MATT Cusack’s former club Helston Athletic headed back over the Tamar with all three points in the bag following a 2-0 win that they “thoroughly deserved” at The VX3 Stadium on Easter Monday.

It is no secret that Buckland Athletic have been dealt a rough hand with injuries in their ranks and the last week or two has brought even more setbacks.

With Rafael Beadman and Scott Pocock suffering knee injuries against Oldland Abbotonians and Ivybridge Town respectively, the Bucks lined up with just one recognised defender in the starting XI to face Helston.

The man in question, Myles James, hit the deck with 15 minutes on the clock and after initially re-joining the game, he too was forced off. An already makeshift side were rejigged yet again on a sunny day in Newton Abbot.

Buckland were putting together a couple of smart moves in the final third but without a shot on goal to show for it.

Helston meanwhile looked very capable at defending and were then able to break on the counter. From one of these turnovers, the Cornish team flooded forward and Connor Paine was on hand to sweep home a low cross from Jonah Allen, opening the scoring after 25 minutes.

On the brink of half-time, Olly Redd notched the goal to double the visitors’ advantage. Bagga Mariko looked to take the ball around Andrew Sowden-Bird but the Bucks goalkeeper got a hand on it, only for the Helston 12 to recycle and then assist Redd.

To make matters worse, Bucks attacker Jack Baxter had gone down earlier in the move and he gingerly hobbled into the changing room at half-time.

Confirming what many already assumed, Baxter didn’t come back out for the second 45 minutes and was replaced by Harvey Copp.

Not for the first time in this run-in, Cusack and his team needed to get into their players which he confirmed.

“After a stern talking to at half-time, I thought we came out with more vibrancy but again without really testing them.”

There were half-chances for the likes of Josiah McKayle and Ryan Bush but Buckland didn’t have any really dangerous looks on goal.

The home side were then handed a lifeline when Jake Warman was given his marching orders for a lunging tackle on Tom Amado. A red card seemed harsh on first viewing but the Buckland players weren’t best pleased, impressing their views on the referee.

It did come at a cost though as Amado, who was sent on by Cusack for the injured James in the first half, was then unable to continue himself.

Oldland went down to 10 men at a similar time in the game last weekend and in similar style, Buckland were unable to make this advantage count on the scoreboard.

They huffed and puffed, putting crosses into the area and battling for openings, but to no avail.

Sidmouth Town’s 3-0 victory away at Wellington AFC meant that even with a win, Buckland’s playoff hopes were extinguished. That being said, to finish on a winning high would have been a slight silver lining.

Cusack was under no illusion that his side deserved anything from the game: “I thought they wanted more which is always a non-negotiable of football, they were lively, they got to every first and second ball and they caught us cold.

“We could still be out there right now and not scoring, it was just one of those days.”

Equally, the unprecedented selection issues that Buckland have faced really came to a head.

“Looking at the bigger picture, we might have struggled to put out a 5-a-side team at this rate.”

He added, “Continuity and fluidity is crucial, we’ve been chopping and changing for so long. We’ve constantly been on the backfoot with injuries and players deciding this journey isn’t for them.”

The Yellows’ manager has already “reflected and processed what’s happened” and now: “For us , we’re done and it’s about getting our recruitment and squad retention right over the summer, ready to attack next season.”