Millbrook manager Mackenzie Brown described his side’s 3-1 victory over Bodmin Town on Saturday as ‘the best performance of our season’.

The result earned the club the South West Peninsula League’s team of the week award, voted on by supporters on social media, with 50 per cent of the 750 votes cast going to them.

Brown, who guided Millbrook to promotion last season, told the Cornish Times: ‘I was delighted with what I felt was the best performance of our season so far.

‘We were very poor the week before against Ivybridge and got what we deserved that day, so it was an excellent response from the players.

‘We talked frankly about where we’ve been going wrong, coupled with working on one or two thingd in training which we saw signs of during the game, which is especially pleasing.

‘We can take great confidence from the result and can hopefully finish the season strongly.’

With Millbrook playing in the top division of the SWPL for the first time this season, this match saw Bodmin’s first visit to Millbrook since the league was formed, the previous trip to Jenkins Park being in 2008.

In the reverse fixture played at Priory Park in October the teams drew with a goal apiece.

Since that meeting both sides have had inconsistent results, so a closely fought match could have been expected.

Millbrook made the early running, coming close to opening the scoring after just four minutes when a corner taken by Tom Payne was headed just over the crossbar by Jack Wood.

Two minutes later Ryan Knight found space on the left wing sending a low cross into the six yard area but the ball was kicked away from goal before any Millbrook player could reach it.

With just over 15 minutes played Bodmin had the first of two scoring opportunities in the space of a minute. Firstly Jack Alexander, making his first appearance for Bodmin, did well on the right wing before crossing into the danger zone, the ball being only half cleared which was picked up by Tiago Soares, beating a defender and crossing into the goal area, but it was headed away by a defender. 

Bodmin got possession back near the halfway line, pumping the ball back up to the edge of the home side’s penalty area for Ben Joyce who truck a low shot from 20 yards which Chris Wearing in the Millbrook goal did well to reach low down by the post, but he then fumbled the ball with Soares reacting quickly in an effort to turn it into the net, but Wearing recovered quickly to block his effort. 

With 25 minutes played Millbrook had what was possibly up to that point their best chance of breaking the deadlock when Knight cross to the far post from the left wing finding Curtis Damerall who got his head to the ball but sent it wide six yards out from goal. 

On the half hour mark it was Bodmin’s turn to miss a good opportunity when Max Gilbert lofted the ball over the home defence for Harry Evans to run onto but he just failed to connect 10 yards from goal with just Wearing to beat. 

Six minutes into the second half Bodmin created their best opening of the game, Tom Harris doing well on the left wing, beating his fullback before crossing to the far post where Ben Steer struck the ball on the volley, but scraped the outside of the near post from 10 yards. 

The game continued to swing from end to end and on 57 minutes Damerell was found on the edge of the area, firing a low shot from 15 yards towards the far corner of the goal, but Cory Harvey did well to get down to grab the ball before it crossed the line. 

However, four minutes later Millbrook took the lead when Knight got possession to the left of the goal after Bodmin failed to clear the ball and despite Harvey narrowing the angle, Knight’s low shot took a slight deflection into the net. 

Five minutes later the home side were two up when, following another corner headed goalwards by Wood the ball was only half cleared with Michael Barton picking up the loose ball and striking a low shot through a crowded penalty area to find the back of the net. 

Bodmin putting more pressure on the home defence in the final 15 minutes a cross from the left wing by centre-back Jon McCreery found Ben Joyce who sent a looping header over Wearing, but he just managed to grab the ball under the crossbar.

But with 10 minutes remaining Bodmin finally found the target to narrow the deficit, with the two substitutes combining.

Tom Moody, who had replaced Soares taking a corner which Jake Ash, who had come on for Harris just three minutes earlier, found the back of the net with a powerful header. 

However, with just three minutes of the 90 to play and with Bodmin pressing for an equaliser, Millbrook broke quickly to seal a deserved victory with Damerell squeezing the ball past an exposed Harvey, at the near post.

Millbrook: C Wearing, D Chapman, R Teney, J Wood (L Kershaw 86), J Richards, T Hall, M Baron (S Morgan 82), B Applegate, C Damerell, T Payne, R Knight (G O’Neill 82).

Scorers: R Knight 61, M Barton 65, C Damerell 87.

Yellow cards: D Chapman, R Knight.

Bodmin Town: C Harvey, E Timmons, T Harris (J Ash 77), T Whipp, J McCreery, M Gilbert, T Soares (T Moody 62), B Joyce, H Evans, B Steer, J Alexander.

Scorer: J Ash (80).

Yellow card: J McCreery.

MoM: Dan Chapman (Millbrook).