Match Report: Newquay 3 v 3 Wadebridge Town

A game that ebbed and flowed where neither side really kicked on after taking the lead.

Really pleased with our resilience and we finished the game strongly.

Newquay are a good side and I think a draw was the right result on the night.

NEWQUAY   3-3   WADEBRIDGE

HT   2-1

ATT   128

This match had 50/50 written all over it with the current form table having the teams in 3rd v 5th respectively.

Once again £6 to get in, £2 for a programme worth every penny to watch another classic game of Cornish football tonight! Although I must say the £4.50 stung a bit for 3 cups of hot water with a tea bag in it!! 🤔. £1.50 left from my “Bobby Moore” as they say up east London!! Feel better about giving it to our local clubs than say a fiver for a hot dog at Argyle though!

The Mount Wise pitch was looking very nice under the floodlights and the ground in as good a nick as I’ve seen for a while, so many happy memories at this ground so always a pleasure to come back there. 

Wadebridgde started the match on the front foot and forced 2 corners within the first 3 minutes, Sam Gerken heading just over from the 2nd one.

The first real chance came after 13 minutes when Jack Rapsey slid a perfectly weighted pass through into the path of Jacob Smale but the Bridgers top scorer could only slice his left foot shot past the post from 10 yards.

He made up for it 5 minutes later though when Tom Sheppard back at his old club played a lovely reverse ball to put the speedy Smale in and this time his low shot found the far corner.

This seemed to spark the Peppermints into life and they were level less than 3 minutes later when Cam Turner swung in a free kick from out wide right which dropped into the far corner of the net, and watching Cam play since he was about 10 you just knew he probably meant it.

Newquay were now pushing forward with their tails up and on 27’ minutes a fine 25 yard low strike from Alex Cole just evaded the diving Rob Rosevear to nestle into the bottom corner.

It was real end to end stuff for the rest of the 1st half with two good teams knocking the ball around at pace creating half chances and a few tackles going in a second or two late but it never boiled over as experienced referee Mr Kevin Hoare was letting the game flow as much as possible and wasn’t fussy in the slightest about letting some over zealous tackles slide which was refreshing to see after watching a few games lately that had yellows galore and weren’t even physical games to be honest.

I’m probably a bit old school but I’d like to be a striker these days rather than my day when each defender had at least a couple “free hits” on you before any cards came out!! Probably why I’m half crippled today!

A decision that was to have a big bearing on the final outcome of the match came in the 41st minute when Turner looked to have gone in high and two footed on Rapsey in the middle of the pitch which saw a ripped sock and a flying shin pad in the air. (Before I say any more on the subject can I just say Jack and Cam are good mates and played in Hoops county youth side together that went all the way to the FA County Youth Cup national final v Middlesex at Barnet 5 years ago) It looked a straight red not that I want to see Cam get sent off, a great lad and a really talented player, but talking to my old mate and team mate Richard Turner (Cams dad) at half time we thought it was more a red than a yellow even with Kev’s more lenient refereeing style on the night, saw my old mate 100% Cornish and a few Newquay supporters standing next to us as well and we all said red card, but Kev chose yellow and it was to be ironic later in the game but more of that later!

Rapsey had to be replaced at half time with a sore Achilles and dead calf with Tom Strike taking over in midfield.

The visitors were level within 4 minutes of the restart when the tenacious Lloyd was clipped by home keeper Harry Ashton and Smale sent him the wrong way from the spot for his 10th goal of the season.

5 minutes later Lloyd broke clear of Tom Whipp but shot well over the bar from 15 yards.

Newquay began to turn the screw once more and Cole had the best of the chances but shot straight at Rosevear from the edge of the area.

On 64 minutes the irony was played out in full when free kick expert Turner made the most of his reprieve and curled yet another fine free kick around the wall and into the bottom corner when maybe he should have been back in the dressing rooms with Rapsey!?

To be fair Newquay applied most of the pressure in a purple 15 minute spell before the visitors showed a bit of character to battle back into the game and Sheppard playing like a man looking to impress played an exquisite ball in behind the home defence but Morgan Vallejos shot was superbly blocked by Ashton flying off his line at point blank range.

Ashton made another great reflex save 3 minutes later diving full stretch to his right to tip a Smale snap shot from 10 yards over the bar.

Bridgers boss Paul Rowe pushed Sam Gerken further forward with the visitors now finishing the stronger team and it paid dividends when he was dragged down in the area and Smale struck another fine spot kick high into the net to complete his hat-trick.

Bradley Leivers dragged back Sheppard for one of those clever take one for the team fouls and was lucky to avoid a card and with just 2 minutes left on the clock the live wire Smale just got in behind the Peppermints back line but Ashton made another brave save from his toe poke finish.

It was Newquay who now seemed content with the point and were in no rush to get forward and they managed to see the game out although there was one final scare in the 93rd minute when Smale dragged his shot wide of the post but Lloyd almost made contact as it slid wide of the target.

Mr Hoares final whistle sounded to end 94 minutes of cracking end to end football and a draw was without doubt a fair result with both sides dominating the match in stages. It would have been a shame for either team to have come away from this game with nothing to show for their efforts and the least they deserved was a point apiece.

This game was all that is good about Cornish football and I feel lucky to have watched Liskeard 6-3 Wendron on Saturday, Sticker 3-5 Penzance last night and now another mini classic tonight at Mount Wise. 23 goals in 3 games! Who could complain about a £6 entrance fee for that sort of entertainment! Maybe just keep the teas at a quid though!! 🤔😀☕️🫖