The first Cornish derby of the season went the way of Helston Athletic on Bank Holiday Monday as they beat Mousehole 4-2.
This season sees three teams from Cornwall compete in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South as Mousehole, who made the play-offs at the end of their first season last term, have been joined by Helston Athletic, who are competing at this level for the first-ever time, and Falmouth Town.
Helston’s victory included a brace from defender, Aaron Bentley, whose higher-level experience is already serving the club well as they adapt to the added demands of this level.
“It was a memorable Bank Holiday weekend for us as not only did we beat Mousehole, but we also won our first-ever FA Trophy tie at Didcot Town,” Bentley told us. “We’re over the moon with it; we used the squad across both games in what was a demanding schedule, but we more than deserved to run out winners in both games.
“It was two great performances and results; against Didcot Town in the FA Trophy we faced opponents who were two levels above us last season but were worthy 3-1 winners and then Monday’s game had the added pressure of it being a local derby against a team that had started the season well and were unbeaten going into the game.
“As you can imagine, the mood is very good within the camp. We’ve taken a lot of confidence from these games and it has only reaffirmed our belief that we are capable of competing with anyone at this level when we are at it.
“It’s been a good start to the season; we’re all very happy with where we’re at right now. The only disappointment was exiting the FA Cup at the first hurdle, but seven points from nine and progress in the FA Trophy, we would have taken that at the start.
“As a defender, I would have liked to have seen us keep the ball out of our net more as clean sheets are the foundation for any team, but to have three goals to my name already is a really plus.
“We do have a fairly inexperienced team, but there are players in it like myself who have operated at this level and above, so it is up to us to stand up and be counted and help guide the others through these initial stages of the season because we are up against much better opponents than we have been used to playing.
“No games are easy and it is important to be good in both boxes. Small mistakes are punished more than we are used to at the lower level, but on the other hand, we’ve shown that by doing the right things and sticking to our beliefs can bring rewards.
“As a team we haven’t set ourselves any targets, we just take each game as it comes and want to win every football match we take part in.
“We will see where that takes us; it’s early stages yet and a long, long way to go. We just want to get as many points on the board as possible and maybe assess things a few months down the line once the League table starts to take shape.”
Helston Athletic go to Cinderford Town on Saturday in one of only two Division One South games taking place due to it being Emirates FA Cup weekend.
IMAGE: TB Photography
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