James On The Ball

JAMES Wooding probably did not expect to play a starring role in Argyle's 2-2 draw with Portsmouth last Saturday.

The 14-year-old ball boy, who is a keen goalkeeper and has trained with Argyle Community Trust's advanced goalkeeping course, was in his patch in front of block 12 of the Lyndhurst stand, when the ball came towards him at speed. 

Argyle were 2-1 down and pushing for an equaliser, and James acted fast. He dived to his left to prevent the ball going far away, and quickly threw the ball to Gary Miller to take a throw-in as fast as possible. Fewer than 20 seconds later, from a quick burst forward, Argyle had equalised through Connor Smith. 

Gary noted James' actions in a tweet that evening, and the lads told us that they would like to meet the quick-thinking ball boy who helped them preserve their unbeaten run. 

So, we asked James, and his mum and dad, to pop up to Home Park. After a quick interview - which you can see in the video below, along with footage of James' stop and Connor's goal - James was greeted by his favourite player, captain Luke McCormick, as well as Gary and Connor. 

Luke gave James some match-worn, signed gloves, and the boys all posed for pictures, and signed James' Portsmouth programme. 

Thanks James - imagine if we were to get promoted by just one point...