Porthleven 2 Foxhole 1

[Darin Morse]

Porthleven 2 Foxhole 1

Saturday 4th December 2010

Incredibly this was the Foxes' third seventy-mile round trek to Gala Parc in the last eighteen league and cup games, and, like the other two, resulted in narrow defeat. Such were the problems caused by recent departures and cup-tied players, it was a scratch side that new boss Tony Mackellar put together but he would have been very satisfied with an excellent display that actually warranted a morale-boosting victory. Despite fielding four second-teamers, handing a debut to the impressive rookie Ben Spaul alongside Ben Douglas in central midfield, and without a recognised striker, Foxhole more than matched their opponents, showing a togetherness possibly spawned by the inclusion of two sets of brothers and the first father and son combination since the time of Javed Miandad. Porthleven's three-pronged attack did not convince and were comfortably contained, while their defenders were strangely reluctant to provide support for their outnumbered midfield colleagues, seemingly failing to twig that Daniel Allen was an unlikely lone front-man. As a result, Foxhole were able to create two early openings, but their failure to show the required ruthlessness and composure was ultimately to prove crucial. First, Kempthorne, revelling in a more attacking role, raced clear only to be denied by the flying Kew, before Bird took advantage of the space offered to him by an increasingly nervous looking Timmins to turn inside Stidwell, but the finish from twelve yards was wayward. Davies, again providing entertainment for the hardy band of Foxhole faithful, was booked for dissent after a clash with Ralph, but he was to open the scoring against the run of play on thirty-six minutes, brilliantly lobbing Holland from twenty-five yards. Kew was equal to Douglas' shot from distance as the Foxes sought an immediate response, and the fact that Gardner resorted to chopping down Pete May, for which he was cautioned, perhaps indicated the home team recognised their good fortune to be leading at the break.

Although Searle almost struck within seconds of the restart, his excellent control of Adlard's fine cross not matched by his finishing prowess, it was the Foxes who again were to generate the better chances. Allen's dangerous centre required only a faint touch and Holland headed over a corner by Bird, who then ended a mazy dribble down the left with another disappointing near-post shot. However, shortly after he had fired wastefully over the bar, Stidwell's thirty-yard free-kick on sixty-three proved too hot to handle for Ryan Holland, Searle reacting first to net the killer second. Stidwell's free-header which flashed wide from Davies' corner notwithstanding, and even with a two-goal cushion against a virtual reserve team, Porthleven continued to demonstrate all the attributes of a pretty ordinary side, so Foxhole's inability to capitalise on concerted late pressure was all the more discouraging. Bird again failed to beat Kew when well-placed, while a superb move down the right set up Douglas to curl an inviting cross into the path of substitute and club chairman Chris Allen, but his first-time effort from close-range rolled agonisingly past the upright. With eight minutes remaining, the Foxes finally realised it wasn't to be their day when Adam Holland's shot deflected onto the bar, the ball falling straight to the unmarked Matt May, the erstwhile full-back by now pressed into service as an emergency striker, who promptly headed back onto the bar from three yards. While Lawrence somehow squandered an even easier chance following good work by the under-used replacement Fox, the visitors soon resumed their offensive and, shortly after Adlard became the third home player to have his name taken for a poor challenge on Bird, notched a deserved consolation when May released Allen the Elder to shoot low past Kew to briefly become the most popular chairman since Mao Tse-tung. Regrettably, only a few seconds of stoppage time remained, but at least sufficient pride had been restored after recent turmoil to suggest Mackellar's appointment will provide some much-needed stability.

Foxhole (4-5-1): Ryan Holland; Jason Hancock, Matt May, Adam Holland, Bradley Ralph; CJ Bird, Pete May (sub. Chris Allen), Ben Spaul, Ben Douglas, Michael Kempthorne; Daniel Allen.

Porthleven (4-3-3): Rob Kew; Ed Timmins, Chris Strike (sub. Matt Fox), Ashley Stidwell, Jamie Burr (sub. Jamie Thompson); Justin Searle (sub. Dominic Batchelor), Jordan Adlard, Pat Gardner; Mike Davies, Martyn Moon, Chris Lawrence.

Referee: Mr Peter Grenfell (Penzance).