St Newlyn East travelled into the unknown on Saturday with the Club’s first ever fixture outside of Cornwall to face title favourites and leaders Mount Gould. In what was their sternest test to date their task was made even harder with 6 players missing from the squad who beat St Dominick in their opening match.

With Mount Gould a physical and verbally intimidating side Newlyn knew that had to not back down and match their hosts in every area. The leaders started brightly but Newlyn held firm but when the Saints gave away possession cheaply after 10 minutes, they were punished with the games opening goal from a low finish past Zefran Counter in Newlyn’s goal.

Dan Parsonage was causing the home full-back concern as was Dan Woodgate on the opposite wing for Newlyn as they tried to press the hosts in to giving away possession. Parsonage pressed a little too hard and was booked for a foul. The returning Ross London started to grow into the match and his deft touch saw him bring the ball under control and he sped past two defenders but was closed down before he could shoot.

The local referee seemed intent on penalising Newlyn for every tackle they made which was made worse from the constant verbal pressure he came under from the home side. Parsonage saw a shot flash across the goal, but chances were few and far between with the game a midfield battle with Saints trio of Cam Buchanan, Harry Mugford and Callum Faulkner more than a match for their opponents. More pressure from the home side on the referee saw Al Titterington and London also cautioned late in the half.

The interval saw Newlyn bring on Elliot Powel for London and his physicality in attack gave Newlyn a new dimension but more sloppy play saw Newlyn gift possession away deep in their half and Mount Gould double their advantage after just 5 minutes of the re-start. On 68 minutes Newlyn broke down the right wing and Parsonage’s clever run saw him beat the offside calls and finish superbly to reduce the arrears.

Newlyn were certainly back in the game and for a 10-minute spell after the goal they looked the team most likely to score the next goal but were ultimately undone by two scrappy goals conceded from corners late in the game. Newlyn were also able to introduce their second available substitute in 17-year-old Owen London with 12 minutes left and the Newlyn youngster was not fazed – even being crudely scythed down to earn the defender a justified caution.

After the game Saints Manager Martin Grigg said “to be honest I can’t fault my players today. We knew it would be a huge test for us – even before we lost so many players in the build up to injury and work commitments but this game has shown us that as a squad we are good enough to compete at this level. The effort that every player put in and desire not to be intimidated individually and as a team was exactly what I asked of them. Our opening three league games have given us the belief that we deserve to be here and given us a great foundation to build on.”

Man 0f the Match: Dan Parsonage