Godolphin 3 - 0 Newquay

[Michael Rabone]

Godolphin 3 - 0 Newquay

Godolphin made amends for their Good Friday defeat with three goals without reply at Godophin Way in a relatively low-key May Day local derby. Newquay fielded a changed side with youngsters Ryan Barnes and Dan Carne unavailable, drafting in experienced replacements in the form of goalkeeper Dave Wilton and defender Grant Russell; Robertson replaced Weldhen up front and Lee Paxton returned to the Godolphin starting line up with Phil Lowry on the bench.

After a relatively quiet opening, Luke Rigby burst through a series of Godolphin challenges with some outstanding footwork, only to fire the ball at the legs of Shaun Semmens when through on goal with Semmens managing to gather the rebound after making what proved to be a very important early contribution. Newquay were enjoying the majority of possession in the opening twenty minutes, with Jake Hartigan's lofted cross eluding his team-mates at the far post and captain Shaun Middleton testing Semmens in the Godolphin goal.

Godolphin had been unable to carve out a worthwhile opportunity in the opening twenty-five minutes until a hopeful ball into the area broke free and full-back Ollie Dart arrowed a perfectly executed low volley from twenty yards, cutting across the ball to open the scoring in front of 300 derby fans. The goal was certainly against the run of play and Newquay will have been disappointed to have conceded in such circumstances following a reasonable opening to the game.

Scott Palmer had the chance to make amends on the half-hour mark from a set piece on the left corner of the box, however, his arrowed free kick clipped the defensive wall just as it looked likely to test Semmens. Whilst Newquay looked reasonably comfortable having enjoyed more possession in the first half, Palmer and Robertson were unable to get the better of the Godolphin defensive partnership of Ollie Pinnell and Tim Peacock and frustrations started to surface as Middleton collected a booking for a late challenge on Ross Fallons as the first half drew to a conclusion. Kyle Brown almost doubled the margin with two first half minutes remaining, retrieving what looked like a lost cause to cut into the box, with a late defensive intervention denying the hardworking midfielder a second goal in two games.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Newquay enjoying early possession without being able to pose a significant threat to the home team. Recent fixtures between the local rivals have not been able to match the passion of the opening season of derby matches following Godolphin's promotion and despite the fact that a second goal would be likely to end any chance of another Newquay second half comeback, Godolphin were unable to exert any sort of influence on the game in the early stages of the second half.

After two challenges in the corner resulted in collisions with the assistant referee, Lee Paxton was the benefactor as he collected the loose ball and cut into the box, only to watch on as his curling strike was deflected wide of Wilton's far post with the goalkeeper beaten. Within five minutes Scott Palmer had a snap shot blocked by Sam Eglinton in the area after reacting first to the loose ball and a second chance soon followed when Rigby's downward header was struck goalwards by Palmer only to be blocked for a second time, with the assistant raising his flag at the last moment for offside. Whilst Newquay were enjoying the majority of the second half possession, Godolphin looked most likely to score and when Kyle Brown's vision allowed for a perfectly times pass into the path of Jamie Wigg, a second goal looked likely until Wigg snatched at his shot and screwed the ball well wide of the target. Having regained possession and moved swiftly into Newquay territory, a sweeping move resulted in Dart putting Paxton through on goal, with Paxton's clinical finish thwarted by a correct offside decision from the assistant referee.

Godolphin were not to be denied a second goal and capitalised on their first genuine spell of pressure when second half substitute Mark Rose collected another fine ball on the left wing from the impressive Brown. Rose took a touch and drove a fine left footed finish across Wilton and into the bottom corner to provide breathing space for the first time in the match with just over a quarter of an hour remaining. Godolphin settled following the second goal and Scott Flanigan came within inches of scoring an outstanding third when his thirty-five yard free kick whistled past the Newquay wall and clipped the post with Wilton at full stretch. Flanigan had a further opportunity to add a third having escaped his marker to find himself one on one with Wilton, however, the experienced goalkeeper was equal to the challenge with a smart block having narrowed the angle; Ross Fallons also tried to get in on the act when his late set piece was deflected narrowly over.

The third and final goal was well worth the wait as substitute Josh Harris intercepted a stray pass across the Newquay defence with two minutes remaining. Harris managed to control the ball with a fine first touch and an inviting bounce in the area resulted in a stunning first time strike that curled beyond the dive of Wilton and into the top corner. Harris put the icing on the cake with an impressive back flip celebration and without getting out of their stride, Godolphin had managed to wrestle the three points away from Newquay who will feel a little disappointed to be on the receiving end of a three goal defeat.

Huge thanks to referee Lee Roberts (Plymouth) for proving late support for this fixture; we also had two impressive assistants today, one of which was very entertaining and certainly didn't take anything from the players!