SUPER-sub Josh Wood again proved the scourge of the Magpies as for the second time in just over a month, he came off the Penlee Park bench to make a match-changing scoring contribution, writes Joss Bray.
Penzance made a barn-storming start and could have been three up within a quarter hour.
Tyler Tonkin set up Rolandos Samnauskas to fire just over, Kevin Lawrence tickled shot just wide when in on goal, then Darryl Richards gave Samnauskas another chance from which Ethan Fearn was required to make a good block.
Penzance had a goal disallowed for offside and the pressure continued, with Ethan Fearn making a great save from Sanauskas.
A nasty clash of heads between Wendron’s Russell May and Liam Andrew caused a lengthy delay. Both were eventually able to continue and, on the resumption, Penzance took a deserved lead.
Under pressure from Jacob Trudgeon, a Wendron player underhit a back pass and Samnauskas pounced to score. The lead was doubled when Andrew, with his head bandaged from his injury, delivered a fine cross from the right to Richards, who skilfully converted, for a scoreline of 2-0, to the home team.
Two goals up with nearly an hour played, Penzance looked on course for a statement win over the League leaders, before Wood, whose extra-time brace in January won the Cornwall Senior Cup quarter final, bagged a momentum-swinging Wendron United opener.
Shell-shocked Wendron made four changes at the break, bringing on Cam.Wheat,Josh Wood,Lucas Potts and Reece Carroll.
The transformation was immediate and Wendron went on to dominate the second half. Two of the substitutes found the net to salvage a point.
A Penzance corner was cleared to Scott Palmer who sent a probing long ball deep into home territory. Wood exploited the space vacated by the pushed forward Magpies and slipped the ball past Will Trenoweth.
Tails-up Wendron then laid siege to the Penzance goal. Cameron Quirke, Palmer and Jack Stocker all went close before Cam Wheat levelled with a deft glancing header, from a cross by Joe Souch, with just two minutes remaining.
With both Samnauskas and Frazer Cadman, who was making his first appearance of the season as a substitute for Richards, sin binned during the closing stages, Penzance were the more relieved to hear the final whistle.
Scott Palmer was injured mid-way through the second half and finished the game as a passenger. There was a sense of dejection from both sides at the end. From the home side for surrendering a healthy lead and from Wendron for the dropping of valuable points in their title chase.
Wendron Utd resume on Saturday, March 4, at home to Sticker where they kick-off at 3pm.
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