PENZANCE 11, TRURO CITY RESERVES 1

Penzance manager Mark Vercesi rested himself for the first time this season, for the midweek visit of Truro City Reserves to Penlee Park. James Butler and Lewis Caspall started, the latter having been unavailable for the FA Vase trip to Wellington three days earlier writes James Wright.

And it was Caspall who handed the home side a very early lead with a close-range finish. The midfielder then got his second of the night with a fine solo effort before Charlie Young fired home to see the Magpies three up inside eleven minutes. After a powerful surge down the right flank, Josh Magin saw a powerful shot deflected wide. He was not to be denied long though, thrashing the ball home after 26 minutes to put Penzance four to the good.

Truro enjoyed their best spell of the night during the latter stages of the first half and pulled one back when Nathaniel West, after a neat turn, rammed a shot high into the roof of Harry Salmon’s net. But they were reeling again straight after the restart. Archie Reynolds, who before kick-off received an award from chairman Godfrey Adams to commemorate his 100th consecutive Peninsula League start, put over a centre from the right from which Caspall drilled a shot that Piran Jones did well to save. The keeper could do nothing though to keep out a sublime strike from Charlie Willis just seconds later.

Archie Reynolds receives a tankard from Penzance AFC Chairman, Godfrey Adams, to commemorate his 100th South West Peninsula League start.

With a skilful turn, Charlie Young created for himself the space to thread home an accurate left foot shot. This sixth goal was the cue for Vercesi to make a quintuple substitution but, sadly for Truro, there was no let-up. Caspall immediately completed his hat-trick – Penzance’s first since Tyler Tonkin’s treble on Boxing Day 2023, also against City – then set-up Jacob Trudgeon, one of the new arrivals, for a tap-in.

Hayden Waters, another substitute, found the net with a clever 77th back-heel, but the effort was disallowed. A minute later though, Caspall extended his personal tally to four – and six for the season – with an emphatic finish. Waters then pulled a shot wide of the far post, and Ollie Butler dipped a drive just over before Wade Brown capitalised on more left flank magic by Caspall to skilfully score the ninth.

It was Brown’s first goal for the first team since he returned to the club in the summer, but there was still time for the ex-Mousehole and St Day striker to grab a second – another deft finish – in injury-time to complete the rout.

Penzance: Harry Salmon, Archie Reynolds (Rohan Bennetts 62), James Butler (Hayden Waters 62), Josh Turner, Silas Sullivan (captain) (Wade Brown 62), Ewan Trevains, Charlie Willis, Josh Magin (Ollie Butler 62), George Molcher (Jacob Trudgeon 62), Charlie Young, Lewis Caspall

Truro: Piran Jones, Ketan Cooper, Blake Gordon Dunn, Tyreece Gallaway, Toby Burt, Noah Holmes, Nathaniel West, Ollie Pickup, Ethan Jorey, Liam Pascoe, Ben Medlin.

Sub: Jackson Penhallurick

Referee: Scott Coutts

Assistants: David Dodson, Lukes Wilkes

Cover photo courtesy of James Wright