It was mixed bag when Helston Athletic took to the pitch twice this week - for a triumphant derby clash against Falmouth, before suffering their first away defeat of the season at the weekend.
Helston Athletic FC 2 - Falmouth Town FC 1
Helston welcomed near neighbours Falmouth Town to Kellaway Park on crisp Tuesday night, hoping to bounce back after chaotic weekend loss to Malvern on Saturday, writes Ben Autie.
A bumper crowd of 623 saw Helston start strongly, and have a goal disallowed after five minutes, the referee spotting an infringement in the six-yard box to deny The Blues the lead.
Helston continued to enjoy possession, Jordan Copp cutting in from the right flank after ten minutes to shoot goalwards, only for Morgan Coxhead to gather easily.
Falmouth’s first meaningful chance on goal would come in the 18th minute, a strong downward header was saved on the line before being bundled away for a corner.
Town would come close again through Oscar Massey, whose pace is a constant worry for any team; finding himself behind the Blues defence with just Kyle Moore between him and goal, he could only drag the ball wide of the right-hand post, much to consternation of the visiting Falmouth support. Minutes later, Moore would deny Massey, getting down smartly to prevent his side from going behind.
The half would play out with no more goal mouth action, both teams cancelling each other out as they fought for the upper hand.
The second half saw The Blues start brightly and make the breakthrough in the 47th minute. Reece Thomson, growing in confidence and stature in every game, reacted quickest after both defence and attack stopped expecting an offside flag, only for his effort to be parried away by a superb reflex save from Coxhead. From the following corner, Copp’s deep delivery was headed home by Aaron Bently at the far post.
Falmouth, motivated by this setback, took six minutes to find the equaliser. Luke Barner, a thorn in the Helston side’s defence all night, took a touch to compose himself after a cross evaded The Blues defence, before burying it past an onrushing Moore.
With echoes of the previous Saturday’s fixture, Helston regained the lead two minutes later. Jack Crago’s cross found Thomson, who was denied again by another tremendous reaction save, only for Man of the Match Jacob Smith to be on hand for the second game in succession, his acrobatic effort leaving Coxhead helpless in the Falmouth goal.
As Falmouth pushed for an equaliser, an optimistic penalty appeal was turned down by the referee James Long, despite enthusiastic appeals from the visiting bench and players.
Helston, with a raft of substitutions, would see the remainder of the match out to record a 2-1 victory, much to the relief of stand in manager Dan Harrison.
Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3 – Helston AFC 2
Helston experienced their first away defeat of the season in all competitions losing out by the odd goal in five to Bemerton Heath Harlequins, Salisbury.
Played on a tight narrow pitch flanked by towering trees on two sides the match was played at a frantic pace throughout.
It was the home side who drew first blood with Joe Smith scoring his first of the afternoon after just six minutes. Helston goalkeeper Kyle Moore made contact with Smith's powerful shot but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent the ball from dipping under the crossbar.
Four minutes later Helston were level. A great run and pullback from Jack Crago found in form Tyler Elliott whose low shot from outside the area beat the outstretched keeper.
Helston were now growing more into the game and on 32 minutes a long throw into the hosts penalty area caused confusion and hesitation between keeper and defence with Reece Thomson taking full advantage to stab home.
The first half ended with Helston giving away a needless penalty. The spot kick was cooly converted by Leighton Young Thomas.
Half time saw the teams go in 2 -2.
The physicality and pace of the game continued into the second half with both sides in search of a winner,
Jamie Simmonds and Will Sullivan squandered chances for Helston but it was Smith that had the final say in netting from a similar position to Elliott earlier in the game, to secure all three points for the hosts.
Bideford 1 - Helston AFC Women 1
Helston AFC Development 1 - Falmouth Reserves 2
After playing the majority of the second half with ten men and dominating proceedings, the Development side where unfortunate not to get any points from a resilient Falmouth side.
The match ended in a 2-1 loss with Regan Hull scoring. Despite the result Manger Dan Bua came away feeling proud of his valiant young team and the performance they put in.
Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday, November 9
- Helston AFC vs Bishops Cleeve - Home, Kellaway Park: Kick Off 3pm
- Helston AFC Development vs St Just – Away, Lafrowda Park: Kick Off 2.30pm
Sunday, November 10
- Helston AFC Women vs Feniton Woman - Home, Kellaway Park: Kick Off 2pm
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