Duchy survived a second half rally from a spirited Plymouth Marjon side to record a vital home win and move back into the promotion places in South West Division One.

The Cornishmen had taken a 3-1 lead into half time with two goals late in the opening period, however a response from Marjon captain Phil Beasley in the opening exchanges of the second half made for a tense afternoon for the home side until Will McKenzie wrapped up the win with Duchy's fourth goal in the dying stages.

A fast paced start to the match saw Duchy take the lead after seven minutes when Alex Roberts smashed a shot across the Marjon 'keeper for his fifth goal of the season after being placed in by Martin Crump.

The goal was Robers' first for fifteen games, although kept Duchy ahead the lead for only three minutes before Chris Mill equalised for the visitors with a textbook dragflick from a Marjon penalty corner.

The end-to-end first half saw both sides have chances to pick up the games third goal with Crump rattling the woodwork with a rasping drive than cannoned off the bar, before Mills came close to scoring a second set piece for Marjon only to be denied by a block on the Duchy goal line by Ricky Birch.

The young Plymouth side continued to make life difficult for the black-and-whites, however as half time approached the home side managed to stamp their mark as Duchy's two top scorers both added to their tallies.

Kev Bennetts was the first to strike, finishing coolly from ten yards after good interplay with Max Chippett on the right wing, before Martin Crump pounced athletically on a deflected cross to guide the ball home for a 3-1 half time lead.

The second period was dominated by the visitors who camped themselves in the Duchy half for the first fifteen minutes after the restart, with Beasley scoring early after a mazy run and shot to take the score to 3-2 and put the pressure on the home side even further. The goal was a poor one to concede from a Duchy perspective, with the defence standing off the Marjon forward, and Richardson in the home net failing to close down the shot, however the Duchy 'keeper made partial amends with two solid stops from Mills and Whitfield in the following exchanges.

Mills could have scored his third penalty corner with ten minutes to go but for an outstanding reaction stop from Dave Wilkes, and in the closing stages Duchy scored a fourth goal to seal the win when Will McKenzie put the finishing touch to a penalty corner for 4-2. With Bude beating fellow title challengers PGSOB B, Duchy move up one place into second, now with a real chance of taking the title.

Duchy: Richardson (gk), Wilkes, Pound, Birch, Allen, Ettling, Symons, McKenzie, Chippet (c.), Roberts, Crump, Grogan, Spargo, Rafferty Player/Manager: Kevin Bennetts Man of the Match, sponsored by TSI Group: Stuart Richardson.