Carlsberg South Western League Penryn Athletic 0 Liskeard Athletic 1 Liskeard dominated the first half of this game at Kernick, but did not score the amount of goals their dominance demanded. 'We were satisfied will our commitment and passion to win, but once again we missed chances but we are confident that we will overcome this,' said Liskeard manager Allan Evans The visitors could blame Lady Luck as they hit the woodwork on two occasions in the first half and the Blues should have taken a second-minute lead, but Aaron Cusack defied gravity by putting the ball over the bar from almost on the line. The breakthrough came on 14 minutes when good work down the right between Jimmy Alexander, Sammy Matthews and Jamie Morrison-Hill saw the latter swing over a pinpoint cross for Aaron Cusack to fire home from ten yards. A second almost followed when Jamie Evans met Alexander's corner with a far-post header that crashed back into play off the upright. Early in the second half, Paul Baker saw his shot come back off the crossbar before the Blues striker was sent tumbling in the box, only for the referee to ignore Liskeard's appeals for a penalty. Another Alexander corner found Lee Harvey climbing high, but his downward header was cleared off the line by Dale Bale. The ball fell into the path of Baker, but he blasted his shot against the underside of the crossbar before the danger was cleared. The lack of a second goal gave Penryn the confidence to go for it in the last quarter, forcing Liskeard to defend in depth for the first time in the game, and it was only two brave saves from Simon Zinn that preserved the Blues' priceless lead. Millbrook 2 Plymouth Argyle 3 Mark Jones was convinced his side had deserved something from this defeat at Mill Park, especially after going in at the interval 3-1 down. 'We did exceptionally well and the half-time scoreline certainly flattered Argyle as we gifted them all three goals,' said the Millbrook manager. Damian McCrory caught out Chris Graddon to beat the full-back to a far-post cross to head Argyle into the lead, and the home defence were asleep as Argyle took a quick free-kick which saw Sam Malsom fire past Dave Painter for the visitors' second. Millbrook deservedly pulled a goal back when a push on Joe Truelove resulted in a penalty, from which John Harris comfortably beat Tim Sandercombe. However, celebrations were short as an uncharacteristic error by Painter allowed Malsom to hit an innocuous shot that the Millbrook keeper let slip under his body. 'We took the second-half honours but could only score once,' bemoaned Jones, who had witnessed Shaun Jones fire home from close range on 65 minutes for what proved to be a mere consolation. St Austell 0 Liskeard Athletic 6 A SIX-GOAL win away from home might seem a good result, but Blues boss Lee Harvey feels his side might have just missed a trick as the season draws to a close. 'It was imperative we got back to winning ways to keep us in the title race so, from that point of view, it was a good result,' said Harvey. 'I am disappointed we did not score more goals,' added Harvey – no mean goalscorer himself in his younger days – but he missed this game through injury. Just three minutes had passed at Poltair when Simon Parnell opened the scoring with a shot from the edge of the penalty box. Seven minutes later, the Liskeard lead was doubled when Paul Baker raced on to a long clearance from goalkeeper Simon Zinn to shoot past home keeper Martin Quantick. Luck then went the way of the Blues for their third when Quantick allowed a speculative 20-yard Parnell shot to slip through his hands in the 20th minute. Harvey may well have a point about his charges' scoring prowess, as it took them until the 64th minute to increase their advantage. First, Baker doubled his tally when he collected a Harry Richardson pass before shooting home from 18 yards. Parnell completed his hat-trick a minute later when he tapped in after the Lillywhites failed to clear a Baker cross. Not to be outdone, Baker followed suit in the 75th minute, netting from the penalty spot following a handball offence. Baker might, or even should, have made his personal tally four but, after being impeded by Quantick three minutes from the end, he saw his spot-kick saved by the St Austell keeper. 'We dominated the game and, although two players scored hat-tricks, our finishing let us down,' said Harvey. 'Goal difference could play a big part in determining the final League table and I think we might have missed an opportunity today.' Porthleven 1 Millbrook 0 A SOLITARY goal late in first-half stoppage time was enough to condemn Millbrook to defeat at the hands of the Fishermen at Gala Parc. The first half was a fairly even affair, with neither side able to find the breakthrough as defences dominated. On the odd occasion Porthleven did threaten the Millbrook goal, they found goalkeeper Dave Painter in good form. Andrew Westgarth grabbed what proved to be the winner when his challenge on Chris Graddon, for Hugh Howlett's pass, was deemed to be fair and resulted in the Port striker beating Painter with a 15-yard shot. Millbrook were the better of the two sides after the break but had great difficulty breaking down the much bigger home defence, despite having a man advantage for the last half-hour after Pat Shaughnessy was sent off for a stamping offence. The closest Millbrook came to scoring came in the 70th minute when Tony Hendy managed to head Gary Bridgeman's cross goalwards, only to see the ball scrambled away by the home defence. 'The way we played, I felt we deserved something from the game but, although I'm disappointed with the result, I can't fault the players' performance,' said Millbrook manager Mark Jones. Wadebridge Town 2 Torpoint Athletic 3 WELL-ORGANISED defending and an ability to take their chances saw Torpoint through to a good victory over an improving Bridgers outfit. 'I'm very happy with the result; maybe it's a sign of the improvement in this side that we are starting to be able to win ugly games because I felt we just shaded the match,' said Torpoint boss Ian Stephens. After an opening-half stalemate, the hosts took the lead in the 48th minute when Shaun Manley headed home Lee Cameron's corner, and two minutes later Mike Retter increased Wadebridge's lead when he rounded Joey Syndecombe. But, straight from the restart, Torpoint pulled a goal back, with Bradley Yeo shooting home, and Darren Edwards set up a good finish to the game when he levelled matters in the 58th minute by heading home a loose ball from a long throw-in. Torpoint's determination saw them go on to win the game in style with a 66th-minute cracker. Cornwall Youth striker Dan Parkes got on the end of a Syndecombe goal-kick to volley the ball home in spectacular fashion from 20 yards. Newquay 1 St Blazey 2 THE Green and Blacks kept themselves in the title mix after claiming the points from a potentially difficult match at Mount Wise. The Peppermints are one of a posse of sides chasing a Premier Division spot, so this will be regarded as an excellent result by the Blaise Park faithful. Blazey took the lead in the 28th minute when a Jon Hoyles cross was dummied by Steve Ovens, giving Dominic Richardson the space to fire home at the near post. Newquay came back at St Blazey, finally levelling on the stroke of half-time when a failure to clear an Ollie Deadman corner saw Scott Clarke smash the ball past Gary Penhaligon from 18 yards. It took St Blazey just four minutes after the break to restore their lead when Mike Body met a Jay Isbel corner with a ten-yard header that flew into the Peppermints' net. Although the visitors found themselves pushed back, as Newquay became more and more desperate for a second equaliser, sound defensive work allowed St Blazey to leave Mount Wise with three more precious points. This win keeps Saints in second place, two points behind leaders Saltash, having played the same number of games and three points ahead of Bodmin, although the Priory Park side have two games in hand on both the sides above them. Callington Town 0 Tavistock 4 CALLINGTON'S attempts to attain mid-table prosperity foundered at Ginster's Marshfield Parc as they crashed to a disappointing home defeat to their cross-Tamar neighbours. 'I have told the players to get this game out of their system as soon as possible. They let themselves down and they know it; it was just one of those days,' said disappointed Callington manager Geoff Battams. After rebuffing some early home pressure, Tavistock settled to their game and took the lead through Neil Kinsman's angled drive. Two further goals put the Lambs well in command by half-time, with Ryan Honey tapping in from close range and Glynn Hobbs lobbing Dan Johnson from 25 yards. When Callington did manage an effort on goal, they found Lambs' keeper Andy Meeds in good form, and the visiting defence also proved to be too hard to crack for Town. Tavistock secured the result when Hobbs netted with a low cross-shot from a quickly-taken Ryan Honey free-kick in the 73rd minute, which appeared to deceive Johnson. The only dark spot in an otherwise sunny day for the visitors came in the 77th minute when Hobbs was dismissed, on the advice of a referee's assistant, for an alleged aggressive gesture. Plymouth Argyle 4 Penryn Athletic 1 ARGYLE'S youngsters were comfortable winners in this League match at Bolitho Park as they play out their first, and only, season in the South Western League. Mike Pejic's side were gifted their opener after only 59 seconds as Penryn defender Mike Cain decided to pass the ball across his area. Unfortunately, for the visiting defender, he played the perfect ball to Argyle striker Sam Malsom, who neatly lifted the ball over stranded goalkeeper Chris Symons and just under the bar. Ben Joyce had twice shot wide before Argyle added their second on 18 minutes when Martin Watts' corner was headed down by Jake Moult for Malsom to volley home his second of the game. Seventeen-year-old Moult was calling the tune in midfield and was rewarded for his superb display when he headed home another Watts corner five minutes after the break. The home side's scoring was completed 18 minutes later when Malsom went around two defenders before Symons crudely halted his progress. The Penryn keeper somehow escaped further retribution, allowing Dan Smith to send him the wrong way from the resultant spot-kick. The visitors came more into the game after the goal, but they could only manage to pull one back, when substitute Dale Band flicked home Ben Goldring's cross. q q q Tuesday's match Torpoint 0 Tavistock 1 ASSISTANT-MANAGER Gary Tiffany did not mince his words after watching his Torpoint side suffer their first defeat in six games. 'We were very poor in all departments and got exactly what we deserved out of this game – nothing.' Both teams were defending five-match unbeaten runs, but it was the visitors who always looked the most likely to maintain their record – and so it proved as Tavistock made it 14 points from their last six games. The all-important goal did not arrive until 15 minutes from time when Shane Krac let fly from 20 yards past the motionless Joey Syndecombe in the home goal.
