PORTHLEVEN 1-0 ST BLAZEY: FULL REPORT & MORE IMAGES...

Fishermen Haul Three Points, As St Blazey Fume…

Porthleven 1-0 St Blazey

This was not an easy or a particularly entertaining game to witness, as title chasers ‘Leven struggled to overcome the lively challenge of St Blazey. A single goal settled the affair late on, when home forward Matt Drummond nodded a Rob Carey assist beyond visiting goalie Brodie Cole. There was some anger surrounding the goal too, for the St Blazey bench considered a belting challenge by Fisherman Chris Wormington on their effective striker Callum McGhee had been allowed to go unpunished in the lead up to the game winner. Certainly ‘keeper Cole was unimpressed and he was cautioned for his reaction after conceding but surely Drummond was close to offside when he struck, although the Saints’ own linesman was perhaps a little behind play at the time and flagged not at all on this occasion. It always seems odd to have to use club officials as the referees’ assistants during these matches, for surely their passion for their teams can be tough to control… It is what it is, though… 

ANNEAR, 7, WONDERS WHEN THE GEOGRAPHY LESSON WILL END...

McGhee was a regular thorn in the sides of the home defenders and he might have scored during the first period but for a fine block by Wormington but it took other excellent defensive challenges by Fishermen Francis Pengelly (twice), Scott Kellow and Jake Lugg to prevent the Saints from notching goals as the match wore on. At the other end Cole saved well from Carey, Heydon Dark and Drummond but overall, the encounter was notable for its poor passing and some lax ball control, but rarely for its creativity. Untidy much of the time, too many individual mistakes contrived to make the fare on offer dull and uninspiring. It will however be remembered for a bizarre incident when Dark was fouled by Saint Sam Clifton, who played decently throughout the contest. Quite out of the blue, Dark rose and threw a right arm at Clifton, which looked like a kind of punch. The referee would surely dismiss Dark, many thought but instead the official cautioned both men. Interesting… 

LIKE A POSE FROM A VICTORIAN MATCH...

Dark and home skipper Tom Annear looked to control midfield for the Fishermen but neither Drummond, cautioned early on for nagging at the referee, nor Carey were able to cause visiting defenders Chey Hammond and skipper Lewis Vooght too much concern. An early Annear free-kick had the sting taken from it by a deflection and Cole thus benefited, Drummond’s lob arced over both goalie and target, Lugg and Wormington headed corners off target, winger Matt Fox drove into the side-netting and then cleverly sliced a drive so that although it drifted well off target, it instead bounced onto a bush and remained perched there like an insistent herring gull on top of a lobster pot. Carey’s lashed shot from inside-right was parried for a corner by Cole but Dark came closest to scoring for the hosts.

CLIFTON & ANNEAR: HARD WORKERS IN MIDFIELD...

"HE FARTED..."
"NO, IT WAS HIM..."
"NO WAY, IT WAS HIM..."
"IT WAS GOD..." SAID HOGAN (11)...

When Saint Joe Eke was mugged, Dark’s low bobbling 18 yard effort was brushed wide of the right upright by Cole’s left glove, before the ‘Leven midfielder was denied by Vooght’s fine tackle and finally before the interval, Dark latched onto Carey’s pass and nudged the ball past Cole, only to be adjudged offside. A close one…

GRIM FISHERMEN...

ANNOYED SAINTS...

"WILL YOU BITE MY FINGERNAIL, PLEASE MATT?"

Saints had nearly benefited from an early Pengelly back-pass which had rolled embarrassingly for a corner beneath goalie Steve Parker-Billinge’s boot, Pengelly then cleared splendidly at his own right post as the dangerous Jordan Hogan hovered, a Billy Northcott shot was blocked and Jordan Powell, who performed strongly, drove the rebound wide. Another fine clearance by Pengelly was followed by McGhee’s free-kick which was easily saved but when Hogan set up McGhee at inside-right, beat Pengelly and Parker-Billinge, there was Wormington to block the eventual shot. Northcott escaped a booking for not allowing a Porthleven free-kick to be taken and the break arrived after lots of errors and a largely poor half of football. 

SOMEONE HAS LOST THEIR AMERICAN NATIVE INDIAN CANOE...

HAS THE OFFICIAL JUST BROKEN WIND?

After the fifteen minute pasty, scrumpy and John Dory goujons break, ‘Leven restarted with impetus but both Carey and Annear drove efforts a long way wide. Powell, now in central defence for Saints due to the half-time withdrawal of Vooght, made a fine saving interception in front of his goal when Annear’s low centre beat Cole, before Kellow fired wide from distance. Annear shot too high, saw a free-kick crash into a defensive wall then the ball bounced weirdly off, I think, home midfielder Dan Greet and over the crossbar from 18 yards. Drummond was then denied by the advancing Cole and shot the rebound wide but he would subsequently score the all-important goal for his team. Messy play around the 84 minute mark, including awry passes and a crunching tackle by Wormington, finally saw the loose ball reach Lugg, whose long pass towards the right found the solid Carey in space. The forward’s clipped centre saw Drummond leap to head a simple goal beyond Cole into the right corner of the net.

THE WINNER...

Only a low bobbling effort by home replacement George Molcher would worry Cole before the end but despite the good work of Hogan, now wearing the skipper’s armband, the neat ball control of McGhee and the willing running of Blazey striker Rhys Walton, Lugg and company held firm in the home defence. Panicky home defending led to Clifton shooting too high for Saints, Lugg and Kellow made two marvellous challenges in their own penalty-box to deny their guests, Hogan fired too high from 15 yards and a low shot by substitute Myron Vanstone wriggled through a crowd of players in the final seconds but an unsighted Parker-Billinge did well to stop it and grab the loose ball, as the referee blew the final whistle.

TROUBLE 1...

TROUBLE 2...

YELLOW FOR CLIFTON...

...AND A WRY SMILE BY DARK AT BEING SHOWN YELLOW TOO...

Hammond and Hogan had threatened aerially in those final moments for the visitors, as Clifton and Jamie Willmott carried the fight for a perhaps deserved point but in the end, Drummond’s header would lift Porthleven to the top of the league…

TEAMS:

PORTHLEVEN:

STEVE PARKER-BILLINGE, SCOTT KELLOW, FRANCIS PENGELLY, JAKE LUGG, CHRIS WORMINGTON, HEYDON DARK, TOM ANNEAR (CAPT), DAN GREET, ROB CAREY, MATT DRUMMOND, MATT FOX.

SUBS:

GEORGE MOLCHER, MAX EVERARD, PAUL REYNOLDS.

ST BLAZEY:

BRODIE COLE, JORDAN POWELL, JOE EKE, SAM CLIFTON, LEWIS VOOGHT (CAPT), CHEY HAMMOND, BILLY NORTHCOTT, JAMIE WILLMOTT, RHYS WALTON, CALLUM MCGHEE, JORDAN HOGAN.

SUBS:

MYRON VANSTONE, STEVE EDWARDS, SHAUN VINCENT.