⚪️ ‘I don’t think we should have lost’, says Truro boss Wotton
Plus, Mousehole chief Ash bemoans away displays after Willand loss, Helston move further clear after Buckland triumph, and St Austell smash Liskeard to throw SWPL title race wide open
⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
⚪️ ‘I don’t think we should have lost’, says Truro boss Wotton
🟢 Mousehole chief Ash bemoans away displays after Willand loss
🔵 Helston move further clear after Buckland triumph
⚪️ St Austell smash Liskeard to throw SWPL title race wide open
🟠 Women: Marks scores five as Sticker stick ten past Bideford
Enjoy. 〓〓
⚪️ ‘I don’t think we should have lost’, says Truro boss Wotton
By Matt Friday at Bolitho Park
Boss Paul Wotton felt his Truro City side were unfortunate to lose their National League South encounter at home to Braintree Town on Saturday.
Owing to three successive postponements, City took to the Bolitho Park pitch for the first time since their 4-1 defeat at home to high-flying Worthing a fortnight earlier, but were undone by two goals in the space of six second-half minutes as the Essex outfit triumphed 2-1.
After a goalless first 45 minutes that yielded little in the way of goalmouth action, it was Iron substitute Jayden Davis’ fortuitous strike that broke the deadlock in the 65th minute.
Angelo Harrop’s side doubled their advantage soon after through Alfie Pavey, and while Rocky Neal managed to reduce the arrears with ten minutes to play, it was not enough to spare City from back-to-back defeats for the first time since November.
“[It’s] disappointing,” Wotton told trurocity.co.uk. “On a difficult surface, I thought in the first half we played the better football, created the best chance of the first half and we looked comfortable.
“I was disappointed with our second-half performance – with 25-30 minutes to go I thought we looked really leggy. It could be down to the fact we haven't played, but we’ve trained hard enough so that was a little bit concerning.
“The first goal… it’s very fortunate that Tom [Harrison] has kicked it against the lad who scored. It wasn’t his finish, it’s a deflected goal, but we’ve got to deal with that much, much better.
“I thought that affected us, the first goal, and we got a bit raggedy for five or ten minutes and they scored their second goal, and every goal is a poor goal to concede but that was poor.
“At 2-0 we looked beat and I didn’t like that. We made a couple of subs and we scored and we’re on the front foot and giving it a go, but I think Braintree managed the game well in the last five or six minutes and we lacked a bit of quality in the final third.
“Overall, I’m not saying for one second that I think we should have won the game, but I definitely don’t think we should have lost the game.
“I heard their manager say that was fully deserved but I’m not so sure, I disagree with that. They were very professional in the way they saw the game out, so I’ll give them credit for that, definitely.”
With both sides cancelling each other out in the second half, it felt like it would take a moment of brilliance or a moment of fortune to break the deadlock, and unfortunately for City, Braintree benefitted from the latter in the 65th minute.
Countering from a City free-kick, Iron forward Aaron Blair bore down on goal until being dispossessed by a fine Tom Harrison tackle, which cannoned into substitute Davis’ leg and flew into the bottom corner of James Hamon’s net.
That stroke of luck gave the Iron a lift and they were celebrating a second goal only six minutes later, with Davis crossing for Pavey to thunder a header past Hamon from six yards out.
“It was a lucky goal, but we should have dealt with it,” Wotton said. “We’ve cleared the ball, it’s hit him and it’s gone in. I don’t think the lad knew much about it. But you can’t let things affect you too much on the football pitch.
“I get it, you’re disappointed, but then we concede the second goal and that is an uphill battle against a team that is going to sit in and defend well, as they did. I thought they defended their 18-yard box very well and that’s where we didn’t quite have that extra little bit [of quality] today [to break them down].
“The surface is a lot to do with it, the fact we haven’t played for a long time had a lot to do with it, we’re a better team when we’re in our rhythm and playing games and got a bit of momentum going.”
City now have a rare full week off until Saturday's trip to Hampton & Richmond Borough, and with those postponements creating an increasingly busy fixture list in the latter stage of the season, Wotton is welcoming the opportunity to get onto the training pitch this week.
“We need to train, we need to keep going,” he said. “I think we’ve got 22 games in 71 days or something like that, so it’s going to be tough with a small squad. We’re going to have to try and get some bodies in.
“It’s fine margins today, I don’t think there was much between the teams at all. But listen, Braintree have come out on top and we haven't, so we're going to be disappointed and they’re going to be happy.”
🟢 Mousehole chief Ash bemoans away displays after Willand loss
By Pablo Woolls-Blanco at Silver Street
Mousehole manager Jake Ash says his side are ‘too easy to beat away from home’ after a 2-1 defeat to Willand Rovers at Silver Street.
Both sides entered the fixture on 27 points, sitting ninth and tenth place in the table respectively, but the home side Willand made amends for their hiding at Trungle Parc in October, picking up their seventh home win of the season.
Willand Rovers got themselves into the lead in the 17th minute when Douglas Camilo placed a shot into the bottom right corner. Ten minutes into the second half, top scorer Owen Howe doubled the home side’s advantage with a close-range header from a corner. With just seconds left to play, Jack Symons struck one back for Mousehole, but it was too little too late for the Seagulls on the road.
“Ultimately we have to look at the goals we’re conceding and they’re just not good enough”, Ash said. “You make life difficult going 1-0 down away from home again by conceding goals like that.
“I don’t mind if teams carve us open, but the goals haven’t come from that. We can talk a lot about being better on the ball which we need to be, but we need to be better at stopping goals, that’s the reality.
“We always set high standards no matter where we are. But it’s new to us — we’re finding our feet, and that’s okay. I’m okay with where we are, but I want us to be better and I think we know what we’re missing at the moment as a coaching group.
“The players have had a little chat about what they think needs to change. But we’ve done a lot of talking — we need to see it on the pitch.
“We have to accept that we’re too easy to beat away from home at the moment. We know at home we’ll cause teams problems, but we need to find a way as a group to be better away from home, because at the moment it’s just too easy.
“We will adapt and we will adjust and it might need a bit of a transition period. We have to plan from now till the end of the season, how we want the team to look at the start of next season.
“The players have to show that they want to be a part of that, and I know they do. So, we’ll review it as we always do and make sure that we come up with a plan to be better on the road.”
🔵 Helston move further clear after Buckland triumph
By Matt Friday
Helston Athletic’s grip on the Western League Premier Division got a little bit tighter at the weekend after Matt Cusack’s side earned their fourth league win on the bounce at Buckland Athletic.
Jordan Copp and Rikki Shepherd found the net for the table-topping Blues as they made it 12 points from a possible 12 since their Boxing Day defeat at rivals Falmouth Town.
They are now four points clear at the summit after Clevedon Town’s form continued to falter, with the second-placed Seasiders being held to a goalless draw at relegation-threatened Wellington.
Falmouth Town are also well and truly in the mix after they put six goals past Welton Rovers at Bickland Park — their first league victory of 2024.
Oscar Massey and Luke Barner scored two goals apiece with Cam Hutchison and Rubin Wilson also finding the net as Town climbed above Buckland into fourth spot — still some 14 points behind Helston but with four games in hand on their local rivals.
Elsewhere, however, it was a weekend to forget for Cornwall’s clubs, with in-form St Blazey’s progress being checked by a 1-0 reverse at Ilfracombe Town, while Saltash United and Torpoint Athletic suffered home defeats to Brixham and Barnstaple Town respectively.
⚪️ St Austell smash Liskeard to throw SWPL title race wide open
By Matt Friday
It has felt like the SWPL Premier West has been a two-horse race for the title, and promotion, for some time and that Saturday’s meeting between St Austell and Liskeard Athletic was going to have a big say on the outcome — and it certainly delivered.
Pre-match leaders Liskeard had dropped just four points all season, with two of those coming only two weeks earlier against Bude Town, but the Blues’ unbeaten campaign was blown to smithereens by an inspired Lillywhites side, who ran out 6-2 winners at Poltair Park.
A Jake Shaw own goal gave the visitors the lead but George Marris and Rhys Hooper turned the game on its head by the break. Jake Miller extended St Austell’s lead but Liskeard promptly replied via Ruben Kane, only for Miller to immediately restore the hosts’ two-goal cushion.
Neil Slateford further extended St Austell’s lead with a fabulous free-kick, with Liskeard’s afternoon going from bad to worse when Macauley Thorp was given his marching orders, before Adam Carter capped off a wonderful day for Town with the home side’s sixth of the afternoon.
It means that Chris Knight’s side are now two points clear of Liskeard at the summit, and although Darren Gilbert and Lee Mann’s team do still have a game in hand, it’s fair to say Saturday’s result should have a big say as to the destination of the SWPL Premier West trophy.
🟠 Women: Marks scores five as Sticker stick ten past Bideford
By Matt Friday
It was a disappointing weekend for the county’s top-ranked sides, with St Austell and Liskeard Athletic both being handed defeats on home soil in the South West Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division.
Lily Chapman’s penalty couldn’t prevent the Lillywhites from succumbing to a 3-1 defeat at home to Marine Academy Plymouth, while the Blues went down to a 5-0 reverse at home to Forest Green Rovers.
There was better news in SWRWFL Western Division, though, with all three Cornish clubs triumphing on Sunday.
Millie Everson’s goal was the difference as leaders Saltash United defeated Feniton 1-0, Roxanne Cook and Eve-Charlotte Moore found the net for second-placed Helston Athletic in their 2-0 victory at Middlezoy, while Tori Marks plundered a five-timer as fifth-placed Sticker thrashed Bideford 10-1.
In the Cornwall Women’s Football League, St Agnes extended their lead at the Division 1 summit to five points after running out 5-1 winners over Saltash Borough, with second-placed RNAS Culdrose losing by the odd goal in five at Mousehole.
Meanwhile, Lanner are now level on points with Division 2 leaders FXSU after the former triumphed 6-1 at Troon and the latter lost 2-0 at Wendron United.
Follow us on X: @sportscornwall
Follow us on Facebook: @cornwallsportsmedia
Follow us on Instagram: @cornwallsportsmedia
Visit our website: cornwallsportsmedia.co.uk
