Foxhole 7 Perranporth 1

[Darin Morse]

Foxhole 7 Perranporth 1

Saturday 20th August 2011

Foxhole secured their first opening day Peninsula victory in five attempts and their first ever league victory over Perranporth to proudly sit at the top of the table (albeit only on alphabetical order) after a fantastic display of flowing football to rout their severely weakened opponents. Sam Kenny's opener inside ninety seconds set the tone for the afternoon, heading home at the far post the impressive Trudgian's centre which had eluded the unconvincing Mitchell. Kenny almost repeated the trick on seven minutes, flicking Spaul's free-kick against the base of the upright, while the speedy Gamble fluffed a golden chance after more fine service from Trudgian as the Foxes dominated the early exchanges.

It was therefore against the run of play when, on eighteen minutes, Light's speculative lob deceived Holland in the wind to drop just under the bar from twenty-five yards. However, it was soon to become dark for the visitors when Gamble restored the lead on twenty-two after evading the close attentions of Denton, who, having already been cautioned for holding Upton, must have been grateful to the referee for playing the advantage. Other than a fairly lame attempt by Ball following an assist by Yendell, it was one way traffic, the young Foxes delighting the small Goverseth faithful with some tidy approach work and, after a particularly splendid move, another centre from Trudgian was only just headed over by the excellent Spaul.

Had Barnes shown more composure with his shot when he'd charged down Adam Hollandf's clearance on the half hour, Perranporth would have stolen an unlikely equaliser but, as it happened, the Foxes were to effectively seal the points immediately. Upton, increasingly looking the part of a more than handy centre-forward with his pace, strength and unselfishness, displayed tremendous awareness to release the rampaging Gotthardt, whose run was unceremoniously ended by the desperate Bradshaw. Mitchell reckoned the tackle came fractionally outside the box, and he may have had a case, his booking for dissent an entertaining pre-amble to Gamble's emphatic spot-kick. A minute later young full-back Thomas, appearing ever more assured with his deft touches, thread a pass through to willing runner Upton, who displayed admirable poise and a little cockiness to beat Barber twice before rolling the ball past the keeper to make it 4-1. It might have been even better at the break had Spaul not scuffed his effort, while the ice under which Denton was precariously skating was getting progressively thinner following yet another poor challenge, this time on Upton.

There was to be no reprieve for the beleaguered visitors in the second half. Upton drove over from distance and the unmarked Kenny headed over Gotthardt's long throw before more intelligent play by Thomas allowed Spaul to round Mitchell and fire home on fifty-four. Fourteen minutes later, the Foxes showed patience to work an opening rarely seen at this level before Kenny's cross from the left was spectacularly headed into the roof of the net by the flying Hazeldine. The hammering being dished out proved too much for the diminutive Barnes who welcomed burly substitute Stephen into the action by bizarrely clattering into him to earn a caution, while Upton soon joined him in the book, the visitors' unseemly reaction to a nothing challenge on Barber having the desired effect.

Adam Holland, looking suspiciously offside, was denied by the diving Mitchell, who was, though, helpless to prevent Spaul's tap in six minutes from time after magnificent work down the left from star performers Thomas and Upton. Still hungry for goals, the Foxes poured forward and double figures was within reach as three more golden opportunities were created. The first of these came when, following a seemingly endless sequence of ball retention, Fieldhouse's inviting centre was narrowly missed at the far post by Kenny, while Upton will be disappointed he was unable to execute a lob from ten yards and Gotthardt will be similarly annoyed his long range attempt at the death with Mitchell prostrate cleared the bar. Although it's obvious much tougher challenges lie ahead, the fact there were so many positives after an uncertain pre-season suggests some genuine cause for quiet optimism.

Foxhole (4-4-2): Ryan Holland; Adam Trudgian, Ben Thomas, Adam Holland, Joe Stone (sub. Ryan Stephen); Jaydon Gotthardt, Sam Kenny, Lee Hazeldine, Ben Spaul; Adam Gamble (sub. Adam Fieldhouse), Duane Upton.

Perranporth (4-4-2): Ben Mitchell; Tom Craze, Jack Bradshaw, Jason Barber, Lee Denton; Brandon Light, Shaun Clements, Matt Luff, Scott Yendell; Tom Ball, Sam Barnes.

Referee: Mr Paul Murphy (Truro).