A BIG derby day fixture is the perfect tonic for Helston Athletic after suffering a first defeat in 12 league games – according to their boss Sid Taylor.
On Friday the Blues welcome rivals Porthleven to Kellaway Park in the South West Peninsula League West clash which is always a highly anticipated match.
When the sides met on Boxing Day, Athletic bagged a 5-2 victory in what was the first time the Mayor’s Cup had been played for since the 1960s.
Vospers Oak Villa brought Athletic’s unbeaten run in the league to an end on Saturday when Lewis Young’s injury strike snatched the points for the Devon side.
With his side looking to win the title, Taylor said they must put the disappointment behind them and is pleased to have Port coming up next.
Taylor said: “We’ve had our unbeaten run ended now and what I’ve said to the lads is that the only way it can really hurt us is we do not react to it.
“What we have to do is bounce straight back and we could not have asked for a better game to come up at this particular time.
“Derby games are always great to be a part of with the guys wanting to get bragging rights and all that, so the players will be pumped for it and want Porthleven to bring it on.
“Hopefully we’ll get a large crowd in as we always do for this game and I am really looking forward to it.”
With the clash set to be Dennis Annear’s last derby in charge of Port before he retires from the dug-out at the end of the season, Taylor believes there might be a bit of extra spice in the fixture.
“Obviously with Dennis announcing that he is moving on, the players will want to give him a good send-off,” Taylor said.
“We never play particularly well against Porthleven anyway and with Dennis going soon I expect it to be tougher.
“But that is what derby fixtures are like and we have to be prepared for that.”
When the sides met on Boxing Day, Helston beat 5-2 at Gala Parc to claim the Mayor's Cup
Despite Saturday’s defeat, Athletic remain on top of the league table after nearest challengers Sticker could only managed a 0-0 draw at home to Penzance.
Their advantage has been cut though with Sticker level on points but 30 behind in goal difference.
Tough games await Athletic in their final five games including tussles with Sticket at home and Vospers away line up.
Taylor admitted with hard matches coming he cannot be overly confident his side will finish the job off, but does think having matters still in their own hands is a big boost.
“If we can win four of our last five league games then we’ll win the title,” he said.
“We have just seen a good run of form knocked off us with Saturday’s loss, but what we have to do is try and start another little run going through the rest of the season and we must not look any further than Friday.
“It is a hard run-in we have in front of us and losing on Saturday has made it more difficult for us, but the good thing is it is all still in our hands and I believe in the players that can get things done.”
Kick-off for Friday’s match is 2pm.
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