The first day of the season always arrives full of optimism and infinite possibilities. Anything can happen, there are no limits and so after six hours on the road the coach pulled into the under-renovation car park full of joy and hope. Four hours later the travelling Seagulls; players, staff and fans trudged back on with heavy hearts and a fully signed reality cheque in their back pockets.
Last season saw a thrilling last minute winner from Hayden Turner but the tale of this game was told well before the end. The first half was a tight affair with Mousehole getting into lots of good positions without being able to convert those moments into clear cut chances.
At the other end, the home side kept getting half chances from which they were more able to strike at goal. The shot count fell in their favour 9 to 2 from just forty percent possession.
The first chance of the second half fell to last season’s hero, but on this occasion the Hitman did not hit the mark and fired over. This was the match’s sliding doors moment because a few moments later Malvern took the lead. A long throw was flicked on, that flick was in turn flicked on again by an outstretched toe and Malvern had broken through. A neat pass inside found the substitute Harry Clark who had just entered the fray. His first touch was to roll the ball past a despairing Lewis Moyle dive.
Mousehole heads seemed to go down and even if they weren’t out it was pretty much all over less than ten minutes later. A melee on the edge of the box saw the ball break free. Legs were flying from all quarters and one found a Malvern ankle and down he went. Ryan Brunt sent Moyle the wrong way and the whole ground knew it was game over with twenty minutes left.
The coffin was nailed shut with ten minutes to go. Another scruffy exchange ended as too often with Malvern possession. They found a free man on the right, a marauding full back who took the pass in his stride and planted beyond the keeper.
After a promising FA Cup win last week the Seagulls had their wings clipped and fell to earth. The good news is that the next game is only a few days away. It’s a long season. Forty one games to go.
