SOUTH WEST ONE
Caradon 4 Penzance A 1
Caradon went into this match knowing that they needed a win to keep them within touching distance of the middle of the League.
Team confidence was high, due in part to some good training sessions and a win last week away to Tavistock.
However, Penzance A came out very strong for the first 15 minutes of the game, pinning the home side back, well into their own half.
The Caradon defence soaked up the pressure, denying Penzance the advantage they were looking for. Midway through the first period Caradon found the space they needed and started to capitalise on this, spreading the play wide and probing the visiting defence.
With the ball being moved out wide on the pitch, it was only a matter of time before one of the many Caradon crosses was converted into a goal. After a bit of a goalmouth scramble, the ball found Neil Mullis unmarked in the D to slot home the first of the match.
A Penzance defender got a little upset at the goal and, after a short game of push and shove, both he and Mullis were shown a yellow card and had a spell on the side line.
Both teams a player down continued to work hard, but it was the home side who maintained the upper hand, not giving the Penzance defence a moment's breather.
Following a fruitless short corner, Paul Luiten purposely drove into the Penzance D and fired off a forceful shot from the top of the circle that the waiting keeper could do nothing about.
Penzance were quickly out of the blocks after the break, and their centre forward battled his way into the Caradon D and found the target.
Caradon kept their composure and their shape, knowing that a one-goal lead is never comfortable.
It was a complete team effort, with some great play from the Caradon midfield, that enabled them to dominate the remainder of game.
Ieuan Jefferies put in his best performance of the season so far, winning the ball and feeding it forward with confidence, enabling Mullis to claim his second goal of the game.
Caradon didn't let up after the restart, and quickly had the visitors on the back foot again.
They forced a run of short corners, but failed to convert with shots by Charlie McCartney being saved and just running wide.
Luiten stepped up for the next penalty corner, proving that sometimes the simple approach is best, by slamming another rocket of a shot into the goal from the top of the D for his second of the day.
Penzance never recovered after this fourth goal and, despite a slip-up from the Caradon defence and a lapse in concentration from goalkeeper Toby Riddle, they never really looked like a threat.
Caradon are away to Bodmin tomorrow.