SAM Morcom’s free-kick at the death sealed a thrilling win for Buckland Athletic on Boxing Day as th ey beat Wellington 3-2 in the Western League.

A lethargic start to both halves saw the Bucks leak to goals from Jake Quick early in each period. Buckland may have been down but they were never out as a Cieran Bridger strike on the brink of half-time saw scores level at the break and a late blitz yielded an equaliser from Owen Stockton and Morcom’s winner.

‘I think we were under no illusions that they are a really good side and their league position is false,’ said Buckland manager Dan Hart. ‘Having spoken to different coaches and managers in this league, I knew that it was going to be a tough test today and it was every bit of that.’

Wellington stunned the 140-strong home crowd with just two minutes on the clock. Buckland failed to properly clear their lines from deep on the right and the ball took a cruel deflection as the defence looked to get rid of it. Quick was the beneficiary of the bounce, and he coolly rounded onrushing goalkeeper Andy Collings and tucked home.

‘They weren’t quite what I was expecting in terms of the way that they played,’ Hart explained, ‘but they caused us real significant problems of our own doing and I think we made mistakes today that we usually wouldn’t make.

‘Conceding early in both halves isn’t ideal although it does allow players to reset. But it shouldn’t take an error like that for us to get going.’

Buckland’s backline looked at sea even after the goal, and another mix-up at the back on the half-hour mark was fortunate to go unpunished. A lapse in communication left Collings stranded on the edge of his penalty area with Quick carrying the ball forward in a one-on-one. Perhaps caught in two minds, Quick snatched at the chance and sliced his shot wide.

The hosts levelled on the stroke of half-time when Bridger broke forward from midfielder and let rip a dipping effort from range, which got the better of visiting gloves-man Harley Wilkinson.

The second half started in much the same vein as the first, as Wellington pushed their noses in front again just two minutes after the restart. Harvey Dorothy played a bouncing ball in behind for Quick, and he expertly lobbed Collings with a deft chip.

But Buckland were sparked into life by the setback and were well on top as the half wore on.

Despite being a man short with captain Rob Farkins serving time in the sin bin, on 81 minutes the Bucks’ relentless plundering earned the chance to equalise from the penalty spot as striker Ryan Bush was clumsily brought down after a cheeky flick over the defender. Stockton hammered the spot-kick straight down the middle, with the power of the effort too much for Wilkinson’s flailing hand.

Eight minutes later, the comeback was completed. The ubiquitous Scott Crocker got in behind with his awesome pace on the counterattack and was cynically brought down by a necessary foul from Miles Quick. Unsurprisingly, Quick was sent for an early shower and Buckland set up for a free-kick on the edge of the area. With going over the wall not an option so close to goal, Morcom’s left-footed free-kick was aimed at a gap in the wall. The deflection wrong-footed the ‘keeper and the ball trickled into the net, sparking wild scenes from the yellow-clad hosts.

‘It was really pleasing to see us overcome [our mistakes] and show the stability on the pitch that we need to be successful,’ said Hart.

‘I think that we’ve got really talented, experienced defenders that made mistakes that they wouldn’t usually do today. But that happens, and when that happens you need attacking players and you need your whole squad to come together and get the goals needed to win a game, and they’ve done that.

‘I really look forward to our game [away to Torpoint Athletic] on January 2, when we have everybody available and we can kick on from there.’