Like many other Groundhoppers this Easter weekend I made my way to Cornwall as, for the first time since 2011, there was South West Peninsula League (SWPL) Groundhop taking place. A three day extravaganza featuring seven games of football in a wonderful part of the world, that no doubt delighted the hordes of fans that gathered.
Proceedings kicked off on Maundy Thursday at Poltair Park, the home of St Austell AFC...
South West Peninsula League Premier Division
Poltair Park
St Austell 4-0 St Blazey
Attendance: 451
After a meet up with some fellow groundhoppers at the local Wetherspoons for a couple of beers and a good natter, it was a walk up the hill to a very wet Poltair Park. Upon arrival at the ground the main stand was pretty much full as people sheltered from the rain. St Blazey have struggled this season and are currently in the relegation zone, whereas St Austell are well in the mix for the title with Bodmin Town. It was therefore no shock when St Austell ran out comfortable winners. The goals came from Josh Grant (4) Liam Eddy (33 & 60) with Martin Watts (90) wrapping up proceedings.
South West Peninsula League Division One West
Oxland Parc
Illogan RBL 3-1 Penryn Athletic
Attendance: 369
It was a lovely spring morning as I headed to Illogan, which is not far from Redruth, for the first game of today's trilogy. Illogan are relative newcomers to the SWPL having joined in 2014 from the Cornwall Combination League. The football team are actually representing the Royal British Legion, hence the RBL in the name. The ground has a smart little stand, but as the sun was beating down I opted to watch from the grass bank behind the goal. Penryn Athletic came into the game on the back of a 15 game unbeaten run so it was a bit of surprise when mid-table Illogan put them to the sword. Gavin Boon (43) gave the home side before Dario Disano (57) levelled for the visitors. Further goals from Stuart Peters (64) and Steve Abbot-Smith (69) ensured the three points for Illogan.
South West Peninsula League Division One West
Underlane
Wendron United 1-1 Porthleven
Attendance: 427
From Illogan it was south to Underlane, the home of Wendron United. The ground is not actually in Wendron, which is about 5 miles away, and is closer to the village of Rame. The roads were winding and narrow and in my head images of the ground were that of a roped off farmers field. Upon parking up at the ground I was utterly shocked. And in a good way. There was a covered stand running the length of the pitch. Not bad when you consider the club have never played higher than step 7. There was also some great food available, with the beef stew and dumplings going down very well. The game was a bit of a drab affair with Porthleven taking the lead through Matt Best (23) before Chris Mulroy equalised in the 8th minute (of about 12 minutes) of stoppage time, a result of an injury to the Porthleven 'keeper.
South West Peninsula League Premier Division
Kellaway Park
Helston Athletic 1-0 Falmouth Town
Attendance: 514
There was plenty of time between games allowing one the chance to make a quick diversion to The Blue Anchor in Helston, where their Spingo ales were in fine form. It was then a 15 minute walk up the hill to Kellaway park for the final game of the day. It was not the greatest. Very few chances were created and it seemed to have the dreaded 0-0 written all over it when, in the 70th minute, the Falmouth keeper dropped a cross and Helston's Jason Roberts poked home the winner. The ground is enclosed by a wooden fence and the seated stand is of the pre-fab variety, with the only other cover the overhang from the clubhouse. I then made my way to my base in Mullion where a few more Cornish ales were sank.
South West Peninsula League Division One West
Burngullow Park
Sticker 6-1 Wadebridge Town
Attendance: 372
From the point of view of the weather this was the day I had been dreading and I wasn't let down, with rain falling for most of the morning and afternoon. Fortunately, to lift spirits, it was also raining goals!
Sticker are another recent addition to the SWPL, joining in 2012 after finishing runners up in the East Cornwall Premier League. Playing with the wind behind them, Sticker simply blew Wadebridge away with five goals without reply, thanks to a Sam Kenny hat-trick (9, 24 & 33) a Liam Dingle penalty (16) and a strike from Mike Body (36).
I was grateful to take sanctury in the clubhouse at half time to get some respite from the rain. Luckily for the second half I was able to squeeze into the stand where I witnessed two further goals as Tom Marks (71) pulled one back from Wadebridge before Body (76) grabbed his second.
South West Peninsula League Division One West
Boscawen Park
St Dennis 6-4 Millbrook
Attendance: 306
It was a short journey from Sticker to St Dennis but as I was driving along the rain was getting heavier and heavier. I was starting to wonder if this game would be going to go ahead. Upon arrival at the ground, the groundsmen were busy forking and raking litres of water off the pitch. It was looking very ominous. Fortunately, the game went ahead and, well, what a game! Credit to both teams as they produced an absolute humdinger of a match. St Dennis raced into a two goal lead with goals from Martin Sleeman (6) and Joe Stone (10) before Millbrook came back to lead 3-2 at the break thanks to a Sean Evans penalty (21) and a brace from Sam Chitey (36 & 45).
St Dennis' cause was not helped when Kyle Friendship was shown a straight red card for violent conduct but this didn't hinder them as they stormed (ahem) back to claim the three points. They were level within a minute of the restart thanks to Mikey Davies and he then put Sticker into the lead on 53 minutes. Evans scored his second (68) to equalise for Milbrook before two goals from Lee Rickard (71 & 85) ensured victory for 10 men St Dennis.
South West Peninsula League Division One West
Broadclose Park
Bude Town 5-1 Holsworthy
Attendance: 409
The seaside town of Bude, about 40 miles from St Austell, was the setting for the final game of the hop as Bude Town hosted Holsworthy. The ground is on a housing estate to the North of the town centre, tucked away behind a School. There was a very small piece of cover and an overhang from the clubhouse so thank goodness the rain finally stopped for this game!
The match was a very one sided affair as the home side were 3-0 up at half time. Goals from Billy Hopcroft (7 & 45) and Tommy Stratton (27) put the hosts in a commading position. Holsworthy's cause was not helped when skipper Carlo Chandler was sent off after 37 minutes for a dangerous tackle. Second half goals from Chris Hill (55) and Luke Potter (82) ensured Bude went nap but Nathan Bonney (80) did net a consolation for Holsworthy.
Post match I headed into Bude, where I was staying the night, and sank a few ales and reflected on another fabulous SWPL groundhop. A massive thanks to the organiser, Phil Hiscox, and all the officials and players of the clubs involved. I look forward to 2018 and a trip to Devon!
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| Cheers everyone! |
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