Dunn Cup: Mawnan 10-0 Troon

The continuing coronavirus crisis led to the suspension of almost the entire football schedule in the United Kingdom, with only a handful of competitions still standing.

The Trelawny League and the St Piran League are the only two senior competitions in west Cornwall to continue playing, with Mawnan’s tie one of 14 matches across the two leagues to survive both the coronavirus cancellations and Friday’s wet weather.

Pete Maclean was the star of the show at Carwinion Road Playing Field, bagging five second-half goals as the hosts breezed into the last eight. Adam Pryor netted two first-half penalties, while strikes from Ryan James, Dom Pullen and Harry McMellon completed the rout.

Despite Troon sitting second only to runaway leaders Holmans in the Premiership table, with Mawnan six points further back in fifth place, the hosts dominated from start to finish, with James Pollard firing just wide from distance and McMellon testing the Troon goalkeeper with a header inside the first 15 minutes.

The first goal arrived less than a minute after McMellon’s effort, with Maclean being clipped as he surged into the box, with Pryor’s resultant penalty kick just about finding its way past the ‘keeper, who got hand to it, and into the bottom right corner.

Buoyed by getting on the scoresheet, the hosts doubled their lead five minutes later after Pollard’s shot from distance was parried by the ‘keeper into the path of Ryan James, whose shot at goal from a tight angle was helped into the net by the Troon custodian.

Peter Maclean (left) strikes the post with this effort, but headed in from the rebound

A brief foray forward for Troon saw one shot flash over the crossbar from the edge of the box, before Maclean looked to have bagged his first of the afternoon, only for the flag to go up for offside.

He was involved in the third when it did arrive on 33 minutes, beating one defender inside the box and taking it past the ‘keeper before going down for what would have been a certain penalty, had Pullen not been on hand to convert the simplest of tap-ins.

Maclean was the indirect provider once again as Mawnan made it four on the stroke of half-time, with the forward going to ground inside the box for a second time. The referee pointed to the spot for a second time, with Pryor’s second spot-kick playing out almost exactly as the first had done.

With both sides perhaps knowing that the hosts’ victory was almost a certainty, the second half began with a noticeably slower pace for the first 15 minutes.

As the clock ticked past the hour, you certainly didn’t expect the score to be 8-0 before it reached the 70th minute, but that is exactly what happened.

Maclean started the eight-minute frenzy by getting the goal his performance had deserved latching on to a trough ball and planting it past the ‘keeper from 12 yards on 61 minutes.

He doubled his tally less than two minutes later with a fine first-time shot from the side of the box that crept inside the far post, before substitute Ryan Stanley’s fine low cross was hammered home by McMellon to make it seven on 75 minutes.

McMellon turned provider for Maclean to seal his eight-minute hat-trick, and his side’s fourth in that time, another two minutes later, heading on a cross for Maclean to volley in from six yards.

James Pollard in action for Mawnan

The game settled down from then on, but the goals kept coming. Pollard fired narrowly wide of the bottom corner before his byline cross found Maclean, whose shot struck the upright but fell kindly for him to calmly nod home the rebound.

With the final few minutes playing out largely without incident, it looked as if the home side would just fall short of double figures, only for Maclean to grab his fifth of the half and make it a perfect ten by drilling in Steve Winnan’s low cross two minutes from time.

Mawnan: D Friend, G Griffiths, R James, P Maclean, H McMellon, J Pollard, A Pryor, D Pullen, O Richardson, S Winnan, B Wyatt. Subs: R Canale, B Harvey, D Sikorski, R Stanley.