Falmouth Town’s unbeaten record at Bickland Park this season came to an end following a 2-0 defeat to Mousehole in the Western League on Wednesday night, writes Matt Friday of Cornwall Sports Media.
Max Hill nodded the Seagulls in front inside seven minutes before Luke Brabyn was shown a red card for Town shortly before half-time.
Andrew Elcock doubled the visitors’ lead midway through the second half while Town were temporarily down to eight men with two in the sin bin, with Scott Kellow also seeing red following a scuffle between the two teams after the final whistle.
Victory sees Mousehole rise three places to fifth, with Town dropping one place to 14th following Welton Rovers’ 4-2 win at Cadbury Heath.
Mousehole didn’t waste any time in seizing the initiative with Louis Price testing Ryan Barnes after two minutes before Hill opened the scoring barely five minutes later. A corner was flicked on in the box and fell kindly for the centre-half to smash into the roof of the net for his first of the season.
Town, who hadn't lost any of their previous seven home games this season, quickly recovered from that early setback and got a foothold in the game, with Jack Bray-Evans testing Seagulls gloveman Lewis Moyle before Cam Hutchison sent an effort wide, with Tim Nixon’s inswinging cross almost creeping into the top corner.
But the hosts’ task was made more difficult shortly before the interval when Brabyn was dismissed in controversial circumstances. The Town skipper clipped Seagulls midfielder Tallan Mitchell from behind when attempting to retrieve the ball, with referee James Long brandishing a red card to the bemusement of the Town contingent.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Town enjoyed their best chances of the game shortly after turnaround. Nixon’s dangerous cross towards the back post found Bray-Evans but the Town man blazed over from six yards, with his next effort a few minutes later looking set to find the net but for a vital block from a green shirt.
A tough job for Town was made even harder with Annear and Nixon being sent to the sin bin within a couple of minutes of each other, leaving the home side down to eight players briefly. Despite that, they managed to keep the score at one, with Hayden Turner’s low strike cannoning off the inside of the near post and against Barnes’ head before being cleared in what was the Seagulls’ best chance since the goal.
But just as Annear and Nixon were getting ready to return to the pitch, Mousehole finally found the goal to kill off the match. Elcock was presented with the chance to shoot from just inside the box and the Seagulls midfielder made no mistake, with his powerful effort squeezing under Barnes and into the net with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Mark Goldsworthy missed a golden chance to add a third shortly after when he nodded over the bar with the goal gaping, with Barnes saving from substitute Callam McOnie as the visitors looked to increase their margin of victory.
The action didn’t stop at the final whistle with Kellow being shown a second yellow card following a clash between both sides, with Mousehole substitute Moussa Diallo also receiving a booking for his part in the scuffle.
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Town's next match is at Ilfracombe Town in the Western League on Saturday, October 1 (kick-off 3pm).
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Falmouth: R Barnes, S Kellow, T Moxham, J Webber, T Annear, K Gordon-Dunn, L Brabyn, C Hutchison (A Calleja-Stayne HT), J Bray-Evans (O Walker 87), L Barner (J Swan 89), T Nixon (O Pickup 73). Subs (unused): C Edney.
Red card: L Brabyn '37
Mousehole: L Moyle, K Fraser, M Richards (J Sims 45), M Hill, H Turner, M Goldsworthy (M Diallo 78), T Mitchell (P Sousa 82), S Burt, R Thomson, A Elcock, L Price (C McOnie 56). Subs (unused): J Symons.
Goals: M Hill '7, A Elcock '70
Referee: James Long
Man of the match: Ryan Barnes
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