Senior Cup final explodes into late late action as Falmouth find double whammy

Cornwall Senior Cup final
(at Underlane, Wendron United FC)
Falmouth Town 3 St Austell 2 (aet)

Falmouth Town ended a successful season on an incredible high and condemned St Austell to a heartbreaking finish by scoring twice in the final minutes of extra time to clinch the Cornwall Senior Cup.
The Lillywhites could almost feel the prestigious trophy in their hands as the final entered the 120th minute with them leading 2-1.
Suddenly mayhem broke out among the Falmouth supporters in the 1,004 crowd as wing back James Swan smashed a loose ball into the net from close range.
Thoughts of a penalty shootout were quickly swept from the mind as Falmouth launched a final attack in the second minute of time added on at the end of extra time.
There was chaos in the penalty area as St Austell desperately tried to clear but the ball fell to Luke Barner, who forced it over the line to spark incredible scenes.
As the St Austell players slumped to the ground – many of them probably wishing it would swallow them up – Falmouth’s players, officials, substitutes and their supporters celebrated an astonishing comeback.
It has to go down as one of the most dramatic finishes to a Senior Cup final in the competition’s 131-year history.
For Andy Westgarth’s Falmouth side it was the icing on the cake after last week clinching promotion to the Southern League through the Western League play-offs.
For Chris Knight’s St Austell, it was a hurt which will drag on for a while, but the Lillywhites will emerge next season as a Western League club for the first time in their history, having won the South West Peninsula League title a fortnight ago.
Both clubs have done Cornish football proud this season and have plenty to look forward to when the madness starts again in August.
Congratulations also to Wendron United FC, a small club tucked away between Falmouth and Helston, who normally attract crowds of around 150 to their Underlane ground.
This time a thousand supporters turned up and the club handled the occasion brilliantly. Facilities were first class and the pitch was in a much better condition than most would have expected after the wettest of winter and spring weather.
Because of the dramatic finish to the game, few will care to remember that most of the final was a cagey, relatively dull affair with only a handful of chances.
It was a lively start, though, with Falmouth pouring forward and going close twice inside the first eight minutes with efforts from Luke Brabyn and Cam Hutchinson.
But from their first attack St Austell took the lead after 13 minutes with classy midfield man Henry Wilson curling a 20 yard right foot shot into the left corner of the net.
Their advantage lasted only nine minutes as former Camelford favourite Hutchinson was in the right place to finish off after Luke Barner’s close range shot was blocked by keeper Andy Collins.
The first half developed into a tight battle and the pattern continued after the break with the teams largely cancelling each other out.
So to extra time and within five minutes St Austell found a goal from nowhere as prolific striker Adam Carter, who had hardly featured, held off a defender and thundered a right foot shot into the net off the underside of the bar.
Having played with an injury concern, Carter was then replaced by Liam Eddy, who kept the Falmouth back line occupied with his darting runs.
The final seemed to be meandering towards penalties when, very much out of the blue, it exploded into action. And the rest is history.

Falmouth Town
1 Morgan Coxhead
2 James Swan
3 Brad Leivers
4 Andreas Calleja-Steyne
5 Tom Annear
6 James Ward (capt)
7 Luke Barner
8 Andy Elcock
9 Luke Brabyn
10 Cam Hutchinson 
11 Jared Sims 

Substitutes 
12 Jack Webber (A Elcock 76)
14 Max Everall
15 Kian Thomas (C Hutchinson 73)
16 Tom Fisher
17 Charlie Edney (L Brabyn 80)

Goals
Cam Hutchinson (22)
James Swan (120)
Luke Barner (120+2)

Yellow cards
Luke Brabyn (45 minutes)
Andy Elcock (60)

St Austell
13 Andy Collins
2 Jake Shaw
3 Martyn Duff
4 Henry Wilson
5 Olly Brokenshire
14 Tom Whipp
7 Neil Slateford (capt)
8 Matt Searle
15 George Marris
10 Adam Carter
11 Jake Miller

Substitutes
12 Tom Guest (M Duff 112)
6 Harvey Hann
9 Liam Eddy (A Carter 96)
16 Kieron Bishop (G Marris 78)
17 Noah Teagle (M Searle 101)

Goals
Henry Wilson (13 minutes)
Adam Carter (95)

Yellow cards
Olly Brokenshire (39 minutes)
Henry Wilson (58)

Match Officials
Referee: Rowen Clarke
Assistants: Steven Godfrey, Dan Bennetts
Fourth official: Steve Swan

Attendance: 1,004

Men of the Match
Falmouth – Luke Barner
St Austell – Henry Wilson 

Falmouth Town celebrate with the Senior Cup.

Cam Hutchinson celebrates his 22nd minute goal.

Arms and the men at a Falmouth corner.

Season of struggles comes to an end for St Dennis and Bodmin

South West Peninsula League
Premier West
St Dennis 0 Bodmin Town 1

St Dennis and Bodmin brought the curtain down on a long season of struggle with an entertaining match on a difficult bobbly playing surface at Boscawen Park on Saturday.
Sam Eccleston’s cultured 62nd minute finish proved enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
Eccleston received a good ball out wide, cut inside and produced a great shot from the edge of the penalty area into the bottom left corner of the net. 
But St Dennis’s young side gave as good as they got, especially in the first half, and on another day they might have taken something out of this, their last game.
Sam Tattersall and Ray Spear caused plenty of problems but Nick Salop, at the heart of the Bodmin defence, showed a maturity beyond his years to sweep up most of the pressure.
Sam Cox was the driving force in the Bodmin defence, delivering some of their best moments during the game. 
Bodmin manager Simon Minett said: “It was a typical end of season game. We had so many players unavailable and injured that out of 13 defensive players signed on, only two were available.
“So we had to juggle it around and play with players out of position.
“I do feel we controlled large periods of the game and although only scoring one goal we should have had more.”
He added: “I’m really happy with how the season has ended; since I came into the job so much has happened, from players leaving to ground issues, but we still managed to finish one point better off than last season.
“Huge credit needs to go to the players and my back room staff for that. It hasn’t been pretty at times but we have a young side that’s only going to improve and we look to push on next season.”
A word for referee Dave Bartlam, who was a calming influence throughout. 
St Dennis: C Hill, Z Best, F Treverton-Allen, N Lang, M Davies, J Basker, S Tattersall (R Allen 77), J Pope, R Spear (F Cole 65), K Goreki, A Butler.
Subs not used: R Hunter, L Carter, P Slamey, R Allen.
Yellow card: N Lang (90 mins).
Bodmin Town: H George, L Taylor, T McLachlan, N Salop, O Miller, S Cox, W Elliott, N Crump, J Munday (J Skillicome 79), S Dover, S Ecceleston.
Subs not used: J Carron, D Peters.
Goal: S Eccleston (62).
Yellow card: N Salop (48).
Referee: Dave Bartlam.
Men of the Match. St Dennis – Nathan Lang; Bodmin – Sam Eccleston.

Surrounded: St Dennis striker Ray Spear is penned in by Bodmin players. Picture: Kevin Marriott

A header by Sam Tattersall from a St Dennis corner just clears the bar. Picture: Kevin Marriott

Saltash battle for a point at Blazey after a chaotic few days

Western League
Premier Division
St Blazey 1 Saltash United 1

Saltash completed their season with a hard-earned draw at Blaise Park on Wednesday night – but manager Macca Brown revealed it was far from a routine match for the Ashes.

Joe Preece: on the scoresheet again for Saltash.

Joe Preece maintained his late season scoring spree by putting Saltash ahead after 10 minutes but Luke Cloke had Blazey on level terms two minutes later.

And Brown said: “It was one of the most rewarding points of the season, it was monumental from the lads in so many ways and we were delighted with them.
“That may sound strange to anyone watching the game as at times it was pure chaos, especially in the first half, but there were so many obstacles to overcome and the lads did it. 
“After our game v Shepton Mallet last week Sevs said to me it was just one game too many for them and I know exactly what he meant, but those words stuck in my head and I was adamant we weren’t going to allow that to be the case for us but as the week went on everything did seem to point in that direction.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that Saturday’s win against Welton had a last game of the season feel about it, but then at Blazey we had some key players in Ed (Goodman), Muzza (Laurence Murray), Tyler Yendle and Tom Badcott all unavailable, 
“Then Nick Salop, Tylor Love-Holmes and Ethan Wright all played on Wednesday afternoon for their football programme and all started for us again Wednesday night. 
“Jake Curtis, Jack Kelsey and JT (Josh Toulson) all did the Plymouth half marathon on Sunday and could barely walk.
“And Hayden (Greening) jumped off a plane from three months in Thailand and went straight into the team!
“It was all absolutely ridiculous, and had all the ingredients to be an absolute nightmare but we got through it. 
“Full credit to the boys, they approached the game in the right manner and were rewarded with a point. Our balance was all over the shop in the first half and we were probably lucky to go in at half time level after Preecey (Joe Preece) put us ahead. 
“We rode our luck at times and looked disjointed so couldn’t wait to get in at half-time and restore some order. 
“JT came on at the break and it just settled us down, defensively we looked more in control. “Not too much really happened in the second half for either side, but I was quite content with that. 
“You probably had the best two goalkeepers in the league on the pitch when it comes to distribution and that was probably the biggest cause of danger for both teams, as Shaun (Semmens) and Jordan (Duffey) look to kickstart quick counter attacks with their quality.”

Brown added: “It was fantastic for Deacon Thomson to make his debut. He’s been doing really well for the under 18s and we do recognise that. 
“We watched him on Sunday so he was in the back of our minds, and the amount of players who were unavailable gave him a chance. 
“I’m sure it was a special moment for both him and Reece to play together, and to be honest if we put him on 10 minutes earlier we may have won it because he was lively and caused them some problems.
“It was like picking names and positions out of a hat come the end, lads doing jobs everywhere, but they were fantastic.”

Summing up the season, Brown said: “It’s been a rollercoaster. The last three months or so have been superb and show what this group can be. 
“There’s no doubt we need to experience to help accelerate that process but the foundations are there for sure and we have to build on that. 
“The season has whizzed by, we took a bit of stick at the start and after certain defeats which is perhaps to be expected but we always trusted in what we were doing. 
“There was a moment after the defeats versus Brixham and Oldland in January where you do worry if we could get pulled into a dogfight at the bottom, but even if we did that would have been a fantastic experience for the lads. 
“We met in early February as a group and the response has been magnificent and we have a mid-table finish which is about right. 
“I always think when there’s nothing to play for towards the end of the season you really get to see the strength of the changing room. 
“The motivation has remained, nobody checked out early and we can now bounce into pre-season and prepare for a better season next year, because let’s be honest Saltash United need to be competing where it matters.”

Blazey still have two games left – away to Nailsea and Tickenham on Saturday before completing their first campaign in the Western League at home to Welton Rovers on bank holiday Monday (3pm kick-off).

St Blazey: S Semmens, F Walter, R Carroll, A Dilley (J Smale 78), L Russell, J Pearce, G Warren (S Piper 67), S Clifton, L Cloke, R Downing, G Newton (J Gilbert 78).
Sub not used: J Ratcliffe.
Goal: L Cloke (12).
Saltash United: J Duffey, B Goulty, E Wright, H Greening (D Thomson 83), N Salop (J Toulson 46), T Love-Holmes, T Huyton, R Thomson, J Curtis (J Kelsey 73), A Goulty, J Preece.
Subs not used: F Tolcher, J Jansen. 
Goal: J Preece (10).

Eddy heads St Austell into Senior Cup final as Liskeard spurn opportunities

Cornwall Senior Cup semi–final

Liskeard Athletic 0 St Austell 1

St Austell will face Falmouth Town in the Cornwall Senior Cup final at Wendron on Sunday May 12 after a slender victory over rivals Liskeard at Pennygillam on Wednesday.
Liam Eddy’s goal just before half-time proved to be enough to send the Lillywhites through, but they were forced to defend very deep in the second half as Liskeard, reduced to 10 men for the last half hour after Cal Merrin’s red card, piled on the pressure.
This was only the second time all season that the Blues had failed to score – the other being at Holsworthy last week – and they will be kicking themselves at the opportunities spurned against the team who pipped them to the South West Peninsula League title and promotion.
The teams have played each other four times this season, with St Austell knocking Liskeard out of the Walter C Parson League Cup and now the Senior Cup, as well as beating them 6-2 at Poltair in the league and drawing 3-3 at Lux Park earlier in the season. 
Both sides went into Wednesday’s semi-final without key players – top scorer Adam Carter for the Lillywhites and skipper Max Gilbert for the Blues, who were on holiday – but the match started very brightly.
Merrin caused problems along the left after only seven minutes and it took a clearance inside the six yard box to deny him a goal.
Two minutes later at the other end, Liskeard keeper Cory Harvey made a fine save to push a Neil Slateford free kick around the post.
As the half progressed, Liskeard looked the more likely to score and after another Merrin shot was half cleared by Shaw, striker Mike Smith lifted his effort over.
The Blues were made to pay for their misses when St Austell swept ahead two minutes before the break with Eddy rising at the near to send his glancing header wide of Harvey into the far corner.
And the Lillywhites could have doubled their lead before the break with chances for Shaw and Jake Miller but both of their shots were blocked inside the six yard box.
Liskeard came out for the second half all guns blazing and within a couple of minutes they could have been level. A pinpoint cross from the left by Jarrad Woods picked out Dan Jennings on the far post but he volleyed into the side netting.
The Blues’ momentum was interrupted in the 62nd minute when Merrin was shown a straight red for pushing Ollie Brokenshire over a low wall in front of the stand opposite the dugouts.
It would perhaps have been only a yellow card anywhere else on the pitch but because Brokenshire ended up crashing over the wall and banging his head it made the incident look worse than it was.
Liskeard continued to press hard for an equaliser and only a brilliant block by Tom Whipp prevented Macauley Thorp from scoring in the 76th minute.
Their best chance came four minutes later when substitute James Rowe produced an excellent cross from the right which picked out Jennings at the near post. Nine out of 10 times he scores but this time he fired the ball inches wide.

Ollie Brokenshire is helped over the wall after being pushed off the pitch by Cal Merrin, who was shown a straight red card.
Picture: Kevin Marriott

Liskeard: C Harvey, J McCabe, M Outtram (W Westlake 31), H Mullis (J Rowe 69), M Thorp (W Gilbert 84), R Kane (T Savigar 79), C Merrin, J Woods, M Smith, D Jennings. B Collins. 
Sub not used: S Borthwick (gk).
Yellow card: J Rowe (90+2).
Red card: C Merrin (62).
St Austell: A Collins, J Shaw, M Duff, H Wilson, O Brokenshire, T Whipp, N Slateford,  M Searle, L Eddy (T Guest 82), G Marris (K Marks 82), J Miller.
Subs not used: H Hann, B Thomas, N Teagle.
Goal: L Eddy (43).
Yellow cards: T Whipp (40), N Slateford (49), L Eddy (65), J Shaw (85), J Millef (90+4).
Referee: Robert Fleetham.
Attendance: 215.
Men of the Match. Liskeard – Jarrad Woods; St Austell – Henry Wilson.

Flashpoint: Ollie Brokenshire is pushed over the wall by Cal Merrin, who was shown a red card. Picture: Kevin Marriott

As Brokenshire (5) waits to come back on, the referee brandishes a red card at Cal Merrin (7).