🟡 Superb six-goal Vase victory delights Falmouth Town boss
We also hear from Town's fellow Vase victors Bude, Dobwalls, Launceston, Saltash, St Austell and Wadebridge, as well as Helston Athletic and Plymouth Argyle. Plus, our usual Grassroots Review.
Good morning, readers!
The FA Vase rolled back into town on Saturday with nine first qualifying round ties involving Cornish sides. The journey is over for five of those but the Wembley dream is still alive for Bude Town, Dobwalls, Falmouth Town, Launceston, Saltash United, St Austell and Wadebridge Town.
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⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
🟡 Falmouth: Westgarth delighted after six-goal victory in FA Vase
🔵 Bude: Potter hails ‘great day for the club’ as Seasiders win on Vase debut
🔴 Saltash: ‘Full credit to the players’ — Brown delighted to end winless start to season
📸 IN PICTURES: St Austell 2-1 Bodmin Town
⚪ St Austell: Knight happy to be through after ‘disjointed’ display
🔴 Dobwalls: ‘We took our opportunities’ — Gargett
🟣 Launceston: Price pleased with young side after penalty-shootout win
🔴 Wadebridge: Bishop Sutton victory a ‘pleasing day’ for Rowe
⚽ GRASSROOTS REVIEW: Four-goal heroes and a delightful dozen for Gerrans
🔵 Helston: ‘Keep going’ — Cusack’s message to Millbrook after ten-goal rout
🟢 Argyle: ‘We didn’t deserve that'— Schumacher on last-gasp defeat at Birmingham
⚽ Bank Holiday Monday round-up
⚪ National League South
🟢 Southern League Division One South
Enjoy. 〓〓
🟡 Falmouth: Westgarth delighted after six-goal victory in FA Vase
By Matt Friday at Bickland Park
Falmouth Town 6 (Barner 2, Hutchison, Thomas, Walker, Everall)
Honiton Town 0
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Falmouth Town manager Andrew Westgarth heaped praise on his team after Town booked their place in the next round of the FA Vase with a six-goal thrashing of SWPL Premier East side Honiton Town.
Luke Barner’s brace gave the hosts a two-goal advantage at the break at Bickland Park before Cam Hutchison fired in a third shortly after the turnaround.
Falmouth put further gloss on the result in the final 15 minutes with Kian Thomas and Olly Walker netting before Max Everall completed the scoring with a 30-yard scorcher.
It capped off a fine response to last week’s 6-2 defeat at home to Frome Town in the FA Cup, and Falmouth will now welcome Crediton United to Bickland Park in the next round on September 23.
“There was so much to like about today,” Westgarth told Cornwall Sports Media after the final whistle. “We didn’t cover ourselves in glory last week defensively, whereas today was the perfect response: 6-0, a clean sheet and different goal scorers again.
“We were on the front foot from the first minute and I know sometimes the game gets away from you in the last 25 and they had a couple of spells then, but I thought for large periods of the game we looked really dominant — we looked great on the ball and our attacking players were great.
“It was really pleasing. I know a lot has been said of us not having a so-called goal scorer, but we are scoring all over the park now and that’s really pleasing as well. We look like we can score with every attack.”
Falmouth were keen to live up to their favourites tag from the off and threatened early on through Hutchison, with the Town midfielder then setting up the opener after ten minutes. His strike from 12 yards was parried by Hippos custodian Harry Slack and Barner was on hand to slide the rebound home.
Aside from Kyle Howell's effort that flashed over Morgan Coxhead's crossbar, all of the action was in the Honiton half with Barner soon doubling his and his side's tally midway through the half. The lively Olly Walker pinched the ball off a defender on the left of the box and delivered an inch-perfect cross to the back post where Barner coolly nodded it into the far corner.
Hutchison forced a save out of Slack within a minute of the restart as Falmouth pushed for a third before the interval. James Ward almost had it when his venomous strike thundered against the crossbar before Slack denied Barner a first-half treble with a flying save.
But Westgarth's side only had to wait for ten minutes after the turnaround to get that all-important third. An attempted Honiton clearance led to a spot of pinball inside the Hippos’ box and the ball squirmed free for a gleeful Hutchison to nudge over the line.
Hutchison, Jack Webber and Walker were all frustrated in their attempts to add a fourth before the Hippos struck the crossbar at the other end. But Falmouth ensured there was no way back for the Devon outfit on 75 minutes when substitute Thomas rifled in his first for the club from 12 yards.
Four became five only four minutes later when Walker got the goal his performance deserved with a fine curled finish into the far corner from just inside the box. The hosts saved the best for last, however, with substitute Everall finding the net four minutes from time with a super strike from all of 30 yards.
“[Barner’s] on a real purple patch now, that’s four assists in three games and now two goals,” Westgarth said. “He’s been used to playing as a number ten for us and now he’s playing wide-right and it just gives us that other dimension. His work-rate is unquestionable and he drives us up the pitch. He’s looked really, really good in these last couple of games.
“I’m absolutely delighted for both [Thomas and Everall]. I’ve been quite vocal about how strong the second team are looking and that’s credit to Jon [Perrow] and Dave [Turner] and the way that they’re playing. The boys are all hungry to get into the first team and if anything I’d say that they’re devastated if they don’t get the call-up, that’s how hungry they all are.
“Kian was in the right place at the right time to follow it up and smash it into the top corner, and Max, I’m absolutely delighted for him. I said to him, being a defender, if you never score a goal again for Falmouth you can dine out on that one for a long time. I’m so pleased for him and it’s been a great day for us.”
NEXT UP: Falmouth are back at Bickland Park on Tuesday night when they entertain Torpoint Athletic in the Western League Premier Division (kick-off 7.45pm).
🔵 Bude: Potter hails ‘great day for the club’ as Seasiders win on Vase debut
By Matt Friday
Bishops Lydeard 0
Bude Town 3 (Rogers 2, McCann)
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Bude Town boss Ben Potter was relieved to eventually get over the line after two late goals clinched victory for the Seasiders in what was the club’s FA Vase debut.
The north Cornwall club, who were missing seven players due to a wedding, enjoyed an FA Vase debut to remember as they ran out three-goal winners at SWPL Premier East outfit Bishops Lydeard.
After a goalless first 45 minutes, Mitch McCann scored the Seasiders’ first Vase goal on the hour with a superb volley into the top corner after Kyle Darragh’s corner was cleared towards the Bude man.
A nervy finale awaited the Vase debutants until Gabby Rogers’ 25-yard free kick found its way in via the underside of the crossbar in the final minute of the 90, with Rogers striking again with a fine solo effort in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a memorable victory.
“I was on the sidelines pulling my hair out [until the second goal went in] and Gareth Martin, my assistant, said, ‘If I had hair I’d be pulling it out as well!’”
“I’m very pleased and it was great that the second team lads stepped up and they did a tremendous job as well,” Potter told Cornwall Sports Media. “I was really pleased for the whole club on Saturday, it was a great day for the club.
“The first half was quite tight and we just couldn’t put the ball in the net. We had chances but couldn’t the ball away, and in the second half we came out and had three good chances and took them all.
“I was on the sidelines pulling my hair out [until the second goal went in] and Gareth Martin, my assistant, said, ‘If I had hair I’d be pulling it out as well!’ It was nerve-wracking because we create so many chances but we’ve had Tornado Bello injured all season and last year he scored 28 in 28 for us.
“We’re not getting as many chances converted as we’d like at the moment. We’ve got a lot of pace and a lot of firepower but sometimes you need that something different up there to hold the ball up and bring the ball into play.”
Bude will be on the road again in the next round when they make the trip to another SWPL Premier East side in Okehampton Argyle, and the build-up to that one has already begun after a chance encounter with the Okies in a pub on Saturday night.
“We had some of the committee members on the bus up there and we came back through and went to the pub on the way home,” Potter said. “We stopped in Okehampton and saw the Okehampton chairman in one of the pubs and we said, ‘We’ll see you in a month!’ That will be quite a good game and we should get a big crowd for that one.”
🔴 Saltash: ‘Full credit to the players’ — Brown delighted to end winless start to season
By Matt Friday
Saltash United 6 (O’Melia, Toulson, Ewing, Goodman, Love-Holmes, Foster)
Radstock Town 0
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Mackenzie Brown celebrated his first win as Saltash United manager in style with an emphatic six-goal thrashing of Western League Division One outfit Radstock Town.
Kieran O’Melia gave the Ashes an early lead at Waterways Stadium when he met Ashes gloveman Jake Mead-Crebbin’s long pass and rounded visiting goalkeeper Dominic Law before Josh Toulson’s tapped in a rebound from Tylor Love-Holmes’ effort to double the hosts’ advantage.
There was still time for a third before the break with Jordan Ewing’s smart finish from a one-on-one putting Brown’s side in dreamland at the interval, and it got better after the turnaround with Ed Goodman heading home at the back post.
Love-Holmes rounded off a fine team move to put the Ashes five goals up before the hour before Reece Thomson’s free kick was helped into the net by Jake Foster to round off a wonderful afternoon for the Ashes, who will visit SWPL Premier West side Wendron United in the next round.
It made for an emphatic end to a winless start to the season for Saltash, who had been beaten in each of their previous six matches in all competitions so far this term.
“On Saturday we had our most complete performance, so full credit to the players.”
“We’ve needed to iron out a few deficiencies in our game and I’ve been quite vocal about that and we knew where we were going wrong. I think it was clear to see,” Brown told Cornwall Sports Media. “We’ve done so much hard work in correcting it and I’ve got so much praise for the players in terms of how they’ve reacted and how they’ve always reacted to these defeats.
“It’s a young group and they’re allowed to make mistakes but they have to be learning from them and we talked about one or two things on Wednesday night and then we went out and trained really well. We’ve been drip-feeding things into them for the two or three weeks where we’ve been playing and just missing out narrowly and I think on Saturday we had our most complete performance on the back of that, so full credit to the players.”
He added: “When you go 1-0 up you need that second goal and we haven’t been able to get that in games, but on Saturday we did. When you get that second goal and it just gives you that little bit more of a cushion you just find that the football starts flowing a little bit more.
“Then to go 3-0 up just before half-time was great and it just meant the lads could relax a little bit. At half-time we talked about repeating the first 45 minutes — that’s all we wanted to do, we didn’t want to get carried away. We rode a storm for about five minutes with two or three corners to defend, which has been a weakness for us this season, and we did it and then we killed the game off.”
NEXT UP: Saltash visit newly-promoted Brixham in the Western League on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.30pm).
📸 IN PICTURES: St Austell 2-1 Bodmin Town
By Colin Bradbury
Check out our selection of photos from St Austell’s 2-1 victory over Bodmin Town in the FA Vase first qualifying round on Saturday.
Martyn Duff and Olly Brokenshire put Chris Knight’s side two goals up inside 12 minutes before Ben Waters pulled one back for Bodmin.
⚪ St Austell: Knight happy to be through after ‘disjointed’ display
By Matt Friday
St Austell 2 (Duff, Brokenshire)
Bodmin Town 1 (Waters)
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
St Austell boss Chris Knight admitted to some frustration after his side’s ‘disjointed’ performance in their FA Vase victory over Bodmin Town.
The Lillywhites extended their winning start to the 2023-24 season to seven matches in all competitions after edging past Shaun Vincent’s side by the odd goal at Poltair Park.
Knight’s side flew out of the blocks with Martyn Duff and Olly Brokenshire putting the Lillywhites two goals up by the 12th minute before Ben Waters halved the deficit for the Priory Park outfit just after the half-hour mark.
The SWPL Premier West leaders will be at home again in the next round when they welcome Sidmouth Town to Poltair Park.
“Credit to Bodmin, they came with a game plan and you always know any Shaun Vincent team is going to be hard to beat and they were just that,” Knight told Cornwall Sports Media.
“Duffers [first goal scorer Martyn Duff] has been great for me. He’s much better at finishing than people give him credit for and we need goals from that area and he’s responded brilliantly, he’s a key player for us.
“Scoring two so early was probably more a curse than a blessing as we seemed to just coast through the game and they always have the chance to nick a goal which they did, and on the balance of play they deserved it to be honest.
“It’s hard to be too critical of them after the start we’ve had and I understand some of the frustrations with the supporters on Saturday as I felt them too, but the fact is we are through and that’s all there is to say about it, we dust ourselves down and move on.
“We rotated the team on Saturday and sometimes it takes time for players to settle which is probably a reason for being a bit disjointed, but the Vase is a huge competition for our club, particularly with the history we have in it and we are looking forward to the next round.”
NEXT UP: St Austell welcome Dobwalls to Poltair Park in the SWPL on Wednesday night (kick-off 7.30pm).
🔴 Dobwalls: ‘We took our opportunities’ — Gargett
By Matt Friday
Dobwalls 3 (Patterson 2, Ogwu)
St Blazey 1 (Cloke)
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Dobwalls joint-manager Brad Gargett was pleased to see his side take full advantage of opponents St Blazey losing a player to the sin bin on two occasions as the Reds eliminated their higher-division opponents.
Western League outfit St Blazey found themselves on the wrong end of a giant killing, with the Green and Blacks going down 3-1 at the SWPL Premier West side.
After a tight opening 45 minutes at Lantoom Park that saw Blazey have two goals chalked off for offside, Dobwalls took advantage of St Blazey losing goalkeeper Brodie Cole to the sin bin early in the second half with Cameron Patterson sliding the ball past the Green and Blacks’ stand-in gloveman to put the Reds in front.
Luke Cloke provided an instant response for the visitors, however, when he nodded home at the back post, but a fine individual goal from Kaycee Ogwu restored Gargett and Ben Washam’s side’s lead midway through the half.
The action didn’t end there with Blazey having a third goal ruled out for offside in the 88th minute with Will Tinsley subsequently being sent to the sin bin, and Dobwalls made the extra man count once more as Patterson completed the home side’s fine victory.
Dobwalls will now visit Western League basement dwellers Millbrook in the next round.
“All the boys worked really hard, went man-for-man with them and we took our opportunities.”
“I’m delighted. I’m not sure about Ben but it’s the first time for me that I’ve actually gone through the first round,” Gargett told Cornwall Sports Media. “We always seem to get tough draws and Saturday was no different really, but it was a really good result and I’m delighted that we’ve made a bit of progress from last season when we didn’t go past the first round.
“Although some people say that St Blazey aren’t as strong as they were [when they won the SWPL Premier West title last season] I think they’ve got a stronger group and they’ll come good this year, so it was a really good result for us on Saturday.”
He added: “Straight after both of the sin bins we’ve punished them, which is particularly pleasing because it’s not always [the case] in football that when you’ve got the numerical advantage you [are able to] punish them, and within two minutes of both sin bins we just went and scored.
“Before the game we said to the lads, ‘Blazey are yet to pick up a [league] win this season, it’s probably the best time to get them’. The boys were well aware of it but knew, of course, how good a team they still are, but we just worked really hard on the day. All the boys worked really hard, went man-for-man with them and we took our opportunities.”
NEXT UP: Dobwalls make the trip to SWPL Premier West leaders St Austell on Wednesday night (kick-off 7.30pm).
🟣 Launceston: Price pleased with young side after penalty-shootout win
By Matt Friday
Launceston 0
Callington Town 0
Launceston win 5-4 on pens
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Boss Neil Price praised his young Launceston side for showing their mettle to come through a tense penalty-shootout against Callington Town to reach the next round of the FA Vase.
The east Cornwall outfit ended a run of five successive FA Vase defeats after becoming the only Cornish side to clinch victory via penalties on Saturday, defeating neighbours Callington 5-4 on spot-kicks.
A goalless 90 minutes at Pennygillam meant the tie was to be decided by spot-kicks, with Mike Steele, Josh Harris, Tom Bullock, Mason Tape and Mark Elvidge scoring in the shootout to send the Clarets through.
Launceston will now look forward to a trip to SWPL Premier East side Torrington in the next round, and former FA Cup finalist Price is pleased to chalk up another victory after a couple of tough, late defeats in the last week.
“We’ve done OK, we’re building slowly,” he told Cornwall Sports Media. “We’re far from the finished article and we’ve got a lot of young kids and the bottom line is we’re inconsistent. Mistakes are being made and youngsters make mistakes, but the outlook for the future is very, very good and [Saturday’s] result can only help that.
“It was a very difficult game against a side that have had some really good results and some not-so-good results. We did well and I think, to be fair, it would have been pretty unlucky on whichever team that lost. I don’t think they deserved to lose and neither did we, but in the end we scored our five penalties and they only scored four and went through and we’re absolutely delighted to go through.”
He added: “When you’ve got a lot of young lads as well, for them to stick their hand up and say ‘I’ll take a penalty’ [takes a lot of bottle]. It’s not the Bernabeu in the European Cup final but for them that’s pressure and it’s another box ticked in experience for a lot of them. For 17-year-olds to be taking penalties and to come out on the right side of that can only be good for us, can’t it?”
“Personally, the FA cups have been really good for me, and who knows? If we can get past Torrington, that would be fantastic for us. [The team] have worked hard and they deserve that for the work they’ve put in and the way they’re listening as a group, they deserve to do well.”
NEXT UP: Launceston visit Bude Town in the SWPL on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.30pm).
🔴 Wadebridge: Bishop Sutton victory a ‘pleasing day’ for Rowe
By Matt Friday
Bishop Sutton 1 (Longden)
Wadebridge Town 3 (Lloyd, Vallejo, Bidgood)
FA Vase first qualifying round
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Wadebridge Town chief Paul Rowe was delighted with his side’s efforts as the Bridgers secured only their second victory in the FA Vase since 2013 with a 3-1 triumph at Bishop Sutton.
Matt Lloyd opened the scoring from close range before Morgan Vallejo turned and fired into the bottom corner to Paul Rowe’s side a two-goal lead at Wick Road.
Blake Longden’s fine finish into the top corner reduced the arrears for the Western League Division One basement dwellers shortly before half-time, however, but Cam Bidgood clinched victory for the Bridgers late on with a cool clip over the home goalkeeper.
Wadebridge will now welcome Torpoint Athletic to Bodieve Park in the second qualifying round on September 23.
“I think the competition does attract a lot of attention. I had a few messages from people [after the game] congratulating us on the win and it’s the sort of stuff you don’t usually get with your league fixtures.”
“I’m delighted. I think we went up there as favourites and I thought we performed as such, really,” Rowe told Cornwall Sports Media. “Three-one was probably the minimum we should have come away with. We went two up and let them back into it really and at 2-1 they’ve probably gone in [at half-time] with their tails up, but in the second half we had a slight slope and dominated possession and territory and it was quite comfortable in the end.
“We kept the ball a lot better and we were more patient [than in their midweek draw with Newquay]. The goal didn’t come particularly early but we had two disallowed before we opened the scoring and we moved the ball and the opposition around much better. It was less forced and I was much more pleased and we just need to take that into our league programme now.
“It’d be nice to have a little run in the Vase. I think the competition does attract a lot of attention. I had a few messages from people [after the game] congratulating us on the win and it’s the sort of stuff you don’t usually get with your league fixtures.
“It was nice that a few committee members came up to watch as well as they don’t often get to [the longer away games]. They jumped on the bus as well and it was lovely to see and nice for the lads to see as well.
“There’s a good feeling about the place. We’re six games in and only lost the one without playing particularly well, but I thought [Saturday] was looking much more like what I want us to look like on the football pitch. It was a pleasing day.”
NEXT UP: Wadebridge travel to Bude Town in the SWPL on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
⚽ Grassroots Review: Four-goal heroes and a delightful dozen for Gerrans
By Matt Friday
The new-look St Piran League is now well under way with 70 teams in action across the ten divisions on Saturday. Here, we round up the pick of the action across the county…
In the east…
North Petherwin clambered into the top four in Premier East after defeating Gunnislake by the odd goal in five. Jake Cartwright, Owen Pennington and Josh Sanders netted for the victorious hosts, while Ryan Smale and Jason Hoar replied for the Lakers. Reigning champions Saltash Borough are right behind them after Connor Thomas, Deacon Thomson and Jordan Bunworth scored in a 3-1 win over St Austell reserves.
Courtney Rowe plundered a treble for Division 1 leaders Foxhole Stars with Chris Kilbey (2), Benno Bould and Lee Reed-Bennett also netting in a 7-1 triumph at home to St Stephen. Elsewhere, Nathan Franklin scored a first-half brace for Torpoint Athletic thirds in their 2-2 draw at Boscastle, while Wadebridge Town reserves ran out 5-2 winners at St Columb Major.
Sam Humagain scored a hat-trick as Dobwalls reserves began their Division 2 campaign with a 5-1 win at St Breward, with Karl Gross’ late goal clinching a 1-0 win over Bodmin Town reserves for early leaders Pensilva. Lanivet Inn put seven past Saltash United thirds, while Lifton won by the odd goal in five at St Dennis Development.
Jason Busby scored a four-timer as Gerrans & St Mawes United thrashed Liskeard Athletic thirds 12-1 in Division 3. Ethan Gatley and Jamie Bilkey also scored hat-tricks, with Ben Daniell and Stephen Floyd-Norris completing the rout. Elsewhere, goals from Corey Gilbert and Matthew Hopper weren’t enough for Week St Mary to avoid a 4-2 defeat at Bodmin Dragons.
Tregony and St Eval Spitfires both have their 100 per cent record still intact in Division 4 after both recorded comfortable wins. Derrick Lucas (2), Sam Blount and Chris Warburton scored for the former in their 4-2 win over Lostwithiel reserves, while Adam Willcox bagged a hat-trick as the latter strolled to a 9-1 triumph at home to Lifton reserves.
In the west…
Three sides sit on seven points at the Premier West summit but none of them managed to record a victory on Saturday. A Tom Hogarth brace and an Aaron Myers effort weren’t enough for leaders Illogan RBL, who were held to a 3-3 draw by Penryn Athletic, for whom Charlie Edney (2) and Kyle Cooke found the net.
Meanwhile, third-placed Porthleven and second-placed St Day shared four goals at Gala Park. Jake Harrison and Joe Wright scored for the Fishermen, while Mack Roberts and Rob Wearne netted for Saints. Elsewhere, Aidan Murphy (2), James Gold and Curtis Smith scored as Hayle ran out 4-1 winners at Perranwell, for whom David Standing replied.
Praze-an-Beeble remain at the top of the Division 1 tree after putting five goals past West Cornwall, with Alexandru Zamaneagra bagging a hat-trick for the early pacesetters. Daniel Claypitt netted his own treble for Troon in their 5-1 victory over Porthleven reserves, while the experienced duo of Luke Wort and Dom Pullen scored in the dying embers to rescue a 2-2 draw for Mawnan at Wendron United thirds.
Treve Bale scored twice and Stephen Crook and Howard Vague also netted as Stithians opened their account for 2023-24 with a 4-1 win at Chacewater in Division 2. Meanwhile, Redruth United reserves edged St Day thirds by the odd goal while Penzance reserves ran out 5-2 winners at Perranwell reserves.
Jack Thomas scored a hat-trick as Junior Cup winners Falmouth DC defeated St Erme 7-4 in a goal fest at the Dracaena Centre in Division 3, but they were outdone by the team they beat in last season’s final as Dropship ran out 8-0 winners at Lanner. Ben Kellow bagged a treble for Dropship, while Adam Barnicoat, Nick Moss, Paul Robertson, Toby Webb and Tyler Prescott also netted.
Ashley Ellis plundered a four-timer as St Just reserves made it two wins from two in Division 4 with an 8-2 victory over Helston Raiders, while Dan Stidwell was one of seven scorers for leaders Mullion thirds in an 8-0 hammering of Storm.
🔵 Helston: ‘Keep going’ — Cusack’s message to Millbrook after ten-goal rout
By Matt Friday
Helston Athletic 10 (Damerell 3, Shepherd 2, Cornish 2, O’Brien, Elliott, Wilson)
Millbrook 0
Western League Premier Division
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Helston Athletic manager Matt Cusack encouraged strugglers Millbrook to keep going following his side’s ten-goal thrashing of the east Cornwall outfit on Saturday.
Curtis Damerell scored a hat-trick as league leaders Helston Athletic put beleaguered bottom side Millbrook to the sword at Kellaway Park.
Rikki Shepherd, Callum O’Brien and Tyler Elliott put the Blues three goals up after 13 minutes before Shepherd and Damerell extended the advantage to five by half-time.
A 55th-minute red card did little to help Millbrook’s cause before Damerell struck twice to complete his treble, with Rubin Wilson and a Kai Cornish brace wrapping up an emphatic victory for Matt Cusack’s side.
The result means Helston have moved two points clear at the summit, while Millbrook remain at the foot of the table.
“They’re working miracles really given that pretty much everybody had left the club in the summer.”
“Millbrook sit at the bottom of the table and they arrived with a young squad, they were well-spirited throughout the whole game and their players will grow from that experience,” Cusack told Cornwall Sports Media. “They spent large periods without the ball as you’d expect but they showed flashes. They had certain individuals that are 16 or 17 years old who will come on and do really well in the future.
“For them, it was probably unfortunate that we had the type of result that we had last weekend [a 4-0 loss at Bideford] because we were so disappointed with that performance that I expected a reaction against whoever it was, and it was unlucky for Millbrook that it was them who we were playing.
“I said to the players that I want the intensity there from the first minute to the 90th, and I said ‘as if you’ve got to score ten goals in this game, I want that type of intensity,’ and as it transpired that’s what happened.
“I spoke to Ricky Washburn [Millbrook manager] at the end and I encouraged him to keep going because they’ve got a young squad there and they’ll grow with the experience. They’re working miracles really given that pretty much everybody had left the club in the summer.”
On hat-trick hero Curtis Damerell, who also claimed two assists and was named man of the match, Cusack added: “He had a hand in five of the goals but our approach play was great playing into him and he was able to look after the ball and keep us in that final third.
“He’s had maybe a slower start than he’s used to but that was mainly because of fitness worries over pre-season so he took a bit longer to get up and running, but now he’s on five goals overall which is a good return by the end of August, so we’re delighted with the progress that he’s making.”
NEXT UP: Helston visit newly-promoted Brixham in the Western League on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
🟢 Argyle: ‘We didn’t deserve that'— Schumacher on last-gasp defeat at Birmingham
By Colin Bradbury
Birmingham City 2 (Hogan, Stansfield)
Plymouth Argyle 1 (Hardie)
EFL Championship
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Boss Steven Schumacher felt his Plymouth Argyle side’s last-gasp defeat at Birmingham City was undeserved as the Pilgrims suffered stoppage-time heartbreak for the second week running.
The Blues led after just eight minutes at St. Andrew’s with Koji Miyoshi delivering a low cross for Scott Hogan to fire past Conor Hazard from close range.
A brighter start to the second half resulted in a deserved leveller for Schumacher’s side on the hour, with Blues stopper John Ruddy parrying Morgan Whittaker’s shot into the path of Ryan Hardie, who slotted the ball home for his third of the campaign.
But just as it seemed Argyle would clinch a second consecutive away draw, disaster struck once again in the fifth minute of stoppage time, as it had done against Southampton seven days earlier. An Argyle corner was cleared and the hosts countered, with former Exeter City striker and Blues debutant Jay Stansfield tucking the ball away at the other end.
The result means the Pilgrims have slipped to 17th in the Championship table.
“I don't think we deserved that from the game,” Schumacher told Argyle TV, “but I'm conscious that I don't want to stand here every week and say we played really well and got beaten.
“It's doing my head in. We probably made two mistakes throughout the whole of the game and we got punished both times. That shows the level that we're at. It's something I'm going to have to learn from quickly.
“I was disappointed with their [first] goal. I felt it was a foul. Hogan's pushed Scarrsy [Dan Scarr] with his full forearm in the back. There's enough contact to send Scarrsy off balance. We can argue maybe Dan's got to be a bit stronger, but I still think it's a foul. It's given most times.
“There's a few things that went against us. The first goal was a blow, but again, we responded really well to it and felt we were the best team going into the second half at the end of the first half.
“At half-time, we said to continue to do what we're doing because we're going to cause them problems. You'll get a chance — and we did. Ryan gets another goal and we’re back in the game.
“I think they responded quite well themselves, they had a little spell for five minutes after our goal, but I felt we look like the most like a team to win it.
“We felt we had control of the game. We said that we wanted that a little bit more this week. Watford and Southampton had a lot of possession and made us work really hard, and we wanted to do the same to Birmingham today. I thought we did that; I thought we controlled the ball. We moved the ball really well, got into really good areas on the pitch and created some great chances.
“I think we had more shots than them, more shots on target and I thought we were a better team. But it's no good being a better team and getting beaten. It's not a good trait to have.”
NEXT UP: Argyle host Premier League side Crystal Palace in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
⚪ National League South
⚽ Truro City 3-1 Farnborough
Truro City recorded their second victory in 48 hours as they saw off Farnborough on Bank Holiday Monday.
After a goalless first half at Bolitho Park, it was Rocky Neal who broke the deadlock just after the hour, before Tyler Harvey came off the bench to double the advantage in the 81st minute.
Fellow sub Obed Yeboah teed up Harvey to make the points safe in the final minute of the 90 before Ricky Holmes bagged a consolation for the Yellows in stoppage time.
The result means Truro have jumped back into the top ten in the National League South table.
📋 Truro: J Pardington, R Law, C Riley-Lowe, E Palmer, B Adelsbury, S Sanders, W Dean, A Porter (S White 76), R Brett, R Neal (O Yeboah 82), H Greenslade (T Harvey 78). Subs (unused): M Jones, D Rooney.
NEXT UP: Truro head to Hemel Hempstead Town in the National League South on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
🟢 Southern League Division One South
⚽ Tavistock 2-2 Mousehole
Mousehole were denied all three points at Tavistock after shipping a 96th-minute equaliser at Langsford Park.
Alex Battle put the Lambs in front after six minutes before Hayden Turner restored parity from the penalty spot midway through the half.
Turner then turned the match on its head with his second shortly before the interval, but Daniel Koita rescued a point for the home side deep into second-half stoppage time.
The result means the Seagulls drop three places to fifth in the table.
📋 Mousehole: O Chenoweth, J Otto, M Lewis, M Hill, B Pursall, J Calver (T Nixon 75), T Mitchell (J Symons 87), P Ranalli Sousa, H Turner, C McOnie (J Bissett 75), A Elcock. Subs (unused): L Moyle, K Fraser.
👥 Attendance: 304
NEXT UP: Mousehole welcome Bashley to Trungle Parc for the second week running on Saturday, this time in the FA Cup first qualifying round (kick-off 3pm).
We’re back on Thursday. See you then!
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