WESTERN LEAGUE LES PHILLIPS CUP FIRST-ROUND

St Blazey 4 Liskeard Athletic 0

ST BLAZEY eased through to the second-round after an unexpectedly easy victory over a strangely out of sorts Liskeard Athletic at Blaise Park on Wednesday night.

What had been anticipated as a tie between two teams in red-hot form turned into something of a rout as the Green & Blacks established a 3-0 lead by half-time.

Any chance of a Liskeard fightback was ended when Kai Burrell, who had scored Blazey’s third just before the break, rolled home Blazey’s fourth goal seven minutes into the second half.

It was a complete team performance by Blazey, who played with confidence and determination from the start, and might have scored more but for some excellent saves from Ollie Chenoweth.

For whatever reasons, Liskeard were not at the races. A few eyebrows were raised by the team selection with the likes of Harry Probyn, James Lorenz, Ben Collins and Toby Haley left on the bench.

All four had started against league leaders Bridgwater at the weekend – Probyn scored both goals in a 2-1 win – and with no game this weekend it would have been strange to ‘rest’ anybody.

Lorenz took his place on the bench despite feeling ill, but was not well enough to be brought on, while another named substitute, Harry Jeffery, literally didn’t turn up.

Meanwhile, Dan Hart named a full-strength team and watched them win with something to spare.

Their evening got off to a great start when Jordan Bentley rose to send a bullet header into the net from an inch -perfect free-kick from the left edge of the penalty area by Jack Calver after only nine minutes.

It was almost 2-0 in the 21st minute when Burrell burst into the penalty area before drilling a left-foot shot past Liskeard keeper Chenoweth, but watched in disbelief as the ball struck the inside of the far post and stayed out.

Liskeard suffered another setback on the half-hour when Matt Andrew limped off to be replaced by Haley.

Burrell needed treatment after picking up an injury, and as he waited to go back on, there was a heated exchange of views between him and Liskeard joint manager Darren Gilbert.

The young striker appeared to take it all in his stride, forcing Chenoweth into an excellent stop before being involved in the move which led to winger Olly Redd unleashing a superb shot to make it 2-0 after 42 minutes.

Burrell then completed a joyous half for the home side by hammering an unstoppable 20-yard shot into the top corner.

There was no sign of a Liskeard revival at the start of the second half as Blazey continued to pour forward, and it was no surprise when Burrell made it 4-0 seven minutes after the restart.

The Blues’ miserable night was rounded off by the sending off of captain Josh McCabe in the 64th minute for a second yellow card offence after being booked in the first half.

Max Gilbert emerged as Liskeard’s best player and twice came within inches of getting a consolation goal in the last 20 minutes.

At the other end, the outstanding Calver saw a superb left foot free-kick hit the underside of the bar with Chenoweth beaten as Blazey continued to look the more potent team.

There was an altercation on the pitch after the final whistle between a St Blazey player and Darren Gilbert, who was dragged away by Max Gilbert to prevent the incident escalating.

All in all, a night to forget for Liskeard, but St Blazey can look forward to another home tie, against Bovey Tracey, later in the year.

ST BLAZEY: Kyle Moore; Reece Shanley, Jack Calver (capt), Charlie Hambly (Ben Fowles 56), Jordan Bentley, Aaron Bentley, Olly Redd (Todd Hanrahan 74), Sean Thomson, Kai Burrell (Alfie Teuton 65), Tallan Mitchell (Will Tinsley 66), Cam Hutchison. Sub not used: Liam Hill (gk).

LISKEARD ATHLETIC: Ollie Chenoweth, Ben Cross, Josh Robins, Harvey Mullis, Josh McCabe, Matt Andrew (Toby Haley 30), Max Gilbert, Kai Gilbert (Harry Probyn 53), George Marris, Scott Sanders, Jack Crago (Ben Collins 66). Subs not used: James Lorenz, Harry Jeffery.

Men-of-the-match: St Blazey – Jack Calver; Liskeard Athletic – Max Gilbert.