PORTHLEVEN 1

PRAZE 1

PORTHLEVEN face a replay at Praze after drawing 1-1 in a very entertaining Junior Cup Western Section semi-final at Gala Parc.

The expected win for the Fishermen was not to be, and now Praze will feel they have done the hard work and can now go on to finish the job with home advantage.

The winners will meet Mawnan in the area final.

Port's management team of Kevin Richards and John Laity had emphasised that Praze would be their hardest game of the season, and that is exactly what happened. They raised their game and defensively they were outstanding with their 'keeper Barrie-John Wyatt pulling off at least four tremendous saves.

It was end to end stuff for the first ten minutes, with both sets of forwards having half chances, the best going to Port when, from a Ainscough corner, a header struck the Praze crossbar and was cleared.

In the 11th minute a free-kick awarded to Praze was delivered into the box and, unusually for him, Steve De'ath dropped the ball, and Jason Praill eagerly sent the ball into the back of the net to put Praze 1-0 up.

Port were stung by this and responded well, but were guilty at times of overplaying and the Praze defenders worked their socks off to keep their goal intact.

An Ainscough free-kick in the 15th minute was a fraction away from levelling the scores and he worked tirelessly in midfield to gee up what appeared to be a rather lethargic Port team.

Port were having nearly all the play and Praze were reduced to the odd breakaway, but Port seemed dispirited and frustrated with the fight that Praze were putting up. As the first half came to a close, Danny Williams nearly scored with a neat header that just cleared the bar.

As expected after a half time roasting Port's players responded with some clever approach football, but the cutting edge eluded them.

The two front runners of Praze kept Port's defenders on their toes, but overall they were generally reduced to trying long range efforts.

On the hour, Port had a fine chance to level the scores after Williams was bought down in the box, but Ainscough missed the penalty and Praze breathed again.

The spirit of the Port players was not under question and, with the introduction of Ashley Stidwell and Jordan Adlard, this bought a renewed energy and attitude.

They pounded the Praze defence from all angles, but Waytt was in excellent form and made great saves from Mills and Williams.

The equaliser came in the 68th minute when another excellent Ainscough free kick was met by Danny Williams at the far post and he gave the 'keeper no chance with a powerful header.

Knocked back by this, Praze tried to get back into the game, but a stream of relentless attacks kept them pinned back.

As hard as they tried, Port could not find a winner to avoid extra time.

In extra time, both teams, who had put so much effort into normal play, went for the winner, but found defences reamining defiant.

Both sides had a player sent, Craig Williams for Praze and Craig Firth for Port, but when the the final whistle blew there were differing reactions from the sets of players.

The replay takes place this Saturday at Praze, kick off 2 pm