Mousehole 4 – 1 Bideford (1st October 2024)
Torrential rain in the deep South West on Sunday might have left some people concerned that the Trungle Parc surface would not be fit for the sort of football we like to play. Those fears were unfounded as, once again, the pitch looked immaculate. Having come back from a poor first half on Saturday the home crowd could be forgiven for wondering what to expect as the teams ran out on a chilly overcast night but it didn’t take long for those concerns to be eased.
The first half saw Mousehole almost totally dominant with the visitors only mustering one shot to the home side’s ten. That it was only two nil at half time was the only surprise. Actually the other surprise was that it took nearly half an hour for the deadlock to be broken but when it was, it was a classic Mousehole move. Ward pinged a pass up the right wing to Mitchell who played a lovely one two with Ntege. Reaching the touchline Mitchell put it into the box for Goldsworthy to finish smartly.
Seven minutes later we saw a carbon copy of that goal but this time Ntege provided the final pass with Goldsworthy again applying the finishing touch. Other chances came and went but the halfway mark was reached with the score at two nil.
As travelling Seagulls know from Saturday and as your correspondent, an Everton fan, knows all too well, a two-goal lead is a very dangerous thing and so there was some trepidation as the second half started. “The next goal is massive”, was being whispered on many lips and the nerves seemed to show as Mousehole started slowly. Bideford were starting to put pressure on the home defence and eventually the green dam burst as the visitors piled forward and forced an error. The ball was bobbling about on the edge of the box without really going anywhere but the tackles were flying in, a Bideford player went down and the ref pointed to the penalty spot. The resultant kick was unstoppable and it would have been no surprise if some of the home team began to think that they might be on the receiving end of a comeback.
To turn the tide Jake Ash sent on Jack Symons to re-ignite the home side and stem the Bideford surge. He only weighs fifty kilos when dripping wet but the boy has magic in his feet. His energy dragged Mousehole forward and not long after he crossed the white line the home team were back in control. Some good play in the Bideford box ended up with Tim Nixon laying the ball back to his on-rushing skipper. The skies were clear now but there’s a thunderbolt in Jack Calver’s left foot and it sent the ball hurtling into the top corner. Some people heard a sonic boom as it flew past a stranded keeper and others wondered how the net had stopped it but either way the lead was back to two goals and the comeback was ended.
The cherry on the cake was supplied five minutes later when Goldie added an assist to his brace and slid Ntege in. There was still a lot for Torin to do as he held off the defender and skipped past the keeper to roll the ball in for a 4-1 win. He was awarded Man of the Match but we shouldn’t forget a couple of big saves from Ollie Chenoweth when Bideford were pushing forward with the score at 2-1. This performance showed both sides of the green hoops’ recent form; exciting going forward and resilient at the back. That’s five wins from six games in the league and left them in second place. Not a bad start to the season!