The afternoon started very well with the introduction of the South of England Northern Ireland Supporters Club to the Alpha's supporting posse and with the initial chants and dance to "Stand up for the Orange Men" it was a case of "it really didn;t matter if the football was no good" as the touchline entertainment would be.

For the first 5 or so minutes the Alphas looked the stronger side with some great footwork and passing play that resulted in several early near misses. Argyle began to take control and around about the 20 minute mark they took the lead which came about after some great defensive play was sadly let down when the Alphas appeared to stand still allowing Phil Evans to tap home from close range. Football-wise very little else happened in the first half but it was nice to see the home linesman, Mr Atkins, reciprocating with a wave when requested to do so by the Irish contingent.

The second half started with the Alphas being clapped on to the field by the Irish who, at half-time, had showed their footballing proess with a penalty shootout against the "the Kitten" Jason Warren, as "the Cat" was busy elsewhere. (It was quite apparent why the young Mr Warren plays outfield!). The Alphas were fortunate not to go 2 more behind early on in the second half with the Argyle having 2 free-kicks that narrowly missed the target. The Alphas did have a short spell where they launched an attack and it looked as if they would be through on goal, only for Lawrence Khoo to be pulled back for an offside decision!!! Around about the 70th minute mark the Alphas' Nick Gott gave away a needless free kick just outside the penalty area that resulted in Chris Wills firing into the danger area or Matt Mortimer who headed home unchallenged.

With less than 10 minutes to go Robbie Vaughan made an inspirational substitution by bringing on Jason Warren who had an almost immediate impact when he put the ball in the back of the net after Nick Gott headed back across the goal from Gary Hayes' corner. Less than a minute later Irish eyes were smiling as Danny "Dorothy/Chewy" Tyrrell levelled the scores after been fed the ball by Leigh Atkins.

For the remaining few minutes of the game it felt as if Okehampton would be glad of the point as it appeared there was only team who could be winnng the game and that was the Alphas.

It would be fair to say that on the balance of play Okehampton would have been deserved winners but the girtty determination and experience shown in the last 10 minutes of the game prevented that happening.

A great thanks to all the Irish supporters for their encouragement and making a good day even better (what are you doing next week?)

Eds man of the Match: Shaun Lyne-Ley

All first team reports are written by and are the sole view of Russ Murch, they are in no way endorsed by Alphington AFC