On September 7th, Jacob made his full debut for Mousehole AFC’s first team. Although we lost in a penalty shootout that night, this match will be remembered by all Seagull fans who saw it because of how well he played. To anyone who didn’t know better, they would have thought it was his one-hundredth game, not his first.

Having moved to Trungle from Illogan via the Plymouth Argyle Centre of Excellence, Jacob is a perfect example of how a good youth system should work. He was eleven when he joined us, and just six years later, here he was fitting into a strong team in the FA Trophy.

As he rose through the youth ranks, it was obvious to all that he was a special talent, so it was no surprise when he played every game for the development team last season, as they finished second in the league and reached the final of the Cornish Intermediate Cup.

Training with the first-team squad during that season brought him to the attention of Jake Ash, leading to substitute appearances in our pre-season friendlies and a place on the bench as our league campaign began. When experienced centre-half Max Hill had to come off after just fourteen minutes of our away game at Helston, some might have feared the worst as Jacob trotted onto the pitch. But after a couple of minutes, it was clear that we had a player not just for the future but for right now. Jake compared him to Bobby Moore that day, and while that might be slightly over-egging the pudding, there is no doubt that Jacob is a star on the rise.