Penryn Athletic produced their 'worst performance of the season' according to Manager Harry Pope in their 3-4 home loss against Sticker.

Penryn began the better of the two sides and got the lead their energetic start deserved when Morgan Vallejo opened the scoring after six minutes.

Jack Rapsey found space on the edge of the area and was unfortunate to see his long shot crash off the underside of the bar. However, Vallejo was on hand to tap in the rebound despite offside appeals from the visitors.

Instead of building on lead, the home side were pinned back controversially after ten minutes. Sticker played a ball over the top and the linesman raised his flag for offside. The Sticker attacker left the ball for Alfie flack who had beaten the offside trap and he rounded the goalkeeper to level the score.

The home side could have been rattled by this equaliser but ten more minutes later they would find themselves a goal to the good from goalscoring regular Ryan Reeve. Daniel, who delivered dangerous crosses throughout the game, knocked the ball into the box via a deflection. It dropped nicely to the well placed Reeve who side-footed the ball home from close range to make it 2-1.

The theme of scoring every ten minutes continued as on 30 minutes Sticker got back level in bizarre fashion. Richard Edworthy fired a free-kick goalward which would have been a routine save for the keeper. But the effort struck the top of the wall and flew into the opposite corner wrong-footing the keeper.

Within a minute Sticker took the lead. A long ball was hooked to the back post and is headered past the keeper via another deflection by Connor Cooke to make it 2-3.

Penryn were unfortunate to not equalise in the 44th minute. From a corner, Vallejo picked out May at the back post but the full-back's header hit the post, then the goalkeeper before going out for a corner.

Just before the whistle, they had a big shout for a penalty waved away by the referee. Daniel attempted to cross the ball in and it looked to have been blocked by an outstretched arm of the defender, but both the referee and the linesman waved play on.

After the break, Penryn started the better of the two sides as they attempted to find a way back into the game.

Rapsey dummied a through ball to Reeve in the 47th minute but the strikers' chip was just wide of the target.

Flack for Sticker had a number of opportunities to extend the away sides lead. In the 56th minute a sloppy back pass from a Penryn defender opened up a glorious chance for the forward but he blazed his shot high over the crossbar.

In the 68th minute, Jack Rapsey ought to have levelled the scores. After hitting the referee a drop ball allowed Penryn to maintain possession. Vallejo picked out Daniel on the right. He delivered a delicious cross onto the head of Rapsey but flew just wide of the target.

In the 78th minute, Penryn finally got the goal their pressure had warranted. A free-kick is delivered deep into the area, the ball was headered out as far as substitute Alex Hayhoe who volleyed back into the mix. The shot took a couple of deflections before Jake Shaw ghosted in at the back post to convert to make it 3-3.

It looked like Penryn would have the momentum to go and grab another but it would be the opponents who would grab the deciding goal in the 81st minute with the goal of the match from Flack. The striker tricked his way past a number of Penryn defenders and fired a shot into the top left-hand corner to give Sticker all three points.

Speaking after the game Penryn Athletic Manager Harry Pope slammed his side's performance, he said: "Very poor from us, the first minutes were brilliant but I don't know if it is complacence or arrogance I can't understand why seven and a quarter games into the new season we are getting arrogant or complacent allowing teams to get back into the game."

"When we start that well we should be killing teams off early and we didn't, we let them back into the game credit to Sticker for staying at it but that wasn't good enough from us today.

Harry Pope said the loss was Penryns worst performance of the season

Harry Pope said the loss was Penryn's 'worst performance of the season'

"That was a one-off day everything we touched turned to goals. take nothing away from our performance on the night but we said today it was not going to be the same game it is going to be completely different and they were going to want some revenge so I am really disappointed that we got onto the front foot but let them back in."

Penryn have a chance to get back to winning ways in the league with an away match to Penzance on Tuesday September 14. Pope will be looking for a reaction from his players.

"That is four defeats in a row now and I don't think we deserve that. Today was by far our worst performance of the season but a bad day at the office and we write it off and we go again Tuesday night." Said Pope.

Final Score 3-4

Penryn Athletic:

A. Robathon, J. Shaw, R. May, A. Williams, B. Williams, B. Leivers, R. Reeve, J. Daniel, K. Mcphilbin, J. Rapsey, M. Vallejo

Subs: A. Hayhoe, N. Boase, C. Powell

Sticker AFC:

M. Andrew, C. Cooke, T. Tallis, L. Clapham, A. Taylor, A. Marks, I. Varga, R. Edworthy, S. Dover, A. Flack, D. Hocking

Subs: H. Probyn, J. Cockings, D. Lucas, P. Cox