CHOCOLATE Easter eggs will taste much sweeter for Helston Athletic’s players this year as they hopped to an emphatic 5-1 derby day victory over Porthleven.

Good Friday’s South West Peninsula League West clash was highly anticipated, as it always is, with a bumper holiday crowd of 233 squeezing into a wet and windy Kellaway Park.

However, hopes of a happy Easter for the Fishermen were over by half time as Athletic’s leading marksman Mark Goldsworthy bagged a hat-trick before the interval against a lacklustre looking visiting team.

The 23-year-old scored once more after the break to bring his 2014/15 league tally to a remarkable half century after Charlie Young, who towards the end of last year spent time playing for Port’s reserves, got his side’s fourth.

Reece Allen grabbed a late consolation goal for the away team, but overall it was a miserable derby day for the Fishermen who had entered the clash having won their last three matches.

With Saturday’s devastating 2-1 loss to Vospers Oak Villa still ringing in their ears, Athletic’s manager Sid Taylor had called for a reaction earlier in the week and after the game, he cut a happy figure.

Taylor said: “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

“I asked the lads to go out and put things right this week and there’s no better game to do that than a local derby game.

“It was tight for the first 20 minutes but after we got in front we controlled matters and fully deserved our win.

“A lot of us were still gutted about last week’s result but then people started to buzz about this game in the morning and I actually had to quiet them down before the game.”

Both sides made one change to their starting line-ups from their previous encounters with Port bringing in Jed McCardie for Rob Hosking and Andrew Westgarth replacing Mikey Davies for the Blues.

The latter almost had an immediate impact on his return to the league leaders with two chances in the opening six minutes, seeing one easily saved by Benji Bryant and another hitting the side netting.

Despite Goldsworthy’s four goals, Athletic’s star man on the day was Portuguese full-back TT Santos who constantly terrorised Port’s defence during the game with his pacey runs down the left and silky skills on the ball.

Santos’ dizzying runs helped cause uncertainty in the defence and eventually led to the opener on the quarter hour when Port struggled to clear the ball with Goldsworthy latching onto it and firing a shot which Bryant got a glove to, but could not stop.

Just under ten minutes later Ben Allen-Bassett produced Port’s only real noteworthy chance of the half when he forced a fine diving save from Jason Robertson after Freddie Williams found the forward on the edge of the area.

This brief glimpse of hope proved to be temporary as 120 seconds later Santos jinked his way out of the left hand corner and danced around three defenders before being upended illegally by Dan Tarrant in the area.

Referee Ian Roberts did not hesitate and pointed straight at the penalty spot with Goldsworthy calmly slotting home.

The striker completed his hat-trick ten minutes before the break when James Miller’s cross from the right went over Westgarth and Bryant to find Goldsworthy at the back post for an easy chance.

Away heads were down by now and they did not pick up in the second half as four minutes in Young toe poked the ball past Bryant at his near post from just outside the area.

With the result essentially sorted the remainder of the half petered out as Athletic looked content to sit back and counter attack, giving Port more time on the ball as a consequence, but this was possession they could not utilise.

Goldsworthy chalked up his 50th league goal of the season in the 74th minute when Young’s through ball found substitute Matt Lloyd, who got to the by-line before cutting back to his team-mate to tap home in the six yard box.

Some consolation was earned by Port three minutes later when Allen’s shot hit Robertson’s chest and bounced over the keeper with Kirk Davies unable to stop it going over the line, but the pleasure was very scant for the visitors.

Port’s manager Dennis Annear admitted afterwards it was “men against boys”.

“They were more up for it than us,” Annear said.

“They slipped up last week and they know they cannot afford to do it again.

“They won every first ball, second ball and third ball and we were always five yards behind them.”

HELSTON: Robertson, Miller (A Stidwell 39), TT Santos, Thomson (c, Bell 73), Howlett, K Davies, Adlard, Young, Westgarth (Lloyd 66), Goldsworthy, Russell.

UNUSED SUBS: M Davies, Webster.

PORTHLEVEN: Bryant, Coleman (Orchard 76), Hunter, McCardie, Tarrant, Winnan, Best, D Greet (Allen 21), T Annear (c), Allen-Bassett (Hosking 56), Williams.

UNUSED SUB: J Greet.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: TT Santos.