SWPL Premier: Helston Athletic 1-1 Cullompton Rangers

AL WILLIAMS' second-half strike sealed a well deserved point for Helston Athletic in their South West Peninsula League Premier match at home to Cullompton Rangers.

Despite the Blues dominating for large spells it was the visitors who led at half-time thanks to a goal from Dan Baily. Williams levelled the game five minutes into the second half but Helston could not go on and find the winner.

The majority of the weekend's sport across the county was beset by gale force winds and heavy rain, and the action at Kellaway Park on Saturday was no different with both sets of players having to deal with the tricky conditions throughout.

This made for a fairly uneventful first 20 minutes as the players began to get to grips with the extreme weather. Williams shot at Cullompton 'keeper Adam Seedhouse-Evans before Scott Beattie headed Matt Bye's cross wide of goal in the only notable efforts of the first quarter.

Cully were looking lively on the counter with Barrie Wyatt having to snuff out Ash Mitchell's dangerous cross, but Williams was in the mood at the other end and was eventually denied by a last-ditch block in the box after weaving past two defenders.

The home side grew into the game and began to turn the heat up on their Devonian visitors. Beattie headed Kirk Davies' cross wide before setting up Bye who was denied by Seedhouse-Evans at the near post. Charlie Young got in on the action when his attempt was blocked at the end of another spell of Helston pressure.

But they paid the price for failing to convert their pressure into goals in the 43rd minute. Wyatt tipped Alex Greening's long-distance strike over his crossbar, with the resulting corner failing to be cleared despite numerous attempts by men in blue, and the visitors made them pay for it when Tom Beddow found Baily in the six-yard box who turned and shot into the far corner.

But the hosts were back on the front foot when they returned for the second half, with Beattie's header from another Davies cross being thwarted by Seedhouse-Evans within two minutes of the restart.

They did not have to wait too much longer for the equalising goal, either. Jamie Thirkle led an attack down the left before feeding Beattie whose cross found Williams in the box, with the youngster gliding past one man before driving a powerful shot past the Cullompton 'keeper.

Helston did not let up and continued to take the game to their opponents. Beattie, Thirkle and Young saw their respective edge-of-the-box efforts fly high, wide or into Seedhouse-Evans' arms.

But for all of their pressure the second goal never arrived, despite further off-target efforts from Young and Bye, before Beattie sent another header wide and had his long-range strike saved by Seedhouse-Evans.

Helston: B Wyatt, K Davies, G Roberts, R Beattie, I Dryburgh, C Young (J Flamank 77), R Chinn, M Bye, S Beattie, A Williams, J Thirkle. Subs (unused): K England, K Cornish, L Tonkin, J Storey.

Cullompton: A Seedhouse-Evans, C Stone, A Mitchell, A Greening, I Reed, J Ansell, G Rogers, L White, R Parsons, T Beddow, D Baily. Subs (unused): M Scott, L Raybould.