Helston Athletic are facing one of the biggest weeks in their recent history.

The Blues have been making steady progress on and off the pitch in recent years, and their on-field fortunes have come to a head this season, with Steve Massey’s first team enjoying a 12-match winning run in all competitions.

Nine of those have come in the South West Peninsula League Premier West as Helston have soared to third in the table, five points behind leaders St Austell with three games in hand.

They will be put to the ultimate test of making it a perfect ten out of ten, with fifth-placed Mousehole, the only remaining unbeaten side in the division, visiting Kellaway Park tonight.

Victory would ensure Helston’s longest winning run in the league since the start of the 2007/08 campaign, when they won a club record 11 games on their way to a third-place finish in the Combination League.

That is followed by the small matter of an FA Vase first round proper tie at home to local rivals Falmouth Town on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

Victories over Keynsham Town and Axminster Town have already ensured that this is the Blues’ best-ever run in the competition, but Saturday’s game offers the chance to prolong the run for one more round at least, and do it at the expense of their main rivals in front of what is anticipated to be a bumper crowd at Kellaway Park.

Helston manager Steve Massey said: “It will be a huge, huge game. It will be hostile, both on and off the pitch. There will be a great crowd there, a fantastic atmosphere. I just love these games, and I know my players are right up for it.”

“I can guarantee now that none of them will freeze at all, they will be just really looking forward to it. The players in this squad have all tasted juicy games like this before, four or five of them have played in FA [Vase] semi-finals and youth cups.

“We are really looking forward to this wonderful week coming up.”

Entry to both games is £5 for adults, £2.50 for concessions and £1 for under 16s.

Finishing off an exciting six days of action at Kellaway Park is the Blues’ under-18 side’s FA Youth Cup third qualifying round tie at home to Brockenhurst on Monday night (kick-off 7pm).

The tie with the Wessex League club is Helston’s first-ever home tie in the competition, with victory sending them into the first round proper where they could draw the likes of Plymouth Argyle.

With the Blues being the first Cornish team to compete in the cup since St Austell in 1957/58, this tie will give the Cornish public the rare opportunity to witness a Duchy youth team in an elite national competition.

Helston defeated Street on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the first qualifying round two weeks ago, before running out 5-0 winners at Brislington on Wednesday night, with Alex Wharton scoring a hat-trick for the Blues.

Entry on Monday night will cost £3 for adults, with concessions and under-16s getting in for £1.50 and £1 respectively.