THERE are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Falmouth Town’s ability to pull off a remarkable result when the odds are stacked against them.

It happened in the Walter C Parson League Cup final in 2018, when Town came back from a goal down to beat Tavistock 4-2 after extra-time to lift the trophy.

It happened in the League Cup second round last year, when Town came back from two goals down at home to Helston Athletic to seal a 3-2 victory.

It happened in the Cornwall Senior Cup final in April, coming from a goal down to beat Saltash United.

It happened in the FA Vase first round at Helston last month, coming from a goal down to thrash their in-form rivals 5-1.

It happened just two weeks ago, when Town came from two goals down to stage ‘that’ comeback to beat Longlevens 3-2 and keep their Vase journey going.

And it happened again on Saturday, with Town battling back after conceding the opening goal of their Cornwall Senior Cup third round tie at home to Helston to run out 3-2 winners over the Blues once again.

David Broglino was the hero for Andrew Westgarth’s side, scoring all three goals for his side to secure his second hat-trick in three days, while Olly Brokenshire’s pair of finishes for the Blues bookended the scoring.

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That did not tell the full story, with the game being defined by big decisions all over the park. Indeed, there were three big penalty calls, an important free-kick award, red cards for Helston duo Billy Tucker and Jason Robertson and countless bookings despite it never really being an ill-tempered clash.

While it being Westgarth’s side is true in the general sense, the Falmouth boss was unable to attend the game due to a long-standing personal commitment, and he was joined in his absence by first-team players Matt Buchan, Jack Bowyer, Martyn Duff, Ollie Moody, Tim Nixon, Jack Webber and Olly Walker, making this victory all the more remarkable.

The Blues were far from full-strength themselves, with Harrison Jewell, Lewis Tonkin, Scott Beattie, Josh Storey, Kai Cornish and Liam Eddy unavailable, but with an abundance of talent running through Steve Massey’s squad, you still fancied them.

Talent aside, the Blues will have been intent on putting Town back in their place after Helston’s humiliating 5-1 hammering at the hands of their rivals on their own patch in said FA Vase tie five weeks ago.

It certainly looked that way early on as Helston flew out of the traps and, just a minute after Phil Cattran came close with a header, Olly Brokenshire, with the help of a flick off Ryan Beattie’s boot, and fired the Blues in front after seven minutes to silence the F-Troop behind the goal.

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They were not silent for long, as Town levelled the tie within three minutes after Robertson unnecessarily wrestled Luke Brabyn to the floor, with Broglino dispatching the resulting penalty.

The next half an hour was even fare, with Brabyn glancing a shot against the far post in the best chance of a period that was punctuated by a smattering of yellow cards, kickstarted by an altercation between Helston’s Matt Bye and Falmouth’s Luke Johnson, with the latter reacting angrily to the former’s cynical foul in the middle of the park.

Both players received bookings from referee Shaun Edge for the incident, with plenty more following suit throughout the tie.

Town’s unavailability woes had led to reserve team midfielder Will Harding being called up to the squad on the day of the game, and the former Penryn Athletic man was summoned from the bench in the 40th minute to replace the injured Luke Barner, who had come off worse in a 50:50 challenge in the Helston box.

Harding had spent much of last season playing for Frogpool & Cusgarne in the Trelawny League Division 2, and he was now locking horns with the likes of Tucker, who was playing some seven divisions higher for Bideford in the Southern League Division One last term.

Town were ending the half on top, but edged ahead six minutes into the second half thanks to a fine free-kick from Broglino after Goldsworthy was adjudged to have handled on the edge of his box.

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A slightly fortuitous decision from Falmouth’s perspective, but Broglino made no mistake with the kick, arrowing the ball into the top corner with Robertson rooted to the spot.

A few more bookings were peppered throughout the second half, including one that confined Bye to a ten-minute spell in the sin bin.

But it was during these ten minutes when the Blues will have been especially relieved to see the cards stay in Edge’s pocket, with the referee waving play on after Brabyn stumbled and fell to the turf under Kirk Davies’ challenge when through on goal.

On first viewing it looked like a foul, but after consulting the highlights it appeared that Davies won the ball brilliantly – a good decision by the man in the middle.

But Brabyn did see a decision go his way shortly after, with Edge penalising a blatant push on the forward from Tucker. The Blues man picked up his second yellow card, while Robertson earned his first for kicking the ball away in frustration, an action that would come back to haunt him.

Broglino slammed home the penalty to complete his second hat-trick in three days, following his treble in Town’s 11-1 mauling of Godolphin Atlantic on Wednesday night.

He scored three penalties that night, meaning the midfielder has bagged five penalties in three days, which feels like it must be some sort of record.

Another impressive record is Town’s record in cup competitions. This was to be their 27th win in their last 30 ties, a phenomenal record which stretches back to the start of the 2017/18 season.

Helston’s hopes of denting that record took a turn for the worse when Goldsworthy had to be carried from the pitch following a nasty collision with team-mate Alex Wharton and Town defender Toby Clark, receiving warm applause from the F-Troop while he departed the scene.

Massey’s men were offered a lifeline in the 82nd minute when Ben Oliver was deemed to have pushed Brokenshire in the box, with the midfielder dusting himself down to fire in the spot kick and set up a tense finale.

But the big chance never arrived, with Town doing their defensive job well and threatening on the break to freeze their opponents out.

Stand-in bosses Charlie Davis and James Miller opted to bring Ross Pope, who officially hung up his boots in 2017 but occasionally helps Town out in times of need, on as an injury-time replacement for Johnson, before the final whistle sounded.

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The drama did not end there, with a frustrated Robertson booting the ball out of play upon hearing the whistle. Frustration quickly turned to shock and then anger when Edge brandished a second yellow card, with the ‘keeper and the Helston coaching staff confronting the referee on the pitch as Town began their celebrations.

Questions were asked as to why Robertson had received a yellow for it when the normal reason of preventing a restart could not be applied as the game was over, although there was possibly a case for either dissent by word or action or unsporting behaviour.

But even if his yellow card could have been construed as harsh, the subsequent reaction towards the officials probably warranted one in any case.

The fuss in the centre of the pitch soon dissipated and turned to joy at the far end of it, as Town began their all-too familiar victory celebration in front of the jubilant F-Troop.

League Cup final, League Cup second round, Senior Cup final, FA Vase first round, FA Vase second round, and now this one. This team does not know when it is beaten.

The comeback kings of cup football have done it again.

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