MOUSEHOLE AFC 2-2 CRIBBS FC: THE MOWDOG'S INDEPENDENT REPORT...

 Seagulls Steal Point After Sad Storey’s Exit…

Mousehole AFC 2-2 Cribbs FC

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

I waited in an apartment overlooking a wet and rainy beach at Porthtowan for the result of a 12.30pm pitch inspection from Trungle Parc. None came… It was decided that I should make the journey anyway but the weather worsened during my 45 minute drive and yet still no message about the game appeared on Twitter/X… Hilariously, I had directly messaged the Mousehole Twitter/X handle at 1.20pm asking if the game was on, which I received a ‘Yes!’ reply to at 8.44pm. I responded with ‘Hmm… Thanks for that. I’ll make my way, then…’ All good fun…

On arrival at the ground in Paul village, just up the road from Mousehole, the rain was persistent and the surroundings gloomy but the game went ahead, despite some decidedly dodgy areas of wet and clammy mire in the two corners of the pitch at the opposite end to the Solomon Browne Stand. 

ONE CORNER......

...& THE OTHER CORNER...

Certainly, despite the Seagulls’ worthy tactics of possession football in which the loanee from Exeter City, midfielder Charlie Cummins was integral during the opening stages, clearly the condition of the pitch would worsen with the continuing rain and the wear and tear from the activities upon it. Subsequently, Cribbs’ more effective longer game led to Jacob Brown exploiting AFC’s susceptibility on the right side of defence and in truth, Brown might have won the game on his own. He scored once, struck the AFC crossbar and was also denied by home goalie Ollie Chenoweth’s sharp reactions. He later found the net…

The game was a slog for the players but although home skipper Mark Goldsworthy fastened onto an early defensive error by Cribbs to put his team 1-0 ahead, visiting skipper Ryan Crouch had deservedly equalised with a header before the recess.

Leading 1-2 after the interval, courtesy of Brown’s strike, Cribbs’ job became easier when home central defender Josh Storey was dismissed for an unwise and careless challenge but although Chenoweth made a couple of late saves, it was home replacement Tim Nixon who scavenged a point as time was running out for the Seagulls.   

Mousehole’s decent start & the emergence of Brown…

After a dropping free-kick from downtown by AFC’s Callam Mconie had been well turned away from his right post by Cribbs’ gloveman Boyd McIntosh, Jacob Spence’s early back-pass to the ‘keeper lacked pace and Goldsworthy spotted an opportunity. He ran onto the ball, beating McIntosh to it, before veering left and slotting a neat left-booted finish from an angle into the far corner of the net.  

1-0...

Cummins was heavily involved as the hosts began to pass the ball about confidently on the slow turf but gradually, Cribbs began to get forward with Brown a regular danger. A few casual Mousehole passes conceded possession on the tricky surface and Brown proved a wily customer, first bringing a comfortable low save from Chenoweth then from just 8 yards out, his well intentioned clipped shot with only the goalie to beat slapped against the crossbar.

However, when Cummins was mugged by Cribbs in midfield, the ball found its way left for Brown again and this time Chenoweth made a fine save, turning the ball away for a left-side corner. Despite several dangerous long throws by Cribbs’  left-back Josh Bennett having already been cleared, albeit with some discomfort by AFC, the home defence failed to clear the flag-kick which was headed in by Crouch past the leaping Chenoweth, unhindered by any Seagulls but the marking had clearly been careless and weak.

1-1...

The only other real goal attempt of note for the hosts pre-break was another effort by Mconie, which was blocked in a packed goalmouth.

Mousehole’s sluggish start to the second 45…

Cribbs pushed a nervy looking AFC back as the second period began and Chenoweth kept the Seagulls level with an instinctive save from a close range effort by Spence and yet AFC replacement Josh Bissett so nearly scored a fine goal as the hosts broke on the right. He cleverly cut inside two slipping defenders and fired a rising left foot shot which rose just off target past the left angle of crossbar and upright. Bissett was caught offside a couple of times too though and ran another opportunity out of play with a heavy touch on the tricky surface but his pace was certainly a threat for Mousehole. 

And then the guests scored from an assist by their usual goalscorer David Duru, who leapt superbly to flick on a set-piece from deep, despite the attentions of Mousehole’s taller Max Hill and the ball was fastened onto by Brown, who slotted a low shot past the advancing Chenoweth.

DURU HEADS ON...

...& BROWN SCORES FOR 1-2...

Duru forced a low save from Chenoweth at the base of the left stick but in all honesty, Mousehole weren’t really encumbered when Storey’s afternoon came to an end. Indeed,  the hosts became resilient and it was substitute Nixon who salvaged a point towards end of the match when he was fed by an astute lifted pass on the right-flank by Mconie. The replacement forward ran on strongly and shot from an angle, low past McIntosh and into the far corner of the net…

2-2...

As the game was near its end there was a daft moment when Brown took the ball into the left corner for Cribbs, despite his team playing against ten leg-tired men but a foolish foul by AFC gifted the guests a free-kick, which came to nought. Still though, Cribbs gained a right-flank corner as time ran out and right-back Sonny Harnett-Balkwill’s downward header was blocked in a goalmouth crowd and the Seagulls thus survived… 

There was a scuffle as time ran out but although several cautions had already been handed out by the referee, he was able to keep his cards dry in his pockets this time as the game ended.

The final words…

I enjoyed my afternoon at the Trungle and I was afforded a great welcome. Thanks to all at the ground… Thanks too must go to Cribbs, for reposting my links on Twitter/X.

It was a tough afternoon to film and commentate on, for I wielded a brolly in my left hand throughout the contest, my hand-held camera was being managed with my right hand and the light was a problem, hence changing the camera’s setting to ‘night landscape’ for clearer footage from half-time onwards, as the gloom became worse.

Brown was clearly Cribbs’ most valuable player, whilst Harris Feltham was industrious in midfield alongside Charlie Dashfield and Ryan Crainey. Bennett’s set-pieces were decent and Bailey Croome worked hard at 10 and managed a first-half header wide.

Tallan ‘I prefer a mud brown kit then the appointed white one’ Mitchell was effervescent for the Seagulls, Cummins did fade from the game after the break but the surface became tougher to make slick passes upon. The combined efforts of Storey and Hill pretty much kept Duru in check but Brown was the one opposition player who remained elusive to AFC’s defensive shackles… 

I left the slaggy parking lot, rode the potholes towards the village centre and returned to a damp, gloomy Porthtowan and still it rained…