Saturday 14th February 2009
Perranporth - 1 - 2 - Perranwell - Jollys Cornwall Combination League
A defeat for Perranwell on Saturday would have all but ended any hopes they had of landing the Combination League title. Before the weekend Perranporth had not tasted a single defeat this season in 27 league or cup games this season. And with such a dominant record few havs given Illogan or Perranwell much hope of catching the league leaders. But with this victory Perranwell have ensured that the race for league honours is no longer as assured as it appeared before Saturday's clash on the north coast. Before the weekend Perranporth held a seven-point lead at the top of the table. Now, following Illogan's crushing 10 - 1 win against Mullion, that gap has been reduced to four. Third place Perranwell could yet cut it further as they are six points behind, but with a game in hand on Perranporth. And after Saturday's win they will no doubt fancy their chances of taking Ian Gosling and Steve Rowson's men down to the wire in what is turning out to be an intriguing battle for league silverware. The corresponding fixture back in October went Perranporth's way in a 2 - 1 win. On Saturday there was no love lost in this highly competitive Valentine's Day fixture, which brought six bookings - three for each side. Inside the first 12 minutes Perranwell found themselves two goals to the good, both strikes coming courtesy of Mike Brewer. After seven minutes he drilled low into the bottom corner of Andy Butcher's goal from the edge of the area. That lead was doubled not long after, although it arrived in controversial circumstances. While there was no debating referee Alan Hoon's decision to award an indirect free kick after Butcher picked up skipper Mike Cain's back pass, Perranporth were infuriated that the kick was not given from the spot that the incident took place. That allowed Brewer to smash the ball into the roof of the net, much to the frustration of the home side. Perranporth had the ball in the back of the net after 24 minutes but this time there was no doubting that Kayne Trevaskis was in a offside position when he latched on to meet Dean Harris' deflected effort. Perranwell keeper John Mitchell was beaten again in the 35th minute, but this time the goal was allowed to stand as Justin Andrew planted his header past the Perranwell goalkeeper from Ian Gosling's free kick. Perranporth ended the first half in the ascendancy, but even with nine minutes of stoppage time, following a shoulder injury to Cain, they were unable to breach the Perranwell goal further. After the interval Andrew volleyed over, before failing to trouble Mitchell with a header from Ben Goldring's cross. Perranwell had chances to extend their lead, with Butcher tipping Matt Rose's header away. Steve Allen also saw his headed effort cleared off the line by Harris. The Perranporth defender again came to his side's rescue in the 69th minute when he blocked John Blundell's effort after the Perranwell striker had done the hard work by rounding Butcher. At the other end substitute Lee Dark was denied by the upright with a volley that looked to have Mitchell beaten. But in a frantic finale, which saw the home side pile on the pressure. Perranwell stood firm to record a crucial victory as Perranporth's impressive run was finally brought to an end.
Source: West Briton
Saturday 28th February 2009
Perranporth - 2 - 0 - Callington Town - Westinsure Senior Sup Quarter-Final Replay
Can they do it - yes they can! Perranporth, representing the Jollys Cornwall Combination League, are one step away from the Cornwall Senior Cup final after sweeping aside Callington in this quarter-final replay. And on the evidence of Saturday's performance against their Carlsberg South West Peninsula League division one west opponents, they will take some stopping. St. Austell, another Peninsula League side, stand in their way but if any representatives of the Lilywhites were at Ponsmere Valley, they will have gone away knowing they are in for a tough time. Saturday's headline grabber was captain fantastic Dean Harris, who gave Perran a 30th minute lead and rounded off a perfect day with a wonder strike after 57 minutes to put the tie beyond reach. But Harris will be first to acknowledge that this was a team effort - and quite how the home side finished with only two goals to show for their dominance remains a mystery. They hit the woodwork three times inside four minutes before the 10 minute mark had been reached, and saw Callngton goalkeeper Dan Johnson pull of several excellent saves to keep the score down. Callington manager Micky Hunt was reduced to a stunned silence on the sidelines as his side, so impressive in the original tie at Ginsters Marshfield Parc, were outplayed in all departments. It all started in the seventh minute when Perranporth striker Kayne Trevaskis barged his way through and fired a fierce shot past Johnson only to see it cannon back off the bar to safety. Inside a minute full back Ben Goldring ghosted into the penalty area to connect with a Lee Dark cross from the left and sidefooted his shot wide of Johnson but the ball struck a post. Before the gasps of disbelief from home supporters had died down, Trevaskis opened up the Callington defence again after 10 minutes and produced a rasping shot from 20 yards which again left Johnson helpless, but the Callington keeper turned around to see the shot crash against the bar again. So 10 minutes gone, three shots against the woodwork, and the game still goalless. And when Harris had a close range header from Ian Gosling's corner hacked off the line by Jon Wyatt four minutes later, you had to wonder whether this was Callington's lucky day. It wasn't. The home side eventually broke the deadlock on the half hour as a Gosling free kick 10 yards inside the Callington half tempted Johnson off his line to attempt a punched clearance, but he only did half the job and Harris was there to fire a left foot volley into the net. We waited for Callington's response, but it never came. Instead they were indepted to Johnson for two brilliant point blank saves in the last four minutes of the first half which denied Alex Arquati two goals before Gosling wasted another golden chance by planting a close range header straight into Jonhson's chest. The fact - some would say miracle - that they were only 1 - 0 down at the break should have given Callington some belief for the second half, but all hope was lost in the 57th minute when Harris, 30 yards out wide on the left, produced a wonder volley which gave Johnson no chance. If Harris scores a better goal than that in the remainder of his playing days, I'd like to be there to see it. Callington managed to keep the damage down to two goals, though keeper Johnson knew little about Gosling's 87th minute free kick which floated over his head before crashing against the underside of the bar. The woodwork may have saved Callington from an embarrassing scoreline - but there was no hiding the fact that they were hammered by a rampant Perranporth.
Source: West Briton
