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Ludgvan 1 Portleven 8. A great battling effort..and a very proud club.


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Today's game had two very different agendas for both of the clubs involved. For visiting Porthleven it was all about staying focused and getting a job done. For Ludgvan it was all about nothing less than pride and survival !

Talking with those deeply entrenched at Ludgvan including ex managers, committee members, and long time supporters it was very evident how important their club is to all of them. The old guard wanted to talk and tell stories of teams , players and successful days past, comparing players attitudes and loyalties past and present. They, to a man, still cannot believe, and want to tell anyone who listens,  that after such a successful campaign last season that 17 of an 18 man squad left in the close season... To say that is tough would be of course an understatement, but for any manager at any club that is one hell of a rebuilding job and two managers have already chucked the towel in before the season has hardly started..

Apparently according to members and the current temporary manager on Friday evening Ludgvan FC came within two minutes of pulling out of the Peninsular league altogether !! One gentleman told me that if it were not for a last minute phone call Friday evening and  Hayle FC allowing some of their under 18s to help and play for Ludgvan,  the team would have folded ! If that is correct, and the conversation was open and sincere, then it appears Ludgvan are very grateful to Hayle footballs clubs willingness to help a near neighbour in times of trouble. There were also three young men who were from the Plymouth area who played for Ludgvan today. I'm not sure where these three lads play their regular weekly football.

As Porthleven undertook their warm-up Ludgvans secretary at gone 2.30 was still on the phone chasing a goalkeeper and had a club member dispatched as a taxi driver to go off to collect him.. 

To say that Ludgvan worked hard up to the last second to get this game on AND to help their much cherished team survive is without question and it was wonderful to meet and watch so many dedicated officials and supporters pulling in the same direction.

As said two teams, two different agendas. Perhaps the most important job for Porthlevens management team would have been to ensure that their team did not drop their standards to the level of a hastily ensembled Ludgvan team. 

The game started with Ludgvan still waiting  for their recognised keeper to arrive. They held out for 8 minutes before conceding to a shot in the bottom right corner with the covering keeper getting his fingers to it but not quite enough to push the ball out and away.

In football terms it started as  a very fractured display from both sides with Ludgvan as you would expect trying to hold on in a defence v attack game scenario. Clinically Matt Drummand stepped up and scored a hat trick inside 4 minutes with more chances going wide or being saved. Ludgvans never dropped their heads and kept competing in all areas, with their chauferred goalkeeper arriving after around twenty minutes. The keeper gave Ludgvan a better stability and his vocal presence and size, a big unit, gave a renewed confidence to the Ludgvan team. He kept goal well for fifteen minutes before Dan Greet arrived to meet a cross from wide left with a terrific leaping and powerful header. 5-0 half time.

The second half saw less goals, but perhaps a better technical game of football. Porthlevens passing was cleaner and they had better movement and clean possession than the first half, whilst at a lesser level, which is not disrespectful  the same could be said of Ludgvan's overall game.  More goals did arrive with Drummond ending up with I think 5. Ludgvan did score themselves with a shot which hit the post, came out and was returned  into an empty net which was the least their teams efforts deserved..The final score, 8-1, could have been high  into double figures but for very good goalkeeping and a united team effort by Ludgvan not to completely fold.

The winners, clearly Portleven and whilst perhaps at times dropping a few gears to their opponents playing level ( it can be hard not to at times)they clearly have a very good passing team where players are encouraged to play through the thirds and not just hump the ball forward...so a well deserved three points. However whilst Porthleven done what they had to do, Ludgvan football club and Cornish football were arguably the real winners today. A community had pulled together, with a little outside help, and a good clubs team had survived.

Apparently there is a proper budget to offer a new manager. There are great facilities, both playing and training. Above everything else there are a set of supporters who clearly understand that whoever is brave enough to take the reins, he will be given lots of understanding and lots of time to rebuild a team at a club that is refusing to capitulate.

Well done Portleven, a very good display, and well done Ludgvan, for me the real winners today even without the points.

 

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"A proper budget to offer a new manager" ? Was this not available to the previous managers? 

Whilst the effort behind the scenes and the community now pulling together is admirable, it does beg the question as to where were all these people when the club was originally in trouble - before Anthony Reynolds took over and then when he left? Lets hope this community stick around to help the new manager in any way.

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Sounds worse then Sunday football that. Dragging players last min from Plymouth and ringing up a keeper to help out on the day. I get they want to try keep the club going but I feel sorry for the other teams that have to face them and basically just going end up thumping them and gaining nothing out of it. 

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11 minutes ago, Mr Justice said:

"Apparently there is a proper budget to offer a new manager"

And there is the problem. Ludgvan have moved away from what made the club. Paying players or getting lads to come down from Plymouth is never the answer just makes it worse. Once you start you have to keep it up.

 

 

 

Or rebuild from scratch, like a few others have had too. 

And they are not back to where they were before throwing the money around, and for them it has been a long time, with not a full recovery on the horizon either. 

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2 hours ago, mikeb said:

It may be a technicality , although indeed 17 players left, 1 at least did it for a different reason . He is spending 6 months travelling America New Zealand and Australia. He gave notice of his intentions in good time 

I think a lot of last seasons players gave their intentions early. Some players stopping altogether, some moving to other other clubs and some as said above traveling. That left a small squad of players and I think with the lack of new signings players decided to take matters into their own hands and sort themselves out a club. 

All seems a bit desperate and last minute. However I’m sure there must be some disgruntled players out there in combo and div 1 West that aren’t happy at being on the bench and could guarantee themselves a game at Ludgvan. 

I hope it sorts its self out in the end and they last the season and rebuild where they can. 

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2 hours ago, mikeb said:

It may be a technicality , although indeed 17 players left, 1 at least did it for a different reason . He is spending 6 months travelling America New Zealand and Australia. He gave notice of his intentions in good time 

They will be happy to have him back in a few months then. 

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