It’s rather fitting that Andrew Westgarth should enter his tenth season at the helm of hometown club, Falmouth Town, with the Cornish outfit competing at their highest-ever level.
Having finished as runners-up in the Western League Premier Division last term, they went on to secure promotion via the play-offs after beating Barnstaple Town and Clevedon Town to take their place in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South.
“Last year was only our second season back at that level,” Westgarth told us. “We had previously finished seventh and set our sights on making the play-offs.
“We managed to get some good momentum as the campaign went on and sat at the top of the table for a while before being beaten to the title.
“But we were able to get the job done across two tough games in the play-offs. It’s a great way to go up and credit to the players for holding their nerve. We also secured the Cornwall Senior Cup to complete what was a successful season for us.
“Now we look forward to the challenge ahead. Going into the Southern League I feel that we are much better equipped than we were when we were promoted into the Western League.
“On that occasion we lost a large number of players, but this time it’s much more seamless and as a club we’re in a better place off-the-pitch as well as on it. The squad is settled and only needs the odd tweak here and there.
“When you look at some of the clubs who have gone up from this League in the recent past, they have more than held their own at the higher level and that gives us plenty of encouragement.
“There is lots to look forward to with new teams to come up against and grounds to visit and entry into the FA Trophy.
“It’s also great for Cornwall that we will have three teams competing at this level. We have some tasty derbies coming up and as we have seen from our attendances against Helston Athletic last season, there is an appetite amongst local people to turn out and show their support.
“As a local boy, I am so proud to see the club at Step 4. My philosophy is to give local players their chance to shine and we have a core of local talent running through the team, lads who have a lot of games under their belts for the club.
“This will be a new challenge for us all; we’ll be looking to do things the right way and uphold the traditions, values and support that this club enjoys.
“I’ve been fortunate to lead the club to a couple of promotions and some local silverware over the years and now as I go into my tenth season, we have the opportunity to make our mark at a good level.
“It will be competitive, we know that, but it’s difficult at this stage to gauge where we’ll be as we’ve not had much opportunity to watch Division One South.
“Last season we beat Exmouth Town in the Emirates FA Cup but then lost heavily to Frome Town in the next round, two clubs who found themselves at opposite ends of the table.
“As I sit here now, mid-table would be seen as a success, but who’s to say that we can’t push on into the top half? It’s vital that we get off to a good start to give us a foundation on which to build.
“We’ll certainly know a lot more about our chances after the first ten weeks or so.”
We would like to welcome Falmouth Town in to the Southern League family.
IMAGE: Falmouth Town FC
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