Saltash United 2 Liskeard Athletic 0
There's never a dull moment when these two teams lock horns and this match was no exception. A number of early flying tackles, a general melee involving spectators and players alike which saw two spectators ejected from the ground and a 15- minute abandonment of the match to let all concerned cool down. Saltash went into the game on the back of the midweek defeat against Wadebridge and knowing they hadn't beaten the Blues in the last couple of seasons. The Ashes enjoyed early territorial advantage with Steve Smeeth and Gareth Jones going close but it was left to veteran Malcolm Wills to open the scoring when he fired in a terrific drive off the underside of the crossbar to cross the goal line. Despite Blues appeals, the referee, who was in a good position, awarded the goal. It was almost on the half hour when all hell broke loose. After Saltash were awarded a corner an altercation ensued, without the referee seeing who was involved in the incident. The official conferred with the Liskeard club linesman but took no action. This set off a furious row among both sets of players who quickly got into a pushing and shoving situation. Two spectators then got themselves involved off the pitch only to make their way to the grandstand where a general melee ensued with a couple of the visitors supporters along with players from both sides. The referee walked off the pitch to abandon the game, but with Ashes manager Tony Richardson acting as peacemaker along with Liskeard boss Martyn Hodge, play resumed 15 minutes later after the two fans had been escorted from the ground. Blues chances of a result went in the 75th minute when Benney netted the second Ashes goal, leaving players and officials to offer and receive handshakes at the end of the match as if nothing had happened.