PLYMOUTH PARKWAY 2

A Sargent (2)

FALMOUTH TOWN 1

D Rivans

Town: N. Murphy; R. Francis (capt) (D. Rivans 79m), F. Nevin, N. Bettis, B. Nute, A. Cusack, J. Morrison-Hill, M. Godfree, L. Langmead, A. Bowker, M. Cusack (A. Carter 79m). Subs (unused): L. Beer and B. Goldring.

The Plymouth Parkway players' long and vociferous celebrations after the final whistle summed up how relieved they were to have nicked the full three points from this Carlsberg SW Peninsula League premier divison clash which, in the main, was controlled by Falmouth Town.

Town went on the attack from the outset and Matt Cusack and Andy Bowker combined well for the former to hit a shot just wide.

From the resultant goal kick the ball found Martyn Sullivan out wide on the left where he made a determined run at the Town defence and hit a long ball across to the unmarked Lee Doel on the right of the Town area. Doel then hit the ball into the middle where Andy Sargent found the room to crash the ball home from close in to give Parkway the ideal start after just two minutes.

Town came straight back at the home side and the lively Jamie Morrison-Hill was brought down by Daniel Brook as he set off on a cross-field run. The resultant free kick was met by Neil Bettis, but his header flew straight at the 'keeper.

A few minutes later Matt Cusack tried a shot-cum-cross from the left which just dipped over the bar with Tom Buckler stranded in no man's land.

With these two teams being the highest scorers in the division it was no surprise to see both sides looking to attack at the first opportunity. Town's defence tightened up and the Parkway strike force of Ryan Fice, Andy Sargent and Mark Berry were well marshalled and there was always a good link with the midfield in which Matt Godfree and Morrison-Hill worked tirelessly.

Town forced two consecutive corners, the first of which was headed behind by Brook and the second was caught well by Buckler under heavy pressure from the Town players.

After 25 minutes Parkway made a rare break into Town's area, but the ball was forced out by Nute for a corner.

Matt Cusack, Bowker and Lee Langmead were all combining well but the final ball was always going astray. The closest Town came to scoring was Aaron Cusack's shot which hit the side netting.

The second half started with Town again on the attack and Morrison-Hill appeared to be pushed as he hit a shot which ended up going wide, and Aaron Cusack finished off a good move with a fine shot that was deflected for a corner.

Parkway were relying more and more on the long ball as Town's defence pushed forward in support of the midfield. However they did get caught out after an hour when Sargent raced through but he shot wide.

By now the game was reaching stalemate and it looked increasingly like Town would need to make some substitutions to give the home defenders something to think about.

Town continued to dominate the midfield but the front two were being covered every time the ball was played in to them and even Matt Cusack was failing to make any runs as Parkway packed their defence.

With 20 minutes remaining there were strong appeals for handball as a Parkway defender seemed to block a shot with his arm in a huddle of players but play was waved on.

Play switched to the other end and Murphy made a good one-on-one save from Berry and the ball was worked back up to the Parkway area where Nute powered a header in that Buckler couldn't hold, but there was no one around to prod the loose ball home.

After 78 minutes Parkway launched a quick breakaway and Sullivan put over a looping cross from the left and Sargent headed home at the far post to put his side 2-0 ahead.

This finally spurred Town into making changes and Adam Carter and Dominic Rivans came on to replace Rob Francis and Matt Cusack. The move paid off as four minutes later Carter beat his marker and hit the ball across the area, where Rivans came running in to blast the ball home and make for an exciting final five minutes.

The game finished with Buckler diving at Morrison-Hill's feet as he closed in on goal, following a good ball from Carter.

After taking on Truro City in the Cornwall Senior Cup semi final at Porthleven tonight (7.45 kick off), Town have another huge game on Saturday when they entertain Dartmouth (2.45 pm).