WELCOME TO MOUSEHOLE – MEDO KONTE 🙌

Left-sided defender Medo makes the switch to Trungle Parc after recent spells with @FleetTownFC1890 and @CroydonAth pic.twitter.com/mQlfR73PJU

— 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗖 (@MouseholeAFC) September 10, 2024

FROM THE POTTERS TO THE SEAGULLS: MOUSEHOLE SIGN 18-YEAR-OLD OLLIE CHALLINOR

The winger arrives at Trungle Parc after leaving @stokecity where he played 38 times in the U18 @premierleague pic.twitter.com/hS3aGEUitV

— 𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗙𝗖 (@MouseholeAFC) September 8, 2024

The following article was originally published in the printed programme for the Mousehole v Malvern match on 24th August 2024. To purchase back issues of Mousehole matchday programmes, visit our club shop.

When Pablo Woolls-Blanco left Mousehole for warmer climes at Barcelona, we knew his shoes would be hard to fill. So…up stepped up Ed Varcoe. You can see Ed’s reports on our YouTube channel. He’s also behind the new Insta reels and TikTok videos that we’re producing with the players. But Who is Ed Varcoe? We caught up with him on the team bus on the way to Cribbs.

NAME: Ed Varcoe

DOB: 3/8/2008

SCHOOL: Truro

A LEVELS: DT, Geology and Biology

FAVOURITE TEAM: Liverpool. My dad supports them so I followed him. My earliest memory is the Salah hat-trick against Bournemouth in December 2018.

FAVOURITE LIVERPOOPL PLAYER: All-time it has to be Salah. Currently it’s MacAllister.

BEST ENGLAND MEMORY: Luke Shaw scoring in the second minute of Euro 2020 final. 

FAVOURITE MUSIC: James Arthur or Mumford and Sons

VIDEO GAME: FIFA

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED AT MOUSEHOLE: I played for the under 16 team, and one of my friends was doing journalism, and I quite like the idea of it. So I contacted Pablo, who was the reporter before me, and he put me in touch with Kevin, and it sort of went from there.

FAVOURITE THING YOU DO AT THE CLUB: Instagram

HOW COME YOU ENDED UP AS A GOALIE? I think I was about nine, and my dad bought me a goal to put in the garden, and he went in goal at first, and I kicked it so hard he hurt his hurt his arm. He got a bruise on his arm. So he said how about you getting in there and I’ll kick some balls at you. And I quite liked it, so I stayed there.

WHAT IMPRESSES YOU MOST ABOUT MOUSEHOLE FIRST TEAM? Probably the real togetherness between all of them, like they all know each other. They’re all good chemistry between them all on the pitch.

FAVOURITE MOUSEHOLE PLAYER: Jack Calver. Or Goldie. We just named our new dog after Goldie. 

It’s July 1998. In Paris, the French national team clinch their first ever World Cup with a win over Brazil. England have exited at their then customary early stage, this time in part thanks to a David Beckham red card. In Cornwall, Vindaloo by Fat Les is blaring out of every radio on the beach. And in Ashton, between Helston and Penzance, a six-year old Mark Goldsworthy is spending all day in the garden.

“I was quite shy and when I was finding my feet as a young boy my first memories are just of me, living in my garden, with about ten or twelve footballs lined up just peppering them at goal. We called it The Meadow – dad planted loads of bushes around so it was fully protected. And as I got older, dad, bless him, kept building goals to suit my size. So obviously, you can imagine, they started off very small.”

The 1998 World Cup is Mark’s earliest memory of football. His hero was Ronaldo – “the real one” – and it wasn’t long before he moved from the back garden to playing for the local team. But being nervous and lacking in a certain self-confidence, he needed a push. 

“To be honest, most of it is down to down to dad. He pushed me. He knew I was half decent at that age and at primary school in Germoe I started to realize that I was quite a lot better than the other lads around me. There weren’t that many of us so I didn’t have a massive amount of competition, but I always felt like I was ahead of them. I think that built my confidence and dad pushed me over the line to sign for Rosudgeon which was my first team. And from then on I never looked back.”

From there Mark moved to Wendron and after that to Helston where he went to secondary school. It’s a time he remembers fondly, moving  up with the boys he’d played with and against in the local villages. At school it was just “football, football, football” and the friendships grew stronger. Helston then formed an under 15s youth team which Mark joined and, in his words, “won everything”. 

But then it was time to move up to men’s football.

“Yeah, again, that was Dad, because I was a bit nervous to make that jump to the men’s game. Obviously, as you can imagine, back then in lower leagues of local football you would meet some characters that wouldn’t take kindly to a skinny 15-year-old running around. So, yeah, dad pushed me. He literally just said, right, get your boots on and jump in the car. And I think it was Mawgan or somewhere like that. I just turned up for Helston 3rds or 2nds and came on with half hour to go and scored a couple. And that was the end of boy’s football.  I was all in men’s football from that minute on”

Mark went on to have two spells with Helston Athletic either side of a stint with St Austell. He notched up over 300 goals in the South West Peninsular League and was made the Blues captain. In his last season he was well on his way to winning a fourth consecutive Golden Boot before COVID ended the campaign prematurely. As a proud Cornishman, he feels playing football here is special.

“Characters are formed in football down in Cornwall. Everyone seems to know you. And it’s all well and good being successful on the pitch but I think there has to be a part of it off the pitch as well where you have that fun and build those relationships with so many different people. And I think that’s what’s good about Cornish football – there’s a close-knit community. Maybe it’s a bit different for the likes of us that have rattled through the leagues and left behind a lot of local clubs –  but they’re still the heartbeat down there, aren’t they? The lower league sides where I go into the clubhouse and have a pint. I always know people there that over the years I’ve built  friendships with and they’re still there. And I think that is a vital part of Cornish football.”

Goldie signed for Mousehole in November 2020 and went on to become an integral part of the squad that won the Western League in April 2023.

“That day meant everything to me. I had thought that season was possibly the end of me, with the injuries I had with my head, my shoulder. I thought, No something’s telling me: ‘Just stop. You’ve had a great career down here in football. You’ve enjoyed it. Loved it. And I thought that that was the end. So it was really nice to cap that especially with people like Burty who’s now retired and barely kicked the ball since. At Mousehole it’s such a different culture to anything else I’ve seen. It’s so special in the fact you’re bringing these boys together as one, and we are so different. So to do it with so many different personalities and characters it was just such an amazing day. And obviously doing it on the last day – although it’s not nice before the game –  but after the game, that’s the best way to win a league.”

Goldie dislocated his shoulder in the first weeks of last season and through a stroke of luck was treated on the pitch by a leading German surgeon who happened to be staying at the club’s campsite. The injury has plagued him ever since and he’s finally getting it operated on this November. Coming on the pitch at 32 years old, strapped up by physio Beth Prouse and battling to keep his shoulder in its socket, he’s often asked why he carries on. 

“I don’t know. It’s a massive addiction, isn’t it – Football?

After the third dislocation up in Melksham when I broke all the bones in there, I remember saying to Ashy that I can’t do it. And he’s like, we need you back. But then I has a few months out and I barely watched the game. But I saw us when we lost at home in the rain – a flat performance with no fire. And I hate losing.  I was just looking thinking I can still improve us. I can still bring something.  There’s a hole in this team which is sort of my shape. The boys bring all the technical ability – they’re a joke you know. But I think I just help bring that winning mentality to us. So I just knew I wasn’t quite done, even though I was in so much pain, and even though my shoulder’s now gone nine times. I still can’t let it go. I still cannot let it go.”

Mark acknowledges that as the oldest squad member he’s something of a father figure to the younger players – although he admits that, as a Guinness drinker and pasty eater, he’s not a role model! He knows however that after his surgery he’ll struggle to regain his number 9 shirt but he’s leaving his options open until he has to make the decision on his future. But he’s sure of one thing -his focus going forward will be on his own family. Mark’s two sons were there at Trungle when Mousehole won the league and his eldest still talks about that day, running around the pitch in the green smoke of the flares. Although the future is unclear, Goldie knows until the last minute he’s going to give his all to the club. 

“I think I still offer something, because I know I’m helping the boys. And when the day comes and I know I stopped helping them, and I bring nothing, and I’m a negative effect on the pitch. That’s me done. But until then I want to be a leader. I want to lead the boys. I’m old-school. We don’t really have that old-school mentality or behaviour, straight talking. That’s not really a thing in modern football. But I just think that that’s what I bring and that is rubbing off on the boys. I’m at the stage where I don’t want to think about no football whatsoever in my future, but I do think when I stop playing, that will be me. And then hopefully one or both of my little boys will get into it, and I can just go and watch and have another pint.”

The following article was originally published in the printed programme for the Mousehole v Malvern match on 17th August 2024. To purchase back issues of Mousehole matchday programmes, visit our club shop.

It’s Sunday the 14^th July and Jack Calver is stretching his willpower to the limit. Two hours before England kick off in the Euro 2024 final against Spain. But Mousehole have a big game the next day – Exeter City at home and their captain knows where his priorities lie.

I ask him if he might be tempted to sneak out for a beer.

“No chance. One of my mates, Billy from Truro, just rang me saying  ‘I’m outside yours. Like, well, just around the corner picking someone up, I’ll get you’. I was like, No, do not come to my house.”

For Jack, football is life. He started playing for Plymouth Argyle when he was seven, nineteen years ago.

“There was I think eight of us from Looe, our nine aside team, eight of the lads were all asked to go up at the same time. So we’re all buzzing, obviously. Then a few of the lads sort of got to the age where you had to make a decision between your local team or Argyle, and a few of the boys knocked it on the head and said too much commitment. But I carried on.” 

The hours as an apprentice at Argyle were long. Two training sessions a day, staying behind to clean up after the first team.

“It was something of a drag, but then it all changed when you got that first year pro, you were obviously being able to train and then go when you wanted after training. So that was quite nice. But even that, I don’t know, it was a lot of commitment, obviously, but I suppose you do it if you want to try and make it in the game. So it was all worth it I think.”

After leaving Argyle, Jack had spells with Bideford and Plymouth Parkway. He came to Mousehole in the 21/22 season and was made captain for their second campaign in the Western League, following the departure of Billy Curtis. 

“Jake pulled me aside before the Tavistock friendly and said Billy’s going, I’d like you to step up and be captain for the season. And I was buzzing, to be honest. It just, I don’t know, I was very proud, because Mousehole is such a good club, and the fans love it down there. So to be captain of a big club like Mousehole… Yeah, I was very honoured.”

Throughout his footballing journey, Mum and Dad Les and Lynne have been there. 

“They’ve drove me a lot in the last few years as a well, since I joined Argyle, they were traveling up to the likes of Oxford, Swindon, Cheltenham, Portsmouth, all them sort of places on their own just to watch 11 o’clock kickoffs in the morning. They were leaving Looe at stupid o’clock just to get out there and make kickoff. Even now at Mousehole they’re there every game, home and away. On the coach with us. So yeah, they are a massive part of my footballing life.”

Dad Les is a constant vocal presence on matchdays.

“Mum went for a stage few years ago when she actually used to stand away from him, because he’s just constant. He doesn’t shut up. He’s relentless, going at the refs. their management. I look over sometimes and he’s just sort of trying to gee me up. And I’m like, shut up. Leave me to it, let me do let me do it. But, yeah, he gets so into it. He loves it.”

Jack went on the lead the team to the Western League title in his first season. His memories of that rainy April day when he lifted the trophy will stick long in his memory. 

“That’s the best day of my football and career so far. 100%. It was nine months of graft.     A lot of people don’t see how much hard work we put into training, We travel and make an effort for the training Tuesdays and Thursdays, horrible weather, away days, long hours. I think people sort of take that for granted, but the lads, we all worked so hard that season, I think we finally got our awards. So yeah, I was over the moon that we could achieve what the club wanted to and what we deserved.”

Jack describes himself as a winner who hates losing – always miserable after a loss. He’s had one or two bouts of injury over the last two years but is a constant presence at every match. In the changing room or on the sidelines, being vocal and encouraging the team.  The low point last season in the late autumn when the team went on an extended losing streak was a real challenge, but he was determined to tough it out and it paid off with Mousehole eventually turning their season around in style. 

“Jeez, that was bad. we lost about five or six on the bounce. And you’re like, what? What’s going so wrong. But then I thought, Nah, you can’t just knock it on the head now, because that’s an easy way out. So you’ve got to sort of step up and try and, you know, prove that you are good enough and the team are good enough to get themselves out of this situation. And we did that obviously finishing in the playoffs. So it was a real testament to everyone.”

Jack has signed for his third season as captain and is relishing the challenge of – perhaps – a campaign that will end even better than the excitement of last May. For him though, the real driver is playing for a club he describes as having “such a good feeling”.

“I knew that I was always going to end up at Mousehole. I haven’t looked back, to be honest, this decision I’ve made.  I think joining the club because such good family club, a forward-thinking club, it’s amazing. They just want to go up and up and up. 

And I want to be part of that.”

Injuries Finally Catch Up With Seagulls

A bird can’t fly with an injured wing but Mousehole have managed to reach the top of the league with several crocked players. It had to catch up with them in the end and frustratingly it did so in a local derby as they fell to their first league defeat of the season away at Helston.

Early goals were conceded at set pieces either side of Ryan Tresidder going off with a pulled hamstring. With no chances created in the first half, it looked like the second forty-five minutes would be a tough ask but a patched-up Mousehole found some form.

A goal early in the second half created by the mini-maestro Symons and finished superbly by Goldsworthy looked like it might be the foundation of a comeback win. Hopes were dashed though when an unfortunate deflection let in Helston for a third. This was quickly followed by another set-piece concession to make it 4-1 to the newly promoted home side.

Mousehole didn’t give up though and with fifteen minutes to go hope was restored when Symons latched on to a Fresnada through ball and reduced the deficit to two.

Sufficient chances were created to save a point but sadly non were converted and the 100% start came to an end. Taking in the last five matches of last season that was a run of eight wins in a row!

There’s twelve days till the next match so time to lick wounds and restore muscles. In spite of this defeat nine points from four games represents a great start to the season.

A Gritty Three Points

An even first half saw Mousehole take the lead when Nixon floated a perfect cross to the far post. Turner rose high and nodded it in but frustratingly hit the post with his knee on the way down. His game was run but the match had a long way to go.

With Max Hill having left the field due to a pulled muscle the Seagulls’ defence were stretched, unlike the lanky Yorkshireman’s hamstring, and so it was no surprise when Malvern equalised just before half time.

With two of the team’s star performers already back in civvies the second half was always going to be a battle and it was quickly evident that Jake Ash’s half time team talk had been sprinkled with grit. Going against type Mousehole often played it long but they took the lead on 50 minutes thanks to a typically flowing move.

Ryan Tresidder received the ball in a tight spot on the left wing but showed remarkable footwork to outfox his marker and stride away up the line. He rolled it forward for Nixon who ghosted past his full back and got in to the box. Just before he was fouled he played it across for stalwart centre forward Mark Goldsworthy to slide it in. Three goals in three home games show that Golden Oldie Goldie is rolling back the years.

With forty minutes to go it seemed that Malvern had to get the equaliser and maybe a winner but the Mousehole of 2024 are made of tougher stuff. Bodies were put on the line as wave after wave of attack crashed into the home side’s box but the defence was not breached. The defence were magnificent but deserved Player of the Match winner Ollie Chenoweth was head and shoulders above every player on the pitch, metaphorically and literally. One save with about 15 minutes to go was world class as the Malvern number 9 fired a header into the top corner. He was already peeling away to celebrate but he didn’t account for Chenoweth intercepting the goal bound effort. Ollie punched the air and the home crowd celebrated like it was a goal. It was really worth two as an equaliser at that point could have seen Malvern go on to win.

The five minutes of time added on seemed to last several weeks and so the final whistle was greeted like a long lost relative with hugs and cheers around Trungle. Three more points, top of the league, and a day to remember.

Full Time 2-1
MOTM – Ollie Chenoweth
Att 167

A tight first half in which Mousehole just edged it on chances, ended 1-0 to Willand thanks to a penalty following a defensive mix up.

The second half began with another penalty for Willand, this one hotly disputed by the home team, and a surprise to Willand. River Allen scored again.

Goldsworthy pulled one back after 65 mins

The Willand no. 7 was sent off for an off the ball incident and shortly afterwards Mousehole were level thanks to Hitman Hayden Turner.

Late on Willand saw another red card.

In spite of the two man advantage Mousehole were unable to force the winner and so they do it all again on Wednesday.

Full Time 2-2

MOTM – Tim Nixon