Magpies continue momentum with home victory over Falmouth Town Reserves

BEN Sharpe struck twice as Holsworthy continued their excellent form with a convincing 3-0 success over Falmouth Town Reserves at Upcott Field.

Helped by a superb playing surface which was given a reboot over the summer, the Magpies scored twice before the break via brilliant strikes from Gavin Carter and Sharpe, before the latter rounded off the scoring just after the hour from the edge of the box.

Holsworthy hadn’t played for a fortnight following a 4-0 success over Mousehole and boss Kevin Squire made two changes from that success as unavailable skipper Jedd Peschke and striker Jack Japes made way for Rory Simmons and Luke Potter.

With Peschke absent, the Magpies lined up in a 3-5-2 formation which worked a treat as they dominated possession with the midfield three of Simmons, man-of-the-match Jay Thomas and Josh Down running the show.

They nearly took the lead inside a minute when Sharpe blazed over from 20 yards when well-placed, and although they were on top, rarely troubled the keeper until they took the lead after 40 minutes.

Thomas broke through the midfield resulting in a three-on-two, and he played the ball to Sharpe on the left who sent a pass over to wing-back Gavin Carter who struck a brilliant half-volley from the angle of the box into the far corner.

While that goal was good, the next was even better as Potter hooked a ball on from halfway, Sharpe flicked the ball on before getting on the end of it himself and unleashing a shot into the top corner off the underside of the bar.

After the break the contest continued in a similar pattern with home keeper Ryan Chadwick a virtual spectator, and they grabbed the third as Jeff Anglia’s cross found Potter and he laid the ball back to Sharpe who found the bottom corner from 18 yards.

Sub Chris Wildern was denied by a good save late on, but three goals and three points represented a fine afternoon for the Magpies, a fact not lost on a delighted Squire.

Speaking on Sunday, he said: “The first half was a pleasure to watch although slightly frustrating as when it was 0-0 you were unsure whether our good play would be rewarded, but the goals just before half-time topped off what was an excellent team performance where everyone played their part. You’re always slightly concerned when you have a weekend off but we continued from where we left off. We’re now straight into Dobwalls on Tuesday night which will be tough as we’ll all have to rush from work etc, and then we’re away at St Austell who we’ve played already. They’ve brought in a few since then so it’ll be a challenge, but we’ll be up for it.”

Squire knows the next few games are critical, concluding: “We’re on a really good run at the moment, but over the next few weeks we also play Penzance and Callington which will tell us where we are in the grand scheme of things and what we might be able to achieve this season.”

HOLSWORTHY: Ryan Chadwick; Jeff Anglia, Callum Martyn, George Plumb; Gavin Carter, Rory Simmons, Josh Down, Jay Thomas, Aaron Hart; Ben Sharpe, Luke Potter. Subs: Gabe Rutter, Jack Japes, Chris Wildern.

Magpies’ man-of-the-match: Jay Thomas.