WENDRON UNITED 0, PENZANCE 1

Penzance recorded a fourth straight victory and moved up to third place in the Premier Division West table, but were pushed right to the final whistle by an extremely well-organised, youthful Wendron United side.

The Magpies - already deprived of the unavailable Charlie Willis and Lewis Caspall - suffered a further blow before kick-off when Josh Otto pulled up, the injury handing a first start of the season to Archie Reynolds. “Josh had a little niggle in the warm-up and, to be fair to Archie, he’s come in and been our best player by a country mile,” explained Manager Mark Vercesi.

Jacob Trudgeon took in Caspall’s place, George Molcher that of Willis, but the jiggery pokery did not prevent the visitors from making a rampaging start. Ben Palmer glanced a second minute header inches wide from a James Butler free-kick, then Trudgeon, also set up by Butler, stretched Ethan Fearn to a good save with a sweetly struck curler from twenty yards out. Captain Silas Sullivan-Bailey next went close, fizzing a shot just wide from the edge of the box. Ewan Trevains then whipped over a delightful centre from the right that Trudgeon, arriving at pace, was just unable to convert.

The visitors finally made the break-through with a thoroughly messy strike just after the half-hour mark. Fearn attempted to punch the ball clear from a corner from the right but, with his defence appealing for a foul, could only watch despairingly as it brushed against Trudgeon on its way over the line. “It was nice to see Trudgie get a goal,” remarked Vercesi of his forward’s first of the campaign. “Hopefully there will be more to come. He had a good season last season with a good number of goals.”

A 32nd minute Jacob Trudgeon header secured the 3 points for the Magpies.

Played in by Trevains, Josh Turner pulled a shot just wide. The top scorer then had a drive charged down early in the second half. Thereafter, Penzance frustration at an inability to put the game to bed increased hand-in-hand with Wendron’s confidence. By the latter stages the home defence, with Marvellous Joseph in particular catching the eye, was repelling what little Penzance were throwing at them whilst their forward line looked increasingly menacingly. The final whistle was welcomed with subdued relief in the visiting dug-out. 

“Massive credit to Wendron – they took this game all the way,” conceded Vercesi. “We were asking the ref at the end how long there was to play as we were beginning to panic. They looked like a team that was very fit, very organised and very up for it. It wasn’t a great performance from us, but at least the three points were there.” 

Wendron: Ethan Fearn, Favour Joseph, Art Autumn (Max Pethick 89), Marvellous Joseph, Samuel Jewell (Lewis Tancock 51), Terence McAvoy, Chris Shadforth, Dom Scoffin, Callum Wilkes (Reece Bansy 44), Rio Watson, Jude Hogg (Harry Rogers 78).

Unused sub: Keenan Carpenter

Penzance: Harry Salmon, Steve Burt, Ben Palmer, Archie Reynolds, Silas Sullivan-Bailey (captain) (Ollie Butler 66), James Butler, Andreas Calleja-Stayne, George Molcher (Hayden Waters 68), Ewan Trevains, Jacob Trudgeon (Wade Brown 68), Josh Turner.

Unused sub: Will Trenoweth

Referee: Johan Carvell

Assistants: Alexander Curnow, David Becker

Match Report and Photo courtesy of James Wright