Statistics tend not to lie regardless of the phrase made famous by Mark Twain. Seven home league games this season, three wins and four losses. That’s the same number of home defeats as the whole of last season. Fortress Trungle has been breached and no longer offers the comforts of home.

It all started so differently when Liam Prynn rounded off a strong opening ten minutes with a very nicely worked goal. The returning Julio Fresneda Carrasco, JFC!, took a short pass in his own half from Ed Harrison. In his familiar casual style he turned, looked up and advanced a few steps before pinging a pass out to Hayden Turner. The Hitman turned provider; rolling a pass into the box, dissecting two defenders, to find a lurking Prynn. He took a touch to send a defender to the ground and pulled a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.

This is the style of football that visitors to Interiora Trungle Parc have become used to. Quick, incisive, devastating. That it was the first home goal for over four hours didn’t matter as Prynn peeled away in delight. The home crowd settled down for what promised to be a lovely afternoon against a strong visiting side, but one who had not won since the end of September.

To the dismay of the home bench the lead lasted just eight minutes. There had been a couple of warning shots before the equaliser came but the home defence did not heed these. A promising attack broke down on the edge of the Winchester box and fifteen seconds later the ball was in the Mousehole net. Gaining possession in his own box the defender in blue had sent a hopeful punt upfield to a loan attacker. It looked like James Ward would get there first but the sprinting Brad Waters beat him to it.

At that moment the two centre halves of the home team out numbered the forwards but Dan Bradshaw was steaming in past a sluggish Mousehole midfield so that when Waters looked up he saw his team mate arriving in to the box in splendid isolation. The pass was accurate but Bradshaw still had work to do. Ward and Harrison blocked his path but he cut back to his left and slid the ball home, wrong-footing Chenoweth.

Mousehole had the better chances thereafter with Turner hitting the bar and stinging the keeper’s hands with long range efforts, while Prynn clipped one just over the bar. The half ended even and that was probably slightly unfair on the home team.

In days gone by, the fitness and panache of Mousehole at home tended to brush sides away in the second half but at the moment this doesn’t happen. The half opened a little like a basketball game with possession switching in turn and attacks petering out with no end product. Too often though Mousehole held on to the ball for too long and eventually this was their undoing.

Good possession was lost in midfield when passes where on and Winchester forced a throw in on the right. It was launched in to the box and Mousehole had two opportunities to clear but failed to do so allowing the visitors to lump it in again. It fell to a Winchester foot, and Thomas Bragg slammed it past some lunging defensive legs.

The game was effectively ended just two minutes later when Winchester doubled their lead. Once again Mousehole couldn’t maintain possession of the ball, allowing Winchester to attack down the right. Bradshaw turned provider, although there was much fortune to it, as his cross was hopeful at best. It bounced in the six yard box and should have been cleared but found its way to the back post where Tommy Wright stepped inside Cook and flicked it home.

With twenty five or so minutes remaining there should have been enough time for the Seagulls to get back into the game but the visitors looked more threatening and it was only Chenoweth heroics that kept the home side in it at all. Then with five minutes left on the clock Mousehole were handed a lifeline. JFC won the ball near the right corner flag. He managed to beat several defenders and advance into the area where he passed to Symons. Jack made space for a shot but the goal bound effort was brilliantly saved. Sadly for Winchester, it was not the goalkeeper using his hands and a penalty was awarded.

Up stepped Hayden Turner to take the kick. He hit is powerfully enough but it wasn’t wide enough or high enough to pass the keeper who pushed it away. Had that gone in, the momentum may have shifted sufficiently for Mousehole to nab an equaliser but in truth it would have been more than they deserved.

The Seagulls are now stuck in mid-table. That’s positionally, but in terms of points they are much further off the play-off spots (13) than they are to the relegation places (2). It could be said that the season is at a cross roads. There are ten league matches till the end of the year and these will decide whether a promotion is possible or if survival is the only target.

Another Tuesday evening, another trip up country for the players, staff and hardy fans of The Seagulls. With the last two away trips having brought home four points the spirits were high as the Trungle Army boarded their double decker. 

With winter fast approaching there were fears of rain but the clouds held their load meaning the pitch was dry and firm if a little bobbly. Wearing an unfamiliar kit of white shirts with green shorts Mousehole started the stronger in a frenetic opening.

The Farm had more possession but Mousehole dominated the chances and it was no surprise when they took the lead after eighteen minutes. A blunder at the back gifted the ball to Jack Symons inside the Bristol half. He played in Liam Prynn for a one on one with the keeper. Prynn sent the keeper the wrong way with a deft turn of foot and rolled the ball into an empty net. 

Chances came and went for the travelling Seagulls but whilst the build up play was slick, the finishing or the final ball kept missing the mark if only narrowly.

One nil at half time away from home is a good place to be. The mantra in this situation is always to see out the first ten minutes after the restart.  Take the sting out of the game and manage the minutes. Unfortunately on this occasion Mousehole couldn’t manage it. 

A corner wasn’t cleared, it bobbled around for too long in the area such that the goal was not a surprise as Bristol bundled it home. 

Would Mousehole crumble? Not these days. Bristol dominated possession but never troubled Chenoweth sufficiently that he needed to dirty his gloves. At the other end Turner, Mitchell and Prynn had chances but couldn’t force the goal.  The closest was a long range lob from Prynn. The initial flight path looked to be taking it way over but it suddenly dropped and smashed the bar much to the surprise of the keeper.

Neither side looked like nicking it near the end and another point was added to Mousehole’s recent away total. Ultimately it felt a slight disappointment and that in itself shows how the away form has picked up. Now they just need to repair the battered ramparts of fort Trungle. 

People often talk about periods of their life being like a roller-coaster ride. If Mousehole’s current form continues this simile will be replaced by “it’s like Mousehole’s start to the 2025 / 2026 season”. Who knows what is around the next bend as the Seagulls make their journey towards…well we just don’t know. But what we do know is that the only predictable thing about this season is that it is totally unpredictable.

In many ways this match was decided by a lucky mistake by the Inkberrow skipper at the coin toss. His manager had told him to kick against the wind if the coin landed in his favour. For some unknown reason the skipper got this wrong and chose to attack the cricket end in the first half.

With the wind at their backs the plucky Midlanders were almost totally dominant in the first forty-five minutes. They had more possession, the first team to do this at Interiora Trungle, they had more shots, ten to the home team’s single effort, and seemed to win every fifty-fifty challenge. With this level of dominance, they may have felt disappointed to be going in only one goal up. If they were disappointed, then the men in green were relieved. As one observer noted; “that’s a two or three goal wind”.

The scoreline was only one nil at the break because the visitors, whilst very much on top, could only place a single shot on target. That was their goal. It came on the half hour when Mousehole were unable to clear from a corner. After a bit of head tennis, then a bit of ping pong, the ball fell to the best player on the pitch, Noah Rubio. The box was filled with bodies between him and the goal but somehow he found a route to the right-hand post and delivered a perfect finish to nestle just inside the upright.

Chances came and went for the Sporting Club but they couldn’t actually trouble Chenoweth with anything on target. At the other end, Mousehole’s only attempt came after forty-five minutes and it was blocked well before it could become a problem.

Mousehole emerged for the second half knowing that the onus was on them to take the game by the scruff of the neck and for the first few minutes they did so. The best chance fell to Jack Symons when new-boy Kaleb Kadimashi found space on the left to deliver a perfect cross to the little fella. Symo didn’t have to leap to make contact and got good strength in the attempt but the keeper predicted its flight and caught it easily.

That was as good as it got for the home side. As hard as they tried they couldn’t play the fluid football they are known for. Sometimes you can only play as well as the opposition let you, and on this occasion SCI were dogged in defence and composed when they had the ball even in the face of the strong wind. Mousehole were never able to build up a head of steam to create sufficient pressure to burst the visiting banks.

As often happens, when the referee indicated the time to be added on, both sides complained. It was too much in the opposition’s opinion and not enough as far as the home side were concerned. The neutral observer would have felt that it didn’t really matter. Mousehole did not have the combination to unlock the Inkberrow defence and in the end the visitors deserved their victory. Their manager’s sprint and leap down the line when the whistle came showed how much it meant to them as another three points drifted away on the Penwith wind.

On the 22nd February 2025 Mousehole won two nil away at Bristol Manor Farm. Ten away matches and two hundred and forty-one days later the Seagulls finally brought home three points again. If the wait had been too long, it was almost worth it because the fashion of the victory was glorious and all but wiped out the memories of the fruitless away trips in the intervening months.

More often than is common across the football world, the team that scores first in Mousehole games is not the team that takes home the bacon. This meant that whilst Hayden Turner’s twenty-first minute opener was celebrated wildly by the travelling fans, there was a hint of caution in the cheers.

The goal was not against the run of play, indeed Mousehole could have been two or three up already before the Hitman struck, with efforts from Cairo and Cook missing narrowly and Mitchell having been denied by the offside flag. Turner struck when a defender mis-controlled a through ball from Mitchell. Taking one touch to get the ball out of his feet, he cracked it across the keeper just inside the far post.

The rest of the half was more even with both sides having good chances but as the half neared its close Turner levelled the scores with an unfortunate own goal. A long cross from the Shaftesbury left went beyond the far post where Turner was ‘lurking’. In trying to head it ‘out for a corner’/ ‘out for a throw in’ / ‘back to Ollie’ , he inadvertently put it past the man in turquoise much to the delight of the home fans. ( delete as applicable, no one really knows).

Mousehole have had a few first halves this season where they’ve been lucky to go in only one down or level, but on this occasion, it was the Seagulls who felt hard done by. A really strong first half should have given them the lead. How would they react to this disappointment was the question on the lips of the very strong away support? It turned out that they reacted marvellously.

Just seven minutes after the restart the lead was regained thanks to a thunderbolt from the Tallan Mitchell boot. A Turner throw-in on the left was only partially cleared and when it found its way back to him, he laid it inside to Tallan. He looked up and from twenty yards sent a rocket across the keeper just inside the far post.

The next ten minutes saw the home team desperately trying to draw level, mainly by sending long balls in to the box. These were dealt with well by a back line missing the granite forehead of James Ward.

After sixty-eight minutes it looked like game over thanks, once again, to the Mithcell-Turner double-act. This time it was Mitchell setting up Turner. In a similar position to the previous goal, the shot and outcome were almost identical as for the third time in the game the home keeper couldn’t cope with a shot across his bows!

Chances thereafter were few until the cherry was applied to the icing on the cake. When a Shaftesbury attack fell apart, Jacob Kevern lumped the ball clear. The home defender couldn’t deal with the pressure applied by Liam Prynn and our number nineteen emerged with the ball. He pushed it down the right touchline before rolling it across to Mitchell on the edge of the box. He looked around for Turner and not finding him, he finished it himself in fine fashion resulting in a player and crowd love-in on the touchline.

It’s been a tough eight months on the road for players, staff and fans alike so this was a victory that was long awaited and celebrated with much glee. Four points from two away games feels like a turning point. Here’s hoping we can start looking up from now on but whatever happens this glorious win will live long in the memories of all who were there.

Bashley 1 – 1 Mousehole

After the disappointment of Tuesday night’s late, and possibly incorrect, postponement of our match at Willand, the Seagulls travelled to Bashley hoping to gain their first points on the road this season. Under normal circumstances a draw away at The Bash, especially after such a bad run on the road, would be celebrated joyously. Maybe it is a sign of the ambitions of Jake Ash and his flock that this draw felt like a defeat.

The big turning point came early in the match when the Bashley left winger jumped into a challenge for a long ball with Max Cook. He didn’t appear to lead with his elbow but he had no chance of getting the ball and poleaxed our young Yorkshireman. The referee deemed it worthy of a red card and the showers thus had an early customer.

It’s a cliché that it can be harder playing against ten than eleven and it proved to be the case here. With Mousehole set up to exploit space behind a forward pushing home team everything changed when the tactics of the hosts had to change. The onus was on Mousehole to push and almost play like the home team.

It nearly paid off not long after the dismissal. A great long ball from Ward out left to Hayden Turner found our number seven with room to attack the full back. He got a yard of space and clipped a cross to the far post where Jack Symons smashed a volley just over the bar.

The Seagulls’ best chance came just after the half hour. Neat interplay between Alex Cairo and Mark Goldsworthy manoeuvred the ball to Turner on the edge of the box. He took a touch to steady himself before attempting to curl it into the top corner. His plans were foiled by a bobble and the shot skewed horribly wide.

Bashley’s best chance came with half time looming. A long ball out to the right found the winger, his cross evaded the leaping forward by an inch but fell to an onrushing midfielder. His first shot was blocked and his second was well smothered.

Mousehole should have taken the lead just before the forty-five. From a throw in Gene Price slid a precise pass to Jack Symons coming in from the right. Barely ten yards out with just the keeper to beat our pint-sized poacher could only find the keeper’s barrel chest with his shot.

Level at the break was probably better than the home side could have hoped for but six minutes in to the restart the visitors finally got their reward for strong attacking intent. A long throw from Turner on the right caused chaos in the defence. James Ward flicked it forward and it bounced up perfectly for Ed Harrison to bicycle kick it past a befuddled keeper. A lovely finish from Harrison who was playing centre half in a re-jigged backline.

Frustratingly the lead only lasted eight minutes. When a long ball into the Mousehole box found Tallan Mitchell’s knee, he chased the rebound back into his box and, stretching to win it back, only succeeded in fouling the forward. The referee pointed to the spot immediately and no one complained. The spot kick was dispatched with a calm assuredness sending Ollie Chenoweth the wrong way.
From then on in, chances were few and far between with no side having the quality to open up the other’s defence. Had the Seagulls been offered a point ahead of kick off they would have bitten off your proverbial hand but playing against ten men for seventy-five minutes made this feel like two points dropped. Having said that, any point away from home is a good one and this could be the start of a strong run.

Mousehole AFC can confirm that, following a vote by players and with the agreement of the club’s board, Mousehole Women have withdrawn from the Earthbound Electrical Cornwall Women’s League for the current season. The team intends to re-apply next year in the division below, as part of a wider plan to rebuild and strengthen the squad.

The decision follows a challenging close-season in which the team lost more than ten players. Despite the best efforts of manager Mark Trevail and the remaining players, the squad has been unable to recruit sufficient numbers to remain competitive at their current level. The club requested permission from the league to move down a division this year, but that request was declined.

In the meantime, Mousehole Women will continue to train, play friendlies, and compete in the Cornwall Cup, ensuring the players remain active and connected while rebuilding takes place.

Club secretary Daniel Tasker said: “This has been a difficult decision, but it’s the right one for the long-term sustainability of the women’s team. Mark and the players are fully committed to rebuilding this season, and we’re confident they’ll return stronger next year.”

Mousehole AFC would also like to extend thanks to team sponsors Wild Things at Seaswept Farm  for their ongoing support during this period of transition.

Seaswept Farm is a small regenerative farm just half a mile from MAFC. Through its community arm, Wild Things, the farm champions local initiatives that bring people closer to nature, food, and each other.
With a strong focus on health and well being, Seaswept Farm supports activities that nurture both body and mind – from football, surfing, and skateboarding to yoga, medicinal botanicals and cultural events.

We’re proud to announce that Eden Hot Tubs has become a major partner of our club and will take the naming rights for the new stand for the next two seasons.

As Cornwall’s premier destination for premium Jacuzzi®-brand hot tubs, swim spas, saunas and wellness products, Eden Hot Tubs bring luxury, relaxation and a reputation for excellence to our partnership.

This partnership has an extra-special meaning — it’s a homecoming of sorts for the company’s founder, whose family roots run deep in Mousehole.

“Sponsoring the club is a return to my family’s roots,” said the Eden Hot Tubs owner Daniel Sleeman.
“My great-grandparents, David and Doris Sleeman, lived on the harbour — my great-grandfather was a fisherman who owned a boat called Inter Nos. My grandfather, Ronald Sleeman, later became Barclays Bank Manager in both Newlyn and Penzance. Our family has always had a strong connection with the village — and with friends like Philip and Melanie Stephens still living in Mousehole, it feels like coming home.”

This exciting collaboration marks a significant step forward for us. Having a name like Eden Hot Tubs associated with our stand reinforces our ambition and commitment to further elevating the experience for our fans. It also underscores the strong support we’re fortunate to have from local businesses who believe in our journey.

Over the next two years, you’ll see their brand proudly displayed on matchdays. We’re looking forward to working closely with Eden Hot Tubs on community projects, fan events, and engaging activations that bring real value to our supporters.

Please join us in thanking them for their generous support and welcoming them into our club family. 💚
Here’s to a successful partnership — and to many great moments under the Eden Hot Tubs Stand!

Mousehole AFC Launch Online Ticketing – Starting with Pay What You Want Offer

Mousehole AFC are pleased to announce the launch of a new online ticketing system, making it easier than ever for supporters to secure their place at Trungle Parc. The move marks another important step in the club’s continued investment in digital infrastructure and supporter accessibility.

The new system goes live this week ahead of Saturday’s home fixture against Hartpury, allowing fans to purchase tickets directly through the club’s online shop.

To celebrate the launch, tickets for this match will be available on a “Pay What You Want” basis — giving supporters the opportunity to set their own price while contributing directly to the ongoing growth and sustainability of the club.

Club officials see the introduction of online ticketing as part of a wider effort to modernise operations, improve the matchday experience, and build stronger engagement with both local supporters and those following the Seagulls from further afield.

Tickets for Mousehole AFC home fixtures can now be purchased at:
https://www.theclubshop.co.uk/mousehole-fc/Mens-First-Team

Words Daniel Tatarsky

Westbury 2 – 1 Mousehole

With the Seagulls’ one hundred per cent home record having been torn apart by Tavistock the trip to Westbury took on even more importance for Jake Ash’s team. The knowledge that away matches had brought no joy so far this season would have given the travelling fans little hope for optimism and as it turned out their fears were well grounded.

The early chances all fell to the home men in green with Mousehole surviving two close scares before Westbury took the lead. The goal came from a turnover of play in the centre circle; with Mitchell being dispossessed the ball was quickly shifted to the right wing from where, under no pressure, the number nine was able to cross to the far post to allow an onrushing, unmarked Josh Jenkins to slide it home after eleven minutes.

The only surprise when Westbury doubled their lead was that it had taken so long. Ollie Chenoweth’s net had lived a charmed life in the intervening twenty-five minutes but eventually Mousehole’s luck ran out. It again came from a Seagull being disposed, this time it was in their own box and the dagger was driven home quicker although in a very similar manner. A dinked pass from right to left was once more met by Jenkins to slide home. If not a carbon copy of the first goal it had all the same elements so Mousehole could not say they hadn’t been warned.

All that the visiting fans could celebrate after forty-five minutes was that the score was only two nil. They have seen Mousehole come back from such dire situations so there was still hope. The second half started in a slightly more even fashion but it looked more likely that Westbury would increase the lead rather than Mousehole reduce it and this nearly came to pass when the home side worked a nice move ending with a miscued shot going over.

Westbury failing to put the game to bed at that point seemed to galvanise the men in navy blue and a couple of minutes later the deficit was reduced. When Jack Symons won the ball near the centre circle it rolled to Goldsworthy. Using the outside of his right foot he played in the returning Hayden Turner galloping down the left. His pass into the corridor of uncertainty was met by a cantering Liam Prynn to force home between two defenders.

With their dander up the Seagulls pushed for an equaliser. The best chance was a reverse of their goal with Prynn playing Turner in with a neat pass that left him one on one with the keeper. Nine times out of ten the hitman hits home in these situations but maybe it was ring rust that led to him skewing his shot wide.

There were a number of goalmouth melees in the closing minutes but never a clear-cut chance and so another day on the road ended with Mousehole coming home empty handed. The defeat leaves them in mid table, closer in points to the bottom than the top and means that the home game with Hartpury is this season’s first must win.

That match, on the 11th of October at Interior Trungle Parc is Pay What You Want for all spectators so if ever there was a chance to get out and support your Seagulls this is it.

WORDS: DANIEL TATARSKY

Mousehole 0 – 2 Tavistock

Due to a laundry malfunction Tavistock arrived at this match with their kit still damp but they did not let the extra weight hold them back as they cruised to a relatively easy victory. Matches between these two always feel like a local derby in spite of the physical distance between them and emotions were already running high before the game.

On this occasion there was not just a geographical distance between the sides, this gap was replicated in the league standings; with Tavistock having had a slow start to the season they began the game in the relegation zone. This might explain why the men in red and black came out of the traps with more energy than the home team.

The early chances all fell to the visitors as they laid siege to Oliver Chenoweth’s goal. To the neutral observer it may well have seemed that Tavi were at home so dominant were they in the early exchanges. In spite of superior possession Mousehole were unable to convert their hold of the ball in to chances and regularly fell foul of the quick transition from the Devonians. Luckily for the men in white and green whilst they gave up chances none really threatened to breach the man in yellow’s goal.

Tavistock’s eagerness to record a second successive victory at Interiora Trungle Parc translated into some juicy challenges resulting in two yellow cards in quick succession in the middle of the half. The goal, when it came, after forty-one minutes, was straight out of the 1970s. A long punt from the Tavistock keeper avoided the two Mousehole centre halves and found Jack Crago in splendid isolation about forty yards from goal. He advanced at pace and whilst Chenoweth did well to push him wide of the goal, the Tavistock forward was able to roll it in from an acute angle.

Having come back from a goal down against Larkhall there was little concern amongst the home crowd as the teams emerged for the second half. This feeling of calm was mistaken as the game continued in very much the same vein with Tavistock able to soak up much of the home pressure without concern. The best chances fell to Gene Price, ten yards out on the right, and Oscar Massey a little closer on the left. Both screwed their shots wide when it looked likely that they would score.

Surviving these early scares gave Tavistock hope that they could hold out and they settled their nerves further when they doubled the lead just after the hour. A slick move down the right ended with a cross that seemed to have been over hit as it sailed above the head of the centre forward. Your reporter was not the only person not to see Crago advancing, unmarked, from the left. The ball reached him in space and, unchallenged, he scored nonchalantly with the outside of his right boot.

We’ve seen Mousehole come back from holes like this but something in the air suggested that it was not to be on this night. Chances did come but there was always a Tavistock body in the way and when a defender missed the block Daniel Holman was there to keep his sheet clean. Even going down to ten men with five minutes still on the clock did not weaken the visitors’ resolve and in the end they held out relatively comfortably for a memorable win.

As for Mousehole, it was a major disappointment. Having won two on the spin at home and coming off a last-minute winner against Larkhall this should have been another step up the division but instead it’s back to the drawing board as they head out on the road for a trip to Westbury. If ever there was a time to register an away win, it’s Saturday. Fingers will be crossed all over West Cornwall.