Mousehole 8-1 Bridport
Western League Premier Division
Saturday 12th March 2022
At Trungle Parc
Mousehole scorers: Callam Mconie 3, Mark Goldsworthy 3, Louis Price, Hayden Turner
Summary
Mousehole got the expected win against the bottom club to maintain the pressure at the top of the table, but the event will be remembered for the resilience, endeavour and entertainment value provided by both teams in some of the worst playing conditions in living memory
Pre-match points
Bridport make their longest journey of the season today, facing almost certain relegation having been at the foot of the table all season – to survive, they would have to win all their remaining games while the two teams above them lose all theirs. They have a young squad who are known to play with a lot of spirit despite some huge defeats this season.
Mousehole won 6-0 at The Bees in early December with the Dorset club only conceding a second goal just before the interval, and the second half continuing with just a few of the floodlights working.
With Division leaders Tavistock and second-place Exmouth Town not in action today, it’s a great chance for The Seagulls to exploit one of their games in hand and move within touching distance of the top two.
Manager Jake Ash makes changes from Wednesday’s game at Exmouth, with Josh Otto and Jared Sims in the starting line-up.
The weather forecast is for heavy rain and strong winds arriving in an Atlantic cyclone during the afternoon. During the morning the pitch is playable, but is likely to get very wet as the game progresses. As kick off approaches, the storm has arrived and it’s already very windy, very wet and very cold.
The key moments of the match
Mousehole start the match kicking towards the Solomon Browne Stand End with the fierce wind and driving rain at their backs
2 minutes: Jack Calver gives Callam Mconie a shooting chance which is blocked by visiting keeper Josh Lucas
3 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. LOUIS PRICE gets himself some space 12 yards out and drives a right-footed shot high into the net.
6 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. CALLAM MCONIE has the ball on his favoured left-foot and scores from 20 yards low inside the near post. It’s 2-0 for the home side and the pitch is already getting very wet.
8 minutes: Keeper Josh Lucas blocks a one-on-one chance for Louis Price
10 minutes: Lucas makes another good save, this time from Hayden Turner’s 20-yarder
11 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. The Bees can’t make any headway against the wind and are being overwhelmed. Tallan Mitchell makes a jinking run on the left and his low cross is converted from six yards by MARK GOLDSWORTHY. Now 3-0.
14 minutes: More pressure on the visitors’ defence but Lucas keeps out a shot by Callam Mconie
15 minutes: Mconie’s wind-assisted corner finds Max Hill rising highest with a great chance for his first goal for the club, but his header flashes wide
16 minutes: Hayden Turner crosses from the left and keeper Lucas grabs the ball on the line as Callam Mconie can’t force it home
20 minutes: Louis Price swerves a shot past the far post
23 minutes: Tallan Mitchell is wide from close range as he latches on to Callam Mconie’s right-sided cross
24 minutes: Bridport at last make inroads into the Mousehole half, with Mike Hill on the end of a quick break and shooting past the far post
25 minutes: Back come the home side and Jared Sims has a goalbound shot blocked in the area
26 minutes: Keeper Lucas again rescues his defence with a solid one-on-one save from Tallan Mitchell
27 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. If you can’t beat the keeper from close range, try from further out! CALLAM MCONIE drives an unstoppable 35-yard shot that is still rising as it hits the top corner of Lucas’s net. Mousehole 4-0 Bridport.
30 minutes: Keeper Lucas makes a double save off the line from Callam Mconie
34 minutes: The underfoot conditions deny Mark Goldsworthy as he slices the ball wide from a few yards out
35 minutes: That man Lucas makes a good block from Jared Sims
36 minutes: Louis Price’s shot hits the far post and rolls along the line and out
37 minutes: A half-chance for Bridport as Adam Steele fires over from a central position 18 yards out
As conditions worsen and puddles appear all over the pitch, Referee Richard Butter gets the two dugouts to agree to a shortened half-time interval
41 minutes: Jared Sims sets up a chance from 8 yards for Tallan Mitchell but his shot is too high
45 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE: HAYDEN TURNER is in space in the centre-circle and he takes aim with his right foot – the ball soars over Lucas and into the net for 5-0
45+2 minutes: At half-time Mousehole have a five-goal lead – and but for the terrible conditions, some defiant goalkeeping and several missed chances, they could already be in double figures
The second half:
46 minutes: Mousehole substitute – Louis Price is replaced by Kyle Fraser
50 minutes: Keeper Lucas twice keeps out shots from Hayden Turner
51 minutes: Bridport take advantage of the having the wind and rain at their backs and the busy Callum Arnold tries his luck from distance, but it goes wide
53 minutes: Mousehole substitute – Max Hill is replaced by Billy Curtis
55 minutes: GOAL FOR BRIDPORT. A quick incisive move to feet gives RILEY WEEDON a bit of space on the 18-yard line and his low shot into the corner eludes Ollie Chenoweth’s dive. Now 5-1.
58 minutes: All credit to The Bees – that goal has given them some impetus: Jaydon Scadding is high and wide from 35 yards and shortly afterwards the goal-scorer Weedon curls a shot just past the post from the edge of the area
63 minutes: Riley Weedon is enjoying some space in the Mousehole half and drives wide from 25 yards
71 minutes: Mousehole substitute – Jared Sims is replaced by Charlie Willis
73 minutes: Bridport are winning the second half 1-0. Mike Hill has a snapshot from 25 yards but it’s too high, followed by an effort by Adam Steele that’s wide
77 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. After a good 20-minute period by the visitors, The Seagulls show their qualities, a quick passing moving from the halfway line ending with a perfectly executed lay-off by Charlie Willis for CALLAM MCONIE to score his hat-trick goal from 12 yards. Mousehole 6-1 Bridport.
78 minutes: It’s improbably great entertainment in truly atrocious conditions both overhead and underfoot. Hard-working striker Callum Arnold has led the Bridport line impressively – his low 20-yard drive is held by Ollie Chenoweth at the second attempt.
82 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. MARK GOLDSWORTHY makes it 7-1 with predatory close-range tap-in past the keeper.
83 minutes: Bridport on the offensive again – centre-back Jake Owen’s 18-yard shot is going inside the angle before Ollie Chenoweth gets across to touch it out for a corner kick
85 minutes: GOAL FOR MOUSEHOLE. Callam Mconie plants a through ball into the path of MARK GOLDSWORTHY who holds off the converging defenders and slots it past the keeper for his hat-trick
86 minutes: Mousehole’s Jack Calver sends a right-foot drive just past the angle of post and bar
At Full-time it’s 8-1 to the hosts. In a notable gesture Referee Butter applauds both sets of players for their efforts in the rain, wind and cold. Massive credit is due to players and officials for getting the game completed in horribly exposed conditions on what is now a saturated surface – as well as sympathy for those exposed in their technical areas. Mousehole’s groundsman Billy Jacka will be a busy man over the next day or two. Bridport are relegated to Step 6 but with a group of young eager players, promising much for the future..
What this result means for Mousehole
The win today takes The Seagulls to within two points of Exmouth and three behind leaders Tavistock, with a game in hand on them both, and the goal difference still lagging behind, by 8 and 5 respectively. Mousehole have 9 League games remaining, 5 at Home and 4 Away.
The question of promotion to the Southern league at Step 4 is likely to go right to the end of the season, with three possible routes:
- The champions are automatically promoted
- The runners-up are promoted either:
- automatically, if their points-per-game total is among the best 10 runners-up across all the 16 Step 5 leagues nationally; or
- (if outside the points-per-game top ten) they win a one-off promotion/relegation decider, away against a Step 4 team, on Saturday 30th April
Mousehole line-up v Bridport (with used substitutes):
Ollie Chenoweth (GK), Josh Otto, Mark Richards, Max Hill (Billy Curtis), Jared Sims (Charlie Willis), Tallan Mitchell, Jack Calver, Callam Mconie, Mark Goldsworthy (C), Louis Price (Kyle Fraser), Hayden Turner. Other substitutes: Paulo Sousa, Andy Elcock
Match officials
Richard Butter (Referee) with Ray Emmans & Jaiden Berryman (Assistants)
Attendance: 103
Next fixtures for Mousehole
Next Saturday 19th March, Away v Buckland Athletic, 3pm
Saturday 26th March, Home v Exmouth Town, 3pm
Wednesday 30th March, Away v Helston athletic, 7.45pm
* Mousehole’s Development Team are in action in the St Piran’s League Cup semi-final this Wednesday, 16th March, against Porthleven at Hayle FC, Trevassack Park, kick off 7.30pm
