PREVIEW:  MOUSEHOLE v PLYMOUTH MARJON

SATURDAY 25^TH NOVEMBER, KICK OFF 2:15pm

SOUTH WEST PENINSULA LEGUE, DIVISION 1 WEST

AT TRUNGLE PARC

 This Saturday Mousehole play their 14^th League fixture of the season – but only their third at home – sitting 13^th in the table against 8^th-place Marjons.

In a congested mid-table, only 6 points separate 11 teams, from 4^th place St Blazey to 14^th place Dobwalls.  So tight is the competition that if The Seagulls had won at Elburton Villa last Saturday they would now be just one place and three points outside the top six.

So, manager Kevin Richards and football director Jason Blunt will be expecting to pick up the three points on Saturday to mark the start of a climb up the table as they embark upon an unbroken run of 10 home games lasting until mid-February with 30 points up for grabs.

By a quirk of the fixture list, Plymouth Marjon have played 11 of their 14 League fixtures at home, on their 3G pitch at Derriford.  On September 2^nd they defeated Mousehole 2-0 with two goals in two minutes just before half time, one of which was a penalty unluckily conceded by Josh Storey who was also red-carded.

Saturday’s is only the fourth away trip for Marjons – after one win (at Porthleven), one draw and one defeat on the road – and it will be their longest journey of the season.  Last Saturday they drew 0-0 at second-bottom team Illogan.

Mousehole will also be looking to continue their 100% home record since resuming fixtures at ‘the new Trungle Parc’ in October.  With two League wins – against Dobwalls  (4-1) and Illogan (2-0), and two Cup wins – 1-0 against Premier Division Camelford in the League Cup, and 2-1 against West Division leaders Ludgvan in the Cornwall Charity Cup – give grounds for optimism for the coming months.

ELBURTON VILLA 3-1 MOUSEHOLE

SOUTH WEST PENINSULA LEAGUE, DIVISION 1 WEST

SATURDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2017, AT HAYE ROAD

Mousehole’s fourth and last League journey of the season across the Tamar proved to be a highly frustrating day all round, as they were without half a dozen squad members and suffered a coach breakdown a few miles from the ground which caused a late arrival, a delayed kick-off, little warm-up time and a late-evening return back home.

On top of that, they were on the wrong end of a couple of controversial refereeing decisions before going down to their sixth defeat of the season, having picked up just one point from 12 in their matches in Devon – a 3-3 draw at Plymstock, preceded by defeats at Plymouth Marjon (2-0) and Holsworthy (4-0).

A win would have propelled The Seagulls above their hosts and several places up the table, and the signs looked good in a promising first half in which Luke Johnson twice and Danny Park brought the best out of goalkeeper Jack Dixon early on, and Connor Davey drove against the crossbar after an opening created by Kevin Lawrence.  But a big moment came after half an hour when Danny Park’s sharp left-wing cross was turned away with both hands by a covering defender inside the box, only for referee Andrew Glanville to wave play on.  After the interval, Connor Davey again came close from Calum Elliot’s cross and Max Hill turned a low corner just wide at the near post.

A game-changing moment came after 55 minutes when the home side benefitted from a highly contentious penalty decision to go ahead against the run of play.  Goalkeeper Steve Parker-Billinge had got down to a through ball with both hands just ahead of the speedy Robbie Dale, with the Villa man’s momentum causing him to collide with the keeper, forcing the ball out for a corner.  But referee Glanville chose to award a penalty from 30 yards away and despite several minutes of protest during which he refused to consult with his better-placed linesman, the decision stood and Simon McClements took advantage of his side’s good fortune to thump home the spot kick.

Elburton dominated the next 10 minutes, Steve Parker-Billinge tipping over a goalbound shot, before Jed Smale’s low shot inside the post from 20 yards in the 65th minute, after Mousehole had been dispossessed in midfield, doubled their lead.

And 2-0 became 3-0 when top scorer Nick Aplin was first to the loose ball from close range after a shot from the right had been deflected across goal.

To their credit, Mousehole battled on after conceding three goals in 20 minutes, and Calum Elliot scored his first goal for the club, a free-kick from 20 yards to the right of centre that arrowed into the far top corner on 90 – the best goal of the match, but scant reward for the team’s performance against the odds.

Scorers:  Mousehole – Calum Elliot (90).   Elburton Villa – Simon McClements (55, pen), Jed Smale (65), Nick Aplin (75).

Referee:  Andrew Glanville.   Attendance:  56.

Mousehole have no more away League games until 24th February as they catch up on the sequence of fixtures played away from Trungle Parc during a period of refurbishment.  This Saturday (25th) it’s Plymouth Marjon’s turn to make the long journey when they travel for a League match with a 2.15 kick off.  The following Saturday (2nd December) RNAS Culdrose are the visitors, with the Combination League’s bottom-but-one side looking to create a major upset in the Cornwall Senior Cup 2nd Round (2pm).

HAYLE RESERVES 0-3 MOUSEHOLE RESERVES

PERCY STEPHENS CUP, 2^ND ROUND

SATURDAY 18^TH NOVEMBER, AT TREVASSACK PARK

Mousehole found themselves up against the same opponents as in their 2-0 League win at Marazion the previous Saturday, but by contrast it was a fine autumnal afternoon on the north coast in almost perfect playing conditions.

Mousehole quickly settled down into attacking play and within 7 minutes deservedly went ahead after a corner.  Tom McGarry’s shot hit the Hayle keeper in the chest, with Lee Robinson picking up the rebound out on the wing and driving into the roof of the net from 25 yards.

More attacking football from Mousehole resulted in another goal after some good work by Nathan Goodspeed and Michael Fitchett left Jamie Simons with a tap in.

For the remainder of the first half, it was up and down traffic both ways, mostly through the centre of the field, with little use of the flanks.

The hosts started the second half very strongly and introduced several substitutes who were persistent in their forward play, but without end result.

Then Mousehole increased the score when a ball from midfield found Jamie Simons on the wing and his fine solo run paid off with his second goal and Mousehole’s third.

Hayle continued to attack but were thwarted by a superb flying save by Mousehole’s ‘keeper Adam Robathan.  At the other end, a good run by striker Michael Fitchett saw his shot just miss the upright by a matter of inches.

Another solid team performance by the Reserves, with great encouragement from Harry Tonkin and Tom Hooper, and all the squad having quality time on the pitch.

The squad:  Adam Robathan, Joe Davies (captain), Lee Robinson, Tom McGarry, Harry Tonkin, Jason Simmonds, Nathan Godspeed, Michael Fitchett, Tom Patrick, Louis Main, Jamie Simons, Tom Hooper, Matthew Howes, Liam Collinson

In the 3rd round of the Percy Stephens Cup, Mousehole Reserves will be at home against the winners of the tie between Redruth United Reserves and Helston 3rds, which was postponed last week

Next Saturday (25^th) the Reserves are away at Ruan Minor in the Bond Timber Cornwall Junior Cup 3^rd Round (kick off 2pm).

 

MOUSEHOLE 2-0 ILLOGAN RBL

SOUTH WEST PENINSULA LEAGUE, DIVISION 1 WEST

SATURDAY 11^TH NOVEMBER 2017

AT TRUNGLE PARC

MOUSEHOLE V ILLOGAN PROGRAMME

  SEAGULLS PICK UP THE POINTS IN HARD-FOUGHT ENCOUNTER

 Mousehole came out on top in this bottom-4 battle on a very windy afternoon, with two second-half goals to continue their good run of form and results.

A scrappy first half was evenly contested but with few periods of quality football in difficult conditions, though both goalkeepers had to be at their best on several occasions.

Mousehole took the initiative in the second half and had the upper hand throughout, with Illogan only once threatening the home goal, a free kick from 25 yards fired harmlessly over by Dominic Bachelor on 88 minutes.

The home side took the lead in the 55^th minute when Connor Davey’s forward pass put Calum Elliot in marginally ahead of the visitors’ keeper Scott Attrill, whose challenge was punished by a penalty brutally converted by Matt McIlroy.

The scorer was again in the thick of the action just after the hour, when Illogan centre back Sam Emery’s over-aggressive tackle in midfield and McIlroy’s retaliation saw both players dismissed by referee Rowan Clarke.

Mousehole’s ten men asserted themselves better in the closing half-hour, increasing the lead on 72 minutes when Calum Elliot’s astute pass set up Bradley Wills to take the ball round the keeper and slot in to the empty net.

Attrill then came to Illogan’s rescue with two great saves, tipping Calum Elliot’s chip shot on to the bar on 76 and pushing over substitute Danny Park’s shot on 82.

Mousehole have now lost only once in the last eight games in all competitions, while this win was their fourth in a row and enabled them to climb up to 12^th place in the league table, level on 15 points with Dobwalls, Penzance and Elburton Villa whose games were postponed.

This coming Saturday (18^th), The Seagulls make the long journey to the east side of Plymouth to face Elburton Villa (3pm), with the hosts having an unexpectedly inconsistent start to the 2017/18 campaign after finishing runners-up to promoted Sticker last season.

This will be Mousehole’s last scheduled away game until 24^th February, as they enter a long series of home fixtures at Trungle Parc to compensate for the ground being refurbished and out of action for the first two months of the season.

The forthcoming home games include 11 in the League – starting with the visit of Plymouth Marjon on 25^th November,  a Cornwall Senior Cup second round tie against Combination side RNAS Culdrose on 2^nd December (2pm), and a League Cup  third round tie against Premier Division Launceston on 30^th December (2pm), not forgetting the much-anticipated Boxing Day morning ‘local derby’ against Penzance (11am).

Team v Illogan:  Steve Parker-Billinge, Tyler Tonkin (sub Yeshe Briar, 88), Billy Curtis (captain), Max Hill, Liam Andrew, Jordan Adlard, Calum Elliot, Bradley Wills, Connor Davey (sub Josh Otto, 72), Luke Johnson (sub Danny Park, 79), Matt McIlroy (red card, 61).  Other substitutes:  Caleb Marsden, Jake Andrew

Scorers:  Matt McIlroy (55 pen), Bradley Wills (72).

Referee:  Rowan Clarke.   Attendance:  55.

This Saturday, Mousehole play their 12^th League fixture of the season – but only their second at home – lying in 14^th place against Illogan RBL who are two places and three points below.

The Seagulls have 3 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats in the League so far, but have lost only once in the last 7 games in all competitions.  Two of those wins have been against Premier Division Camelford 1-0 in the League Cup and table-topping fellow West Division local rivals Ludgvan 2-1 last Saturday in the Cornwall Charity Cup.

Illogan have won two and lost 7 of their 12 League games but have three away draws to their credit, at Elburton Villa, Holsworthy and Wadebridge Town.  Last Saturday they lost 5-1 at home to Penzance in the Charity Cup.

Kick off is at 2:15pm, and is preceded by a schools’ ‘local derby’: Mousehole Primary School v Newlyn Primary School, at 1:00pm.

The match-day programme – advert-free, in colour and with a cash-prize ‘lucky number’ – has received many complimentary comments, and this Saturday’s contains a fascinating full-page profile of First team manager Kevin Richards.

MOUSEHOLE 2-1 LUDGVAN

CORNWALL ‘DURNING LAWRENCE’ CHARITY CUP, FIRST ROUND

SATURDAY 4^TH NOVEMBER 2017, AT TRUNGLE PARC, PAUL

View a copy of the Matchday Programme here >>> Match Programme Mousehole Ludgvan

 In West Cornwall’s ‘Match of the Day’, Mousehole and Ludgvan produced a typically hard-fought local derby in front of a large crowd of 153 spectators on a sunny but cool afternoon at the impressively refurbished Trungle Parc, with the hosts just edging through to the second round of the Cornwall ‘Durning Lawrence’ Charity Cup.

Mousehole came into the match lying in 14^th place in the West Division table, having played their first 10 games away, but with only one defeat in the previous six league and cup matches.  Ludgvan on the other hand had made a sensational 10-game unbeaten start to their first season at this level after gaining promotion from the Cornwall Combination, and stood two points ahead at the top of the table with games in hand over the teams just below.

Extra interest was added to an intriguing-looking fixture as Mousehole had won 3-2 at Ludgvan in the League Cup first round back in September, in front of another near-150 crowd.

And just as in that previous cup match, Mousehole made another quick start, going ahead after only 4 minutes when Luke Johnson came inside from the right and placed a low left-foot shot just inside the far post from 15 yards.

Gerens James and Jamie Devine missed clear chances for the visitors before prolific scorer James deservedly equalised on 33 minutes with a clever looping header after Dan Magee’s right-sided free kick had been glanced on by Craig Wilcox.

The Seagulls came close when Jordan Adlard fired just over the angle from 30 yards, but it was The Hurlers who were creating the better chances, Jamie Devine heading wide again from a good position and Gerens James through on goal but thwarted by goalkeeper Steve Parker-Billinge’s diving save for a corner when a goal looked probable.

So it came as a surprise when Mousehole regained the lead on 44 minutes, albeit with a superbly worked goal.  Recent signing Calum Elliot gained possession in his own half, carried the ball forward with great control and pace, and slid a perfectly-timed defence-splitting pass for the speedy Connor Davey to roll the ball calmly past the advancing Mike Flores for his first goal in a Mousehole shirt.

Ludgvan came very close to getting back on terms in the last action of the first half, SPB palming out a shot and the loose ball being driven across the face of the goal with Gerens James in close attendance.

In a second period with no further goals but plenty of near misses, Ludgvan’s direct play and strong running forced Mousehole into their best defensive performance of the season, typified by another flying save by SPB from Ross Duncan’s 25-yard drive, several blocks and interceptions at crucial moments, some exciting but unsuccessful breakaways of their own, and in a dramatic last couple of minutes, after Gerens James’ unchallenged 10-yard header from a corner had gone marginally wide, Billy Curtis played a true captain’s role as he threw himself in front of a great chance for the visitors to take the game into extra time.

After being knocked out of all three cup competitions at first-round stage (twice by Mousheole), Ludgvan can now concentrate on consolidating their position as League front-runners, with seven of the next nine fixtures at home, starting this Saturday (11^th) when mid-table St Dennis are the visitors to Fairfield (2.15 kick off).

Mousehole on the other hand still have an interest in the Cornwall Senior Cup, with Cornwall Combination side RNAS Culdrose at Trungle Parc for a second round tie on 2^nd December; the League Cup, with Premier Division Launceston the visitors in the third round on 30^th December; and the Charity Cup with the second round due to be played on 10^th February.

In the meantime, The Seagulls resume League action on Saturday (11^th) with a home fixture against second-bottom Illogan RBL (2.15).  Then, after an away trip to Plymouth to face Elburton Villa the following Saturday, they have a sequence of 12 home fixtures stretching well into February.

Mousehole:  Steve Parker-Billinge, Tyler Tonkin (Josh Otto, 46), Billy Curtis (captain), Max Hill, Liam Andrew, Kevin Lawrence, Calum Elliot, Connor Davey, Jordan Adlard (Yeshe Briar, 88), Luke Johnson, Matt McIlroy (Bradley Wills, 58).  Other substitutes: Caleb Marsden, Josh Storey.

Ludgvan:  Mike Flores, Dan Magee, Alfie Turner, Mark Richards (captain), Zack Williams, Joe Day, Sean Roberts, Craig Wilcox, Ross Duncan, Gerens James, Jamie Devine.  Substitutes:  Ryan Holland, Wade Brown, Ryan Andrew, Stefen Barbegello, Jacob Trudgeon

Scorers:  Mousehole – Luke Johnson (4), Connor Davey (44).  Ludgvan – Gerens James (33)

 

Referee:  Derek Hughes.

 

Attendance:  153.

Mousehole are at home at Trungle Parc against local rivals Ludgvan in the first round of the Cornwall Charity Cup tomorrow, Saturday 4^th November.

Please note the kick off is at 2pm.  There will be extra time and penalties to decide the tie if necessary.

This is the second Cup meeting between the two sides this season.  Mousehole won 3-2 at Ludgvan on 16^th September in the first round of the SWP League Cup with a rare goal from captain Billy Curtis and two, including a penalty, from Jorome Slew, in front of a good crowd of 148.  That victory earned The Seagulls a second round tie at Trungle Parc against Premier Division Camelford on 7^th October, and a 1-0 win saw them into the third round with another higher-division side Launceston the visitors on Saturday 30^th December.

Ludgvan are two points ahead at the top of the West Division table and unbeaten in the League since gaining promotion this season, with consecutive 9 wins following an opening-day away draw.

Mousehole are 14^th, with 3 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats from 11 matches, having played only one of those at home, a 4-1 defeat of Dobwalls two weeks ago.

Last week Ludgvan beat second-bottom Illogan 3-2 at home, while Mousehole drew 3-3 at Plymstock United.

Cornwall FA have nominated The Invictus Trust – a small local charity focussing on adolescent mental health issues – as this season’s beneficiaries of the Charity Cup.

This is an intriguing local derby, Ludgvan with several ex-Mousehole players in their ranks and possibly starting as favourites based on their impressive results, and Mousehole gaining momentum with just one defeat in the last six games in all competitions and playing only their third competitive match at the newly refurbished Trungle Parc.

More information is available in the club’s advert-free match programme priced £1.50 including a ‘lucky number’ cash prize.

Table of current training and match days for all teams…