HAYLE RESERVES 3-5 MOUSEHOLE RESERVES
TRELAWNY LEAGUE DIVISION 1
SATURDAY 28TH APRIL 2018
AT TREVASSACK PARK 3G PITCH
Mousehole Reserves completed their League fixtures and finished off a memorable week – having guaranteed themselves promotion three games previously and then securing the title at RNAS Culdrose on Wednesday – with another win in an exciting end-to-end game at third-place Hayle Reserves on Saturday.
Their superb playing record for the League season reads: Played 20, Won 17, Drawn 2 and Lost 1, with 78 goals scored and 18 conceded. Those stats, remarkable in themselves, conceal a fascinating club record in that they won all ten of their away games during the season, the only Mousehole team to achieve that in living memory.
Playing their fourth game in a week, The Seagulls were without Matt Howes, JJ Simmonds and Lee Robinson, but still had enough strength in depth in the squad to put a competitive side on the field. It took a lot of effort to get going and start playing in the more accustomed manner, with early shots on goal from Tom Hooper and Nathan Goodspeed going wide of the target, and Jonathan Fitchett in the Mousehole goal having a busy period and just managing to finger tip a Hayle shot over the bar.
However, against the flow of play The Seagulls scored the opener with a combination between Chris Bullock and Tom Patrick whose shot found the back of the net.
Hayle then started to pile on the pressure, the Mousehole defence looking in trouble as numerous attacks started to break through the line, and it took some sterling work by Player-Manager Harry Tonkin to calm the situation. But Hayle were rewarded for the efforts when a forward dribbled past several defenders to shoot home for an equaliser. Fitchett was called on again to make a superb save to keep the scores level, though he was powerless as Hayle scored their second to take the lead a minute before the half-time whistle.
Following the start of the second half Mousehole appeared more focused, and good work by the forwards resulted in several on-target shots. The Hayle ‘keeper made a fine save to keep out a Chris Bullock free kick at the expense of a corner, but from the resulting flag-kick Josh Storey headed in to make it 2-2. Shortly afterwards Michael Fitchett’s mid-air challenge resulted in a head injury and he was replaced by Caleb Marsden. Marsden had missed the two midweek games through injury but he quickly established some influence and a few minutes after shooting just wide of the post he scored to put Mousehole into the lead again at 3-2.
Responding to this setback Hayle were awarded a penalty, but the spot kick hit the upright and was netted on the re-bound, with the assistant referee flagging for offside but over-ruled by the referee, so that the scores were now level at 3-3. Back came Mousehole, and Josh Storey popped up for his second goal to take the score to 4-3. It was not long before Mousehole were awarded a penalty of their own, and after some ‘discussion’ it was the captain’s decision to give the opportunity to Josh Storey, and he duly despatched the kick for his hat-trick to complete the scoring.
After another ‘Flying All Together’ performance, the League Championship Shield was presented by a Cornwall FA official to Mousehole Reserves’ captain Joe Davies and the team, together with individual player medals.
The squad has developed a winning mentality, as evidenced by their season’s playing record, and the only ‘what-might-have-been’ is the other silverware they might have picked up if the various Cup competitions had not been cancelled after a weather-disrupted few months.
So, Harry Tonkin and Mark Trevail’s men return to the Trelawny League Premier Division just one season after relegation, and they will be looking to continue their impressive form at the higher level when the new campaign gets under way in late August.
Mousehole Reserves on the day: Jonathan Fitchett, Joe Davies (captain), Tom McGarry, Harry Tonkin, Michael Fitchett, Chris Bullock, Jamie Simons, Tom Hooper, Nathan Goodspeed, Caleb Marsden, Josh Storey, Louis Main, Kyle Bickmore, Mark Trevail, Tom Patrick, Tom George.
