THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

DATELINE: Trefrew Park, Camelford, Saturday, September 14, 2019

MATCH: Camelford AFC v Ashton & Backwell United

CUP: The Buildbase FA Vase

ROUND: Second Qualifying Round

PICTURES: See http://www.facebook.com/cupfootballblogger/ 

THE BLOG: Football supporters often argue over who is the greatest player of all time. Modern fans wonder if it is Barcelona legend Lionel Messi or the seemingly unstoppable Christian Ronaldo? Older fans will argue a case for the likes of Sir Stanley Matthews or John Charles. Some will cite Bobby Moore or Franz Beckenbauer.

It’s all a bit of pointless argument. Not because it is impossible to really compare players from different eras but because the whole thing has already been settled. To my mind, at least. The best player of all time was Brazil’s most famous number 10, Pele. Or Edson Arantes do Nascimento to give him his, er, given name.

For a boy who grew up in the 1960s and 70s, who fell irretrievably, impossibly, deeply, head over heels in love with football as a seven-year-old watching the 1970 World Cup, there will never be a better team than the Brazilian side who won the Jules Rimet trophy in the Azteca Stadium. And the star of that side, the indisputable best player, was the great Pele. There had never been anyone like him before and there has been no one to match him since. Pele is, was and always will be the greatest.

He also coined the best phrase to describe how we all feel about this fantastic sport. There is some dispute over whether he was actually the first one to use it but the title of his autobiography summed it up perfectly: My Life and The Beautiful Game.

The beautiful game.

That’s what it is for anyone who is a football fan.

Now, it’s a long way from the arenas and rarefied atmospheres in which Pele plied his beautiful trade, like the Maracana and Wembley and even New York, to the rather less celebrated football surroundings of Trefrew Park, Camelford, but the beauty of the beautiful game is still in evidence, even at this seemingly lowly level.

For a start, especially on a beautiful late summer/early autumn day such as last Saturday, Trefrew Park’s setting is, simply, quite beautiful.

The first impression on arriving on Saturday was the gorgeous smell of cut grass, more reminiscent of a cricket ground in the spring than a football ground in September.

And then there was the view behind the top goal. Standing stark in the sharp sunshine was the granite form of Rough Tor (pronounced row, as in argument, tor), sitting proudly above the glory that is Bodmin Moor. It is the second highest point in the whole of Cornwall, standing at 400 metres (1,313 feet) above sea level, and it is magnificent. I love scenery like that and there aren’t many grounds in a better setting. Beautiful.

So, even before a ball was kicked in anger, beauty was in the air. And, as it was to turn out, a moment of pure footballing beauty would ultimately settle this hard-fought FA Vase tie. But, before that, there was a moment of no beauty at all.

It happened ten minutes before kick-off and it happened to me.

I had just walked up the grass bank to the fence surrounding the pitch and was still taking in the beautiful view when the home keeper, right at the end of his pre-match warm-up, shanked a goal-kick towards the touchline. Immediately I saw that it was heading straight for me and prepared myself for an early moment of ball retrieval glory.

I got in line, judged the bounce perfectly and, as the ball bounced over the fence, I got into the perfect position and collected the ball with both hands. Perfect.

And then I fell over.

On to the hard concrete path that runs down the touchline.

I don’t know why I fell. I didn’t need to dive to get the ball. My feet, I thought, were planted. Everything was in the correct position. Maybe I just channelled my inner goalkeeper and threw myself down but, all of a sudden I was on the ground, with a concerned Camelford player leaning over the fence, looking at me prone on the ground and inquiring in a slightly worried voice: “Are you OK, mate?”

I nodded an embarrassed yes, refused his helping hand, crawled to my feet, and threw the ball back. I felt like a total idiot, but also slightly proud that I still had hold of the football.

As the players trooped off to get ready to come back on again, I wandered around to a different part of the ground in the hope that no one would notice that I had fallen, despite the blood on my elbow and the limp caused by bashing both knees at once.

Now, as I slowly regathered my equilibrium, I must admit that much of the first 20 minutes of the game passed me by a bit. This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams and they were clearly sizing each other up in that opening period while I concentrated on a stock-take of my injuries.

One of the great things about the FA Vase is that players and supporters get the chance to watch someone new, teams that they would never normally have the chance to see. Camelford play in the Kitchen Kit South West Peninsula League Premier Division West. Ashton & Backwell play their football at the same level, Step Six, but this time in the Toolstation Western League Division One and the two clubs’ paths had never crossed before. This was an intriguing tie, not only for the faithful followers of The Camels and The Stags, but also for the neutral observer – which was me.

However, I must admit that I was not entirely neutral. I have lived in Cornwall for almost a decade now and a little bit of Cornishness has seeped into my soul. So any contest between a team from the Duchy and a bunch from “upcountry” will see my sentiments lean towards the Cornish club.

But, still stronger than my Cornish soul, is my London one. That’s where I am from, where I grew up, and anyone who has ever read this blog will know that Millwall is my team. So when a team rocks up in what they describe as “maroon and blue” but which actually looks like the red and blue stripes of the hated Crystal Palace, I let irrationality take over and generally take against them. Ashton & Backwell United, The Stags, looked too much like The Eagles for my liking. That’s football fan logic for you!

Mind you, there wasn’t much to dislike about them in the first half. After the hosts dominated the first ten minutes, A&B United took control and really should have been ahead by half-time. However, their neat and tidy tippy-tappy football lacked a cutting edge and the chances they did create were wasted. For that, they were to pay a heavy price.

Half-time came with the game goalless and then something else beautiful happened. I got a free cup of tea.

This was given to me by the club secretary who I believe to be called Hilary. I never actually asked her name during our half-time chat but I found her name in the programme later. Apologies if I have got that wrong. Everyone else in the ground would have known who she was, though, as she has served the club for 30 years. Camelford is that sort of club. Manager Reg Hambly – the team is sponsored by Reg Hambly Insurance Brokers – is now in his 29th season as the gaffer.  It is a beautiful place so, once you are there, why rush to leave?

Another beautiful gesture was to provide the visitors with a cream tea to enjoy. “We wanted them to have something special, something Cornish,” said the secretary. “And we wanted them to know the right way to do it too, with jam on first.” Turns out it was a beautiful gesture with a point!

What wouldn’t have been beautiful for me would have been a goalless draw to add footballing insult to my actual injuries, but fears of that disappeared early in the second half.

Camelford were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, the direct shot from it was parried by the Ashton goalkeeper and Camels’ captain Adam Sleep was on hand to knock home the rebound – so 1-0 to the home side.

Ten minutes later, Camelford won another free-kick in an almost identical position. This time, though, taker Bobby Hopkinson needed no help to extend the lead. He curled an absolute beauty into the top corner, giving the keeper no chance and putting the hosts 2-0 up.

It really was a special moment. A lot of players at a much higher level would have been proud of that strike, of its precision. What a goal. Hopkinson just stood there with arms outstretched and soaked up the adulation of his team-mates and the crowd. Beautiful.

The Stags, though, were not done yet. They still believed that they could get back into the game and, with about 15 minutes to go, they were awarded a penalty after a trip in the box and halved the deficit with the spot-kick.

There then followed a properly nervy and frantic final few minutes as a real cup tie broke out. It had been a bit of a slow burner but now it really caught fire. Even I grew nervous, catching it from the jumpy people around me, I reckon, while the secretary said afterwards that she couldn’t watch the second half at all. Football really does matter, you know.

Ashton and Backwell gradually abandoned their short passing style and did what any self-respecting side should do when trailing late on in a cup tie – they lumped it forward into the box and hoped for the best. Now that’s proper football. But, however hard they tried, the boys from near Bristol could not find the goal to take the tie into extra-time and The Camels claimed their place in the next round.

Both sides were applauded off at the end, a beautiful moment at the end of a beautiful cup clash in a beautiful place on a beautiful day.

The beautiful game? Pele was spot on about that.

POST SCRIPT: Ashton and Backwell United was only formed in 2010 as the result of a merger between Backwell United and the senior and youth sections of Ashton FC. While writing this blog I saw a message on Twitter from Ashton Football Club, which said: “It is with great sadness to hear of the loss of Ashton Boys FC founder Terry Hazel today. Terry founded the club 25 years ago, something 100s of boys and girls still enjoy. Our thoughts are with all his family, friends and the football community in general. RIP Terry Hazel.” I echo those sentiments.

 

 

RIGHTING A WRONG

DATELINE: Blaise Park, St Blazey, Saturday, August 31, 2019

MATCH: St Blazey v Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay)

CUP: The Buildbase FA Vase

ROUND: First Qualifying Round

PICTURES: See http://www.facebook.com/cupfootballblogger/

THE BLOG: Blaise Park, the neat and characterful home of St Blazey FC, is one of my favourite grounds in Cornwall. I have been here many times and have always loved it. It has the feel of being a “proper” football ground, hemmed in by houses, roads and a railway line, but with its own patch of immaculate verdant green bringing a touch of magic to a non-touristy part of the Duchy.

I like the grass bank along the far touchline, the decent-sized seated grandstand facing it, the covered area behind the goal where you can huddle against the rain, providing the wind isn’t blowing it that direction, and the well-appointed clubhouse just the other side of the entrance gate. You can almost imagine hard-bitten comedians on the stage, battling the hecklers in a loud and lairy crowd while the laughter echoes and the drink flows. It’s a cracking place, a proper place.

I went to Bishop Auckland’s old ground way up in County Durham many moons ago and the place had the same sort of feel. Separated by hundreds of miles and distinctly different dialects they might be, but these are proper football places, proper “heart of the community” clubs, proper working-class clubs.

That feeling is made all the more poignant in the week that saw the demise of Bury FC in the Football League but the fans from there and from Bishops and from Blazey would all have the same feeling at heart, the same sense of belonging, the same sense of pride in their place. There are all, were all, “proper” football clubs and I have always had a soft spot for St Blazey because of that.

Yes, I have been to Blaise Park on numerous occasions. I have seen cup finals here, I have seen cup semi-finals here and I have even seen Cornwall Under-18s play here. But one side I had never seen play here was St Blazey. I have never, to my recollection, seen a Blazey home game. This blog, this visit, was and is all about rectifying that wrong.

This was also the opening salvo in this year’s FA Vase, a competition that gives clubs of this size and stature a genuine, if outside, chance of reaching Wembley or at least going on a long enough cup run to start to think that you can just glimpse the Twin Towers, sorry, force of habit, Big Shiny Arch looming in the dreamy distance.

Truro City won the Vase this century. St Austell reached the semi-finals a few years back. Teams in Cornwall at this level can dare to dream. So why not go along and dream with them for a bit? That was my reason for picking this tie to watch.

It also gave me the chance to renew acquaintances with Godolphin Atlantic. They have popped up in this blog several times over the years as they have proved to be real cup fighters, battling their way to finals and semi-finals several times in the past few seasons. OK, they have gone a bit quiet on the knockout football front in the past year or so, and the last time I saw them was at this early stage of the Vase last season, so it was good to have the chance to catch up with them again.

They also have a new name. They are now, officially, Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay) so we all know where they come from now.

So imagine that: a ground I have been to many times in the past but never to see the team who actually play there, and a team I have seen many times in the past but who now have a new name. The ramifications of that, and what “counts” and what doesn’t,  could take up hours on a groundhoppers’ forum. I decided not to get involved in that debate.

Instead, for me, the scene was set for what I hoped would be an entertaining and well-contested cup tie as these two teams started the day in ninth and tenth positions in the new Step Six Kitchen Kit South West Peninsula League Premier West division. Nothing to choose between them.

The weather seemed to be looking after me, as well, as the overnight rain and early morning mizzle had made way for a gloriously sunny, if a tad breezy, afternoon. It was a bit of a jumper on, jumper off sort of day but I turned out to be far too busy for any of those sort of sartorial shenanigans. You see, I had foolishly agreed to keep people updated on Twitter about what was happening in front of me, as well as trying to take notes on my phone for this blog and taking pictures (which you can see on my Facebook page, just follow the link at the top of this page).

How hard can it be? I thought. Hard enough for it all to go a bit Pete Tong at the end as it turns out.

But before I get there, let’s stick to the actual timeline of events. At 3pm, as the game kicked off, it was simply a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon watching the football. My hopes were high and the note-taking was soon in full flight. The home keeper set me on my way with a loud cry of “Away, away” as his defenders cleared a corner. It’s a shout you hear at every game but, surely, the defenders have already thought of this themselves and don’t need reminding of it every time the ball comes into the box? They wouldn’t be much in the way of defenders if they did, would they?

Mind you, there was nothing much any defender could do about the first goal, which came after just 11 minutes. The ball fell to St Blazey’s number three, Jamie Willmott, at least 35 yards from goal. As he took a touch and prepared to shoot, I had time to think: “Not from there, mate, you are way too far out,” and I fully expected the ball to go flying into the gardens behind the goal.

However, I was right in line with the shot and, just after he hit it, there was that moment when you think “Hang on, this is not a bad effort.” Then you see the keeper struggling a bit and then the ball rifles into the top corner. What a strike, what a goal. “I always said he should shoot from there,” you mutter to yourself and hope no one heard your original thoughts.

The home side’s lead only lasted 12 minutes though as they failed to properly clear a corner and a Godolphin strike across the goal and into the bottom corner made it 1-1. (Sorry, but I don’t have the names of the G scorers; I am taking the Blazey ones from Twitter so, if they are wrong, it’s not my fault)!

Just four minutes later, the home side were back in front again, Jordan Hogan heading home at the far post. When I was at junior school many years ago, our football teacher, Mr Thomas, was obsessed with hitting the ball to the far post so he would have loved that goal. Or hated it if it had gone in against us. But, even now, almost 50 years on, I can’t hear anyone shouting “far post” without thinking of Mr Thomas. The sign of a good teacher, I suspect.

I was already finding keeping up with all this goal action on Twitter quite difficult and was busy again just six minutes later when St Blazey went 3-1 ahead. Jack Alexander was the scorer, according to St Blazey social media. The ball was deflected to him and he either cleverly guided it home as it dropped to him or he scuffed it beautifully into the bottom corner. You decide. Either way, the hosts were now 3-1 up and the tie looked dead and buried already.

On 39 minutes, it looked even deader. A long ball forward caused a mix-up between the G keeper and his defence and St Blazey’s Harry Eaton was able to roll home his side’s fourth. The closely contested cup tie I had been expecting was turning in to a bit of a rout.

At half-time, once all the note-taking and Twittering had died down, I had a chance to reflect on the contrasting styles of the teams. The hosts were definitely of the “play it out from the back” modern school of thought which, to an old-timer like me, makes me feel like they are dicing with death every time they do it, while Godolphin were more powerful and direct, more traditional if you like.

There was no doubt that new-style was overpowering old at this stage of the game but I still felt the need to inject a note of caution. That note said: “I like SBFC’s style but will it still work on a muddy night in November?” Sometimes I am a bit of a footballing dinosaur but I remain to be convinced.

Early in the second half, other home-supporting voices started to reflect my caution as the visitors pulled one back in the 54th minute and the whole tie seemed to tighten up. The next time a Blazey defender dallied on the ball there were anxious cries of “Get rid of it,” from some of those around me. I understood their concerns.

However, those concerns were unfounded and, as the game entered the final 10 minutes, the hosts sealed their place in the next round when a tremendous free-kick from the edge of the box by Jordan Walton flew in to make it 5-2.

That was when my own little drama started. While I was tweeting and note-taking about that goal, there was a bit of a kerfuffle and I looked up to see a red card being brandished. I thought it was aimed at a Godolphin player, so started to note that, but then noticed that the player I thought had been sent off was still on. A quick count showed G still had 11 players so I assumed the ref had dished out a second yellow to the wrong player and so had rescinded the red.

While I was making a note of that, there was another kerfuffle and another red. This time, one of the visitors had definitely been sent off.

Then, while I was trying to make a note of that, the home side made a Horlicks of a free-kick and gifted possession to a Godolphin forward who ran through to score. So, 5-3 and quite a lot happening in the space of those 10 minutes. I had given up Tweeting by this time and just did a round-up of all the action once the final whistle had blown. Or, rather, the action as I saw it.

It was only an hour or two after the game that the St Blazey joint-manager Shaun Vincent messaged me to point out that there had, in fact, been TWO red cards, but the first one, the one I thought the ref had called back, was actually for a Blazey player. It turns out that both teams had been reduced to ten in those final, chaotic minutes.

I missed that completely and felt quite bad about it, but that pain was eased when I got a message from another spectator who said he had completely missed the second sending-off. I told you there was a lot going on in those final ten minutes.

But, from now on, I will try to keep my eyes more peeled on the action than on taking notes. And Twittering will be confined to half-time and full-time scores. You have to learn from your mistakes, you know, and not going to Blaise Park to see a St Blazey game was one mistake I am more than happy to have rectified. It was the real Cornish cup cracker I had been hoping for.

FINAL SCORE: St Blazey 5 Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay) 3

 

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN – PART TWO

St Dennis 4 Illogan RBL 0

Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup Final

A blur of grey delight! Delighted St Dennis celebrate after their comprehensive victory over Illogan RBL in the final of the Durning Lawrence Charity Cup. (I am almost out of picture memory in WordPress so, for more pictures from this game, go to my Facebook page – search for cup football blogger).

DATELINE: Blaise Park, St Blazey, Wednesday, May 8, 2019

MATCH SUMMARY: A dominant first-half display by St Dennis, including a hat-trick by Jacob Rowe, saw the side from the Clay Country ease to a trophy triumph against underdogs Illogan RBL. Illogan had lifted the Cornwall Combination League Cup a couple of weeks earlier with a lively display against St Day but they really struggled to get going in the first 45 minutes of Wednesday night’s cup final. St Dennis, who play one level higher than Illogan, at Step Seven, were simply too pacy and powerful for them to cope with in the first half. Illogan were better after the break and, if they had got one goal back, who knows what might have happened? But they didn’t and St Dennis scrambled home a fourth to seal their success and lift the Cornwall Charity Cup.

THE BLOG: On my way to Wednesday night’s Charity Cup Final, the sunny weather gave way to frequent showers and, suddenly, I was confronted by a vibrant rainbow. As ever, I mused quietly to myself about where the end of the rainbow was and how handy the legendary pot of gold at the end of it would be. That money would go to good use. A new car. A holiday. A new house. A new first team for Millwall in the hope that we can avoid a relegation struggle again next season.

Then I thought: “You know, the right-hand end of that rainbow does look awfully close to Blaise Park, the home of St Blazey FC”, the venue for the very cup final for which I was heading. And that meant that the pot of gold wasn’t going to be a life-changing sum of money for me but, instead, it was going to be a healthy tonic of cup glory for either St Dennis or Illogan RBL.

Now, anyone who has read this blog before will know that the Charity Cup has a special place in my cup football blogging heart. Even though it is just an invitation tournament for 16 teams at Step Seven and below, it still means a lot. Back in 2015, I saw St Dennis edge out my hometown boys of Penryn Athletic 2-1 in the final and it was the emotion of that night, the joy and despair, that made me realise that almost all of my favourite, most memorable, moments in football came about in cup competitions.

Hence this blog was was born and I haven’t missed a Charity Cup Final since. In 2016, I saw Mousehole lift the trophy by beating holders St Dennis in the final; the next season saw Sticker lift the cup with another win over the unfortunate Penryn; and last season I watched as Mousehole won the trophy again with a big win over Wadebridge.

So there was no way I was going to miss the final this year, especially as it made up the middle leg of a triumvirate of cup finals in this, my final blogging week of the football season. It followed the Cornwall Junior Cup Final on Sunday (won by Mousehole Reserves, see blog below) and preceded the big final on Saturday – Falmouth Town v Saltash United in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup.

Therefore, full of anticipation, I followed the rainbow to Blaise Park, expecting to see the light blue of St Dennis take on the black and white stripes of Illogan. Instead, the Saints took away all colour to play in a fetching two-tone shade of grey, while Illogan went the other way and ditched the monochrome for a vivid orange. “Looks like something out of the 1980s,” said Dave Deacon, of Cornwall Football Forum fame. I don’t think he meant it as a compliment but I quite liked the bright shirt. Probably says something about my fashion sense.

Sadly for Illogan, their shirts proved to be the brightest thing about them in the first half as they were overwhelmed by a rampant tide of grey. Maybe they just couldn’t see them in the overcast light of an early spring evening.

Jacob Rowe was the main beneficiary of Illogan’s colour blindness, bagging himself a first-half hat-trick in somewhat strange style. His first was a free header from all of three yards, a simple finish after Illogan had repulsed a wave of powerful strikes on goal from the St Dennis frontline.

For his second, he waltzed through the defence but then scuffed his shot a bit as he rounded the keeper. His effort was cleared off the line – but the clearance wasn’t as well hit as it might have been and rebounded in off him as he fell to the ground.

His third was a tap-in after a scramble in the goalmouth which trickled painfully slowly over the line, just evading the despairing stretch of the final defender. On Twitter, journalist Gareth Davies quite accurately described it as “the scruffiest ever hat-trick” but Rowe, his team-mates and the St Dennis faithful coouldn’t give a jot about that. They were 3-0 up at half-time and had one hand and four fingers on the cup already. What could possibly go wrong?

Well…

All the terrace chatter at half-time was about Liverpool’s astonishing comeback in the Champions League semi-finals the night before, coming from 3-0 down to Barcelona in the first leg to win the second 4-0 and earn a place in the final. Could Illogan do something similar?

We all thought that was very unlikely. I mean, how often does that happen?

Of course, this was before we discovered that, at that very moment, it was starting to happen again – but in Amsterdam, not St Blazey. By the time the final whistle blew in Cornwall, Tottenham had already fought back from 3-0 down v Ajax to only trail 3-2. They couldn’t do a Liverpool, could they? Well, as I listened to the end of the game in the car on the way home, it turned out that they could. Amazing.

So the half-time question was: Could Illogan RBL do a Liverpool? (Or, as we now know it, a Tottenham)? Would St Dennis become the latest stunned victims of a thrilling cup comeback, alongside Barcelona and Ajax Amsterdam? Is this the first time those two Cornish minnows have been mentioned in such exalted footballing company?

The answer to the last question above is probably yes. The answer to the previous two was, sadly for the neutrals in the Blaise Park crowd, no.

Illogan were much, much better after the break and threatened to nick that first goal that would get them back in the game. Who knows what would have happened then?

But the goal wouldn’t come and St Dennis put to bed any chance of a fightback by scoring a fourth, from yet another scramble. Such was the bumbling, untidy nature of the goal that we couldn’t work out who had scored so, while the Illogan keeper received treatment for an injury he received in the melee, we asked a nearby St Dennis official/fan (not sure which) who the scorer was.

He didn’t know either but obligingly shouted our query to the nearest Saints player. He replied with a name but then added: “Although it could have been an own goal by the keeper.”

At that point, we all gave up and just decided to go with the phrase: St Dennis scrambled home a fourth. Lucky journos covering the Premier League and Champions League never have this sort of problem!

And that was that. Huff and puff as they might, Illogan couldn’t get the goal their efforts probably deserved and, at the final whistle, it was the turn of the St Dennis players to break into the by now traditional and joyous rendition of “Championes, championes, ole, ole, ole!” They thoroughly deserved their moment of delight and celebration.

As long as you are not a supporter of the losing side, it is always a happily enjoyable ritual to watch and it meant that I left the ground with a satisfied cup final smile on my face.

But there were other winners on the night, too, and I don’t mean Tottenham.

The Charity Cup does exactly what it says on the tin – it raises money for charity. For the second season running the Cornwall FA had voted to raise vital funds for The Invictus Trust, a local campaign which aims to help youngsters in Cornwall who are suffering from serious mental health issues. It really is a good cause.

Before the game, a cheque for £1,219 was presented  to the trust, all raised during this beautiful cup competition. Well done Cornwall FA and all the clubs involved in the tournament. Football with a heart and soul … you have got to love it.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

REMINDER: For more pictures search for Peter Harlow @cupfootballblogger on Facebook.

EASTER CELEBRATIONS

Illogan RBL 2 St Day 1

LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup Final

Falmouth Town 2 Saltash United 1

RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Final

As is traditional, lots of bubbly is wasted as cup winners celebrate their success. This time it was the turn of the Illogan RBL players to spray the stuff around.

Party time. Falmouth Town players and their raucous band of colourful supporters celebrate after their 2-1 win over Saltash United in the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Final.

DATELINES: Gala Parc, Porthleven, Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019; and Priory Park, Bodmin, Easter Monday, April 22, 2019.

MATCH SUMMARIES: Two days, two tense cup finals, two holders toppled. Firstly, it was the turn of St Day and Illogan RBL to slug it out in the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup Final at a gloriously sunny Gala Parc, Porthleven. St Day won the cup last year for the third time in six years but couldn’t make it four in seven, going down to an own goal and a header from a corner. Their consolation was that the goal they scored was one of the best I have seen all season and their excited fans definitely won the noise battle on the day. The Combination is at Step Eight of the Non-League Pyramid and we all took two steps up on Easter Monday when Step Six rivals Saltash United and Falmouth Town battled it out for the most prestigious title in football in the Duchy – the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup. Another header from a corner, this time for Falmouth Town, proved decisive again, although holders Saltash will claim that a hotly contested red card early in the second half was a major turning point in their title defence.

THE BLOG: Across the world, Easter means lots of different things to lots of different people. To millions of committed Christians, it is the most holy time of year. To millions more around the globe, it means lots of chocolates and sticky buns. And to millions more, bizarrely, it means bunnies. Funny old world.

To me, it means cup finals.

Well, actually, it used to mean cup semi-finals as the FA Cup final four, my birthday and Easter often seemed to coincide, which was all very exciting for a child obsessed by football, Easter eggs and jelly and ice cream. But now that I am all growed up (and then some) and living in deepest Cornwall, Easter means cup finals.

The biggest game of them all in the Duchy, the Cornwall Senior Cup Final, is traditionally played on Easter Monday. And the Cornwall Combination League Cup Final, the battle for knockout supremacy in the western half of Cornwall, takes place each year on Easter Sunday. What a perfect couple of days for a cup football blogger.

And this year, it was probably the best couple of days of footballing fun I have had in four seasons of writing this blog. The football wasn’t always scintillating sensational but the occasions were. So let’s start at the beginning and take this in chronological order.

Every season, bloggers and charity fundraisers across the nation embark on the road to Wembley, following the likes of the FA Vase, FA Trophy and FA Cup from the preliminary rounds all the way to the Twin Towers, sorry, Big Shiny Arch for the finals.

But for West Cornwall’s big knockout tournament, the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup, the road isn’t to Wembley, it’s to a different venue each season – although it’s usually Gala Parc, Porthleven. So it was again this year, for the 12th time this century.

And what a fabulous choice it proved to be.

Gala Parc is always a pretty ground, with its grass banks, park benches and oceans of space but, in Sunday’s glorious wall-to-wall sunshine, it was simply magnificent. With more than 400 people in the ground and a fabulous seaside atmosphere, it felt more like being at a festival than at a non-league football match. In four season of doing this blog, I have never felt an atmosphere quite like it. I absolutely loved it.

There was plenty of singing and chanting, lots of happy chatting, and loads and loads of smiles. It was a beautiful example of just how the beautiful game should be.

The anticipation before the game and, in truth, the feeling before any cup final occasion, was brilliantly summed up in a tweet by St Day’s Rob Hosking when he said: “Cup final day! A day when all those cold n wet training sessions, matches played in hurricane conditions, shift swaps & night shifts, all become worthwhile.”

I can’t argue with any of that.

The match itself was a tense affair. That affected the quality on show at times and both sides will feel that they have played better at other times of the season than they did on Sunday. The match was always watchable and intriguing, though, and there was really nothing to choose between the sides.

St Day were in the final for the fourth time in seven seasons and had won on each previous occasion, but they fell behind in the first half to an unfortunate own goal. A long ball forward from the Illogan keeper seemed to be making its way all the way through to the Saints’ keeper but, just as he took a step out towards the ball, his centre-half Matt Witts decided that he would back-head it back to him. Unluckily for St Day, he got just enough on it to loop the ball over the keeper and into the middle of his own net. Sad on any day, but doubly so in a cup final.

Championes!! Yes, the first “mushroom” song of the season was about to burst into life as the Illogan RBL skipper lifted the Cornwall Combination League Cup trophy.

Saints, the cup holders, showed their fighting spirit, though, and equalised on 54 minutes with the best goal of the game and possibly the best I have seen this season. A series of one-twos and short, sharp passes ended with Chris Dobson firing home an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box. It was a cracking goal which was loudly appreciated by the large St Day contingent in the crowd – the loudest roar for a goal I have heard this season.

I think most people in the ground thought that St Day would probably go on from here and lift the trophy again but the match stayed as tight as ever. The decisive moment came when, with extra-time and more sunburn looming, Illogan skipper Steve Abbott-Smith found space from a corner and headed home with a thumping finish.

There was no way back from that for St Day and, after the cup presentations and the usual rendition of “Championes, championes, ole, ole, ole” from the victors (I am sure European linguists think they are singing about mushrooms) we all headed off in search of a cooling beer, some cooling after-sun lotion and a sneaking suspicion that the next day’s Senior Cup Final couldn’t possibly live up to the festival of fun we had had at Porthleven.

It gave it a good go though.

Two things perhaps went against Monday living up to Sunday. Firstly, Bodmin is not as pretty as Porthleven and, secondly, the weather had turned decidedly greyer and colder, even with a hint of rain. No need to worry about getting sunburnt this time.

But none of that bothered the fans of Saltash United and Falmouth Town, who had turned up in numbers to cheer on their sides, The Ashes determined to hang on to the trophy they won last season and Falmouth determined to lift the Cornwall Senior Cup for the first time since 1997, too long for a club of Town’s size, a proper Cornish sleeping giant.

Such was the rush to get in – and the determination to have one last drink before leaving the clubhouse – that there was a 10-minute queue at the gate, which was spent listening to the good-natured banter of those patiently waiting to get in, watching the waving black-and-yellow flags of the lively Fal contingent, and worrying that we might miss the kick-off.

You never want to get in to a game late as you never know what you might miss. If you had got to Priory Park, Bodmin, seven minutes late on Monday, you would have already missed two goals.

The loud Falmouth fans were silenced very early on when Saltash’s top striker Ryan Richards took advantage of a couple of slips in the Town defence to give the holders the lead after just three minutes. But the Fal followers were in full voice again just three minutes later when Joe Cooper volleyed home the equaliser from a corner.

Action from the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Final between Saltash United, in red, and Falmouth Town, at Priory Park, Bodmin.

This looked like being a very lively encounter and it was certainly a clash of styles. Saltash were a very neat footballing side – they are going to finish fourth or fifth in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Premier Division, a place or two above Falmouth who, on Monday, adopted a much more direct approach, making use of their quick players up front. It was fascinating to watch.

But probably the real turning point of the match was not tactical, nor a moment of genius, it was a yellow card that turned red. Saltash midfielder Richard Maddison had been booked in the first half and, just five minutes into the second half, he saw yellow again. It came after a collision in midfield which also resulted in him handling the ball.

Now, I’m not the ref so I don’t know whether he booked him for the foul or the handball but, either way, it felt a bit harsh. It probably was a yellow card offence but, having already been booked, it was a classic case of two yellows not really adding up to a red. A very deep orange, perhaps, but not quite a red. I felt he was unlucky. Sorry ref.

Saltash were upset but still kept playing their football. In all honesty, once they had settled down again, it was hard to tell which team had ten men and which had eleven.

Then, for the second time in two days, a more or less free header from a corner late on in the game settled the destination of the cup. The scorers this time were Falmouth, centre-half James Ward heading home Dave Broglino’s corner at the far post.

Cue pandemonium. There was noise, cheering, flag-waving and, a first for me at this level of football, flares let off among the delighted Fal supporters. The last time I saw one of them was at Plymouth Argyle a few seasons back when one was thrown at us Millwall supporters as we left the ground. We just threw it back and kept walking.

At the final whistle there was the usual cup final joy and despair, with Falmouth absolutely delighted to have finally won the Senior Cup and Saltash not only gutted at having let the trophy slip from their grasp but angry too. They really didn’t like the red card.

But they will soon get their chance of revenge. These two teams meet again on May 11 in the final of the brilliantly named Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup and, this time, it will be Falmouth trying to hold on to their crown, having won the cup last season.

I can’t wait.

THE PICTURES

Joy and despair. Joy for Illogan RBL and despair for St Day as the final whistle sounds in the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup Final, in a game played at Gala Parc, Porthleven.

Gala Parc, Porthleven, was an absolute picture in the Easter sunshine and the crowd was in a festival mood as St Day and Illogan RBL battled out the final of the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup Final.

St Day, in yellow, on the attack v Illogan RBL in the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League Cup Final.

The road to, er, Wembley? No Gala Parc, Porthleven. More than 400 paying souls rocked up at the Cornwall Combination League Cup adding to the thousands more who were making the most of the Easter sunshine. Fair to say, it was busy in Porthleven on Easter Day.

Mixed emotions. Plenty of celebrations for the Saltash United fans in the stand at Bodmin Town’s Priory Park ground as their side took an early lead in Easter Monday’s RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Final against Falmouth Town. The gent in the foreground doesn’t look so excited.

Losing is a lonely place in a cup final. Sadness for a Saltash United player after Falmouth Town’s Cornwall Senior Cup Final triumph.

Trophy celebrations for Falmouth Town, who defeated holders Saltash United 2-1 in the final of the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup. I couldn’t get so close to this cup presentation as I could at the Combo Cup Final the day before.

Saltash United on the attack v Falmouth Town in the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Final at Priory Park, Bodmin on Easter Monday.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

SING WHEN I’M WINNING (and losing .. and drawing..)

Wendron United 0 Saltash United 5

RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Semi-Final

It was always going to be difficult to take decent pictures with my camera-phone under the floodlights and so, in a bid to minimise the blurriness, I went for this as a non-action action picture. I think it worked! Saltash are the team in the red and white stripes.

DATELINE: Burngullow Park, Sticker FC, Wednesday, March 6, 2019

MATCH SUMMARY: Senior Cup holders Saltash showed that they were determined to keep their hands on the trophy with a dominant semi-final win over a gallant Wendron side on a chilly Wednesday night in Sticker. The Ashes are on the fringes of the title race in the Premier Division of the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League, one step above their opponents, and so were always big favourites for this clash. A 2-0 half-time lead for them was a little bit harsh on Wendron, who had offered their fair share of threat, but the second half was a different story as Saltash took full control. They were 5-0 up with 20 minutes to go and the only real surprise on the night was that they didn’t add more goals.

THE BLOG: I am not the most musical person in the world (I’m totally tone-deaf, really) but most of the time in my head there is a pretty random disco going on. Sometimes it’s music I love, sometimes it’s songs I hate but can’t shake, sometimes it’s just a horrible surprise (the other day Take That wouldn’t go away!) and sometimes it’s just a tune that I have made up.

I think it’s my way of concentrating. When I was schoolboy, I always had music on when I was revising or doing homework; when I did exams there was always a tune playing in my brain – which might explain some of my results. When I played football, in between shouting at everyone else, there was background music rattling around the large empty spaces in my brain.

And even as I write this, there is music playing. For once, I have gone a bit high-brow and have Radio Three drifting away behind me. Mind you, instead of Dvorak or Debussy, they have just played the theme tune to Father Brown, so it’s not that high-brow!

On Wednesday evening, as I made my way to the ever-improving Burngullow Park home of Sticker FC for the Cornwall Senior Cup semi between Wendron and Saltash, the tune playing in my head was a mix of the truly terrible and the made-up.

To the tune of Tulips from Amsterdam, made famous by Max Bygraves back in 1958, which was before even I was born, I was singing to myself:

When it’s spring again

I’ll bring again,

Semis from neutral grounds

Yep, it’s that time of year again when flowers are blossoming, when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love, when the days are getting longer and, supposedly, warmer; and when football fans head off to neutral grounds for cup semi-finals.

In among all the excitement of being in the final four, us football fans, renowned for the ability to find the negative in any positive, often groan and moan about the choice of venue. It’s not big enough, it’s not nice enough, it’s nearer to them than it is to us, I just don’t like it, we never win there, and so on and so on.

But I didn’t hear any grumbling about the choice of Burngullow Park, Sticker. Firstly, it’s only about 24 miles from Wendron’s ground and around 36 from Saltash. Even in Cornish terms, where the distance you have to travel to games is always a major point of dispute and discussion, that’s not too bad of a disparity.

Secondly, it’s a cracking little ground.

When I first went there three or four seasons back there was one covered area. Now there are three. And there are new floodlights, which means the club can host occasions like this. Even the car parking along the top side of the pitch, which I was bit worried about, was nicely organised.

The only problem I had was at half-time when I wanted to sit down in the warm for ten minutes but I couldn’t remember where my car was. Wandering up and down a line of parked vehicles with your keys in your hand and a bemused expression on your face is not the best look when you have “cup football blogger” written all over your coat – there’s no chance of hiding my stupidity in anonymity.

What I should have done was go to the nice and warm clubhouse. By not doing so, I almost missed a very important announcement. It was only as the second half kicked off that I finally heard the last plaintive call for the holder of the winning 50-50 ticket number to come forward.

Turns out it was me!

Yes, I won the half-time draw. I have grumbled about my lack of success in these draws all season but now I can enjoy basking in the joy of victory. Whoo hoo. And it’s the second time I have won the draw at Sticker. That’s another reason it’s one of my favourite grounds!

After that, I couldn’t decide whether the tune in my head should be Money, Money, Money, by Abba, or We’re In The Money, which is apparently from a 1933 film called Gold Diggers. For the whole of the second half there was a horrible clashing cacophony in my head as the two tunes vied for supremacy. It’s lucky for you all that you weren’t in there to hear it.

All this noise, though, began with what should have been a minute’s silence for two sides who have been united in tragedy this season. Wendron chairman Kevin Williamson had collapsed and died just moments after his club’s quarter-final win against Porthleven in this competition last month (see In Memory Of Kevin Williamson, published on this blog on February 10) while Saltash were mourning the loss of former player and captain Daley Simpson who had died from cancer just a few days before this match. He was just 34 years of age.

The first 20 seconds of the tribute was interrupted by noise from a loudspeaker that hadn’t been switched off but the crowd, the players and the officials themselves were all absolutely impeccable in their silence. Once again, well done to the football community for showing such respect. It is an honour to be part of the football family at times.

Once the game itself kicked off, though, the volume rose nicely. Well, you had to be loud to make yourself heard over the sound of the chattering of teeth. My goodness, it was chilly. Whatever happened to the balmy days of February?

Getting close to the action as a Wendron forward tries to launch an attack.

One of my favourite sounds at any football ground is that ironic cheer, often from friend and foe alike, when a shot goes high and wide, or the ball rolls under a player’s foot and out of play or, better still, when a ref falls over. It’s always followed by a collective giggle and a moment’s relaxation when the tension of the game is forgotten as the humour of the moment is paramount.

Our first ironic “raaaayyyy! of the evening came after 15 minutes when a Saltash attempt on goal went, as they say, high, wide and not very handsome. There were definite shades of Peter Kay’s “ave it” TV advert about it.

Just two minutes later came a much more important sound in the context of the contest – the shrill blast of the ref’s whistle as he pointed to the penalty spot. Underdogs Wendron had begun quite brightly but were about to find themselves a goal behind after a foul in the box as Saltash broke forward. There were no complaints and Danny Lewis made no mistake from the spot. 1-0 to the holders.

A couple of minutes later it was almost 2-0 but the Dron keeper made a super save to keep Saltash at bay. At about this point, a strong gust of wind made me stumble slightly which, inevitably, brought a song to mind. Yes, Calamity Jane, the Windy City might be mighty pretty but a windy football ground doesn’t always make for pretty viewing. (Honestly, I am going to have to have a word with the DJ in my head)!

Five minutes before half-time, Saltash doubled their lead when Ryan Richards’ mis-hit shot turned into the perfect pass for Lee Hawkins, who turned it home nicely.

The Ashes might have been slightly fortunate to be two goals to the good at the interval but, in the second 45, they were simply superb and had far too much for a brave Wendron side which never stopped trying but which didn’t have any answers to the attacking prowess of the red-and-white-shirted cup holders.

It was 3-0 on 54 minutes when Richards slotted home tidily. There were some calls from the sidelines for an offside flag but the lino was adamant there was nothing doing and the goal stood.

If the tie wasn’t settled then it was just nine minutes later when a good strike by Richards made it four, and the fifth followed in the 71st minute, Caleb Summerfield the scorer.

After that, it was just a case of whether Saltash would add to their tally or whether Wendron could get the goal that their tireless efforts deserved. In the event, both keepers pulled saves out of the top drawer to prevent any further scoring.

Many cup semi-finals are tense, niggly, even nasty affairs, but this one could not have been more different. It was probably one of the politest cup ties I have ever been to and was all the better for it. It was very sensibly reffed by Antony Rogers, too.

At the end of the match, both sides were afforded a well-deserved round of applause; Saltash for their victory and their quality; Wendron for their battling approach and superb attitude.

Yes, it was time for songs of praise all round, apart from whoever was in charge of the music in my head. So I am off to kill the DJ. Ah, a bit of Green Day. That’s much better.

THE PICTURES

Wrapped up warm against the spring weather!!!

Getting all arty with this view through the goal nets to the main stand at Burngullow Park, the home of Sticker FC, which staged the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup semi-final between Wendron United and Saltash United …

… and a not at all arty view of the same stand from the other side of the pitch. It was much fuller than this when the game kicked off.

Saltash on the attack in the second half. They scored three times in the second 45 minutes to seal their cup final place.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

HIDDEN MAGIC

Elburton Villa 1 Mousehole FC 0 (after extra time)

Score at 90 minutes 0-0 (obviously)

Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup Quarter-Final

Haye Road, the home of Elburton Villa. There is a cracking little set-up at the Plymouth-based club.

DATELINE: Haye Road, Elburton, Plymouth, Saturday, March 2, 2019

MATCH SUMMARY: This was always going to be a close encounter, with Elburton Villa sitting in the lower half of the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Premier Division and Mousehole thriving at the top end of Division One West, and so it proved. In fact, probably the best way to describe the action is to use that time-honoured footballing phrase: “The two teams cancelled each other out.” The only goal came exactly midway through the first half of extra time when Matt Thackeray forced home from close range.

THE BLOG: Four days before Saturday’s big kick-off, Elburton Villa were already ramping up the drama of this quarter-final in the knockout competition with simply the best name of them all – the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup.

They tweeted: “The magic of the cup comes to Haye Road and it’s a big one for both clubs.”

Well, it certainly was a big game for both teams. For the Plymouth-based home side, it represented a chance of staying in the race for silverware, a way of keeping their season alive as they sit in 14th place in the SWPL Premier Division but safe from any real relegation fears. In fact, with the league being reorganised for next season, there probably won’t be any relegation any way, but you know what I mean.

And for Mousehole, who had made the 85-mile journey from west Cornwall, it was the chance to add another string to their ever more impressive cup-fighting bow, after reaching the finals of both the Cornwall Senior Cup and Cornwall Charity Cup last season, being narrowly edged out in the Senior final and lifting the trophy in the Charity one.

No doubt, then, that it was a tie which meant a lot to both sides. But what about the magic?

Well, it has to be said that the it hadn’t caught the imagination of masses of the Plymouth population and it was a pretty sparse crowd. The Twitter publicity campaign hadn’t really fired up the natives.

And, on the face of it, after more than two hours of football on a bobbly pitch ,with the temperature dropping to wintry proportions, goalmouth action at a premium, and the gloom closing in, it may have seemed that those who stayed away might have made the right decision.

Even Phil Hiscox, the secretary of the SWPL, who had chosen Haye Road as the venue for his latest outing of the season, said afterwards: “Not exactly a thriller, was it?”

Now, as the world’s leading advocate for the joys of cup football (no, honestly, I am), I immediately felt the need to jump to the defence of the beautiful cup game.

“Tense, though, wasn’t it?” I countered, and the kind Mr Hiscox agreed.

I felt ever so slightly vindicated but, in truth, it was a hard match to sell as an example of the magic of any cup. So I set out on a search for the positives.

The night before, I had been glued (metaphorically not actually) to a broadcast on the BBC Sport website, watching the Irish Cup Quarter-Final between second tier Larne and cup holders Coleraine. It was a belter. The underdogs led 2-0 at half-time, the “giants” pulled it back to 2-2 after the break, but Larne looked to have won it with a late goal to take the lead again.

But Coleraine showed real battling qualities to equalise deep, deep into injury time and then finally broke Larne hearts with goals right at the start and end of extra-time to seal a remarkable 5-3 win. It was drama all the way, a classic example of the magic of the cup and a fantastic game to watch.

The tiny main stand and the bank behind it were the major viewing points for the crowd at Elburton Villa v Mousehole in the quarter-finals of the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup.

On Saturday, though, it was soon clear that we were not going to be in for a goal-fest. Indeed, to borrow another time-worn footballing phrase, it was the sort of game that had 0-0 written all over it. The first half, in particular, lacked goalmouth action. Mousehole played their neat “pass it out from the back” style while Villa were proponents of a more direct approach. But whichever way the sides played, goal threats were rare.

But this didn’t deter my cup football enthusiasm. I even wrote in my notebook at half-time: “The styles are sort of cancelling each other out. It’s not a cracker. Yet!”

And, anyway, I was loving the Haye Road experience. It is a ground full of character, with three full-size football pitches and one mini-one, a distinctive little stand behind the goal, another tiny “main stand” and banking around two sides of the main pitch. But more than that, it was a friendly ground.

As I paid my fiver on the turnstile, the gateman was happy to chat about the weather and the prospects of the afternoon ahead; at half-time I was offered a free cup of tea because of my blogging efforts to promote the local game (even though I had crossed the border into Devon); and we all enjoyed the efforts of one smiling volunteer who spent much of the first half trying to stop a recalcitrant corner flag from falling over.

There was a happy feel to the club and I instantly fell in love with it.

Mind you, the fact that I only got lost once on the way there probably helped put me into such a good mood. I always, always, get lost when I go into Plymouth. It seems the whole city is designed to send you round in circles – whenever I want to turn right, the road system seems to force me to turn left. Even with the aid of sat-nav on the phone I still went wrong on Saturday!

However, I still found the ground 20 minutes before kick-off and had time to get my bearings and get everything settled before the game began. I felt like a winner even before the 2.30pm start and the warm welcome only cheered me up more. Lovely little club.

Mind you, by half-time, I was beginning to wonder whether, football-wise, I had chosen the right match. Surely the second half had to be more exciting?

Well, it was. It was much more lively and certainly became more of a battle as Elburton pushed up further and disrupted the Mousehole style. It all became a lot more “competitive” with several yellows being shown, including two in one kerfuffle as temperatures on the pitch rose as those off the pitch fell rapidly.

But goalmouth action was still a rare treat, although Mousehole came close midway through the half when a Gerens James effort was cleared off the line. Would that be the signal for attacks to finally get on top and for defences to wilt? No. And, to be fair, when the 90 minutes ended goalless, nobody in the ground was at all surprised.

Now, if this was a run-of-the-mill league game, we would have all gone home grumbling a bit and looking forward to a nice hot cup of tea to get us moving again. But as this was a cup competition, a knockout contest, a winner-stays-on occasion, we had to find a winner and so we headed into the drama of extra time, with penalties looming on the horizon.

Would this be the moment when we rediscovered the magic of the cup?

It certainly got magical for the hosts on 98 minutes (well 97 and a half, according to my stopwatch) when they finally, finally broke the deadlock with an effort from inside the box as, for once, Mousehole failed to clear the ball.

The goal surprised everyone, both watching and playing, as evidenced by the fact that my hands and my phone-camera were deep in my pocket and I only got them out in time to take a photo of the end of the celebrations. And celebrations there were. I think everyone Elburton player apart from the keeper joined in the group hugging. They were as delighted as Mousehole were dismayed.

That was the moment when the magic appeared. Yes, every time a goal is scored there is joy on one side and grim realisation on the other, but there was definitely a heightened reaction this time when the ball hit the net.

All of a sudden, Elburton were within touching distance of a big cup semi-final, the twinkle of silverware was that bit brighter in the collective Villa eyes.

Conversely, for Mousehole the chance of yet more cup glory was suddenly slipping over the horizon. Could they summon up that fighting spirit and get back into the game? Well, admirably, they stuck to their passing principles, rather than just lumping it forward and hoping, which is what I would have done and, with ten seconds of the first half of extra time left, they came so close to the leveller with a shot that whacked off the post.

The tension mounted and mounted in the second extra period which, rather than the regulation 15 minutes, lasted 22 due to injuries, substitutions, a bit of a melee and general delays from free-kicks and throw-ons, etc. There was even time for one almighty, and traditional, goalmouth scramble when it looked as if the Cornish visitors must score but the Devonian defence managed to somehow smuggle the ball to safety.

As the seconds ticked on, I wasn’t the only one with more than one eye on the clock. An Elburton supporter in front of me was staring at his phone, giving everyone around him regular announcements about how long we had played.  It was tense, oh so tense.

But then, for the Elburton faithful anyway, came the magic moment when the final whistle blew. Cue roars of delight and relief all round from those in Villa’s red and white, while the Mousehole contingent were left feeling as blue as their side’s shirts.

So, no, it wasn’t a thrill-a-minute cup tie goalfest but the tension and the drama kept us all hooked to the very end. Cup magic comes in all sorts of different forms – this might have been a slow-burner but, in the end, it still managed to cast its spell over Haye Road. Shazam!

THE PICTURES

The covered stand and turnstile behind the goal at Haye Road, Plymouth, the home of Elburton Villa. Yes, I know this picture is one for the groundhoppers but you have to admit that it certainly adds to the character of the ground. The steps are the “tunnel” down which the players enter the field of play.

An Elburton defender, in red and white, heads a Mousehole corner just wide of his own post. It was actually a very good piece of defending.

Magic moment: Celebrations for Elburton after scoring the only goal of the game against Mousehole in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup Quarter-Final. Well, this is kind of the end of the celebrations, which were at the far end of the pitch to me. It took me a while to get my freezing hands out of my pockets to get hold of my phone camera so I missed capturing on “film” the real joy, and despair, of the big moment of the match. Sorry about that.

Elburton Villa launch the ball into the Mousehole box but it was another attack which came to nothing in this very evenly matched cup tie.

 

 

Looking along the sideline at Haye Road as Elburton Villa, in red and white, hosted Mousehole FC in the last eight of the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup. One of Villa’s volunteers spent most of the first half trying to keep this corner flag in place. He got there in the end.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

 

 

IN MEMORY OF KEVIN WILLIAMSON

Wendron United 0 Liskeard Athletic 1

Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup Quarter-Final

Saturday’s memorial matchday programme was full of memories of, and tributes to, Kevin Williamson.

DATELINE: Underlane, Carnkie, Wendron, Saturday, February 9, 2019

MATCH SUMMARY: A superb 74th-minute strike by Lyle Johnson was all that separated these two teams on an emotional day at Underlane as hosts Wendron paid tribute to long-time chairman Kevin Williamson, who had collapsed and died the previous weekend. Both clubs can be proud of the way they conducted themselves on a difficult day and both sets of players deserve praise for battling hard on a heavy pitch to produce a very hard-fought cup tie.

THE BLOG: As anyone who has ever read this blog will know, I love football, especially cup football. I have been rocking up to games for nigh on fifty years now and, every time, I still get the buzz of anticipation, that sharp curiosity about what you will see played out on the pitch, that feel that something truly dramatic could be about to unfold in front of you.

I truly love the sport but, despite it being the most popular game on the planet, I so often feel that I have to defend both it and my support of it.

Critics slam it as being played by and watched by mindless yobs, they accuse players of cheating and diving, they accuse fans of being ignorant and uneducated. They say modern professional players are vastly overpaid and that youngsters would be better off taking up something more gentlemanly, such as rugby, cricket or golf.

Every one of those critics should have been at Underlane, the home of Wendron United, on Saturday when their prejudices would have been proved wrong, oh so wrong.

If ever there was a day that proved football truly does have class, character and, above all, a real sense of community, this was it.

This cup tie came at the end of a truly difficult and tragic week for Wendron.

The previous Saturday had seen one of the best results in the club’s history. Victory over high-flying local rivals Porthleven had seen Dron reach the semi-finals of the Cornwall Senior Cup for the very first time. But, just minutes after the final whistle, the club’s long-serving chairman Kevin Williamson collapsed. First-aiders and paramedics managed to stabilise him and he was flown to hospital by the Cornwall air ambulance.

Sadly, the next day, Kevin died, leaving the club and the Cornish footballing community shocked and stunned.

Kevin had been chairman of Wendron since 2007 and was the heart and soul of Underlane. He had played cricket for the club , which is on the same site as the football ground, and served in many, many roles across the football club, from working with the youth teams to managing the first team, to running the line to washing the kits.

Sports clubs at this level up and down the land are reliant on people like Kevin to keep them going, to keep them functioning, and he had done a job of which each and every one of those volunteers would be proud.

I didn’t know Kevin but I knew his club. It has always been a friendly and welcoming place to visit and has always been abuzz with sporting activity. There are two football pitches, an all-weather sports area and the cricket ground on the main site, with another football pitch a little way away up the hill. There are four men’s football teams on a Saturday, another on a Sunday, and more youth teams than you can shake a stick at.

As football chairman Peter Thorne said in a superb speech before the game, nearly every club in this part of Cornwall can boast a player or two from Wendron’s youth set-up. That’s a fantastic legacy and shows that the club must be doing something right.

In fact, on Saturday, it did everything right.

Rather than postponing this match, they called off  the club’s second, third and fourth team games and turned this occasion into a tribute to Kevin. The fact that well over 200 people turned up, including representatives from several other clubs as well as the Cornwall FA, showed just how well-respected he was and proved the club was right to go ahead with the game.

Wreaths were laid in the centre circle before kick-off. Players and officials then gathered around for a minute’s silence in memory of Kevin Williamson.

It was a last eight tie in the Cornwall Charity Cup which, every season, raises money for a chosen good cause in the Duchy, with a percentage of gate money from each tie going into the pot. But there was no gate money collected at this game. Instead of charging an entrance fee, the club decided to ask for donations to the air ambulance, whose crews had worked so hard to help Kevin, and almost £1,200 was collected on the day. That’s a magnificent effort.

As the two teams lined up to enter the field of play, Last Post was sounded and then, as they walked onto the pitch, the anthem of Kevin’s other favourite team, Leeds United, was played. Players and officials then gathered around wreaths placed on the centre spot and a minute’s silence was beautifully observed. It was all very well done, with a real touch of class about it.

After that, a football match broke out. But what sort of game would it be? Would the occasion affect the players, would they be able to focus on the game ahead?

While we all expected it to be difficult for Dron, spare a thought for Liskeard and their players. What would they make of the day’s events?

They are currently unbeaten in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division One West, with 13 wins and three draws from 16 games and look nailed on to be playing at a higher level next season. They were favourites to win this tie – with Wendron sitting tenth in the same division – and are also the favourites to lift this piece of silverware. But would the strange build-up and unusual feel of the day put them off their stride?

Wendron’s officials were full of praise for the support they had had from Liskeard during the week but it can’t have been an easy few days for everyone involved at both clubs.

In truth, after a brilliant early save from home keeper Dan Stedman kept the game goalless, the first half of the first half was a tentative affair, with lots of raw emotion still dominating the atmosphere.

Liskeard played lots of neat football and you could see why they are doing so well this season. They also had about them the air of a team that thoroughly believes it is going to win, which is a priceless asset for any football side. Wendron were more than matching them, though, with some tidy passing of their own, as both sides made light work of the heavy pitch.

But it still didn’t feel as if we are all about the football until about midway through the half when a Dron defender slid in with a rugged challenge that left a visiting forward writhing on the ground, players arguing and shoving one another, and words being exchanged between some of the crowd and some of the aggrieved Liskeard players.

On another day, it might have been a red card, for the aggressive intent if nothing else, but the ref decided just to wave the yellow card and, from that moment on, the football became the focus.

The home side almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time when an effort from a corner clipped the bar. We all felt the keeper had touched it but the ref said goal-kick. I’d like to see a replay of that!

The second half was a much more open, less cagey affair. Wendron almost scored the goal the home crowd craved on 56 minutes but a Liskeard defender headed off the line and, a minute later, the visitors almost scored at the other end but the Dron keeper came out on top in a one-on-one encounter.

Wendron came even closer to taking the lead on 64 minutes when, after a period of sustained pressure, a Liskeard defender thumped a clearance against his own post. Cue “oohs” and “aahs” all around Underlane.

At this stage, Wendron looked the side most likely to go on and earn a place in the last four and mark this special occasion with a battling win, but Liskeard showed why they are doing so well this season with some assured defending (other than the whack against their own post) and then taking the big chance to score when it came their way, Lyle Johnson cracking home a superb winner from outside the box.

Both sides were applauded off at the end of a gruelling, engrossing, 90 minutes, having conducted themselves admirably on such a difficult day.

Well done to Liskeard for their behaviour and conduct in the week leading up to the game and for their class and character on the day itself.

Well done to Wendron for doing just about everything right on the toughest day they could have imagined. Apart from getting the result they would have wanted, I am sure everything the club did would have made Kevin a proud man.

And well done to the Cornish footballing community for pulling together when it really mattered, for proving that football is, and always will be, the beautiful game that we all love.

RIP Kevin Williamson.

THE PICTURES

The packed car park behind the goal at the bottom end at Underlane as more than 200 people crowded into the ground.

Liskeard Athletic, in blue, on the attack v hosts Wendron United.

Midfield action in the Cornwall Charity Cup tie between Wendron United, in claret, and Liskeard Athletic.

Action from the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup Quarter-Final between Wendron United, in claret, and Liskeard Athletic.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

 

 

CARRY ON UP THE BICKLAND

Falmouth Town 4 Launceston 0

RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Quarter-Final

Grandstand. Watching the action from Falmouth Town v Launceston in the Quarter-Final of the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup.

DATELINE: Bickland Park, Falmouth, Saturday, February 2, 2019.

MATCH SUMMARY: If you were to be asked to sum up Falmouth Town’s victory in this last-eight tie in one word, that word would be “straightforward.” They sit sixth in the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Premier Division, while Launceston are second from bottom and so Fal were always the favourites.  After taking an early lead, the tie was really settled when the home side netted three times in seven minutes either side of half-time. There wasn’t really much doubt about the result after that and the match drifted along to its inevitable conclusion. There was a distinct lack of cup thrills about this one but Falmouth won’t mind as they are now in two cup semi-finals and the glint of silverware is definitely on the horizon. Town’s goals came from Luke Brabyn (2), Tim Nixon and James Ward.

THE BLOG: There is a classic comedy scene towards the end of Carry On Up The Khyber when the British Empire representatives carry on with their formal, black-tie, dinner while the rebellious natives attack the fort with gunfire and artillery. Even as ceilings collapse and bullets fly, they carry on eating regardless.

The only one who seems to notice is the visiting Brother Belcher, who is more than a bit shaken and turns to Sid James, aka Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, the head of the British mission in the area, and says: “Terrible noise.”

Sir Sidney glances at the band playing the chamber music for the dinner and says: “Yes, it’s shocking innit? It’s not a first-class orchestra. Mind you, they are doing their best.”

It is a superb illustration of the traditional British stiff upper lip, that stoic determination to ignore the obvious peril and/or fuss in front of you in the hope that, if you take no notice, it will go away.

Whatever happened to that?

Now, in the days of social media and 24-hour news, the aim seems to be to spread panic as quickly as possible in order to give the proverbial headless chickens a jolly good run for their money. Take the end of last week as an example.

We had snow in Cornwall. It is not a common occurrence but, when the white stuff does start to settle, carry on chaos breaks out. Obviously it was no fun for those stuck on the county’s main trunk road, the A30, as it crosses Bodmin Moor and who had to spend the night in makeshift dormitories in the nearby Jamaica Inn, but the aftermath was pure British farce.

Local radio and TV stations, plus Cornish websites and social media, were full of dire warnings of death and destruction in the “white-out” while the local carry-on constables added to the air of general panic by advising nobody to drive anywhere, ever again, or at least until the temperature was back above 10 degrees Celsius.

Come on, get a grip. I know that’s not always easy in the ice but you understand what I mean.

The footballing fallout from all this was that my plans for the weekend were disrupted. Grrr.

Launceston’s defensive wall does its job from this free-kick as Falmouth push forward in this Cornwall Senior Cup tie.

I had hoped to go to see Saltash v Bodmin in what felt like it would be the big clash in the quarter-finals of the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup but that was called off on Saturday morning as the pitch hadn’t stood up to the snow and the subsequent thaw. So where to now?

Of the three other cup quarter-finals that did go ahead, one was a 40-minute drive away and another was a 10-minute nip up the road. So, should I ignore the dire warnings and take to the highways and byways of Cornwall or should I settle for the fourth option, the Falmouth game, which was only a 15-minute walk away?

In the end, laziness won the day. I could easily walk to Falmouth without worrying about Snowmageddon and, as it kicked off an hour later than the other ties, it meant I had time for another cup of tea before I had to wander off and carry on blogging.

So Bickland Park it was.

And, yes, Falmouth Town are still carrying on at Bickland. Last season was supposedly meant to be their final one at this rambling old ground before homes were built on it and a new ground was built for them. But nothing really seems to have happened.

Before going off to the match I had a quick search through the internet to see what the latest situation was but the most I could discover was that there had been plans to move the club for more than a decade and nothing had yet changed.

Even when you arrive at the ground, there is a developer’s sign up by the clubhouse and a showroom office in the car park, as well as a raft of new homes being built literally across the road from the football club, but no sign of movement on the pitch-side of the street. I am beginning to wonder if I will carry on coming up here for a while yet.

That might be a good thing, because it is a cracking old barn of a ground, although its best days are clearly behind it. It’s easy to love coming here knowing that, probably, there is a new ground in the pipeline but, if there were no such plans, you would be calling out for them as it is clearly not a suitable site for a club at this level any more.

It will be a sad day when and if Falmouth finally move, but it will be a good day too, as a better, more modern ground, would give them more chance of moving forward.

On the pitch, however, they are definitely moving forward. This was their second big cup quarter-final in a couple of weeks and their second victory, which means two springtime semis are on their way.

Ten days before this clash they had beaten big rivals St Austell 1-0 in the last eight of the … wait for it, wait for it … Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup, a competition in which they are looking to win the trophy for a second consecutive season.

That was a cracking cup tie between two very evenly matched teams. This one on Saturday never felt like it was going to reach anything like those heights and, in all honesty, was probably the dullest cup match I have seen all season.

Probably the thing that got my pulses racing more than anything else on the day was the fact that, when I reached the ground, the normal entrance was bolted shut. Had the game been called off and I hadn’t noticed? Had Launceston been cast adrift in the snowy wastes of East Cornwall and failed to reach their footballing destination? What was happening?

It turned out that what was happening was that they had moved the entrance gate to the other side of the clubhouse, for some reason, so panic over. And I mean that was a proper panic, none of your “snow-go” police and highways authority panic, this was serious. A Saturday afternoon without cup football? Noooo!

Launceston, though, may have wished they had been stuck in the white stuff. Apart from a bright opening ten minutes, they never really troubled the hosts and never threatened to repeat their surprising win in the league encounter between the two sides at Bickland earlier in the season. That’s a bit annoying for a cup football blogger – a league shock but not a cup one. Ho hum.

The bright start from the claret-shirted visitors was nullified on 10 minutes when a cracking strike from the edge of the box put the hosts 1-0 up.

The rest of the half was fairly even but the turning point of the match, and the easily the biggest talking point of the game, came just before half-time. Falmouth were awarded a corner, which was whipped in and an attacker got his head to the ball and it went just over the bar. After a moment’s consideration, the ref decided that the header had also flicked off a defender and so awarded a second corner.

Launceston were livid, adamant that it should be their goal-kick. I wasn’t 100% sure either way but did think there was a chance a defender had got the final touch. As I have mentioned before, I am glad I am not a ref who has to make those quick decisions.

From the second corner, the ball was delivered to the far post and a Falmouth attacker rose the highest to nod it into the net. Launceston were not a happy bunch.

They were even less happy 30 seconds into the second half when a top individual effort put the hosts three goals to the good. That really was tie over and, five and half minutes later, it was even more over as a neat finish gave Fal a fourth.

And that was more or less that.

We all had to carry on for the next 30 minutes knowing who was going to win and, despite some spirited resistance from Launceston, they never came close to getting back into the game. Falmouth took their foot off the proverbial pedal, too, and the ground was abuzz with the gentle hum of quiet conversation rather than the throaty roar of intense competition as the match meandered its way gently to its inevitable conclusion.

So no cup glory for Launceston and they can now carry on concentrating on trying to improve their league position.

For Falmouth, who have slipped away from the title race to find themselves in a distant sixth spot, it really is a case of Carry On Cup Ties as they chase knockout silverware on two fronts.

And, whatever the weather, I aim to carry on blogging. After all, what else I am going to watch on a Saturday afternoon other than live football? Sit indoors and watch a dodgy old film on the telly? What a carry-on that would be!

THE PICTURES

The Falmouth Town clubhouse with a developer’s sign about new houses being built there. Plans to create homes on the site and move the football club have been rumbling on for years.

Bickland Park, the home of Falmouth Town FC. Here they are defending an early attack from visitors Launceston in their Cornwall Senior Cup quarter-final. Note the brilliant blues skies. No Snowmageddon here!

Early goalmouth action from Falmouth Town (in yellow and black) v Launceston in the last eight of the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup.

The main stand at Bickland Park, which is still the home of Falmouth Town despite plans for the club to move on.

Spot the ball? It’s level with the roof of the stand. Midfield action from the Cornwall Senior Cup tie between Falmouth Town and Launceston.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

GAMES, GOALS AND GOODWILL

St Day 0 Porthleven 9 (nine)

RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup Third Round

A good crowd, reported to be of around 130 footballing souls, turned out for this last 16 tie between St Day and Porthleven in the RGB Building Supplies Cornwall Senior Cup.

DATELINE: Vogue Park, St Day, Saturday, January 5, 2019

MATCH SUMMARY: Any chance of a cup upset was put firmly to bed with a performance of calm assurance by a dominant Porthleven side, for whom Matt Drummond scored a remarkable five times. Their gallant hosts, from a step lower, never stopped trying but simply had no answer to the attacking power of their visitors.

THE BLOG: I like Christmas, with all its jollity, goodwill and feasting. Especially the feasting. I am not such a big fan of New Year’s Eve. For 364 days a year I can’t go to bed before midnight but, on December 31, I have normally had enough by 11.30pm. This year, though, I was the designated driver and it seemed to go much better as I saw in 2019 with a lovely visit to see family in deepest Essex.

And, as for that uncertain period from December 27 and 31, when no one knows whether or not they should be at work or still out partying, I always feel that it is just wasted time.

So the first weekend in the New Year is always eagerly awaited as things start to get back to normal, by which I mean there is football on a Saturday afternoon. And not just any football. The first weekend in January is traditionally the Third Round of the FA Cup, where it gets all glamorous and giantkilling-ey. I love it.

However, with the nearest FA Cup tie being Bristol City v Huddersfield, a round trip of a mere 350 miles, I decided to get my cup kicks a bit closer to home. At St Day’s Vogue Park ground, to be precise. A round trip of a much more manageable 14 and a bit miles.

Not that this last 16 tie between the Step 8 LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination hosts and their high-flying visitors from Porthleven, the Step 7 Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division One West table-toppers, was ever second choice. Since the moment the draw was made, this classic Cornish clash, a battle between the mining heritage of the hosts and the fishing background of the visitors, was top of my agenda.

Not only was it a local(ish) derby, with less than 16 miles separating the two, (sorry, I have got this thing about mileages) it offered the chance of a cup upset with St Day battling near the top of the Combo and full of confidence. I was expecting an archetypal, thud and blunder, loud and hotly contested Cornish cup tie, with no quarter asked or given, the tackles flying in, the rows rumbling and the ground shaking.

It was also being played at one of my favourite grounds.

There is a super set-up at Vogue Park. Not only does the pitch provide a good playing surface but there is a lovely clubhouse located on a bank behind one goal, boasting a sizeable balcony from which to get a grandstand view of the action, plus a lively and welcoming atmosphere. The people here love their football and love their club and have a lot to be proud about. I always enjoy going there.

Mind you, it can be tough to get in the car park. It’s always busy but, this time, it was completely rammed. I decided to park on the neighbouring street but even that was full and I just managed to squeeze into a space 50 metres up the road. However, the traffic augured well for a good crowd, which there was, although the fact that another game was also being played on the second pitch at the ground probably accounted for a lot of the parking palaver.

The fact that St Day also produced a programme for the game showed just how big an occasion it was for them. It might have been the Third Round of the Cornwall Senior Cup rather than the FA Cup but it was still a big deal in these parts. I was pleased with my choice of cup tie with which to begin 2019.

So, come kick-off at exactly 1.58pm – why can no one seem to start games exactly on the advertised time – I was feeling excited, full of nervous energy, relieved that normality was being restored, and just a little bit smug. By the actual advertised start time of 2pm, that smugness had been punctured by the realisation that I had made my first footballing gaffe of the year.

I had elected to stand on the touchline on the far side to the dug-outs and the majority of the spectators. It would give a better background to the action, I thought. Then the first clearance went flying over my head onto the cricket pitch and towards the second team pitch behind me. Ah. There was no one else to go to get it and so the action ground to an early halt as I trundled gently along to retrieve the football. What a stupid place to stand!

Luckily, I was only called into “action” on a couple of other occasions. Any more times and my pace would have meant we would have been lucky to finish the game before it got dark!

Goalmouth action from St Day v Porthleven in the Third Round of the Cornwall Senior Cup.

Now, one of the downsides of going to a game at which there might be a cup upset is that there might not be. St Day started brightly enough but it was a case of chances at both ends and it only took 13 minutes for impressive Porthleven to take the lead. Looking resplendent in their change kit of all red, and bearing the legend of “Rick Stein” on their chests, they went ahead when a neat build-up led to a tap-in opener.

I am not normally the best pundit but I had a decent moment at this stage, writing in my notebook: “P look good going forward.” That definitely proved to be the case.

Ten minutes later it was 2-0, a third followed on 37 minutes and the tie was effectively settled on the stroke of half-time with a fourth goal, this time from a corner. I made another prescient note at this stage: “SD have been brave and industrious but Port are just a better team and are showing why they are top of the league.”

Five minutes after the break, there looked as if there might be a turning point, when the home keeper made a stunning save to prevent a Porthleven fifth. I just had time to wonder if that would change the momentum of the match but, from the resulting scramble, the visitors did find the net again and, from that point on, it was just a case of how many they would get.

The answer to that was nine, hence why I had to break out the brackets in the scoreline at the top of this report. I feel a bit bad about doing that as St Day really didn’t deserve it. Despite being outclassed they never stopped trying and never stopped trying to play their football. And, to be fair to Porthleven, they showed their respect by also continuing to give of their best. There was no showboating and taking the Mickey.

I liked that and so did lots of those either watching or playing in the game if the evidence of post-match social media is to be believed. People from both sides took to the keyboard to praise their opponents.

Typical was a tweet from the official Port account, which said: “A top performance from Porthleven but credit must go to St Day. On a number of occasions the captain encouraged his team to never give up and they battled to the end, respecting themselves and the competition, not to mention the pitch was in great condition too. Hats off!!”

There was a similar feel to the Twitter feed of St Day. “Not quite the scoreline we had hoped for but we certainly succeeded off the pitch. Huge crowd of 130 watch a dominant Porthleven go into the next round. For the Saints we won in the clubhouse, really busy before, during and after so thank you to everyone who came along.”

I even remember reading a post from one of the home players which basically said: “Not what we wanted but, boy, were they good going forward.”

So Christmas might have been over but the season of goodwill certainly wasn’t. It might not have been the blood and thunder encounter I was hoping for but just about everyone involved can be proud of the part they played in the occasion. Football, as they say, was the winner. That’s the way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

POST SCRIPT: It was a footballing day that had one last Christmas present for the ardent follower of the beautiful game. Kicking off 30 minutes later than the cup tie was a Trelawny League Division Two clash on the next door pitch, between St Day’s third team and Falmouth Dracaena Centre. That meant that, once the main game was over, I could turn around, take ten steps, and watch the second half of the second half of this bonus match. It was, inevitably, of a much poorer standard but made up for that by being much closer, Falmouth edging home 2-1 with St Day missing a penalty. It made for a nervy finish which was enjoyed by a larger crowd than you would normally see in a Trelawny 2 game!

PICTURES

A view of the clubhouse balcony at Vogue Park, St Day. It is a great place from which to watch the game and is very handy for the bar and tea counter. Great set-up.

The only merit of this picture is that it shows the top end of St Day’s super little Vogue Park ground. Other than that there is nothing to see here; move right along please.

The matchday programme cover from Saturday’s clash.

Battling midfield action from the Cornwall Senior Cup tie between St Day, in yellow, and Porthleven, in their change kit of red.

Unexpected action from St Day’s third team and Falmouth Dracaena Centre in the Trelawny League Division Two. Played on the neighbouring pitch to the main event between St Day firsts and Porthleven, it kicked off 30 minutes later and gave the ardent football enthusiast a chance to enjoy a bit more action. Falmouth DC won 2-1.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com

 

GUILTY PLEASURE

Penryn Athletic 1 St Blazey 2

Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup

The St Blazey goalkeeper observes from a safe distance after a melee involving most of the other players on the pitch following a rash challenge which left a Penryn player needing treatment. The offending Blazey player saw red. Unlike his custodian counterpart, the Penryn keeper (in orange) ran a long way to get involved in the skirmish and was probably lucky not to get sent off himself.

DATELINE: Kernick Road, Penryn, Saturday, December 1, 2018

MATCH SUMMARY: Ten-man St Blazey put in a superb defensive display for the final 30 minutes of this entertaining cup clash to hold off their lower division hosts and hang on for a just about deserved win. The visitors took the lead after 11 minutes but were pegged back by a Penryn header on 32 minutes. St Blazey came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half and a cracking low strike on 47 minutes gave them what ultimately proved to be the winner. Their task was made all the harder six minutes later when a rash challenge led to a red card but Blazey held at bay an onslaught from their hosts to earn a place in the last eight.

THE BLOG: No self-respecting football fan, let alone Cornwall’s foremost blogger on cup football (in my own head, anyway) should be pleased when a cup game is called off, especially when that game is a much-anticipated tie in a national competition. But I was relieved in the extreme when Saltash United’s home tie in the FA Vase Third Round against Western League Cribbs FC, from Bristol, was called off on Saturday morning.

It was a game I should have gone to see but I had already decided that I couldn’t go. At least with it being called off because of a waterlogged pitch no one will now know about my controversial choice and I can instead blame the weather.

Oh …

OK, let me explain.

I love the FA Vase. It gives virtually every club at the level at which I watch football the chance to go on a cup run which might capture national headlines, which might even end up in a big day out at Wembley, the definitive home of cup final football. It is pure football magic.

But the Saltash tie clashed with something I also love, albeit at a much lower level – the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup. This is a 16-team invitation competition for clubs at Step Seven and below and offers most of them the best chance they will ever have of winning any cup silverware. And, as regular readers will know, it is the competition that crystallised my thoughts about the brilliance of cup football and inspired (if that’s not too big a word) this blog.

Back in 2015, the season before this series of knockout football articles began, I went to Treyew Road, the home of Truro City FC, to see Penryn Athletic and St Dennis battle it out in the final. Penryn, my hometown team, were the better side on the night – and lost.

The devastation on their faces at the final whistle, and the sheer delight etched on the faces of their St Dennis conquerors, made me finally realise something I had always felt but had never fully been able to put into words – cup football is the purest form of the game, where winning is all that matters and where there is almost always true sporting drama. It is, as Tina Turner so succinctly put it, simply the best.

And so I owe my very existence as the cupfootballblogger to the Cornwall Charity Cup and I really couldn’t miss the start of it this season. So I decided not to go Saltash’s big Vase tie and to pick a Charity Cup clash instead. So the question then arose, which one?

Now, there are many reasons for picking a game: favourite team, convenience, expectation of a top clash, even cost. This one came down to Christmas lights.

I am going to admit it – I like Christmas. Not in the middle of August, when the shops think it starts, but once December dawns it is time to start thinking festive, start the process of trying to get through the long dark nights of a British winter by the simple expedient of eating and drinking too much and then spending far too much money so that January can be even tougher and bleaker than it would be anyway!

Now, by the time this game kicked off on Saturday, December 1, I had already been to two Christmas lights switch-ons, in Truro and Falmouth. And a couple of hours after this game was due to end, the lights were to be switched on in the middle of Penryn, the town where I live. How could I miss that?

So imagine my delight when Penryn were drawn at home in the First Round of the Charity Cup. Two birds with one stone, and all that.

There was even a chance of there being a cup upset, with Athletic now plying their trade in the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination, one step below their visitors St Blazey, who operate in the Step Seven Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division One West. With Penryn near the top of their league, and Blazey at the shaky end of their’s, the odds of a shock were high.

So cup football, a possible cupset and festive frolics – three birds with one stone, if that’s not being too greedy.

I had already seen St Blazey knocked out of one cup already this season, going down to Dobwalls in the … wait for it, wait for it … Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Walter C Parson Funeral Directors League Cup. I just never get tired of that name. So what were the chances of seeing them get knocked out of another one?

Well, by the time they took the lead on 11 minutes, thus diminishing the chances of falling victim to another “giantkilling”, I was already feeling smug that I had forgone the delights of the Vase as something remarkable had already happened.

Match action from the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup First Round tie between Penryn Athletic, of the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination, and St Blazey, from the Carlsberg South West Peninsula League Division One West.

The game was slated to kick off at 2pm – and actually did! Every other game I have been to this season has kicked off either early or late, sometimes by as much as four minutes, and I was getting a bit paranoid about it. So a game kicking off bang on time was an absolute delight. I was already on to a winner.

I wasn’t quite so successful in the photographic technology stakes though. I was definitely a loser there. While I was trying to capture the action with my smartphone camera, there were at least three other people in the sparse crowd of about 40 to 50 people (I think Christmas shopping must have begun) with proper cameras, including the always excellent Darren Luke (see A Season in Helston on Twitter) and a young woman from Falmouth University.

Even the Peninsula League’s results officer, Dave “Cornish Soccer” Deacon, was there with his compact camera. I suspect this was one of the most photographed games in Cornwall Charity Cup history – and you, dear reader, are lumbered with my efforts. Sorry about that.

I don’t know if any of them got a decent picture of Blazey’s opening goal but I know I didn’t so I will have to paint a word picture instead.

A long ball forward saw a green-and-black-shirted St Blazey forward latching on to it and then sprinting clear of the home defence. He seemed destined to score but his well-struck effort was well saved by the Penryn keeper. However, he in turn was left stranded as the ball fell to a following-up Jamie Honeywill and he tucked home the opener.

By half-time, we were all square again, a glancing header from Penryn’s centre-forward making it 1-1. Now, I am sure I have read the scorer’s name somewhere but for the life of me I can’t find it now. If someone can let me know that would be great. (Within moments of this going online I was reliably informed [thanks Tom] that the Penryn scorer was Bradley Leivers).

It had been a very even first half, if a little untidy in parts, but both sides had shown they good play decent football at times. But the real drama was to come after the break.

The only drama actually at the break was me not winning the half-time draw again. I was 13 numbers out. Unlucky for some they say. Well, this time, it was unlucky for me.

The footballing drama really began two minutes into the second half when a cracking strike from Callum McGhee made it 2-1 to St Blazey. Six minutes later, though, it looked as if the tide might be turning again when Blazey’s Matt Edwards was shown red after what the club’s Twitter feed described as “sliding in late and awkwardly on the Penryn full-back”.

I missed the exact details as I was trying to take an arty photo through the goal nets on my outgunned phone camera, but it was certainly a challenge that sparked the ire of the home players, leading to a proper melee at the scene of the crime. The Penryn keeper was particularly angry, running 30 metres to get involved and he was probably lucky not to be dismissed too.

That all set the scene for a thoroughly exciting and engrossing final 35 minutes as the 11 men of Penryn pushed harder and harder for the equaliser while the ten men of St Blazey put in a stirring defensive performance to keep them at bay. They even had to deal with the home keeper joining the Penryn attack for the final couple of minutes, trying to get on the end of long throws and corners.

In the 88th minute the home side came so close to levelling up matters but the ball slid just wide of the post. That was THE chance, the one final attempt on goal that football folklore insists every side trailing narrowly towards the end of a game will have. They almost never go in.

The fact that this one didn’t go in meant there was no way back for the home side and it was St Blazey who moved into the last eight of the Charity Cup, their determined defending being deservedly rewarded.

This might not have been the absolute thrilling goal-fest that headline writers so love to call a Christmas cracker at this time of the year but, especially in the final 20 minutes, it was definitely a fun cup tie to watch. I was so glad I was, ahem, present (well, I had to get one Christmas pun in, didn’t I)?

And the Penryn town centre Christmas lights switch-on was lovely, despite the rain. I think I made all the right choices for once. Result.

PS: Saltash finally played their Vase tie a week later and went down 4-2 to Cribbs despite being 2-1 up with ten minutes left. Oh the drama of cup football, you just have to love it.

MORE PICTURES

Watching this cup final back in 2015 crystallised my ideas for this blog. It’s nice to see that it is still on display in the Penryn Athletic clubhouse even though they were beaten finalists on the day.

The teams get ready for action in the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup First Round tie at Kernick Road between Penryn Athletic (red and black) and St Blazey.

Penryn Athletic launch the ball forward from a free-kick on the halfway line in their Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup First Round clash with visiting St Blazey.

St Blazey on the attack v hosts Penryn Athletic in a First Round tie in the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup.

Heads up! Penryn Athletic, in red and black, on the attack v St Blazey in the Durning Lawrence Cornwall Charity Cup First Round.

An acrobatic headed clearance by a member of the impressive St Blazey defence as they beat hots Penryn Athletic 2-1 in the First Round of the Durning Lawrence Charity Cup despite playing the final 35 minutes with ten men.

CONTACTS AND COMMENTS: If you have any thoughts or observations about this blog, comment on my Facebook page (search for Peter Harlow), get in Twitter contact via @cupfootblog or email me at thecupfootballblogger@hotmail.com