did receive a helping hand from their hosts. "The last four or five goals were goalmouth scrambles that dropped to us and we tapped them in," Downing added. "They lost their heads, so it was like shooting fish in a barrel. It shows we can actually play away from home."
Former Barnstaple Town and Bideford manager Brian Perks has died, aged 78.
An ex-professional footballer with Aston Villa, he had three spells in charge of Barnstaple in the Western League during the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1988, Brian used his contacts to bring Aston Villa to Mill Road for a friendly game watched by 2,000 spectators.
With Brend Hotels, Perks organised golf days and established the North Devon Sports Foundation, a charity supporting young sports people in the area.
Comments