Friendly result 15th May '21

[cornishteddyboy]

Pendeen Rovers 2-1 Penzance Reserves

Att- 25

Penzance took more than a full squad to Pendeen for this end of season friendly which included no less than eleven players who were aged seventeen or under, giving their under sixteen side a run out against Combination League opposition. I did hear someone say Cody Cooke donned a home shirt for the game, and if it wasn't him it was another Level 5 player. 

Penzance kick off facing up the slope, playing their usual starting eleven, and were on top in the early exchanges with neat passing play in midfield, closing down the Pendeen defence when they tried to play out. In fact for the first twenty minutes the home side belted the ball long for their two or three front men to run into. These lads were quick and did threaten but didn't force a save out of the visiting keeper. 

At the other end the home stopper had to make a couple of diving blocks and a couple of saves to keep the scores level. He was throwing the ball out to his defenders as kicks were being lost and his defence was under pressure immediately.

For some reason he decided to dribble the ball in front of the Pz striker, a 16 year old first gamer, who nicked it off him to knock the ball in from 12 yards to put the Magpies a goal to the good. 

The rest of the half became more even as Pendeen relied on their speed and size up front to get near goal, and Penzance used their speed and passing game to go close at the other end.

Penzance come out for the second half having swapped nine players for their under sixteens to have a fourty-five minute game. 

With the wind in their favour, and being bigger, stronger and much more knowing players, Pendeen looked the more threatening side from then on.

Still relying on speed up front, they break a couple of times down the right and from one of these they get a head to the ball at the back post to nod in from all of a yard. 

Try as they could, Pz find the home side defence must have had a good talking too and find that they can defend by blocking, tackling, etc. The midfield still belongs to the visitors who show their season long weakness of not having a decent finisher up front by wasting the few chances they make.

The final goal was created when a run and knock-back created a gap for the ball to be poked through.

In the final few minutes of the game a couple of Pendeen lads said something to the ref and we were not sure if one was a second yellow or both were sinned binned as one player stood on the touchline, the other vanished. 

One other note, the lad who scored for Pz came down heavily on his arm/shoulder ten minutes later, came off right away without being told and last we heard was in hospital and was having it looked at. It did look like he had dislocated it but being on the other side of the ground we were not 100% sure.