Words: Daniel Tatarsky; Photos: Owen Wallis

For both teams this match offered a relief from the stresses, strains and grind of the league but it was Helston who actually seemed more freed by this. On a drizzly night in front of a disappointingly low crowd for this local derby Mousehole got their name into the hat for the next round but it could quite easily have gone the other way.

At the end of last season Helston dropped out of the Southern League following a late season dip in form so home fans could be forgiven for thinking that this Cornwall County Senior Cup second round tie would be a formality. It was far from that with the visiting team having the best chances in the first quarter of an hour, even hitting the post when it looked like they should have scored.

This near miss stirred the Seagulls and a third of the way through the first half they took the lead. The goal came as a result of dithering in the Helston defence but the turnover was quick and devastating. Paulo Sousa won the ball in the D and slid it to Hayden Turner on the left,he clipped a cross to the far post from where Jack Symons headed it across goal to a lurking Mark Goldsworthy who had the simplest of tap-ins from six inches.

A couple of minutes later Mousehole could have doubled the lead when Julio Fresneda curled a shot just over. At that point it seemed like the momentum was with the home side but they couldn’t push on and extend their lead. The visitors were having the better chances and some may have thought they were the higher placed team in the league pyramid. This dominance eventually brought them their very well-deserved equaliser just before the half hour.

After a throw in on the Helston left was flicked on, a reverse pass released the winger. As he galloped towards the box a hesitant defence couldn’t decide whether to close him down or cover the other runners. When he arrived in the box he jinked inside and fired a shot across goal and inside the far post. Drawing level was nothing less than their plucky play had merited. This could have seen the Seagulls collapse but they regained the lead just two minutes later.

Symons found himself in space on the right and when his blocked shot rebounded high into the night sky it was Sousa who leapt the highest to win the header and put it in the path of Turner. He whacked a first-time half-volley in to the roof of the net. The Hitman’s lack of celebration may have indicated a knowledge that this goal was against the run of play but ten minutes later Mousehole had almost got their name in the next round when they increased their lead before half time.

Good pressure in the midfield from Kaleb Kadimashi forced the defence in to an error and gave the ball to Goldie. He took it in to the box and rolled it across to an unmarked Mitchell who passed it home. A three one lead at the break might have indicated to people following the game on teletext that Mousehole were well on top but apart from the scoreline that was far from the truth. The Helston manager knew his team were doing well but did not feel the same about the referee and his frustration with decisions going against his team led to his dismissal from the dugout.

If Mousehole thought that this would be a decisive lead and that the second half would see them hammer home their advantage they were wrong. The second half was a tough watch for Seagulls’ fans. Other than Mitchell hitting the bar early in the half when he should really have scored it was the visitors who looked the more likely. That they didn’t score before the seventieth minute was more down to their own lack of quality in the box than anything Mousehole were doing to stop them.

Helston halved the deficit thanks to a penalty. On a night that neither side would have given the man in black a high score Helston’s chance came when Judah won the ball on the edge of his own box. The tackle seemed clean to most in the ground apart from the referee and he pointed to the spot. Following a long wait for a discussion with his assistant to make sure he’d got it right the spot kick was dispatched with panache.

With twenty minutes left it really was anyone’s game and the best two chances fell to the men in blue. The first, a one on one, was repelled by Chenoweth. Where would this season be with the man in turquoise? The second was from a corner. Some wags have started nicknaming the Mousehole defence Dracula because of their fear of crosses and so it proved here. The ball was swung in and fell to the feet of a Helston forward. To the relief of Mousehole he whacked it high over the bar. Soon after the whistle went and Mousehole were in the next round but if they are to win this cup for the first time in their history they will have to improve on this performance.